ALSO, I QUESTION THAT: January 20, 2009 - March 1, 2012

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Topics:
ABORTION
AERONAUTICS
AFGHANISTAN
ASTRONOMY
BASEBALL
BASKETBALL
BIOLOGY
BURMA
BUSINESS
CARTOONS
CENTRAL ASIA
CHINA
COURTS
CRIME
DEATH PENALTY
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WEATHER

ABORTION

TIM HUELSKAMP, Member of Congress, and DIANA DEGETTE, Member of Congress, April 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What percent of the Planned Parenthood budget goes towards abortion, and do you both agree on what this percentage is?
HUELSKAMP: As best as we can figure, it is in the 30% to 40% range. Planned Parenthood does not publish how it spends its budget. What we do know, however, is that about 330,000 abortion were performed last year, while about 7,000 prenatal visits were offered, and less than a thousand adoption referrals were made.
Clearly, the real issue here is that this entity receives $350 million in taxpayer subsidies. Meanwhile, there’s mounting evidence that this entity is concealing rape, sexual abuse, incest, and other crimes. In fact, in my own state of Kansas, they are under indictment for more than 10 different criminal counts.
DEGETTE: None of Planner Parenthood’s Federal dollars go to abortion. The Federal government spends $300 million on family planning services (not abortion), most of which goes to Planned Parenthood for health care services, birth control, and family planning. In these tough economic times, many women who have lost their jobs and health insurance rely on Planned Parenthood for their annual checkups and I do not think we should reduce their funding for those activities.

AERONAUTICS

BUZZ ALDRIN, astronaut, July 20, 2009 (40th anniversary of the first Moon landing)
CZIKOWSKY: If NASA offered for you to fly in the first spacecraft to Mars, would you accept?
ALDRIN: The earliest my calculations are that that would be 2024. I’m afraid there are much younger more aggressive people to go. We want young settlers, enthusiastic eager settlers to go to the surface of Mars and that probably won’t occur until 2031. I’ll be 101 then.

SCOTT ALTMAN, astronaut, July 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is the current best belief on when it may be possible for a person to land on Mars?
ALTMAN: We basically have most of the technology required to conduct a mission to Mars. That said, to develop the specific systems and architecture to get us there and back puts an actual mission out into the late 2020’s or beyond.
CZIKOWSKY: What did it feel like during blast off, and do you remember what your thoughts were? I have only tried the simulator for g forces, but can only wonder what it must actually feel like to actually lift off.
ALTMAN: Lift off is pretty amazing. There is a loud bang and the whole stack starts shaking, rattling, and moving. Up until that point it feels very much like all the simulations we have done to prepare---but once the solid rocket lights, there is no doubt that this vehicle is GOING SOMEWHERE!

ERIC STERNER, aerospace consultant, July 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I believe Richard Branson and others are quickly killing the myth that there is no private enterprise in space travel. What is the relationship between NASA and private entrepreneurs, how much advice does NASA provide, and what distances does NASA place between itself and these private companies?
STERNER: Thanks for the question. I was hoping someone would ask something like it. For those unfamiliar with Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson started a business based on a suborbital “spacecraft” to carry people into suborbital space. He plans to take tourists, researchers, experiments, etc. It’s one of the most exciting things going on in the world of commercial space right now. The question for government is whether this proves that NASA can rely on the private sector to carry its astronauts to orbit. You can break an answer down into several elements. First, is what Branson doing relevant? My response is “Yes, but not much.” His “spacecraft” is only approaching suborbital space. It only uses a tiny fraction of that needed to reach low-earth orbit (LEO), where the space station is. So, technically, it’s not that relevant.
Second, is he proving there’s enough private demand to sustain a business model? A: Not yet. He certainly is betting a lot of money that there is. He has taken a large number of deposits, which is a good sign, but nobody has flown yet. Even then, the technical demands are so different for LEO that you’re looking at apples and oranges.
Third: does his business model translate to LEO for the government? A: No. There are the technical differences. But, more importantly to my mind, he’s risking his own money and that of his investors. If he fails, it’s his money. If you tried the same model as the PRIMARY means of sending the NASA astronauts to orbit, you can’t allow him to fail. So, the government has to step in with more regulations (which is less efficient and possibly prohibitive) and, in the end governmental subsidies, because private demand for access to LEO isn’t big enough. You’re likely to end up with something like the ethanol industry or Amtrak…supposed to be commercially viable but indefinitely dependent on government mandates or subsidies.

AFGHANISTAN

SCOTT WILSON, Washington Post Staff Writer, April 6, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Have there been serious discussions about our supporting crop replacement for poppy growers. I realize there are political and cultural concerns, especially since many of the growers are in Taliban-supported communities. Yet, since many of the residents seem non-political and appear to primarily bow to the political forces that control their community, might this be both a way to gain some more popular support for American causes ,as well as a less overall expensive means of dealing with our ultimate drug problem, if we can severely limit the supply of drugs at its very source?
WILSON: This is going on now, managed largely by the same private contracting company that handled “crop substitution” in Columbia. Progress has been varied.
CZIKOWSKY: Afghanistan appears to be a collection of autonomous communities who shift political allegiance according to the political and military winds. Is it possible that we would be better with the causes of democracy and obtaining pro-American support if we reached out more with economic assistance to the Afghan people, village by village? In addition, wouldn’t this be less costly than spending such much on military operations?
WILSON: Yes. U.S. troops, like the paramilitary forces in Columbia (though not nearly as brutal, obviously), are viewed as outsiders and symptoms of a non-existent central government by Afghans. Training Afghan troops and using a stronger Afgan government to provide the U.S. aid would help give Afghans motivation to side with their state, not with foreign forces against a homegrown insurgency in the Taliban.

MOHAMMED HANIF, BBC Urdo Special Correspondent, April 27, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Isn’t a man fault of the central government is that in many villages the central government is mostly irrelevant? It is more critical who controls each village and the battles are determined within each community. The Taliban seems well organized to win regions and communities. Thus, what should the national leadership be doing to win back certain communities, and does the strategy vary from village from village.
HANIF: The solution is a bit old fashioned: we need to have an uninterrupted democratic process, and our well wishers in the world should stop supporting any military dictatorships.

SCOTT WILSON, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 8, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is the thinking of the Obama Administration on reducing troops in Iraq and Afghanistan? Surely our military presence is not winning over the population. When is it time to provide economic assistance but not military assistance to those nations that might be better off with our economic, but not military, help?
WILSON: As you know, the Administration has already withdrawn U.S. troops from Iraqi cities and plans to have all troops gone from Iraq by the end of the next year. But it’ll soon by considering a request for more troops for Afghanistan. Obama’s in the tricky situation of relying on Republican support for his policy to expand the Afghan War---although one influential one, George Will, just called for a withdrawal---and so is caught between his base and his Generals on whether to send in more soldiers, he’ll be making the decision in coming months, as he grapples with health care.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Columnist, September 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Afghanistan is a collection of individually run villages with little to no connection to the central government. When will we learn, as did the Soviets and others before them, that the people do not like a foreign military power? Wouldn’t it be far better if we used the resources we put in military to economic aid and show we care, to possibly pay farmer to produce crops other than the ones we do not wish them to produce, and to allow them to hate the Taliban, who try to force their will, then hate us because we seek to force our will?
ROBINSON: Who was it who called Afghanistan the graveyard of empire? The Brits failed there, the Soviets failed there, and if we aren’t careful, we will fail there too. We should limit our goals, and we should keep in mind that every time we add troops we may increase our odds of achieving short term ends but also increase the odds that our long term ambitions will be thwarted.

RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN, Washington Post Associate Editor, September 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Is it fair to consider a war in Afghanistan as not one war but many different wars in many separate virtually autonomous villages? It is not only a war that would be fought and won in every village, bt one where it is also a war to win the usupport of village residents who probably most want there be no war?
CHANDRASEKARAN: It’s not only fair to think that buy very accurate. And that’s what makes this conflict so challenging. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and that’s also why the national government in Kabul (questions of its legitimacy aside) has only limited influence over much of the country. Afghanistan is really a collection of very insular, tribal communities. That means many military officers and diplomats on the ground need to more carefully tailor their approaches to the communities where they are located. What works in Helmand doesn’t necessarily work in Khost, which makes sharing “lessons learned” so difficult in Afghanistan. Most important, it means that efforts at engaging tribes and trying to craft any sort of reintegration plan for insurgents---like what was done in Iraq with the Anbar Awakening---will be much, much more complex in Afghanistan. You’re not going to be come up with national or even province-wide programs. It’ll have to be at the district and village level, and it will have to be tailored to the unique tribal dynamics in each area. That will be tough and time-consuming.

GREG JAFFE, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 6, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: As tragic as this attack (at the Battle of Wanat) was, didn’t the soldiers do an excellent job fighting back and defending themselves? What are estimates of the damage that was done to the attackers?
JAFFE: It is a good question and a really hard one to answer. The U.S. estimated that as many as 30-50 insurgents were killed. But only one body was found after the attack. So it is really impossible to know. My experience has been that enemy body counts are unreliable. To be honest, it is even tough to estimate the number of insurgents involved in the attack on the base.

MATTHEW HOH, resigned Foreign Service Officer, October 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How difficult is it to wage military operations in Afghanistan? Isn’t every village practically a separate operation with little connection to the on goings in other villages?
HOH: Yes, very much so. The terrain is formidable to put it in an understated manner. The societal makeup to include the interaction of village to village and valley to valley, is such that allegiances seem to be to family and then to village/valley above and beyond else. That is why I use the term “vallyism” to explain the reasons why local populations are fighting us and the Afghan central government.
CZIKOWSKY: There are those who state we need to stay in Afghanistan because we need to fight al Qaeda. Yet, is al Qaeda staying in Afghanistan to fight back? Hasn’t much of al Qaeda moved into other countries?
HOH: Yes, thank you for this. This is one of my central arguments.

BOB WOODWARD, Washington Post Associate Editor, September 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Does President Obama have an exit strategy for Afghanistan, and contingency plans if initial goals are not met?
WOODWARD: There is no final date that I know of, but it becomes crystal clear that President Obama wants out of Afghanistan and he repeatedly has told his advisers the plan had to focus on how to turn over the war to the Afghan security force and get out. “There can be no wiggle room”, he said at one point.

ASTRONOMY

THOMAS STATLER, Ohio University Professor of Physics and Astronomy, November 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How long have we known about the asteroid (2005 YU55)? How much advance notice do we, in general, get regarding these asteroids that are near us?
STATLER: This asteroid has been known since 1005. Because it does come close to Earth, it was possible to get really precise measurements the last time around (April last year). The radar measurements tell us the orbit very precisely and make it certain that THIS obkect won’t be a threat in the foreseeable future. There are special purpose telescopes surveying the sky for asteroid now, and they are discovering several hundred new ones every year.

BASEBALL

JAMIE MOYER, Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher, February 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What do you think of Philly fans? True, they booed Santa Clause, yet people don’t realize what a scrawny replacement the Phillies found for Santa. And Kiteman was his own disaster: it helps if you don’t crash. Yet, the fans are behind you 100 percent and wish the Phillies all the best.
MOYER: I really enjoy the passion that Phillies fans bring to the ball park. They greatly show their emotions, good or bad, and that’s their prerogative. We feel on the field and on the bench our fan’s passion. It’s really uplifting and influential when our fans are supporting us in a positive way. You can not believe how that can help a team until you’ve been through it yourself.
CZIKOWSKY: I am glad to hear Phillies all talking about repeating as World Champions. I believe attitude is crucial, and a positive attitude keeps the team relaxed and focused and willing to fight not only just to be the best each player can be but to do so in support of teammates. I’ve seen too many teams fall apart because of negative attitudes. Of course, I’m not there in the dugout and fields. How positive is the team and what is the team attitude?
MOYER: I fell like my attitude is very positive, toward my teammates and toward the game. I’m very impressed by my teammates’ attitudes. As young as some of them are, I’m impressed by their work ethic, the way they approach their jobs, their responsibilities on and off the field. It’s heartwarming to be on a team where everyone has the same goal, and that’s winning. It’s been that way since ’06. I think the Phillies organization has done a great job of bringing good people to the club, and that Charlie Manuel has done a good job of keeping us going in the right direction. I can say nothing but positive things about my time in Philadelphia.

JESUS FLORES, Washington National Catcher, July 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How much baseball did you play while growing up in Venezuela? What did you need to work on when you became pro that you didn’t pick up from sandlot and youth games?
FLORES: I started playing when I was 4 years in the small, poor town of Carupano, Venezuela. My father is a huge baseball fan! I grew up watching baseball with him and my brothers. I had to work on my skills growing up and I am very proud to have become the first big leaguer from my city.

KEN BURNS, documentary filmmaker, September 25, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on the new Yankee Stadium, as opposed to the original?
BURNS: Being a Red Sox fan, you may have asked the wrong person the wrong question, but it is clearly a huge monumental structure that reflects both the glory of the Yankees dominance in this sport and also the excesses of the current age.

DAVE SHEININ, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: In your opinion, is it true the Yankees are playing more like a team than they have in the past? For year, it was said they were a collection of superstars who could beat you, but these superstars put themselves above the team. Are the Yankees finally a team?
SEININ: Very true. I never remember the Yankees being this relaxed and cohesive. I have to say that A.J. Burnett, with his whole silly shaving cream pie routine, has made a difference in the clubhouse, as has Sabathia’s easy going, friendly manner. And of course, A-Rod’s new, relaxed approach is well documented and clearly effective for him.
CZIKOWSKY: How tough will it be for Phillies pitchers to get through the Yankees lineup? I find one can’t be too careful with a lineup where seven plays hit 20 or more home runs, and the eighth hitter is Derek Jeter.
SEININ: It’s no tougher than it will be for Yankees pitchers to get through the Phillies lineup. Let’s face it---these are the two best offenses in baseball.

THOMAS BOSWELL, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Stephen Strasburg’s arum needs to be developed by mastering skills at the double A level and then eventually moving up to the major leagues. It makes no sense to burn out his arm and possibly destroy his self confidence by starting him in the majors.
BOSWELL: You are exactly right. And if the start serious thinking about starting the seasons with Strasburg in the majors, I will go semi-nuts, I expect. SS will start in Potomac because it’s warmer, then head to AA in Harrisburg and, if he pitches as well as Mike Mussina and Mark Prior (as two examples) pitched in the minors, he can come up in mid-season. But if there is the slightest doubt about his progress---nerves, a tendency to give up HRs because, perhaps, his four seam fastball is a bit straight, or whatever---don’t bring him up until September.
The Nats have a poor record with their best arms---Cordero, Hill, Patterson, Zimmermann. Take it easy with this guy. Yes, he’s probably the best they’ve got already. So what? He deserves a fair shot at a huge career.
Also, don’t expect too much too soon. In terms of stuff, the pitcher that Strasburg reminds me most of is Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies. Both throw 100 m.p.h. Jimenez has a bigger breaking curve than Stasburg’s slider. The Nats, last season, said that Mimenez had the best stuff they’ve seen all year. SS may have a better changeup. That’s really improved since last year. But look at Jimenez’s career. If SS does that will, it will be just fine with me. Jimenez was 4-4, 4.28 ERA in 82 innings his rookie season and started three games in the post season including one in the World Series. Then, in ’08, he was 12-12 with a 3.9 ERA and 172 Ks in 198.2 innings. Last year, at 25, Jimenez was 15-12 with a 3.47 in 218 innings and 198 Ks. He may have a Cy Young in him.
Strasburg doesn’t have to be 1.) Roger Clemens, 2.) a blown arm, 3. A 3-4-5 Prior/Wood burn out. He can also just have a very good career. Pitching is subtle. You need feel as well as stuff. The right mental makeup. You’re fastball needs late movement as well as velocity. On and on. Maybe Strasburg will have them all eventually. But give him time. Three years from now he could be 15-12---and still be improving. Patience.

PETER GOLENBOCK, author, July 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: One of my all time favorite “Saturday Night Live” sketches was the one where George Steinbrenner portrayed an employer who explain how it would be foolish to fire people on whims. This shows George Steinbrenner can take a joke.
Yet, what was it about George Steinbrenner that seems to have made him act rather impulsively on firing managers, hiring free agents, and acting as boss without seeking and taking advice from employees willing to challenge his thinking?
GOLENBOCK: George had a personality disorder. He was a narcissist. Narcissists love publicity, good or bad. Who else would have allowed himself to be lampooned so mercilessly on “Seinfeld”? Another trait of narcissism is believing oneself to be the smartest person in the room. Another trait is overreacting to criticism. It’s why George felt he had to ruin Dave Winfield’s life because Winfield had outsmarted him in his contracted and refused to back down when attacked.
CZIKOWSKY: How much did George Steinbrenner pay for the Yankees and what is their estimated worth today? I think that tells a lot about the empire George Steinbrenner built.
GOLENBOCK: George paid $10 million for the team, and received a rebate from the deal with the city for rebuilding the stadium of about $1.3 million. So his cost was $8.7 million, and of that he paid less than a million in cash out of his own pocket. In part because of the YES network, the Yankees today are valued at $1.6 BILLION. And ironically, no stockholders have ever been paid a dime. George all these dividends on often less than stellar free agents. Carl Pavano and a number of others are still getting paid by the Yankees.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you ever heard the story Kenny Kramer tells about how Larry David pranked George Steinbrenner? Supposedly Larry David got George Steinbrenner to film a “Seinfeld” episode and then arranged for the shooting to conflict with Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. Then Larry David had the scene cut. In fact, Larry David wound up portraying Steinbrenner on the show.
GOLENBOCK: I heard that story just as you tell it, only I didn’t know it was a practical joke. I just know that he did appear live for a segment and it didn’t run on TV. In fact, the photo of the real George in the “Seinfeld” episode is in my “George” book.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Columnist, March 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Cliff Lee stated he did not join the Yankees because he feels their players were getting too old. So, he accepts FOR LESS MONEY to play for the Phillies. Now, according to ESPN and the Los Angeles times, the Phillies are the OLDEST TEAM with an average age for their starting lineup of 32.4 years---the oldest average age of any team in major league baseball. Plus, the Phillies have an average age for their starting rotation of 31.0 years, again, the oldest average age in major league baseball. The only area where the Yankees are the oldest is in relief pitching which, when the Yankees have Mariano Rivera, who is the best reliever in baseball, who cares if he is over 40?
WEINGARTEN: Speak about preaching to the choir.

CAL RIPKEN, JR. retired baseball player, August 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How did it come about that you are going to Japan? What are some of your plans for when you get there?
RIPKEN: It’s just an extension of a program that was started in 2008 when I was asked to be a public envoy for the state. I’ve been to China, Nicaragua, and this year, though our relations are very good with Japan, because of the tsunami and the earthquake, our goal is to celebrate sports and to celebrate baseball and show that we care. It can also serve as a distraction during times like this and to tap into the feeling that baseball gives you during the good and bad. Sports can be magical. It helps in the healing process, it just helps overall.
CZIKOWSKY: What is it like to play 33 innings in one baseball game?
RIPKEN: Haha---Yes, I did play in one of the longest games in baseball history---33 innings. We played 32 innings that night. It wasn’t too bad, except for the fact that I was one for 12. We played til 4:07 in the morning.

THOMAS BOSWELL, Washington Post Columnist, August 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: You make a good point about winning over fans being like politics. Harrisburg is like Iowa. It is considered a “fan friendly stadium”. It reminds me of the old Morris Udall joke where a New Hampshire voter says he doesn’t know anything about a Presidential candidate, he’s only met him three times. Harrisburg is a town where fans interact with the players. If you haven’t met you, they don’t know who you are.
BOSWELL: “Only met him three times”. Love it.
A good motto for Bryce Harper or any minor leaguer.

BASKETBALL

CAROL ROTELLA, author, March 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If a player hopes to make it to the NBA, how does playing in a D League compare with playing in a professional league in another country? Does the D League see itself as a feeder to the NBA and thus better prepares players for NBA skills, even if one could be a bigger star overseas?
ROTELLA: They can make good money abroad---well over a million per season for a star in one of the richer leagues, even up to two million, which isn’t NBA money but is a very nice deal while it lasts. Even second and third tier leagues abroad pay better than the D League. But that’s part of what Dan Reed, President of the D League meant when he described the D League as “graduate school”. When you take the D League option, you give up the short-term money in order to credential yourself and build skills for a great job up the road, and of course no other league sends as many players into the NBA. Getting from the D League to the NBA is hard, but it’s not irrational fantasy it is for even most talented players. Taking the short money to position yourself for the jump to to the NBA from the D League is a rational choice.

CRAIG ROBINSON, Oregon State University Head Men’s Basketball Coach, September 24, 2010; brother of First Lady Michelle Obama
CZIKOWSKY: Would you tell us how you motivate student athletes to devote time towards academics? This is part of the coaching that is seldom seen by sports writers and it rarely makes the press, unless something goes wrong and a student athlete is found cheating or fails. How involved are you in determining that your players are keeping up with their studies?
ROBINSON: The first tactic I use is that I recruit players who have a respect for the academic process. Secondly, since I control playing time, I use that as a motivator to be serious about their academics. As far as involvement with their studies, I conduct the study halls when we’re on the road as opposed to having my assistants do it. I’ve also been known to show up unannounced at my players’ classes.
CZIKOWSKY: OK, just between us, who got into more trouble as a child, you or Michelle? Who started more arguments? Did you have names you called each other besides your given names?
ROBINSON: I was clearly in trouble more than my sister. I was the oldest and she was smart not to fall into the same traps that I did. Our nickname for my sister is Miche pronounced Meesh.
CZIKOWSKY: If you had the chance, would you ever wish to serve in government? If so, what would you most like to do?
ROBINSON: Probably not, I enjoy teaching and coaching. If I did, it would probably be in the education area..
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of the differences between coaching now and when you were at Brown? How did you attract players to play at Brown, which offers no athlete scholarships?
ROBINSON: The biggest difference is the level of the league competition. Secondly, recruiting elite high major talent and thirdly the emphasis on academics. At Brown the main selling point is an elite academic experience and at Oregon State the selling point is an elite basketball experience.

SCOTT RAAB, author, June 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Have you seen any of Buzz Bissinger’s comments on LeBron James and, if so, what are your reactions to his strong opinions?
RAAB: Buzz is sharp and funny, and he has his own history with LeBron. He seems to have come to terms with his own feelings about co-writing James’ autobiography, and with his prior dismissal of James as a player who couldn’t succeed under pressure. I think he may yet be proved wrong, but I respect his opinion.

JERRY WEST, Basketball Hall of Famer, and JONATHAN COLEMAN, author, December 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: In reading several of the reviews (of “West by West”), it is mentioned several times that this is a very personal autobiography. What is your line on how personal autobiographies should be, and when should the consideration of how others may be hurts by what is revealed prevent something from being disclosed?
WEST: I think the sensitivity issue was a major one for me, and Jonathan will confirm that. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing really controversial in it. I don’t rip anyone in it. My relationship with my father was the most felling thing I put in the book, that and my depression.
You’d be surprised by how many letters I have gotten from people who said they had the same issues with their father and depression. If you can’t tell your own story, I think it’s a sad place. How in the world do you know other people don’t share the same feelings and the same thoughts? From the letters I have received, I feel so much better about writing the book.
Frankly, while doing this, I went through a two week period where I was as low as can be, because you are opening old wounds. It’s like a movie set---people walk by and see the exterior, but they don’t see what’s on the inside.
COLEMAN: The most of many, many things that took place between Jerry and me is that Jerry granted me freedom—freedom to basically do what I needed to do and talk to who I wanted to talk with.
Even though at first he was taken aback by the number of people I wanted to talk to, he let me do it. This book wouldn’t be the same if I had just talked to Jerry.
In talking with his four siblings, I was careful with each of, especially with Charlie, who was outspoken about not wanting Jerry to do this. But it became apparent that he know a lot more than he said initially, and it came out in a weekend in North Carolina. He wished Jerry didn’t do this, but it was the right thing to do.
For his sister Hannah, who is three and a half years older, I know this was a very difficult book for her to read, but she was enormously proud of Jerry for having done it. And I think that’s a tribute to the book.
WEST: My sister wrote me a note after reading the book, and said “I lived with a brother I didn’t even know.”
COLEMAN: The word Jerry used in the beginning is he knew it would be painful, but he hoped it would be cleansing. And then he said, in equal measure, that he hoped it would be inspirational.
The book, in a way, is a constant challenge to readers. It’s a challenge to readers---even his own friends---who want to keep thinking of Jerry the way they always have. It’s a challenge to take Jerry on his own terms.
WEST: At the end of the day, I knew I wasn’t going to make everyone happy. There were things I didn’t want to talk about, but I said the hell with it, if I’m going to do this book, it’s going to be honest.

BIOLOGY

GILLIAN E. ST. LAWRENCE, writer, July 6, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Will you need to be implanted with multiple embryos? What are the odds of success?
ST. LAWRENCE: We will choose to do what is called a Single Embryo Transfer. This means that only one embryo will be transferred to the uterus each time. Since we have five embryos, then it means that we can try again if the first transfer does not result in a pregnancy. This choice greatly reduces the chances of twins or triplets which comes with pregnancy complications and potential dangers to the baby.

MAUREEN SMITH, Jane Goodall Institute-USA President, July 14, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I appreciate what Jane Goodall and others are doing to help endangered species and to help inform people on the benefits of studying animals to learn to protect the environment for all, including humans.
SMITH: Every day at the Jane Goddall Institute, we carry out Dr. Goodall’s vision, through research, community-centered conservation and our global youth program. To spread her message, Dr. Goddall lectures around the world and the Institute raises awareness through media, advocacy, and social networking.

ANDY DEHART, National Aquarium Biological Programs Director, August 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Is it true we are not really that tasty to sharks and that when they bite us, they usually spit us out?
DEHART: Yes, in a strong majority of shark attacks, the shark leaves after the first bite realizing it did not get what it thought it was going after.

BILL WALLAUER, videographer, March 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What work have you done beyond your chimpanzee work> I know Jane Goodall has done excellent work on saving nearly extinct species. Have you worked with her on this or any of her other works?
WALLAUER: Jane is amazing. Her work to save endangered species has been important, but that is only part of her mission, She is dedicated to make the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment.
If you look at The Jane Goodall Institute website, you will find the many projects Jane and the Institute are involved in.
My work focuses on research videography and filmmaking. I have been in several films and television programs with Jane (most recently “60 Minutes”).
We are now involved in a Disneynature film entitle “Chimpanzee” which we hope will reach 100 million people.

STEPHEN VESSEY, Bowling Green State University Professor Emeritus, June 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Why do male cats something kill their offspring? I was told they fear there won’t be enough food and they wish to reduce the competition for food, but is that really the reason?
VESSEY: I’ve read about tom cats killing kittens. My first question would be, are we sure it is the biological father? Cats tend to be polygynous, so paternity could be iffy. Some litters of kittens may even have more than one father. My guess is that it is perhaps like in lions, where a new male moves in and removes the progeny from a previous male, perhaps inducing the female to come into heat.

JAMES MURPHY, National Zoological Park Herpetology Research Assistant, August 19, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: From Bronx, N.Y.: How does a cobra escape from a zoo? Not that I am a cobra seeking inside information. I am just curious.
MURPHY: Snakes can be very effective escape artists, which is why we keep them in secure enclosures.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 15, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I find it interesting that evidence was found that a dinosaur may have had feathers. Considering that birds are related to dinosaurs, doesn’t it make sense that it is possible dinosaurs had feathers? If that is the case, where are the pictures of feathered dinosaurs? I did search the Internet and I found a few. They are mostly frightening in their depictions. So, on behalf of the Dinosaur Anti-Defamation League, may I please issue a plea for better pictures of feathered dinosaurs?
HESSE: I, too, would like to see more pictures of feathered dinosaurs.
Speculation: Tyrannosaurus Rex would be the dinosaur to look most ridiculous covered in feathers. Brachiosaurus would not look very ridiculous at all.

BURMA

JARED GENSER, attorney for Aung San Suu Kyi, August 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Is there any legal appeals process? Are you still continuing to serve as the attorney? What are your plans from this point on?
GENSER: Her domestic lawyers are looking at possible appeals. I’m not sure it is technically possible because the sentence was commuted. But it is irrelevant anyways. The judiciary isn’t independent from the junta and so like the trial itself, the conclusion of an appeal is sadly pre-ordained.
Yes, I continue to serve as her international counsel. We filed a petition today before the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and will also continue political and public relations advocacy on her behalf until is free.

BUSINESS

MITCHELL ZUCKOFF, author, and MICHELLE SINGLETARY, Washington Post Columnist, January 29, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How long did Madoff and Ponzi keep up their schemes? If the key is to keep getting more and more investors until the whole scheme falls apart, what was the secret in keeping the schemes going for as long as they did? Also, did either have a real exit plan or did each hope to keep the schemes going indefinitely? Surely they both realized this couldn’t last forever and eventually it would collapse.
ZUCKOFF: This is one of the key differences between Ponzi and Madoff. Ponzi was only able to keep the ball rolling for about nine months, from December 1919 to August 1920. The fascinating thing about what’s alleged regarding Madoff is that his operation apparently went on for many years. I suspect that one factor in his longevity was his ability to attract stable investments---such as endowments, foundations, charities, and very wealthy individuals---who could be counted on not to make sudden large withdrawals. Then all he had to do was keep replenishing the small number of withdrawals and he could keep it going indefinitely.
As an exit strategy, I’m certain that Ponzi didn’t have one. He was putting down roots when it came crashing down, and he really didn’t have time to find a way out (though he did start to diversify near the end, hoping that legitimate investments would allow him to transition from his “business” to a real business). As for Madoff, that’s a question that’s been keeping me up nights. I wonder if he thought he could take his secret to the grave, and then when he was gone and the truth came out there would be no one to punish directly. But that’s just speculation.
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t expect you to explain Madoff’s behavior, yet I found it especially upsetting, almost inhumane, that Madoff took funds from charities. Even the great robber barons had their charitable side. Madoff on the other hand stole from charities. Did Ponzi knowingly take any funds from charities, and was he a charitable person?
ZUCKOFF: I’m so glad you asked this question. First, I’ll own up to the fact that I have a certain amount of affection for Ponzi (sorry for the shameless plug, but read the book (“Ponzi’s Scheme” and I think you’ll understand why.) Not only didn’t he take money from charities as far as I know, at the height of his success he wrote a $100,000 check---a huge amount of money in those days---as a donation for a Boston orphanage, and he donated it in the name of his late mother-in-law. Believe me, I’m not nominating Ponzi for sainthood by any means. But based on what’s alleged against Madoff, he seems to be a far worse character.
SINGLETARY: I see where Mitchell is going with Ponzi’s donation story.
But let’s not forget it’s not so hard to donate money you’ve stolen. You can be so generous when it’s not your money. And in many respect isn’t that what Madoff did too. He gave to lots of charities but if he is found guilty, then he gave what wasn’t his to give. That is just wrong and not worthy of admiration.

WILLIAM HOSTEIN, auto industry analyst, April 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How are payments to retirees and employee health care being managed (within the auto industry)? Are there sufficient funds to maintain these payments?
HOLSTEIN: For now, they seem safeguarded. But in a bankruptcy court, it’s anyone’s guess what a judge will decide.

JODI NEWBERN, author, December 17, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: My wife used to fold up one of my shirts I already owned and give it to me for Christmas. She was right: I could never tell the difference.
NEWBERN: Too funny! My mom still wraps up a shirt that she gave my dad about 50 years ago for Christmas. Over the years it has come and gone out of style, size…! Bit it’s a tradition, like with your wife. And look how fun a memory it is!! (If you couldn’t tell the difference, then she might be the “original” Re-gifting Goddess…I bow to her!!)
By the way, that shirt gift was what I call a “Perpetual Present.” I just love those, and they are always part of great stories!!!

CECILA KANG, Washington Post Tech Policy Writer, March 16, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is the industry politics behind this possible FCC move? What businesses will gain and which businesses may be harmed by this action?
KANG: Lots of politics. In general, business doesn’t like too much regulation. And they are already calling for the FCC and Congress to be light-handed. And a big battle over reclassification of broadband to a Title 2 service is brewing in the background. This morning, Republican Commissioners, Robert McDowell and Meredith Atwell Baker, warned against such a move.
But in general, this plan has been poised as sort of an “apple pie” proposal, in the words of Stifel Nicholaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast. Who can argue against more broadband access, closing the digital divide, more privacy, online safety for kids, and more competition?
But the devil is in the details.
Will the Big Bells and cable agree to line-sharing as alluded to in the proposal? I doubt it.
Will broadcasters give up spectrum without a fight? I doubt it.
Will rural carriers fights to protect their funding by the Universal Service Fund? You bet.

ELLEN GORDON REEVES, author, May 27, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I notice your book (“Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?”) discusses “keeping” a job. I notice this because a lot of young people plan on going from job to job. I have spoken to many young people who state they can not imagine working at a place for more than a few years. When I see this attitude, I do suspect it makes one less likely to be hired, as I think some companies do value loyalty and seek to build employees with institutional knowledge. Or am I missing something?
REEVES: I agree with you and I counsel young people not to be so quick to leave a job but rather to make the most of where they are. Once they’ve mastered the basic, if they like the company and industry, I advise them to speak with a supervisor or mentor about next steps within the company---to seek more experience by volunteering to take on more work they’re interested in, to shadow people in other departments, and so on. Many young people haven’t really thought about next steps, so their strategy is just to keep moving instead of being very intentional in their use of their workplace.

BARBARA HAWTHORN, Design Firm Owner, July 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How did you become interested in interior design, and were did you first do your work?
HAWTHORN: My mother tells me I was born with the passion. As a little girl I did not eat my M&Ms but instead made color patterns with them. I also liked to move the furniture around when we stayed in hotels until I thought it was arranged properly. Throughout high school and college I worked in my dad’s engineering firm and learning drafting and technical skills the old fashioned way. I also studied Art and Art History. Today there are many excellent design schools in the area like Marymount, Montgomery College, and George Washington.

KIMBERLY PEPPER-HOCTOR, coupon expert, August 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: My problem with coupons is there will be a coupon for a name brand yet a lesser name brand that is just as good, in opinion, as the name brand is still cheaper. I don’t feel I am saving any money by using the coupon. What would you do in a case like this?
PEPPER-HOCTOR: I am actually a brand snob with somethings (and others I’m not)…I love Gain detergent…and it’s the only detergent that doesn’t hurt my sensitive skin…so I always look at when Gain goes on sale and I usually can get it cheaper by using manufacturers’ coupon and a store coupon. Then I would go with a no-name brand. Also…the stores do not put name brands on sale (usually cheaper than non-brands) in order to move inventory…that is why I suggest keeping an eye out on sales and knowing what prices are before the sale.

CARTOONS

HILLARY PRICE, “Rhymes With Oranges” Creator, July 9, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How did you become a cartoonist and is there anything in your journey that serves as advice to prospective cartoonists?
PRICE: My piece of advice is this: People respond to an authentic voice. In writing as well as art. The way to develop an organic style is through drawing and drawing and drawing and writing and writing and writing. Other people’s influences will very slowly filter out.
That said, it’s not a bad thing to copy someone’s style to see how they do it. Try and do a Charlie Brown face and you will realize how difficult it is to get it right.
CZIKOWSKY: “Respond in an authentic voice.” Got it. If I can fake that, I’ve got it made.
PRICE: Funny! You are on your way.
CZIKOWSKY: At least you panic on Tuesday for a Friday deadline. I know too many people who wait until Thursday to panic.
How long, on average, does it take to create a strip? What is the minimum amount of time you need, meaning, at time would you reach sheer panic?
PRICE: It took me an hour yesterday to pencil out the simplest of drawings. What you see in the paper, it looks like it could have been dashed off on a cocktail napkin. But it took a while to get the spacing of everything right. When you draw or write in the letters, it is not just about the black ink. You have to put enough white space around that ink so it is easy to read and interpret what is going on. Inking this strip will be 30 minutes, then erasing the pencil and scanning and adding the color notes for the dailies will be another hour on that.

DONNA A. LEWIS, “Reply All” Comic Strip Creator, February 28, 2011
LEWIS: I have been trying to sleep with Gene (Weingarten) for years and he hasn’t answered my emails.
CZIKOWSKY: Tell Weingarten you’ll sleep with him for a million dollars. Then tell him you will sleep with him for twenty dollars. You’ll totally ruin his punch line.
LEWIS: HAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
CZIKOWSKY: Are you working on the “Reply All: The Movie” screenplay?
LEWIS: I’ve available to work on the screenplay…you making a proposal? I would love to see Lizzie on the big screen…or small…she makes me laugh. 
CZIKOWSKY: Do you still have drawings from when you were a child and, if so, do you see any early resemblances to “Reply All” in any of them?
LEWIS: Get out your violins…I had tons of journals and creative stuff…and then a BIG BAD FINE IN 1984 (Baltimore, Charles St.). Lost everything. 
CZIKOWSKY: If you can’t find a good metrosexual, is there any other type of man you would consider marrying (he asks, totally innocently)?
LEWIS: Any man who doesn’t mind that I’m on the laptop ALL THE TIME. Men have tried…and I salute them (and still love the,)…the laptop is a pretty big distraction unless the man loves his just as much 
CZIKOWSKY: How long does it take you to produce a strip? How do you balance your creativity and art with being a lawyer (not to necessarily say that being a lawyer doesn’t require some creativity and artistic talents)?
LEWIS: How long to produce a strip…depends..one hour if it’s a strip that follows a storyline…but usually anywhere from two to four hours…speed is not my thing.


CENTRAL ASIA

KIM BARKER, ProPublica Reporter, March 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How did the people you met in Afghanistan and Pakistan feel about the presence of American military personnel? I have read some resent it, some fear we are igniting a problem and making it larger by our presence, and some feel safer and desire our assistance. How do you believe people would feel towards the United States if our assistance was primarily economic and delivery human services rather than military?
BARKER: The feeling of Afghans changed over time---in 2002, when I first went there, most seemed fairly thrilled to have U.S. troops there. There was a sense of hope, that finally, after 22 years of fighting, war would be over. Of course, some of those hopes were overly optimistic. Over the years, with the increase in civilian casualties and in corruption with the Afghan government, obviously those hopes have diminished. Still, most Afghans I know want U.S. troops to stay for a while longer---Afghans see the Western presence as the only thing preventing the country from slipping into civil war.
As far as Pakistan goes---well, I think it’s tough to find many in Pakistan who support drone strikes and American spy-craft in their country, as evidenced by much of the media there.
As to how people would fell toward the U.S. if our assistance in Afghanistan were primarily economic and humanitarian---people would like that, but unless there’s security, it’s difficult to ensure that assistance means anything. You can build a school, but if there are no teachers, and if parents are afraid to send their kids to the school, it’s an empty building. And also, with the rampant corruption in the country, it’s tough to guarantee that the money would actually do anything. In Pakistan, we’re trying to deliver a combination of military, economic, and humanitarian assistance. The jury’s still out on whether that’s winning the U.S. any fans.

CHINA

STEVEN MUFSON, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 1, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: China is the fastest growing economy in world history. Yet, when I see so many armaments, I think of that as wasted economic development opportunities. I don’t have much hope for the current government, but are there any signs that future Chinese generations will decide they are investing too much in military and instead will start investing more on improving the quality of life for Chinese residents?
MUFSON: As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). China’s military spending is still relatively modest and much smaller than ours. Much more effort is in fact going into economic development. Moreover, China has realized that its large clunky army needs to become leaner and more effective. It is spending more on technology and has been steadily reducing the size of the People’s Liberation Army, of course, some people in the United States who worry about a confrontation with China do not find this reassuring because they would rather China’s forces remain technologically backward. You are right that China has huge investments it still needs to make in infrastructure, clean energy, better healthcare, just to name three.

STEVEN MUFASON, Washington Post National Staff Reporter, and JOHN POMFERT, Washington Post National Staff Reporter, March 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: China has bought a lot of American debt. How might Chinese decisions affect American spending, especially when choosing not to accept any more debt, and even selling American debt to other investors?
MUFASON and POMFERT: China has actually become more cautious about buying U.S. debt. In December it was a net seller and Japan once again became the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities. With China such a large holder of those securities, it won’t do anything that would damage its own interests by dumping them and driving down their value. But it will diversify more, I believe. Ultimately, the U.S, problem is the budget deficit in the United States. That could eventually drive up interest rates. Moreover, a lot of our government spending on interest will be flowing out of the country, which is a drag on our economy.
CZIKOWSKY: China is opening up to the outside world, yet seems intent on containing what messages from the outside reach its people. How soon do you see a day when the Chinese government will not block selected web sites and Internet communication between the Chinese population and outsiders?
MUFASON and POMFERT: Yes, I think that slowly but the surely that day is coming. The Chinese government controls a lot of the information flow than it did 30 years ago when I first went to China. Obviously, things get tighter and then looser and then tighter again---as they are now, for example. But the general trajectory is toward more openness.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the current status of environmental problems in China? How clean is their air and how accessible is clean water throughout the country?
MUFASON and POMFERT: China is ground zero for environmental problems. I don’t know the current status, but when I was based in Beijing in the 90s five of the ten most polluted cities in the world were in China. Beijing’s sky usually looks pretty milky, and it’s not from fog or clouds. Water pollution is also a grave problem. One of the two main reservoirs for Beijing is practically unusable now. Only about a quarter of industrial waste nationwide is treated. The list goes on and on. Pollution is one of the biggest threats to the country’s economic growth and to people’s health there.

WILLIAM WAN, Washington Post Reporter, October 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: As Chinese society opens, even if slowly, is the public able to make its’ views known about the pollution, at least those whose lives are directly affected by this pollution? I know their current system allows this pollution to happen but in time, will the public be able to start having an impact and reducing this pollution at least to improve the quality of their own lives?
WAN: That’s an interesting question---the push from individuals is one of the key forces right not in the environmental fight. In a lot of cases, they’re able to say what they believe, but when that starts cutting into businesses you see some of the pushback from companies, including intimidation like in Wu Lihong’s case. It’s something that seems to be easing, though. Strong-arm tactics giving way to more subtle pressures.

SAM ZARIFI, Amnesty International Asia Pacific Program Director, December 10, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What has the Chinese press told the Chinese public about the Nobel Peace Prize? Do they admit it happened or are they not reporting on it at all? I know they awarded an alternative prize to someone else in China, yet I am wondering what they are allowing the Chinese public to know about the situation and what information they are withholding.
ZARIFI: The Chinese government has been slammed the Nobel Prize and Liu Xiaobo in the state run media. They have called the Nobel Prize judges “clowns” and the ceremony a “political farce” and have attacked Liu Ziaobo as unpatriotic. They have really tried to paint a picture as the prize being a western attack on China and an attempt to impose western values on China. The government has blocked foreign coverage of the ceremony within China.
This is a shame because the prize should be celebrated by China. Liu Xiaobo loves his country and only asks that the Chinese have a greater say in their nation’s future.
In fact, as far as we can tell, the Chinese government efforts to block all information about Liu Xiaobo’s award has been counterproductive. If not many people know about Liu Xiaobo before, now a lot of people will be curious to know what he said that was son dangerous it led BBC, CNN, and other foreign outlets being blocked.
Chinese efforts to counter the Nobel Prize with their own Confucius Peace Prize resulted in a farce when the recipient of the hastily put together award stated he didn’t know anything about the award.
CZIKOWSKY: How much of all the Nobel Prize controversy is reaching the Chinese people, either through official news sources and/or Internet sources?
ZARIFI: Even though officially the government is blocking all news about the Nobel Prize, there are a lot of tech savvy people in China who are able to get through the “Great Chinese Firewall”. This morning we were discussing the award with people in China using social networking sites, which shows that the Chinese government can’t really hold back the tide of information.
It’s also important to note that there are a lot of people in China who share the basic aims of people in China who share the basic aims of Liu Xiaobo, even if they haven’t heard of him or of Charter ’08---they see the need for a more inclusive, responsive political system.

JOHN POMFRET, Washington Post National Staff Reporter, January 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What messages do you believe China was attempting to send with its announcement that it has developed a stealth bomber?
POMFRET: My sense is that elements within the People’s Liberation Army were interested in putting the U.S. on notice that they were not happy with closer ties with the United States.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the Chinese government’s responses to our claims that they are undercutting American products with low wage workers, and thus causing Americans to lose jobs?
POMFRET: The Chinese often lecture the U.S. on its own economic policies. And they argue that America wouldn’t produce these products anyway. If China didn’t produce them, other countries like Indonesia or Vietnam would.

COURTS

CESAR PERALES, Puerto Rican Legal defense and Education Fund Executive Director, May 27, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What did Sonia Sontomayor do as a member of PRLDEF? Was she active or is this more a group where members primarily pay dues and read the organizational materials?
PERALES: Sonia Sontomayor was a member of our Board of Directors and in that capacity oversaw the work of the organization. During that time our organization thrived. This is not an organization that collects dues.

CARRIE JOHNSON, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: There is always more interest in alleged corruption when someone is in office. Public interest is less once someone is no longer in office, which may be why some to try to delay proceedings until they are out of office. Or perhaps they might down step down from office. Yet, from your observations, are prosecutors any less aggressive once a person leaves office? Does the less public pressure lower their zeal? Or are most prosecutors professional and they follow where the evidence leads? How much impact does public interest have on prosecutions?
JOHNSON: It’s hard to say---I don’t think prosecutors are really “supposed” to take this factor into account and some don’t. Look, for instance at the ongoing grand jury investigating financial issues connected to former Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards in North Carolina.
But in my experience the reality is that most prosecutors have limited time and about resources, and they do consider the most bang for their buck in deciding which cases to pursue as part of their daily calculus about their discretion.

ROBERT BARNES, Washington Post Supreme Court Reporter, September 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I know the court must consider the law and precedent, but how much do some believe they are allowed to look at how the law affects society and how campaign finance laws allow manipulations of election results by wealthy sources?
BARNES: What makes this case unusual is that the question of whether to overrule the court’s two precedents in this case was not raised in the courts below. That is why the government---and some of the Justices---felt the court should not overrule precedents, but remand the case for further study if the majority had a serious problem with the Constitutional questions. There’s not much of a record.
CZIKOWSKY: Do new Justices traditionally ask many questions on their first day or do they traditionally watch and observe?
BARNERS: I think no one wants to look like a showboat, nor a potted plant. Justice Sotomayor seemed to take the middle ground. She waited a respectful time, asked a couple of questions, and seemed to make her position clear, and remained mostly quiet after that. The other Justices were more courteous to her than the often are with each other---no one interrupted.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Columnist, October 20, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: In Pennsylvania, a conservative think tank, the Commonwealth Foundation, published a report noting that the costs of corrections has continued to rise faster than the cost of living for many years now. They list a number of alternatives to incarceration in attempts to reduce corrections costs. Representatives from the ACLU have praised the report. What are your thoughts on how we should change our corrections policies?
ROBINSON: We lock up far too many people in this country, especially on minor drug charges. It’s wasteful and ultimately counterproductive.

JEFFREY ROSEN, George Washington University Law Professor, February 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: In the unlikely scenario where there are two Supreme Court Justice vacancies at the same time, what would you think of a show of bipartisanship by appointing both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to the Supreme Court?
ROSEN: There used to be a time when this sort of bipartisanship was conceivable. FDR, for example, chose to promote Harlan Fiske Stone, a Coolidge nominee, to Chief Justice in 1941---as a show of bipartisanship during the war. (Stone, a liberal, had also endeared himself to FDR with his support of the New Deal). But nowadays, our judicial politics are so polarized that I couldn’t imaging a Democrat appointing a former Republican President, or vice versa.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe the office of President presents special insights into serving on the Supreme Court?
ROSEN: From Obama’s perspective, after courting Joe Lieberman, courting Anthony Kennedy would be a piece of cake! More generally, although I wrote the article in a playful spirit, it reminded me of how much former politicians can bring to the Court. So whether Obama nominates himself or someone else for the next slot, I hope he’ll consider people with a political background.

BEN PERSHING, Washington Post Staff Writer, May 10, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I am reading tweets. Conservatives seem to be upset over there being no Protestant on the Supreme Court. Liberals seem to be convinced that the Court will be shifting to the right. One thing I note: people with instant communication almost never anything positive about breaking news.
PERSHING: That’s a good observation. And it really is striking that the Court could soon be 100 percent Catholic and Jewish, in a country that still has more Protestants than anything else. A colleague and I were just discussing this: Is there something cultural among Jewish and Catholic immigrant groups (Irish, Italian, etc.) that puts a particular value on becoming a lawyer? Are Jews and Catholics also significantly overrepresented in top law schools? I’m sure we’ll read more on this subject in the coming weeks.

KAREN TUMULTY, Washington Post Staff Writer, May 14, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I noticed there were some conservative legislators who tweeted concern over the lack of there being any Protestants on the Supreme Court. I don’t believe anyone stated they would oppose a nominee because she is not Protestant. I believe some were playing to their Protestant base. I am not certain, beyond that, what the concern would be, other than an intellectual exercise, as there is not necessarily an automatic ideological bent due to religion, as there are conservatives and liberals who are Jewish and Catholic.
TUMULTY: That is an interesting point. What is a “Protestant” perspective? Or that matter, a gay one? One of the unfortunate places where this whole conversation takes us is the suggestion that aspects of a personal life can make you unqualified to render an opinion based on the law.

ANTHONY FAIOLA, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 7, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are the penalties that Julian Assange faces if he is convicted of the rape charges?
FAIOLA: In Sweden, the most serious charge of rape carries a maximum of four years. But that sentence could be longer if he is convicted of lesser crimes as well.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the legal reach of the U.S. Justice Department in this case?
FAIOLA: Excellent question. First, U.S. officials would not to file charges against Assange, something they have said they are considering, but have not yet done. That, legal experts say, is partly because it remains unclear what those charges would be.
But if he is charged, the U.S. might have to wait until Assange serves out any sentence in Sweden before seeing him sent to the U.S. Even then, there is no guarantee, since some charges---like espionage, appear not to be included in the extradition agreements between Sweden and the U.S.

STUART SLOTNICK, Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney Attorney, December 7, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How much legal reach does the U.S. Justice Department have in this case (against Julian Assange)?
SLOTNICK: That question is noe that will be debated by Assange’s defense team. They will argue that the USA does not have jurisdiction over him based on his lack of contact with the USA. The DOJ may argue either that Assange’s contacts in the USA or the harm caused to and in the United States is enough to establish jurisdiction.

KEITH PLESSY and PHOEBE FERGUSON, Founders, Plessy and Ferguson Foundation, June 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How did you find each other and who first suggested forming a group?
FERGUSON: We were introduced to each other by Keith Weldon Medly who wrote the book “We as Freemen: Plessy vs. Ferguson”.
Keith Medley and Brenda Square, a long time historian and activism, supported the idea of forming a foundation together.
PLESSY: We met at a book signing. The book “We as Free Men: Plessy vs. Ferguson” was written by Keith Medley. He wrote the book and it went into detail about the lives of John Howard Ferguson, the Judge, and Plessy, the shoemaker. I don’t think there was a book that had as much information and research to date. At the book signing here in New Orleans Keith invited us both (who we had met at different times). The suggestion of the foundation being formed didn’t really come out until about 2007. There was an article in the Times-Picayune when we made the front page unexpectedly. We met at an exhibit in the French Quarter. People didn’t know we had met before so they thought this was a big deal. It was a surprise to many people. From that point on, we began to seriously think about forming a foundation.
Our friendship started in 2004.The minute we met each other we became instant friends. We had our friendship blossom and had Katrina as part of the makeup.
CZIKOWSKY: What activities are being planned by the Plessy and Ferguson organization? How will you spread your message of reconciliation?
FERGUSON: Well, we are currently working on a bus ride from New Orleans to Washington, D.C. for the National March on Washington on July 30th. This is a conference and protest of the inequities in public education that are resulting from the ‘Reform’ movement in education now sweeping the country. We feel that corporations and private management companies are not providing true democratic choices for families. Along with the mandates of high stakes testing, many children are actually being pushed out of their schools.
PLESSY:We always celebrate Homer Plessy Day every year. We also plan to advertise the next few plaques we will place. For education we are in a constant visitation schedule (random, and sometimes we know in advance) to schools, universities, places of businesses, libraries to spread the message and understanding of the case.
Preservation, we’re looking at the areas in the state of Louisiana where history has taken place and largely ignored and marking the areas that history took place in and the state has been very cooperative. Whenever we come up with an area and do the research the state is very cooperative with marking those places with markers. We call those areas “sacred spaces” and we want to mark as many of those places as possible.
Visit our website to see what we’re about and to see photographs of our events.
Ultimately, the final project we’re trying to do is outreach related, and that’s to go visit schools with a team of historians, descendants, film people, and bring history to the schools and talk to the kids about it---and actually have people related to those folks who we’re talking about to present history to them.
Reconciliations wise---We fell like reconciliation, we had not named it, but we were the foundation for education, preservation, and reconciliation, but that wasn’t actually part of our literature! But it just automatically brought about the subject of reconciliation of such a long time of people looking at the names as enemies. As friends we eventually decided to start this organization. Reconciliation was almost automatic.
We joke sometimes that if Plessy and Ferguson can get together, then what’s taking the whole world so long? (And that’s a joke!)

MICHAEL L. RADELET, University of Colorado-Boulder Sociology Professor, September 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: In Pennsylvania, we have increased funding for death penalty investigations and prosecutors while we have cut funding for legal defense for people accused of capital crimes. As a non-attorney, it strikes me that a lesson from the O.J. Simpson and Caylee Anthony cases is that people with high profile attorneys have a better chance of getting acquitted than with unpaid or low paid attorney furnished to defendants of capital crimes that are provided in most less publicized cases. Shouldn’t the advantages given to prosecutors and law enforcement be a warning to us all that innocent people could find themselves steamrolled in a system that seems more intent on winning court cases than on finding the truth?
RADELET: The quality of defense attorneys is a big issue in death penalty litigation today. Many attorneys who handle death penalty cases do not have the time or resources to fully investigate or prepare the case. And defendants with more financial resources can not only hire better attorneys, but also hire more experts---especially mental health experts---that might help them avoid the death penalty. A good shrink in a capital case would cost several hundred dollars per hour.
CZIKOWSKY: I am against the death penalty for one simple reason: It doesn’t work. States and nations with the death penalty generally do not have lower homicide rates. It is not only ineffective, it may be an inducement in some cases to commit murder. While the data is sketchy, it has been observed that in several states with the death penalty, the homicide rate is large than places without the death penalty. It has been theorized by several Criminologists that the higher death rates were marked by higher instances of people who commit murder with a psychological desire to be caught and receive the death penalty, either because they are inwardly suicidal or want to become martyrs. Thus. Imprisonment may be more of a feared punishment than the death penalty, which is noted by a number of people who required the death penalty over life/long term imprisonment.
At minimum, the death penalty is not a detent. It may even increase some types of homicide. There are people who kill because they want to be caught and be put to death. If it doesn’t work, why do we have it? Further, knowing it is too late to correct a mistake: again, why have it? The only legitimate reason I see for the death penalty is for revenge, and I don’t want us to become a vengeful society. I hope the death penalty is repealed.
RADELET: In general, the more severe the punishment, the greater its deterrent effect. But once the penalty is already harsh, there are no additional “marginal” deterrent effects by increasing it more. If you want to deter people from sitting on your stove, medium heat works just as well as high heat. New Mexico abolished the death penalty two years ago, and I have yet to hear of anyone in Colorado who traveled down there to kill someone to avoid the Colorado death penalty,

DAN MORSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How many hours did the jury deliberate (in the trial of Brittany Norwood), and how does this compare to other convictions in murder cases?
MORSE: They were in the jury room for no more than an hour. But part of that time was waiting for the exhibits to be brought to them. And part of that time was after they’d reached the verdict waiting to come back to the courtroom. So it was quick. The actual deliberations could have been as short as 30 minutes. Perhaps even quicker. And that is quicker than other murder trials I covered.
CZIKOWSKY: It seems obvious that the jury did not buy this was a spontaneous outburst and that it was premeditated. Do you believe the defense was reaching to claim it was not premeditated? Even if it was not premeditated, doesn’t the fact that there were so many stab wounds rule out that at least the subsequent and possibly fatal wounds, by the time they were delivered, involved premeditation?
MORSE: Brittany’s defense lawyers are very good. So tactically speaking, they may not have had much of a choice.

JOHN STEELE, Legal Ethics Forum Co-Founder, November 28, 2011
` CZIKOWSKY: I fear the Justices lost public respect in the Gore v. Bush ruling. Do they seem aware that the public is now viewing them in a more partisan light?
STEELE: Great question. Polls show that after Bush v. Gore the SCOTUS did regain its public support, which is important. Although I don’t think Justices Scalia and Thomas should recuse, I think that they should be more sensitive to the appearance of the conferences they attend. They should attend more liberal-sponsored conferences too.

CRIME

ELLIOT BLUMENTHAL, attorney, March 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is recoverable to victims in this (the Bernard Madoff) case, especially when the purported assets were mostly fiction and I doubt anyone can provide so many billions of dollars in future restitution? What can be collected and what percent of what is owed to people can be recovered?
BLUMENTHAL: That’s the $65 million question! Right now, the SEC, FBI, prosecutors, and the Bankruptcy Court appointed Trustee have access to Madoff’s books and records. They are in the best position to answer. In my experience, the funds that went into the Madoff firm will be mostly be accounted for over time. No one has alleged that Madoff was given, or took out, buckets full of cash. Bank records of the inflows and the outflows can probably be pieced together. But that will take time.
CZIKOWSKY: I know you are not Madoff’s attorney, but what are his legal options? I can’t image what he could do other than plead guilty.
BLUMENTHAL: The news reports indicated that hs sons originally turned him in and that he admitted his guilt when he was arrested. Going to trial after that would have been near impossible. His only other option, which he was apparently refused to exercise, is to cooperate with the government and tell them more about how he did it, where any money or assets are, and, most importantly, who else knew about it and helped him. However, even if he did that, it’s hard to believe that he would get any kind of significant leniency that would allow him to be free ever again. He is probably the most notorious white collar criminal in history.

PETULA DVORAK, Washington Post Columnist, September 1, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I appreciate your article on abused children. As in kidnapping cases, sometimes the best hope a child has is another adult reporting something. Yet, how do we balance between reporting something suspicious with no interfering in something we may not understand? One person’s impressions of a child locked in a backyard may turn out to be a child with a playhouse.
DVORAK: That’s one to wrangle with, isn’t it? Remember the Banita Jacks case last year? The D.C. Child and Family Services was absolutely flooded with calls from people who suddenly gave in to those suspicions and made reports of child abuse. Their investigation load increased like 600 percent, I think. Did any of those suspicions result in real kids getting help? We’ll never know. But probably.
Bit a few more calls about Banita Jacks---from neighbors or her family---may have saved four little girls.
I find that often, what your gut tells you, is right. My mom drove me crazy with her suspicions about our neighbors. And darn it, she was right most of the time. Sometimes, a family may not need agency intervention. In many cases, that could be the worst thing to happen to a child. But they need a kind suggestion to visit a city collaborative center that offers food, clothing, utilities assistance, and counseling. Maybe slip a card with some addresses under their door, if that’s a situation you’re just not sure about.
Now, would Phil Garrido have responded to some addresses for help shelters and helped Jaycee? No. But a parent who is struggling and at her wit’s end might.

JOE ARPAIO, Maricpoa County, Arizona Sheriff, April 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If you are in Mexico and a Mexican police officer asked for your ID, would you be upset at being momentarily detained or do you believe this is proper police action no matter what the country?
ARPAIO: Well I was the Director in Mexico of the U.S. Drug Enforcement. I know how they operate in Mexico. And you better show them the ID; their laws are a little different from ours. The audacity of the Mexican President to encourage people to boycott Arizona is not right and they ought to look at their own country first.

SCOTT HIGHAM, Washington Post Staff Writer, and SARI HORWITZ, Washington Post Staff Writer, May 7, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I am looking forward to your book (“Finding Chandra”). Since I have not seen it, would you please tell us what we may find in the book that has not already been published in the press?
HIGHAM and HORWITZ: When we embarked on the book, we were surprised by how many new facts we discovered. We learned that the suspect, Ingmar Gunadique, has a tattoo on his chest of a naked woman resembling Chandra Levy, according to police. We also write about how unidentified male DNA was found on Chandra Levy’s leggings in Rock Creek Park. It has not been linked to either former Congressman Gary Condit or Guandique. Our book is full of new details about the inner workings of the investigation and its aftermath,

JOE ARPAIO, Maricopa Country, Arizona Sheriff, June 7, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is the crime rate between illegal immigrants and the general population? One would think that an illegal immigrant would have incentive to avoid crime.
ARPAIO: All I can say is that out of the eight to ten thousand people in the jails that I run, including a tent city jail that I put up in 1993, around 18% of the people in jail are there for other crimes such as murder and just about any crime you can think of, so we do have to admit that illegal aliens do commit crime.

GLORIA ALRED, Defense Attorney, July 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: When I hear Mel Gibson potentially faces several years in prison, how likely is that to happen in cases like these? Does Mel Gibson have a criminal record and, if so, what type of criminal record would matter in an abuse sentence? Would the drunk driving incident have any affect in a sentence for abuse?
ALRED: If he is prosecuted, we would have to see what the charges are and what he is convicted of, if anything. At the time of the sentencing, if he is convicted, the judge will review the guidelines for sentencing and will also review his prior criminal history. Then a decision will be made as to what the appropriate sentence will be.

JIM ZIGLAR, former United States Senate Sergeant at Arms, January 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The worry is that this (shooting of Rep. Gabriel Giffords) did not happen in the Capitol, where you and others did a fine job protecting the buildings and its inhabitants. How possible is it to improve security when an elected official is out in the open, where they are most vulnerable? While there have been attacks inside the Capitol, historically, more attacks have happened when an official is outside the building. Do we have the resources to protect our officials in these scarier times?
ZIGLAR: It is estimated that it would take approximately 14 security personnel to effectively protect each Member of Congress. That is beyond our capacity to respond. However, by working cooperatively with local police and developing greater intelligence gathering and disseminating capacity, it is possible to increase the level of protection for our public officials. I know that the Capitol Police have been working to build this capacity for a sustained period. I am sure that the events on Saturday will expedite this process.

TOM BENNETT, National Archives Forensic Examiner, February 23, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you monitor Internet sales like eBay to see if missing documents turn out there? If so, have you ever found something being sold on eBay that was government property?
BENNETT: We regularly monitor Internet sales. We have, on occasion, identified records for that we were able to determine came from NARA’s (National Archives and Records Administration) holdings. The best example was a case a couple of years ago involving an unpaid NARA intern named Denning McTague who took 164 documents from the NARA facility in Philadelphia and started selling the documents on eBay.

WARREN HARDING, G.R.E.A.T. Outreach Coordinator, June 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I once observed a trouble juvenile session I found quite interesting: the theory is many immature people commit bad actions against others because they have not fully developed the ability to feel empathy. They did role playing where they played the roles of their victims. Many stated they finally understood the harm of their actions. Does your education program help develop empathy and what are your thought on what I observed?
HARDING: Yes, our program does address empathy, while also providing real world scenarios in which actions and empathy are important.

JEFF LUNDEN, freelance reporter, August 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How early did people doubt Rabbi MenachemYoulus? Didn’t some of his stories appear too amazing to have been true?
LUNDEN: I think there were always some people who doubted his stories. Part of the reason he got away with it for so long is that people only heard the stories they were told. What Martha Wexler and I did was kind of aggregate them, find their similarities, find where he’d take one idea and spin it in several different ways, changing some details. When you looked at it that way, you saw a definite pattern. That’s how we found out, for instance, that five different people / organizations had purchased two Torahs, supposedly found in a mass grave.
I don’t know why some people didn’t do their own fact-checking / due diligence. It only takes a few clicks on a computer to find out that Menachem Youlus couldn’t have fallen through floorboards at Berger-Belsen, because there were no floorboards! The camp was burned to the ground in 1945 to prevent the spread of typhus.
But when a rabbi comes and tells you a story, is your first reaction to be skeptical? That’s what he relied on.

ELIZABETH SCHULTZ, Candidate for Fairfax County School Board, Springfield District, December 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are there fears we may be over-criminalizing the activities of young people? Criminology studies note that most criminals develop a maturity later in life and are less likely to commit crimes as they get older. School age children have not fully developed their senses of responsibilities and not yet achieved the maturity to make the best decisions. If we clamp down on children on more occasions, do we risk increasing the risk of stigmatizing more young people as “criminals”, which may prove to be more detrimental to their development in the long run?
SCHULTZ: Yes, this is a serious concern and the data proves this out. Currently, in ICPS, students with disabilities comprise about 14% of the population but are about 44% of the discipline infractions. A vast majority are boys and between the ages of 8th and 10th grade. We know where the general population of issues resides, so let’s develop pro-active policies to help, not criminalize, adolescent behavior.

DEATH PENALTY

LISA MILLER, New York Magazine Contributing Editor, October 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Does anyone find it ironic that a religion based upon the most famous wrongly use of the death penalty has so many followers who support the death penalty?
MILLER: I was surprised to find that most American Catholics do support the death penalty, according to a poll released earlier this week. Look at the National Catholic Reporter online, research by William D’Antonio. It’s something like 60-odd percent. Still lower than the population at large, but very interesting given the very cohesive position of the hierarchy.
CZIKOWSKY: I have a question for death penalty followers: why do you support the death penalty? It is not an effective deterrent. Most societies with the death penalty have higher homicide rates than some without the deatlh penalty (and some psychologists have offered explanations, i.e. death penalty contributes to a more violent society, or some people are more prone to homicide because they really want “suicide by society”). Is it revenge? That one I personally would believe and understand, yet doesn’t much of Christianity teach against the evils of revenge?
MILLER: Actually, one of Scalia’s arguments for the death penalty000if you read that Chicago speech in full, and also a subsequent piece he wrote in First Things, is this argument for vengeance. That it is sometimes moral.

DOGS

ROBERT DOVE, Co-owner of Westminister Kennel Club Dog Show Winner, February 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How does one become involved in dog shows? What drove you into this interest?
DOVE: There are dog shows all over the country every weekend. You can go to the AKC website or to www.infodog.com to see the schedule and enter your dog. Entries close three weeks before the shows.
My wife has been doing this for several years before we met and had Scottish Deerhounds and Borzoi. She already has some champions, including a National Specialty winner named Ch. Fairfort’s Castle Gremlin and we call her Gremmy.

ECONOMY

DANIEL GROSS, Slate Money Columnist, February 27, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I find two large mistakes a number of business leaders and Economists made were 1.) They realized that econometric and similar economic models are helpful in forecasting along movements as recorded in the past, there are few if any economic models that are able to correctly predict when major turnaround in past performances occur and 2. While it is indeed appropriate to look more at the most recent data than old data, the attention to more recent data failed to include historic data that observes that our economy tends to move in cycles. Very few Economists and business leaders foresaw and were prepared for an economic downturn.
GROSS: One of the real failures in recent years has been in the forecasting industry. Everybody seems to suffer from what I call “pro forma disease”. They take the results of the last few years and project them endlessly into the future---i.e. if housing prices rose at 10% per year for the past four years, they’ll do so for the next four. That’s part of how we got into so much trouble. And many of the models constructed on Wall Street only dealt with information from recent years. In addition, models don’t seem to account for the fact the shape of the economy---of the U.S. and the world at large---have changed a great deal.

IAN BREMMER, Eurasia Group President, March 25, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I know some financial firms have (had?) political experts on their investment staffs, as some were able to chart market responses to political developments. How well do you believe markets respond to political developments and what advice would have you for those who analyze market responses to politics?
BREMMER: Markets tend to respond to political events after they occur, which creates opportunities for those who asses key political variables as leading indicators.
So whenever China and Taiwan engage in saber-rattling, Taiwanese markets go down. Then they go up again when there’s a realization that the crisis is a tempest in a teapot. Very predictable. For folks understanding that underlying dynamic, there’s an opportunity.
We see much the same in emerging market elections around the world. I remember when King Fahd died, oil prices spiked on the news. Yet focusing on dynamics in the House of Saud, it was pretty clear the path was finally cleared for (then) Crown Prince Abdullah to move on succession, paving the way for more reformers. The Saudi oil production declined accordingly.
All sort of examples of this kind are in the book (“The Fat Tail”), we see them all the time.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you foresee possibilities where a nation holding great amounts of debt, such as China, could hold debt repayment issues over other countries, such as the U.S., for political purposes, such as keeping criticism of their policies muted?
BREMMER: Not really. In the same way I don’t expect the United States uses its Navy to keep China away from commodities in far flung regions like Africa and Latin America. The reality of the imbalances ensures both countries actually discuss these conflicts before they become directly confrontational. But there’s a lot of backroom, gnashing of teeth…and the relationship will become more tense, no question.
CZIKOWSKY: Aren’t “fat tails” self-fulfilling prophecies? Don’t clusters of risky events only increase the possibilities for even greater numbers of risky events to result?
BREMMER: When the global system is in a non-equilibrium state, yes. But eventually, a fat tail hits that’s so large that it forces countries to create a more stable environment.
Think about nuclear proliferation. The international regime is completely broken. We have North Korea with nuclear weapons; Iran’s program continues unchecked. That’s going to continue until there’s a sufficient shock that the world’s major powers---the U.S., China, the U/K. Germany, and others---force a serious change…force Israel to admit to its program, force Iran to tolerate intrusive inspections or else, force North Korea to have all its export cargo checked…etc. That could well happen with a significant shock (say, God forbid, a dirty bomb in Moscow, or Hezbollah with radiological capacity). The good news---that shock is still quite unlikely (albeit more likely than, say, a year ago). The band news, the system isn’t likely to address the problem adequately until such a shock is in place.
I could make analogous arguments about collective security (in Iraq and Afghanistan), climate changes, and even global financial architecture. It’s a very important question.

SIMON JOHNSON, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management Professor, August 25, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: The Obama Administration has stated they need to spend now to stave off the length of the recession and then they will put the brakes on to lower the long term debt. Is there any indication as to how they intend to accomplish this and what the role of the Fed is expected to be?
JOHNSON: We are still waiting to see how the “fiscal consolidation” will take place. The Administration hopes that a rapid recovery will help, but this is wishful thinking. They want the Fed to keep interest rates low---this keeps their debt funding costs down. But if this feeds another financial bubble, then the costs of even more bailouts come onto the public balance sheet. Again.

DAVID CHO, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What many people don’t know is that most major banks have sizable stock holdings and ownership in each other. Thus, the banking industry stands strong as one, and can tumble as one. How much ownership do major banks have in each other today?
CHO: Banks are probably more interconnected than ever before, but that is not only because they own stakes in each other. There’s now a shadow banking system in which hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, and virtually every other pool of money borrow and lend to banks all over the system. It’s hard to even trace it all.
Financial experts call this “counterparty” risk: that is the risk that one of your many partners, or the partners of your partners, could fail. This could cause a chain reaction of failures across the system.
This risk was a reason why officials felt they had to bail out firms such as Bear Stearns and AIG.

DOUGLAS ELLIOTT, The Brookings Institute Economic Studies Fellow, September 14, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Behind many financial losses, there is a financial winner dancing with happiness. Didn’t J.P. Morgan wind up a big winner when Bear Stearns was sold?
ELLIOTT: As a former J.P. Morgan employee I agree that Management was very happy to have the opportunity to acquire Bear Stearns at what seemed like a fire sale price. On the other hand, there were a lot more losses on the assets that I think Morgan anticipated. I expect they’ll be happy in the end to have done it, but it’s still too early to tell.
CZIKOWSKY: How effectively are financial institutions regulated? While many are debating what the regulations are, isn’t there a more important debate on how well the regulators keep tabs on them?
ELLIOTT: There have been a lot of mistakes in financial regulation in the last few years, building on even earlier mistakes. Of course, what I just said is also true for banks, other investors, homeowners who speculated on housing, rating agencies that got too relaxed, etc.
A number of questions have been coming in what revolve around how to apportion the blame. I don’t know the exact way to do that, but my own view is that almost every class of organization or people became too careless about risk during the 25 years proceeding the crisis. The stock market bottomed in 1982 with the Dow Jones at 800. It went up by a factor of almost twenty over the succeeding 20+ years. Most other financial markets, including housing, did well during that period. We had some bumps along the way, but almost everyone learned the lesson that it was okay to take risk. If you just held on long enough you’d be very happy in the end.
In a long term environment like that, it is no surprise that virtually every group started acting like risk didn’t matter very much. My belief is that this carelessness would have created a major crisis even in housing hadn’t blown up. It might have been an old fashioned stock market bubble that got us or commodities bubble or something else. This, to my mind, is why virtually every financial market fell apart once people got properly worried again.
So, yes, regulators made mistakes. My hope, and belief, is that they will do a lot better over the next years, at least until we have all gotten excessively relaxed again.

FRAN KINNIRY, Vanguard Investment Strategy Group Senior Member, September 25, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is your advice for people retiring who see their portfolios have diminished in recent years? In other words, should people who should be taking advantage of the lower prices in a market do during times when they need to sell?
KINNIRY: Having an asset allocation in place is one of the more important aspects of investment success. As one nears retirement, hopefully the equity allocation meets the goals and objectives of the investor. If this is the case, as the equity market falls and investors have an appropriate allocation to risky asset such as equities, they will not be selling equities but buying as they rebalance. Another valuable consideration and one in which there has been a heavily renewed interest is in balanced funds such as Target Retirement Funds. These funds will maintain the allocation through time for the investor.

ALEC McGILLIS, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: It is interesting , to me, how the Obama stimulus plan resembled the “trickle down” philosophy that Democrats used to criticize the Reagan economic plans. It would have been interesting to see how the economy would be it we had invested $800 million directly into jobs creation and let consumer spending trickle up towards saving financial institutions. Do you have any thoughts on what this difference might have looked like?
McGILLIS: An interesting point, though I think it blurs the distinction between the stimulus program and the TARP bailout for the banks. I would definitely agree that when it came to stimulus, the government relied too much on a trickle-down approach---giving money to the state and Federal bureaucracies in hopes that it would trickle out to various contractors who would eventually hire. And one could certainly make the case that the financial bailout should have been handled in a more bottom-up way, by focusing on foreclosed homeowners or businesses having trouble getting credit instead of big banks at the top. But I think each of these problems had to be addressed separately, because TARP and stimulus really had two related by separate goals, helping a teetering financial and credit system and injecting money and demand into the overall economy.

DOROTHY SUE COBBLE, Rutgers University Labor Studies Professor, December 14, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Women now compose the majority of college students and are a majority or significant minority in most graduate and professional schools. What does this say about the future role of women in professional occupations and how much resistance is there to more women in positions of business, academic, medical, and legal importance?
COBBLE: It’s terrific that more women have moved into higher education and the professions. Barriers to success still exist, especially in the most subtle kind. We need also to focus on raising the pay and improving the jobs for that majority who are not in professional occupations.

THOMAS J. STANLEY, author, and MICHELLE SINGLETARY, Washington Post Columnist, March 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: In what areas do you see “pretenders” wasting the most money?
STANLEY: Thank you---one of my favorite topics. Biggest pretenders---it’s their homes in fancy neighborhoods. Where you live affects everything that you consume. If it’s a status neighborhood, it’s filled with status cars, status watches, clothes, private schools. The spending seems to never stop.
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on spending on hair products? Some, especially men, may chuckle at this question, until they realize that, for some women, the most expensive thing they wear is their hair. Many women spend thousands of dollars for weaves, perms, extensions, etc. Isn’t this one industry that has a high profit on luring people into seeking status?
STANLEY: Yes, this is a profitable industry. But people who “over hair, over accessorize, over dress” with the thought that it will translate into economic success are wrong. The key question here is why people spend so much on their hair. Who are they trying to impress? Themselves? Friends? If the people that are important to you are achievers, and you also want to be an achiever…what does hair have to do with it? I can state unequivocally that both men and women millionaires are anything but overdone in terms of appearance. In the “Millionaire Next Door” (you can find it at your library), you’ll see how little self-made women spend on themselves. They’re much more interested in funding their children / grandchildren’s educations, and giving to noble causes/
SINGLETARY: This is such an interesting question. Because when I talk to folks about doing the 21 day financial fast in my new book, one of the things I say you can’t do during the fast is get your hair done.
When I announce this, many women in the audience just start hollering. It’s so funny. Like I slapped them.
Mess with a woman’s hair schedule, budget, you might get your feelings hurt.

ARTHUR BROOKS, American Enterprise Institute President, May 24, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I find your theme of achieving happiness over materialism interesting. It reminds me of the grumpy Yale Economics Professor who used to scoff “what good is money? All it can do is buy you happiness.” Yet, what should be the role of government, in your view, in alleviate the unhappiness that people in lower economic classes face? Is it bad if government helps direct employment, housing, health care, etc. opportunities to neighborhoods that lacks jobs, good homes, health care, etc.?
BROOKS: I believe it is our duty as a society to focus on the earned success of all people. This is the secret to happiness whether we are rich or poor. An opportunity society devotes time and resources to the poor not in equalizing their incomes but in finding more ways for them to earn their success. That’s why public education has been a spectacularly successful policy. This is the type of policy we should focus on.

TONY KENNON, Orange Beach, Alabama Mayor, June 17, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe BP should compensation people for economic loss due to their losses in tourism, fishing, etc., and, if so, how may that be accomplished?
KENNON: Absolutely. The difficulty is what we consider adequate and fair compensation versus what BP consider adequate and fair compensation. At this time we’re trying to work through these differences but in my opinion BP is not moving at the speed that they should be. But it’s absolutely critical that our tourist industry, because of the nature of the way the business works, we have to have an immediate infusion of cash.
Our tourism industry generates its annual revenue in about 14 weeks out of the year. If we lose a week, those revenue are never made up.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY. Syndicated Columnist, September 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I recently attended your excellent lecture on how we need to learn to spend on necessities and not on items we don’t need. Then you sold me your book. Is your book a necessity or a luxury?
SINGLETARY: First thanks for the kind words.
And is school a necessity or a luxury? How about a financial class you pay for that helps you become a better steward of your money?
What about the money you may spend to hire a good financial planner to help you make sure you are doing what you should with your money.
You sometimes have to spend money to get the information you need to become better.
Funny how people can spend money on cable or eating out or junk food or untold number of shoes or whatever, but then sulk or complain about something that can actually help them.
So in my book (pun intended) buying information that will in the long run save you money and a lot of financial heartache is a necessity.

ARLENE HOLT BAKER, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President. October 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: People are not finding jobs. In the history of unemployment insurance, we are observing record numbers of people and their benefits without finding employment. During past recessions and depressions, we never saw so many people unable to find jobs. Do you see some solutions? Are there potential jobs programs that could help, or what would you recommend?
HOLT BAKER: Your comment hits the nail on the head. It is not a recovery until people are back at work. There are ways to put millions of people back to work building and repairing our crumbling infrastructure: Our bridges, our roads, our public schools and hospital. We can invest in building high speed rail. Not only does this give us an opportunity to create jobs---but good paying good green jobs that can help sustain families. We know our small businesses need help and that’s why the AFL-CIO has called for using $30 billion in leftover TARP funds to aid community banks so that they can lend to small businesses. The whole community benefits when we create jobs---those who have homes are not likely to be in foreclosure and are able to pay taxes that support sustaining vital public services: Such as our teachers, police, and firefighters.

WILLIAM GALE, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow, November 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The Federal government’s $800 million stimulus was basically public sector wash, as state and local government spending decreased about the same amount during the same period. Paul Krugman believes without the stimulus funding that unemployment might have reached 13 percent. What are your thoughts on this?
GALE: This question highlights one of the interesting things to come out of the recent stimulus efforts, namely that state governments---because their balanced budget rules, which require them to cut back when revenues fall---have not helped much in the recent recovery efforts. This (a) reduces the impact of Federal stimulus, (b) makes Federal aid to the states particularly powerful stimulus, since every dollar given to them reduces the amount they need to lay off people or cut spending. Interestingly, this phenomenon is neither new (it happened in the 1930s as well, when the states provided no net stimulus over the decade) not limited to the U.S. (in Japan in the Lost Decade, subnational governments often moved in ways that subverted the aims of federal stimulus).
It all points to how hard it is to manage an economy as large as ours.
I do believe, based on the evidence I’ve seen, that the stimulus package has indeed helped stimulate the economy. I won’t speculate on whether the unemployment rate would be 13% had we not had the package, but it is worth noting that there was major, major concern in the winter of 2009 that the economy was in or approaching “free fall” and I think the stimulus had not only a direct effect in spurring spending, but also an indirect effect, in essence letter people know the government was not going to stand idly by, preaching the wonders of the market miracle, while the economy drove off the cliff. So, count me as a fan of the stimulus package.
CZIKOWSKY: Is it fair to say that military spending is among the least productive economic stimulators that the Federal government spends? Do you see much political will to seriously consider cutting military spending? Would you advise this?
GALE: We certainly have to address Defense issues as part of the budget package and Secretary Gates has already made some moves on that front. In the short run, as Harvard Professor Martin Feldstein has proposed, doing needed maintenance on military machines and equipment would be a good way to get spending going now---and we know we need to do that anyway.
I think it is clear that the military should be subject to budget constraints and forced to set priorities and make choices just like the rest of us, but not being a military expert I would not want to make those particular calls myself.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Associate Editor, December 7, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: A problem with public sector stimulus has been a lack, or inability, to coordinate actions to reach a desired goal. This is because the goals of different bodies differ. The Federal government provided $800 million in stimulus funds which was basically a wash, and unemployment remained about the same because, during the same period, state and local governments cut spending by $800 million. The Fed probably does need to provide $600 million to stimulate the economy, yet we may see the public sector remain ineffective overall as, once again, the continuing decreases in state and local government spending may counteract the Fed’s actions. Do you think there is the political will, especially with a Republican Congress, to provide greater Federal economic stimulus so it will have some overall positive effect?
ROBINSON: No. I mean, unless you count the Bush tax cuts as stimulative. (They don’t do much to stimulate anything, especially the tax cuts for millionaires.) Imagine, though, what the economy would be like if that $800 billion in stimulus money and the $600 billion in Fed money hadn’t been provided. So, there hasn’t been enough stimulus, in my view, but the fact is that there has been some.
CZIKOWSKY: OK, so there is a large majority agreement that the economic difficulties of the past eight years are linked to the Bush tax cuts while paying for a war. So, the solution today is to continue the tax cuts while continuing to pay for a couple of wars?
ROBINSON: You go it.

JEFFREY MRION, Harvard University Senior Lecturer, March 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Is the economy recovering?
MIRON: The economy has been growing for over a year and a half. The concern, however, is that the pace of growth has been modest in comparison to the recovery phase of most past recessions. That is presuming why unemployment rates are still stubbornly high.
Opinions differ widely on why we have a slow recovery. Some economists, like Paul Krugman, would say we did not have enough fiscal stimulus. Others, however, believe that private sector uncertainty over “big government” is discouraging investment and growth. There is no easy way to know who is right.
CZIKOWSKY: What might be the effect of reducing military spending on the economy? What if the savings in Defense Department spending instead could be used for job creation stimulus?
MIRON: Reduced military spending might have several effects, depending on one’s perspective.
The standard Keynesian view suggests this would contract the economy, by reducing overall demand. I do not find that view very convincing, but many economists do.
If one thinks all the current spending is doing useful things for our national security, then of course that security goes down with lower spending. My own sense ist that much current spending is harming, not helping, our security, so reduced spending is a good idea.
This is a separate question, however, from using funds for job creation stimulus. We need to have evidence that such stimulus works, and in my evaluation it does not.

ARTHUR C. BROOKS. American Enterprise Institute President, April 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: You seem to warn that higher taxes on higher earnings will discourage people to use their merit to earn higher salaries. Might there also be another view, that if I receive higher pay, I may then feel a greater obligation to share more of my increase with those who need help and who don’t have enough resources?
BROOKS: I agree. As people see increased prosperity they are more willing and able to give through private charity. This is one of the reasons that entrepreneurs tend to be some of our more philanthropic citizens.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Associate Editor, April 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I agree that both jobs and the long term debt are important. In my opinion, we need to deal with the jobs issue first. Once we have people productive and paying into taxes and supporting the economy, we not only have more people with improved lives but we also will have a more secure economic base. This may cost us some funds in the short run. Once there is a secure economic base, then we should deal with the long term debt crisis. I do not like that people argue it is choosing one over the other; we need to think more long term. I just fear politicians lack long term planning skills.
ROBINSON: Your fear is justified. I don’t know why sequence is such a difficult concept to understand around here. It’s not either-or, it’s first this, then that. Polls show that Americans want the immediate focus to be on jobs and the economy. On the deficit, polls also show that Americans have a very good idea of what we should do first---get rid of the tax cuts for the wealthy. There’s also wide support for cutting the Defense budget. If our officials would do those things first, they’d find people more willing to consider other measures, I think.

HARRY REID, U.S. Senate Majority Leader, June 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Why does politics seem to be discussed with a short term focus? The reason I ask is because I do not accept that one has to choose either spending to stimulate the economy versus cutting spending to reduce the deficit. I actually believe President Obama has stated the correct strategy. We need to get people working in jobs, and we need to spend to create jobs. Then, once the jobs situation is stable, we may then attack the problem of the deficit and reduce spending. In sum, why odn’t more members of Congress address that different economic strategies may be needed in the short term versus the long term?
REID: I believe we need to pursue strategies that address our immediate need for job creation while also getting our fiscal house in order, and I believe we can do both. Democrats voted for the biggest reduction in discretionary spending cuts in history, and we are currently participating in negotiations to make additional spending cuts. But we believe that when we cut spending, we need to do it in a smart way that targets waste, for instance, but ending taxpayer giveaways to oil companies that don’t need them because they are raking in record profits. Targeting waste like this protects jobs while also cutting our deficit. At the same time, we need to be making jobs our top priority. That is why we called today for job-creating measures to be included in the bipartisan deal to cut the deficit that is currently being negotiated. This is the right balance between smart fiscal policy, and solutions we need to create jobs in the short term. I will also say that the height of shortsightedness would be failing to raise the debt ceiling, as some of my Republican colleagues are threatening to do. Warren Buffet said this would be the “most asinine act” ever, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said failing to raise the limit could cause “severe disruptions in financial markets.” Americans would see their retirement funds and savings depleted when the markets react as most experts are predicting they would. So we need to make sure we are keeping both the long-term and short-term effects of economic policy squarely in mind.

JAMES CLYBURN, Member of Congress, June 24, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If the debt ceiling is not raised, what do you see happening? And surely the Congressional Republicans can’t be playing this game of chicken that they would let that happen?
CLYBURN: My view is if we refuse to raise the debt ceiling, it will disrupt global markets, it would raise anxiety among consumers, and cause too much uncertainty in the business community. It is a place we have never been before and too great a risk for us to take.

GERALD MAGLIOCCA, Indiana University-Indianapolis School of Law Professor, July 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is the penalty if I question the validity of the Federal government’s debt?
MADLIOCCA: Luckily for people who are shorting bonds or buying credit default swaps on the United States, nothing.
CZIKOWSKY: What are your feelings about the economic consequences should the debt limit not be raised?
MADLIOCCA: Well, it will probably lead to some increase in interest rates, though it’s hard to say how much.
CZIKOWSKY: Hasn’t our country been in a debt crisis before? How does these historical instances compare to today?
MADLIOCCA: Not like this. The closest example was in the 1930s, when we devalued our debt by going off the gold standard. The Supreme Court (in an opinion by our four Justices) said that this violated the Fourteenth Amendment, but they came up with a convoluted reason why the bondholders were entitled to nothing.

BRUCE BARTLETT, Former Adviser to President Ronald Reagan, July 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If the debt limit is not raised, what are the estimates as to what the new interest rate would be on our debt?
BARTLETT: The estimates I have seen suggest an immediate rise of about six tenths of a percent across the board.
CZIKOWSKY: I find it interest we are the only country with a debt limit. What were the political reasons that led to the original creation of a debt limit?
BARTLETT: Until 1917, Congress had to authorize every Treasury bond issue individually. During World War I, Congress decided it was easier for everyone to just set an overall limit on borrowing.
CZIKOWSKY: You state, if the debt ceiling is not raised, the President will have to break the law and not pay debt. Is the reverse possible: could the President and the Federal Reserve go ahead and print more money to pay the debts?
BARTLETT: The problem would be how to do it in a way that didn’t increase indebtedness. One possibility would be to sell some of the Treasury’s gold to the Fed.

DESMOND LACHMAN, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Resident Fellow, August 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: There are people warning that the world is headed into a terrible depression and that only gold will survive the crisis. What are your thoughts on this advice?
LACHMAN: Gold looks to be a very crowded trade which means its price could very well correct downwards. However, the major attraction of gold is that all three currencies---the dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen---all look dysfunctional. In those circumstances, gold looks like a safe haven.
CZIKOWSKY: How does China’s downgrading of our debt affect us?
LACHMAN: If China were reluctant to hold our debt it could complicate our lives by raising U.S. long run interest rates and by weakening the dollar. We are fortunate that China’s large holdings of U.S. Treasuries makes it unlikely that China will do that as it would not want to impair the value of its holdings. We are also lucky that Europe’s very serious and immediate problems do not give the Chinese the option of switching out of U.S. debt into European debt.

ROBERT REICH, Former U.S. Labor Secretary, August 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Prior to the Standards and Poor’s downgrading of Federal government bonds, a ratings agency in China had downgraded these bonds. What did this downgrading in China mean and what affect did it have?
REICH: China is sending a signal. It doesn’t want the dollar to drop and for its huge holdings of US dollars to decline in value. It would rather we fixed our long-term debt problem. It also doesn’t want to be blamed for the current mess we are in.
CZIKOWSKY: Isn’t it true that it would better stimulate the economy if we put more money into the hands of the middle class and lower class consumers, as they tend to blow it all on food, shelter, clothing, etc., than to put it in the hands of higher class consumers who tend to save it and put it into investments that have slower multiplier effects?
REICH: Yes. Indeed, the fact the top one percent now gets a larger share of total income than at any time since the late 1920s has contributed to the mess we’re in---because it’s reduced the purchasing power of the vast middle class. The rich save more than does the middle class, and what we need now isn’t more saving; it’s more spending and investing---public and private.
CZIKOWSKY: How could this recession have been avoided?
REICH: We now know the economy shrank much more between the end of 2007 and the start of 2009 than was thought at the time, so we needed a much larger stimulus (including fewer tax cuts, which were just used to bolster saving). Some of us argued at the time for $1.2 trillion in additional spending. With the benefit of hindsight, even this was too little. States and localities have cut so much they’ve just about negated any boost from the Federal stimulus.

JAMES K. GLASSMAN, George W. Bush Institute Executive Director, August 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: It is useful to understand the degree of deviation from the Dow Jones and other indexes and how they change over time. Is the deviation more volatile in recent weeks?
GLASSMAN: Your question raises a very important point. What counts in investing is not just average returns but also volatility---which in investing is generally measured in terms of deviation around any average. For instance, which investment would you rather have: one that guarantees you will get 7% year after year (that is, no volatility at all) or one that averages 7% but that in some years returns 50% and in other years loses 40%? The choice is obvious. One of the attractions of the Dow Jones is relatively low volatility. For example, Dow Diamonds, the EFT that mimics the Dow, has a standard deviation of 19 percent versus 21 percent for the S&P 500. So it is approximately one tenth less risky (if you judge by history). What this means is that, if the average return for the Dow is about 10 percent, then two thirds of the time, its returns will vary between a loss of 9 percent and a gain of 29 percent.

RIC EDELMAN, Financial Advisor Hall of Fame Member, August 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on a financial strategy of buying a diverse portfolio and letting it ride (except for possibly selling stock losers when there are tax benefits in doing so) until you need it? Don’t most investors wind up losing too much in brokerage fees in the long run with constant buying and selling?
EDELMAN: You are correct, on all counts. Instead of trying to guess which investment will do well next, simply buy all investments. Then, rebalance periodically---because each investment will perform differently over time. This helps you protect your profits while reducing your risks. It also takes the guesswork out of investing. But it’s a boring (although successful) approach---and that’s why most investors don’t follow this method. That’s unfortunately, because as you point out, investors merely reduce their returns, increase their risks, pay more in taxes, and incue higher trading costs. All for no benefit.

RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Member of Congress, September 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What would you recommend be in a jobs package?
GRIJALVA: A robust Federal job creation initiative that immediately puts people to work. This isn’t just hype---it’s possible to put it into action now. Repairing schools alone could employ about two million people nationwide. We should be fixing our national parks and upgrading our transportation infrastructure. We should also be rehiring police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other public employees leaving their jobs because they feel under assault from their state and local anti-worker lawmakers. An infrastructure bank would help secure the advancements we make in the short term. We should demand widespread mortgage refinancing to reduce mortgage payments and keep people in their homes. The economy is interconnected and we have to look at every aspect.

ROSALIND HELDERMAN, Washington Post Reporter, October 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I know Republican members of Congress are mostly against the stimulus and think the last one was not effective. I wonder if they have considered what might have happened without the stimulus? The amount spent on the stimulus would up equaling approximately the same amount of decreased spending by state and local governments. Thus, the overall public sector effect on the economy was about the same overall. Yet, had there not been a stimulus, unemployment would most likely have been much higher, very likely reaching double digits. My fear for local governments, most of which face further declining revenues, is that police, fire, and teaching jobs are much more at risk. This is a stimulus that is directed towards occupations threatened by this recession. I hope the Republican legislators, many of whom boast of the anti-crime, pro-police records, will approve this stimulus. This is only my opinion, yet I would appreciate any feedback you have.
HELDERMAN: Some Republicans have said they might look at a proposal like this---if it weren’t paired with a proposal to pay for it through a tax increase. (The Democratic bill last night included a 0.5 percent surtax on the income of those making more than a million a year).
That had not been the GOP leadership’s position, however, They say boosting public sector employment shouldn’t be the goal of government job creation efforts and have pretty much rejected this approach entirely.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, December 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is this nation coming to when Santa Clause is laid off? Yes, in today’s “Philadelphia Inquirer”, we read that Santa Clause (that is his real name, he had it legally changed) has been laid off from his 19 year job of being a mall Santa. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause. And he’s unemployed.
CILLIZZA: WOW. Could be a late entrant for Worst Year…

CHARLES LANE, Washington Post Editorial Writer, January 17, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Have there been surveys that indicate what proportion of people understand that the Bush tax cuts were a benefit to many rich people? If so, what do they say and do you have any comment on the general public perception as to who benefited from the Bush tax cuts?
LANE: My best sense is that the public is not as distressed about income distribution as you might think, independent of the Bush tax cuts. But they are worried about deficits and believe if anyone’s taxes should get raised to reduce government debt, it should be “the rich”.

EDUCATION

NICK ANDERSON, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 24, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: There have been a few teachers who complained that students’ education was diminished as classes were re-centered towards doing well on the tests more than on encouraging learning. Have you heard similar complaints? If so, it thus is doubly sad that some learning may have been lost with no reward for higher scores.
ANDERSON: This is, I think, a variation on the complaint that schools
“teach to the test”. We hear this one all the time. For what it’s worth, my impression is that teachers have been “teaching to the test” for a long time and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The issue is, how good is the test and what is the purpose of the test?
Standardized tests, especially multiple choice tests, are considered useful for a lot of reasons. When designed well and used well, they can give a reliable regional/state/or national snapshot of student performance.
But many educators say standardized tests have been abused in the No Child Left Behind era and that schools have “dumbed down” their curriculum to goose their scores. There is some debate on that point. But there is no debate that testing is on the verge of change. Many states are pushing for new academic standards, and there will be a new generation of tests to measure progress against those standards. We’ll see how that affects teaching and learning.

NORMA KENT, American Association of Community Colleges Vice President, April 12, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I know community colleges are generally less expensive, and therefore with the rise of cost of four year colleges, they are becoming finically more attractive. Yet, many four year colleges are offering good financial assistance packages. How are community colleges doing in offering financial assistance so they retain their financial edge over four year colleges?
KENT: Well, it helps that the tuition STARTS a lot lower. But community colleges offer a variety of financial aid options, particularly the Pell Grant, which has increased significantly in the maximum amount over the last few years. There will often be state aid programs as well. Students need to make an appointment and spend some time talking to the financial aid experts at ANY college they are considering.

MARGARET BURCHINAL, University of North Carolina Researcher, May 14, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Your study shows learning differences at age 15 between students who had been in low quality day care versus higher quality day care. First, how significant are those differences? Second, what is it about the higher quality dare care that leads to greater learning?
BURCHINAL: Our findings are statistically significant and, I believe, practically important. We cannot rule out alternative explanations because of the study design (i.e., we did not randomly assign children to high quality care), but we were able to rule out a large number of family and school characteristics from early childhood, elementary school, and adolescents as possible alternative explanation for the observed association.
We see a difference of about five points on a standardized test score (M=100, SD=100) between children who had high and low quality care and a difference of about two points between who had moderately high quality and low quality care.

BILL TURQUE, Washington Post Education Staff Writer, October 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Michelle Rhee is being praised for attempting reforms yet criticized for alienating key policymakers. Could reforms have been attempted without alienating these leaders?
TURQUE: That’s a question that I think people will be debating for quite some time. We may start to get an answer when Gray takes office and tries, as he has promised, to be more inclusive and collaborative on school reform issues. If the pace of change slows or stalls, or strategic initiatives started under Rhee fall by the wayside, then we’ll know.

JENNA JOHNSON, Washington Post Writer, December 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on Internet colleges like the University of Phoenix and Walden University?
JOHNSON: There’s lots of talk about internet colleges—and also internet-only programs at traditional bricks-and-mortar schools These programs are, for the most part, still pretty new and education experts are still evaluating if they work or not.
But there’s no question that online education is gaining popularity. A study released last month found that 29 percent of college students took at least one course online in fall 2009—that’s up from 10 percent in 2002.

DANIEL DEVISE, Washington Post Magazine Reporter, February 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How do we keep higher education affordable to middle class families with average students? I note in Philadelphia, the Penn State system serves just about the entire state, except for Philadelphia. Temple University used to be an accessible and affordable, but it has increased its standards and become a world class university. There are few options for someone who wishes to stay in Philadelphia and commute to a four year college who does not qualify for a scholastic or sports scholarship.
DEVISE: Thanks for this. I gather that one of the big trends in higher education is that states used to subsidize nearly 100 percent of the cost of a public college education and now that subsidy has been largely eliminated. Legislatures think it’s up to students and their families to make the investment if they want the return (in future earnings and such), and they look to colleges to raise tuition rather than to themselves to boost the annual outlay to state colleges. Options? Well, there are now more layers of public institutions, at many different price points. Many more students spend the first two years in community college, at a couple thousand dollars a year, and then transfer to a four year university. That’s one. But, you’re right, a public college education isn’t nearly as affordable as it was a couple generations ago.
CZIKOWSKY: What do you think on online higher education? Do employers treat a degree from places like the University of Phoenix with respect?
DEVISE: Carol Twigg, a leader in online education, told me that there’s really not too much mystery about the quality of online versus bricks and mortar classes. Research consistently shows they are more or less the same. Professors have told me, though, that you cannot replace the quality of human interaction that you get in a classroom, with people responding to each other and a true dialogue playing out. I have to think there is still a considerable stigma attached to online education, at least as a way to earn a bachelor’s degree. Top universities are selling their brands, and the prestige associated with them, and I don’t think anyone would seriously argue that there is any fully online college with an Ivy League-sized reputation. I suppose that may change. I know institutions like USC have struggled to persuade outsiders that their very high-quality all-online degrees are the “real deal”.
CZIKOWSKY: A high school began a program where the senior year of college bound classes could count as the first year of college courses at a nearby college. Is this an idea that should be explored some more?
DEVISE: I gather that higher education has a love-hate relationship with this notion of students taking college coursework in high school. AP and IB have spawned massive interests in the number of students who effectively complete their first year of college while still in high school (at least on paper). Indeed, I think many seniors assume they are required to do this in order to get a fair shake in the admissions office at a top college. Yet, those same top colleges seem to be rather unconvinced that those AP and IB courses really measure up to the comparable first year college courses. I gather that the transferability of AP/IB credits has tightened up somewhat over time.
Part of the reason, I’m sure, is that colleges rely on the huge general education lecture courses for revenue. Think of 400 students, all paying tuition, I a single lecture hall, and do that math! Those courses subsidize all the 10 student seminars at the upper level. Some reformers say college shouldn’t charge students full tuition for the big lecture courses, because they are taught at such low cost. But colleges would respond that they need that revenue to support the smaller, most costly courses at the upper end.
So, I think coursework in high school is probably at an all-tinme high, but the academy is wrestling with how to handle all those credits when the students arrive at their doors.

JAY MATHEWS, Washington Post Education Columnist, May 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How dangerous is it that schools are judge on certain measurable criteria that the schools then move to boost those criteria, perhaps at the sacrifice of other education and social areas?
MATHEWS: It depends on the criteria. If we are judging schools, as we do now, on the percentage of students who test proficient on standardized tests, then we get harmful practices such as ignoring kids who are way behind and just helping those who are close to the proficiency line. Some say moving to value added test systems, with the school getting credit for moving each kid up from whatever level he started the school year at, may solve that. AP and IB participation works well as a measuring stick, many educators have told me, because it leads schools to involve more kids in challenging courses that will prepare them for college, and had shown evidence that even if they don’t pass the AP or IB tests, they are readier for college than they would be if they had not taken AP or IB. That is the insight, which I gleaned from many great teachers 15 years ago, which led to the Challenge Index.

DALE STEPHENS, UnCollege Leader, August 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you think you might change your mind late in life? May you be willing to consider getting a degree?
STEPHENS: College isn’t going anywhere---it I need a degree I’ll know where to get one. For me, I doubt I would go back specifically for a degree but rather for a subject that’s best pursued in university. For example, if I decided I wanted to study neuroscience, going to a university would probably be the best way to do that---but I doubt I’d do it for a degree.

JASON RICHWINE, The Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst, November 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Should there be any consideration for a person’s value to the community? The free market does this by allowing athletes and entertainers to be paid more than some may think they are worth because they may justify their earnings through market conditions. Yet, in occupations where there is no market value, should we seek additional compensation to attract the most qualified people to occupations such as teaching where success is an important part of the future of our community?
RICHWINE: We should pay exactly the market level of compensation to teachers---no more, no less.

PAUL SCHWARTZMAN, Washington Post Local Reporter, December 19, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Did many of the children express feelings of anxiety over the higher expectations people were likely putting upon them (when as Seat Pleasant Elementary fifth graders in 1988 they were offered free college educations?)
SCHWARTZMAN: I don’t know that they would describe it as anxiety, but many did recount how their parents sat them down and told them of what was at stake, and how they couldn’t blow their opportunity. One day the kids were just kids. The next day, they were kids with a great opportunity and a lot of eyes on them. It’s a lot of pressure.

EGYPT

ABDERRAHIM FOUKARA, Al Jazeera Washington Bureau Chief, February 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of the main points that Americans are not being told or are getting the wrong impression about the conflicts in Egypt?
FOUKARA: One thing that people should know is that Egyptians have traditionally been the center of gravity in the Arab and Muslim world and anything that happens in Egypt will affect inevitably how things shape up in that part of the world. If this turns out to be about democracy, as many Egyptians are saying it is, then obviously it can only be good for the future relations between that part of the world and the United States and therefore it is a turn towards finding a solid, common ground with Americans, rather than a threat to the interests of the United States in that part of the world. The current events in Egypt, although they are now in one way or another influenced by political movements, including some religious ones, were started by young people, and young people who are not demonstrating with some anti-Western or anti-U.S. slogans. On the contrary, they are demonstrating for freedom and democracy.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

CRAIG FUGATE, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator, August 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is the situation in the New Orleans region today? Have there been enough repairs that more flooding could not occur, or if there is another strong hurricane, could this flooding happen all over again?
FUGATE: The Army Corps of Engineers has been working to repair and upgrade the levee system. Work is still ongoing, but improvements have been made in the aftermath of Katrina.

ENERGY

JOHN HOFMEISTER, former Shell Oil President, June 11, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Scientific research has shown that algae produces far more energy resources than does cane sugar, corn, or drilled oil. What is being done about researching the creation of algae to energy plants? Why does the Federal government not allow grants for new energy resources for algae? Why aren’t other companies looking into this, and what is taking so long to duplicate what underfinanced scientists are able to do in small laboratories? Algae could be the safest and most productive energy source available.
HOFMEISTER: Algae has considerable promise because the carbon molecules are abundant in the molecular structure of the organism. We need to learn how to grow them in large scale operations without them getting sick from overcrowding so we can process them for biofuels. There are funds for algae research and many of the oil companies are researching it. However, there remains a political bias towards ethanol from bio mass. I see it as less promising than algae.

DEBORAH GORDON, former Chevron chemical engineer, June 14, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I find it interesting that science shows the best source of fuel is algae. It produces far more fuel than does sugar cane, corn, or drilled oil. It is also far less expensive to produce. Yet, the high investments made in oil and ethanol seem to be what is stopping research into switching into a less expensive and more productive product. What will it take for big oil to see if algae is indeed productive and a better source?
GORDON: There are many bio-fuel sources under consideration. Algae is a potentially attractive one. But the economics of oil will play a large role in their ultimate success. The rollercoaster of the oil market creates real problems for bio-fuels and all other alternatives to oil.

MICHAEL LEVI, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment, March 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: We have been reassured that nuclear energy plants can survive earthquakes, floods, airplanes flying into them, etc. Obviously what has happened in Japan has reduced our confidence that what we have been told in past remains true. How would you reassure us, or can’t you, that what we’ve been told in the past is still correct?
LEVI: This is a really tough---but really important---question. I’m not here to provide assurances one way or the other. I’d like to see some thoughtful Congressional hearings on the issue (no, that’s not necessarily an oxymoron). Only by having an open discussion of the risks and the benefits of nuclear power will people be able to trust what they’re hearing and make sensible decisions for the future.

BRIAN JOHNSON, American Petroleum Institute Senior Tax Advisor, and RYAN ALEXANDER, Taxpayers for Common Sense President, May 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Should we be doing more to subsidize algae research? Algae has the potential to be the most efficient and inexpensive source of fuel. What is preventing us from using algae as a significant source of fuel?
JOHNSON: Why should taxpayers foot the bill for any energy forms?
ALEXANDER: We agree with API. We should level the playing field so new energy forms can compete with the marketplace without subsidies.

ENTERTAINMENT

LRUMA RACKLEY, author, February 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What did you think of the movie about Petey Greene (“Talk to Me”)? How much of the movie was fiction?
RACKLEY: Much of the movie was fiction. Of course I admire Don Cheadle, and I think he did a great acting job. I hope people will turn to my book (“Laugh If You Lie, Ain’t a Damn Thing Funny”), and now this documentary (“Adjust Your Color”), to understand the real Petey Greene, and that they will take the movie as a Hollywod story that spurs them to want to know more about the real Petey Greene. I think the people who put the documentary together---especially their use of footage from Petey’s shows---did a good job.

MINDY KALING, writer-actor-producer, February 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: A.) Have you ever received any complaints from any Amish about Dwight’s character (on “The Office”) and b.) how would they know?
KALING: We were smart when we picked the Amish to characterize every so often because truly they would never have any idea. Maybe that’s cowardly of us, but it works for us. The turnaround time for complaints from the Amish is suitable for a fast-moving TV schedule.

SCOTT HAMILTON, Olympic Figure Skating Champion, February 26, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Did you do anything to prepare yourself for “Celebrity Apprentice”? Did you read Donald Trump’s books, did you view past episodes, etc.? If so, do you think any of it helped? Or is it best to pretty much be able to think on your feet and evaluate situations well and take proper actions?
HAMILTON: I did my homework, talked to a lot of people, and came up with the only strategy that made sense; win every task and you can’t get fired. When you get there, you realize that preparation can only take you so far. The tasks we were asked to do would be next to impossible to complete in the time we are given. You have to think on your feet under extreme circumstances. It is a bumpy ride and much more difficult than what shows up on television.
CZIKOWSKY: Did you get to work with Brande Roderick on the show? If so, how was she? She’s a model but she does have some business experience, so I was wondering how she came across.
HAMILTON: I like Brande. She has a keen mind and a good business sense. She was my competitor, so I didn’t get to bond with her outside the general pleasantries. I thought she was always very nice and very approachable.
CZIKOWSKY: How often, if at all, do you get to ice skate? You were so good at competitions, and I am wondering if you still get many chances to just get out on the ice and enjoy yourself?
HAMILTON: I’m back on the ice now, trying to get my body back. I’m open to whatever result this training will bring. I’m working hard and I’m in a health amount of pain every day. It is hard for me to just go out and skate around. I loved the jumps, spins, and performing! My brain remembers how to skate. My body is another story. It is slowly reminding itself, after five years off, how to do it again. Wish me luck!

JONATHAN LANE, International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. Chief of Communications. May 8, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Did you ever see the William Shatner “get a life”” skit on Saturday Night Live? If so, what was your reaction to it?
LANE: Shatner had just done his first Trek convention in years in NYC (since Trek V was bombing and Paramount wanted him pushing the film…otherwise, Shatner avoided cons in those days). When I saw the skip, I was saddened to think that Bill might not have enjoyed the convention experience. On the other hand, he’s not entirely wrong. Some of us do need to get a life. Others, however, have wonderful lives, families, jobs, etc. Trekkies and Trekkers are a lot like normal people…and more so-called “normal” people could stand to “get a life” too. :-)

SID KROFFT, producer. June 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Did you get to work with Will Ferrell? If you did, what was it loke to work with him?
KROFFT: Will Ferrell is probably the nicest guy on the planet. He came to work totally prepared. We had a five month shoot on this movie and there was never, ever one problem, not only with the actors but we never had a problem with the whole movie (”Land of the Lost”).
Will Ferrell yesterday said to Marty and myself “You guys are so cool, and this has been the coolest project I have worked on.” And I said “It’s great that you say that because we have always been accused of being hip and trippy.” And when you go to the movie all those three things are definitely in it. “Land of the Lost” is very Krofft.

REX LEE, actor, July 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is this I hear about the dangers of eating too much tuna? Should I cut back from eating it four times a day?
LEE: Yes, eating anything four times a day is probably not good. In everything, exercise moderation.
CZIKOWSKY: How often, if ever, have people stopped you and stated something like “you know, something happened to me that was just like on your show…?”
LEE: Very often---disturbingly often!

RICH SOMMER, actor, July 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How would you compare the sets of “Mad Men” with “The Office”? Are the actors more serious on one set compared to the other? Do the actors hang out more with each other on one show than the other?
SOMMER: We’re no more serious than they are. Our set is a very light place to be, and so is theirs. They’re two of the best sets I’ve ever been on, and from what I hear, they’re two of the best sets anywhere. I am incredibly lucky.
Both or our casts hang out with each other. In fact, at many events, our casts end up hanging out together. We just get along. We’re big fans of their show, and they seem to like ours. It’s nice.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 31, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Word on the street is “Futurama” is making a comeback, but get this: they are recasting the voices to save money by hiring less expensive new actors. I don’t think this is right but, what can you do about it? Somehow I don’t think I can imagine anyone else but Katey Segal as Leela.
DE MORAES: Here is the issue: The show is coming back to cable and the budget is much smaller than it was for the show on Fox. The difference is going to be made up somewhere and it appears they are trying to do it in the price they pay the voiceover talent.

R.J. CUTLER, documentary director/producer, September 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Was it your idea to do a documentary on Anna Wintour (“The September Issue”), or were you asked to join this project? How was this idea developed and sold as a documentary to be made?
CUTLER: I had the idea to make a film about Anna Wintour after reading an article in New York Magazine that spoke specifically about Anna’s work with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. I met with Patrick O’Connell, Anna’s rep and he said Anna would love to meet with me. I flew to NY and we spent some time together and I realized that Anna would be a great subject of a film. We spoke of my approach to filmmaking, the idea of focusing the film on the September issue of Vogue, which meant I’d have access over seven months and follow Anna and her team in their most important pursuit of any given year. We talked about final cut. I told Anna I would need to have complete control, and she understood that and granted me that. The next challenge was raising the money to produce the film, which I was able to do through A&E Indie Films. The following January I started filming.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you had any reaction to the film from people within the fashion industry?
CUTLER: Yes, I’ve been hearing from people in the fashion industry for several months as we’ve held small screenings in NY, Paris, and Milan. In addition we had a premiere event at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Anna, Grace, Sienna, and so many others came as did many, many people from the fashion industry. The response was very gratifying for me because people enjoyed the film a great deal. But of all the responses, perhaps the most satisfying was hearing from so many people who know Anna, Grace, and Vogue so well, that I really captured what it was like there. As you know, Anna has been reluctant in the past to allow access and has a reputation for being inaccessible. People were universally surprised and excited at the degree to which this film revealed the Anna they’ve known for so many years and also the degree to which they learned new things about her.
People also spoke to me frequently about the way the film captures the dedication, hard work, and passion required to succeed in the fashion industry. Another response I found very gratifying.
CZIKOWSKY: Fashion Week is coming up. Are there any major themes you wish the public to understand about this industry? If you could expand your film, what other topics would you explore?
CUTLER: I think, and many have said to me, that after seeing this film, they have a much richer understanding of what’s involved in the fashion industry. This applies to designers as well as to fashion journalists, photographers, models, etc. In terms of how I would expand he movie, I have to be honest: the film you will see in theaters starting this Friday IS the director’s cut. If I had all the money in the world and all the editing time in the world, I wouldn’t change a frame. This is one of the great privileges of having final cut on a film. You get to make the exact film that you want and I got to do that with this movie.
CZIKOWSKY: What was it like working on “The War Room”? How much of a sense did you have during the filming that the Clinton team would wind up winning the election?
CUTLER: Working on the War Room was a thrill, not only because we were given such exquisite access to the nerve center of Bill Clinton’s first Presidential campaign, but for me personally, it was so exciting to be producing my first film and working with documentary filmmaking legends D.A. Pannebaker and Chris Hughes, who were the film’s directors.
At a certain point it did indeed seem likely that Bill Clinton was going to win the election, but I have to be honest, that only made everybody who was working on his campaign that much more nervous. Campaigns tighten in their final days and if you’re enjoying a wide lead in the polls in the final weeks, the idea that you might blow it is that much more terrifying. Nobody wanted to be the key member of the team that somehow found a way to lost the election to George H.W. Bush and that only made the climate around the campaign that much more intense.

LISA DE MORAES: Washington Post Staff Writer, September 18, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Now I know why I always distrusted network executives. I loved Marlee Matiln’s autobiography and I liked how she tells, when the network execs previewed her series “Reasonable Doubts”, one asked “will she be deaf all season?”
DE MORAES: Hey, you should be thankful. Had they realized she was going to be deaf all season, they probably never would have ordered the show in the first place. Sometimes stupidity works in our favor…

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 20, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: This is sent in ahead of time (before the Emmy Awards), but any truth to the rumor I am making up that Kanye West is rehearsing a speech that goes “I’m going to let you finish, but Caveman was the best series ever”?
DE MORAES: That nit-wit Jeff Probest, who won the Emmy last year for Best Reality Series Host told Ryan Seacrest he doesn’t care who wins this year, so long as it’s not “Dancing with the Stars’” Tom Bergeron. He says if Bergeron wins he’s going to “pull a Kanye.” And I wouldn’t put it past him. Remember, he’s one of that pack of reality-show hyenas who hijacked last year’s Emmy show---sending it plunging to its smallest audience on record---when they decided to toss out the script for their opening bits and go up on stage and bray that they had no opening prepared.

TOM SHALES, Washington Post TV Columnist, October 27, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I know you feel you’re being saturated by too much Halloween on television. What do you think of “The Simpsons” Halloween episodes? Does satirizing it make it more bearable, or does it just add to the pain?
SHALES: I think they’re just dandy—although I much prefer the regular Simpsons episodes. The characters are basically ‘real’ to me and so I don’t want to see them chopped up or electrocuted, etc…

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Your comment on “V” makes me ask a question I asked as a kid watching science fiction in the 1960s: how did English become the universal language?
DE MORAES: And, while we’re on this subject of language, how did a Proper British Accent become the “language” of ancient Rome?

TOM SHALES, Washington Post TV Columnist, November 10, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Why doesn’t NBC consider retrofitting Jay Leno’s show? For example, they could make it half scripted, as the Larry Sanders Show did, along with actual interviews. That might create a storyline to attract viewers while keeping the monologue and interviews.
SHALES: I know what you’re saying---Jay Leno certainly seems absolutely stubbornly relentlessly averse to change, even when change is needed. Isn’t he still have some lame second rates come out in the first “act” of the show with a dreary-dumb taped piece? The very first of the new show, Leno turned over 8 or 9 minutes of his own program to some unfunny booby who thought it would be a scream to sing opera at a car wash---or something along those lines. Leno is a very stubborn man, but he should see that he’s shooting himself in the---chin. Oh, that was an easy target.

CAT DEELEY, “So You Can Dance” TV Show Host, November 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Do you observe any differences between being a star in America versus being a star in Great Britain?
DEELEY: You’re probably asking the wrong person---you would be better off asking Will Smith or Tom Cruise. But I thank you for asking me. There’s really not much difference. To be famous is great if you’re famous for doing something that people enjoy, that’s wonderful. The trappings of fame I don’t really enjoy, but I like that I can do something positive with it, like doing documentaries for UNICEF in Brazil---that’s the nice part of it. But there’s very little difference between being famous in the U.K. and in America.

LIZ KELLY, Washington Post Celebritology Blogger, November 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I recall a story in screenwriter John Gay’s autobiography about a time he was at lunch with Paul Newman and Henry Fonda. A woman asked Paul Newman for his autograph. As you may know, Paul Newman was notorious for refusing to sign autographs, and he declined to sign. The woman then asked Henry Fonda for an autograph, and he agreed. His autograph read “Dear Nancy, Paul Newman is a sh--. Henry Fonda.”
KELLY: Love it!

LIZ KELLY, Celebritologist, December 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: It is good to know that Tila Tequila is not pregnant. Also, in case people were wondering, Betty White also is not pregnant.
KELLY: A Christmas miracle!

TOM SHALES, Washington Post TV Columnist, February 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Re: St. Elsewhere. That’s it! We explain “Lost” by showing it was the imagination of a patient in a mental hospital looking into a snow globe. Whoa, thanks.
SHALES: Ya think? I wonder if there will be any lollapalooza revelations---I know you’re joking but how far will they go, and how angry will viewers get? I am sorry to admit that “Lost“ lost me way back when. I think I got tired of waiting for the darn monster. Monsters should be seen and not just heard. By the way, great movie if you like thoughtful sci-fi: “District 9”. Nominated for Best Picture tho it will not win (right, opposite har-har “Avatar”). Saw this film ten days ago and it still haunts me. The only monster movie that ever almost brought tears to my eyes, at least that I can think of. Great film.

TOM SHALES, Washington Post TV Columnist, February 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Wow, that Betty White commercial was great. How did Hollywood digitally create those images of the late Abe Vigoda? Oh, what? OK. Never mind.
SHALES: Actually Abe Vigoda was something or an irregular regular on Conan O’Brien’s old “Late Night” show on NBC. He was always willing (or so it seemed) to be used as a human prop or a punch line….

LISA DEMORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: That’s it! Tiger Woods had 13 mistresses, one week each for a 13 week miniseries. This may save NBC!
DEMORAES: Okay, that is nothing but brilliant. Hope someone from NBC is on this. They could use a great mind like yours….
CZIKOWSKY: OK, we get about eight professional curling teams across the nation and test the games on ESPN 2 and, if it takes off, maybe it would give us a winter sport between football and baseball…Sorry, just thinking out loud.
DEMORAES: And everyone has to wear those cute short skirts. Okay, the guys can wear kilts, but the short skirts for the chick teams are mandatory….

JEN CHANEY, Washington post Online Movies Editor, March 5, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Who does Linda Hamilton wish to see win Best Director? Has anyone asked her?
CHANEY: Ha. I can’t say I have. If I see her, I certainly will.

JEFFREY LIEBER, “Miami Medical” TV show creator, April 5, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: There is a shortage of head trauma centers, yet getting a person with a head trauma injury in a timely manner can make a huge difference on the extent of brain injury and even survival. Might this be a topic your show will show, or consider showing?
LIEBER: Yes. Yes. Yes. Our first goal is to entertain, our next to try and get stuff done. As we get deeper into the show it’ll be easier to start looking at the landscape and trying to find topics. That’s for altering me.
CZIKOWSKY: Does a show set in Miami mean we may expect more emergency patients in bathing suits?
LIEBER: Laughing. Probably, but we are SO trying NOT to be that show. There are some bathing suits in this upcoming (but just background) but then I don’t think we go that route for the rest of the season. (I have nothing religious against bathing suits, however.)
CZIKOWSKY: How many episodes of “Miami Medical” are there? Do you like your time slot?
LIEBER: 8 for this season, 5 for next. The time slot is fine. If we continue to win it and grow we’ll take going forward, but Steve Maeda, the staff, and I look at it as our little cozy corner of the world.
CZIKOWSKY: I am curious about your career. Did you start as a screenwriter, and how did you break into the business? How did you get into production and onto creating a TV show? What were some of the key decisions you took that led to these fortunate outcomes in your career?
LIEBER: I have had Mr. Toad’s wild ride. I started as a playwright and an actor. Then I thought I wanted to write ½ hour comedy, but was AT LEASE a joke a page short. I wrote a couple of indie films and those scripts vaulted me into film. From there I spent about four years, before I was asked to do TV. Now I do both. Looking back it’s a series of things that just happened really.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, April 16, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How is “Miami Medical” doing, and what was the critical reaction? What, if anything, separates it from not being just another hospital drama series, if anything?
DE MORAES: Critics mostly did not like it. It’s doing okay---around seven million viewers last week---but it’s on Friday, which is good for the show because that’s The Night of Low Expectations. And, don’t forget it’s a Bruckheimer show and CBS wants to keep Bruckheimer happt…

MOLLY RINGWALD, actress, May 6, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I read the link, and first I have to tell you, there is a typo that claims you are 40. I know you are only 30. You were only 16 years old 14 years ago, and I stand by that statement. How have your attitudes on life changed as you left your teen years and then your twenties (and I will stop there)?
RINGWALD: Haha! I am 42 years old now---and proud of it! I’m in way better shape now than I was in my twenties AND thirties. I think the main different in attitude since my teen years is a confidence that you get with age.
CZIKOWSKY: Please tell us more about your jazz career. Have you kept it up and are there are recordings of your music?
RINGWALD: Yes! I am recording a jass album with my quintet now in LA, and we will be performing at the Jazz fest in Sacramento, Ca. (my home town) over Memorial Day weekend. I was on Larry Mantle a couple of days ago and he played one of the tracks. You can probably download it as a podcast.
CZIKOWSKY: How do you find the perfect shade of lipstick (her book is entitled “Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick”).
RINGWALD: I really love lip balm and stains much more than anything to dark and matte. I listed the ones in my book that are my go-to lipsticks, and I also enlisted advice from professional make-up artists that I know.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritoloigst, May 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The Carol Burnett comment got me thinking: Not only about guest hosting, but as new SNL regulars. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how some of the old timers would do with the young cast members? People like Tim Conway and Chuck McCann may be forgotten, but there were comedy geniuses, and they are still performing. I would love to see them integrated into SNL sketches. There are lots of roles for older characters.
CHANEY: Heck, let’s bring all the living cast members from “Carol Burnett” and see how they do on SNL. It actually would be interesting, you’re right.

BRYAN BATT, actor, May 18, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is your book (“She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother”) about? Is it completely autobiographical? What are some of the points you hope readers get from the book?
BATT: Well, I’m calling it a momoir---it’s about my mother, my wonder Steel Magnolia, Auntie Mame of a mother. She’s battling cancer for the fourth time, she has her boxing gloves on, but she’s got her nails done and her hair done.
It’s just something that I wanted to do, it’s kind of a tribute to her, but a very loving and laughing tribute.
CZIKOWSKY: What kind of reaction are you getting from your book?
BATT: Everyone seems to like it. Thank God I haven’t heard anything negative. Everyone from my mother to Michael Musto seems to like it.
I think it’s interesting when people that know her read it and say it seems to capture her. And when people who don’t know her or me at all are fully enthralled by her personality. She embodies grace under fire.
CZIKOWSKY: Did you grow up in New Orleans? If so, which part, and how do you think growing up in the Big Easy affected your outlook on life?
BATT: I did grow up in New Orleans. I grew up right on the lake, right across the levee. I was just actually at my childhood home yesterday, because I’m working on a second book, called “Mad for Design”, and I’m shooting the foyer of my childhood home.
Now I live uptown in New Orleans, and my partner and I have a shop on Magazine Street. I’ve lived in NY and LA for many years, but I still gravitate to NO---it’s so unique and so European. There’s nothing else like it in the country. It has it’s own music, it’s own food, it’s own style, and it’s own way of live.
It’s a lot less hectic than NY---which I love! I love being able to enjoy the heartbeat, the pulse of NY, but then come to NO and enjoy a different beat.
CZIKOWSKY: Tell us about your store in New Orleans. I’ve only visited the Web site, but it looks pretty cool. The next time I am in NOLA, I plan to go.
BATT: Please do! I might be there. People come in all the time checking it out to see if I’m there or not, and they’re very much surprised when I am, wrapping packages, dusting, whatever. I do all the jobs when I am there, and they’re amazed.
My favorite thing about the shop is that we have things at all price points---so there are some high end things, but great design does not have to break the bank.
We opened in 2003, right after a show I was supposed to in NY was canceled, and I had this window of time when there was nothing else going on. It was this most freeing experience---nerve wracking at first, because I didn’t know the business, but thank God my partner did.
But it was very freeing as an actor. If you’re an actor, a doctor, whatever000sometimes your job can consume and define you. But when I opened a store, I realized there was this whole other world out there. And I could connect with people in a way I didn’t while in a Broadway show.
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on the recent discussions of actors being stereotyped, which has been an age old concern, yet to the extent that some claim that actors we perceive as being gay are unable to be accepted playing straight parts?
Personally, while I am sure there are always a few people who prejudge actors in roles, I do believe most are able to judge different performances according to the abilities of the actors. If not, it’s their loss. There are numerous examples of people who have played divergent roles, even roles against their real life characteristics, and they do so because they are professional actors.
What is your opinion?
BATT: I actually gave an interview to ABC.com about that; I was called after that ridiculous and homophobic and self-loathing article came out in Newsweek.
I’m a believer that everyone has a right to their opinion. But that article was so inaccurate and negative. I saw Sean Hayes performance, and he was wonderful----not for one second did I question if he was in love with K. Chenowith’s character.
My first criteria is not “who is something with”, it’s what they are doing on stage and if their talent is coming across. You don’t look at a painting and ask if the artist was gay or straight. I think it’s irrelevant in any situation---I don’t care of my garbage man is gay or straight as long as he picks up the garbage.
CZIKOWSKY: How did you enjoy working on “Ugly Betty”? What are some of the similarities and differences between working on “Ugly Betty” and “Mad Men”? Do the casts of one show or the other hang out together more?
BATT: Well, I only did two episodes of “Ugly Betty” and I was told my character would continue and we would have hung out a lot more, but the show was canceled.
I’ve known Judith Light for years, and she is just the loveliest. And I’m friends with Michael Urie, and I just saw him in his off-Broadway play.
The different in filming is, well, there are a couple---one is a drama and one is a comedy. In “Mad Men”, we are not allowed to deviate from script at all. On “Ugly Betty”, we are allowed to improvise, and some really fun moments come out of that.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have any input in the wardrobe selection on “Mad Men”?
BATT: Only sock choices. Sometimes they will put out an extra pair of socks or cufflinks, and then it’s actor’s choice.
Otherwise, I have been honored to let the goddess of all things costume, Janie Bryant, pick whatever goes on my back.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Television Columnist, June 18, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Would a reality show showing the brilliance of TV reviewers get good ratings?
DE MORAES: Absolutely not. TV critics are not that interesting. They are people wh grew up staying indoors, watching television while the rest of you were outside playing dodge-ball or whatever it is you people did as children. Really, don’t pitch this one to a network. Seriously.

BRADLEY WHITFORD, actor, July 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is “Cabin in the Woods” about and what was it like filming it? Should I go see it when it comes out?
WHITFORD: Yes you should, I think it would be interesting. And I’m not going to tell you what it’s about, or I’ll get sued. But I think it’s going to be a really good movie. (Another movie, by the way, that Josh Malina is not in.)

MARY SCHMIDT AMONS, “The Real Housewives of D.C.” Cast Member, August 6, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Given the choice of watching real housewives in DC, Atlanta, New York, and New Jersey, which would you recommend I watch, and why?
SCHMIDT AMONS: I would say that each of those shows is very different from one another and it just depends on what mood you’re in as far as drama. A lot of people like to watch the catfights in Atlanta or the interaction of the women in Orange County---their personal relationships, dating lives, financial problems. New York is a little more sophisticated. It just depends on your mood. What drama are you looking for?

STACIE SCOTT TURNER, “The Real Housewives of D.C.” Cast Member, August 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have any qualms with the term “Housewives”? In the 1970s, the women’s liberation movement attempted to replace the term with “homemaker”. Would you prefer to be called a “real homemaker” instead, or doesn’t it matter?
SCOTT TURNER: I think that women today have redefined the term housewife and homemaker and it’s really that we just do it all. I love my many roles as wife, mom, homemaker, and cook, and I do own my house, so that part of housewife applies and I take no offense. I think the term celebrates the many facets of women today.
CZIKOWSKY: When given the choice of watching housewives in DC, Atlanta, New Jersey, and New York, why should I choose to watch the housewives in DC (or should I)? What is your pitch to us, the audience, for us to watch you?
SCOTT TURNER: D.C. is different from any other city and of course then the show and our experiences will be different than the others. We have a backdrop of politics and interesting events and people that are unique to D.C. that provides a very cool backdrop to the experiences of each of the ladies. Do we have drama? Yes. But our drama comes from thought-provoking conversations, cool events, and real situations and moments in our lives that you can’t find anywhere else. So please tune in and see for yourself!

LYNDA ERKILETIAN, “The Real Housewives of D.C.” Cast Member, September 10, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of your favorite spots in D.C. and what do you most like doing in D.C.?
ERKILETIAN: I really love Georgetown most of all but my second favorite thing to do is driving through the city and looking at the monuments and observing how beautiful architecturally Washington is. I like driving in Rock Creek and along Constitution Avenue. And I love taking in the art museums and the restaurants and I love going to the Kennedy Center.

STACIE SCOTT TURNER, “The Real Housewives of D.C.” Cast Member, October 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Are you glad you are doing this show? Is there anything you wish you could have shown in a different fashion? If so, what would you have changed?
SCOTT TURNER: Overall I’m happy with the outcome of the show. There is one episode that I wish could have been changed a bit which was the episode that dealt with gay marriage equality. The episode did not include the real ending of that storyline which showed Jason and I supporting and celebrating the passage of the gay marriage equality bill in D.C.
I felt badly that viewers were not part of our evolution in thinking and did not see the full depth and breadth and context of our conservation about such an important and sensitive topic.
CZIKOWSKY: Your show does not have as much of the drama of fights between the major characters that some of the other Housewives series have. Do you agree with this assessment, and, if so, do you think this improves your show over the others, or do you think there needs to be more conflict?
SCOTT TURNER: You are right. In D.C. we are not flipping tables, pulling weaves, or fighting like children. However, we do have conflict; we just handle it differently. That’s what makes the Housewives series so fun and entertaining because it’s real women who all act differently and different is good.

JOHN BRENKUS, ESPN “Sports Science” show host, January 24, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I remember reading how people decades ago proved that a curveball really curves and is not an optical illusion. I also remember people trying to determine how hard Bob Feller threw a ball, and I believe someone estimated he threw as high as 104 MPH. Have you looked into some of these old time sports research methods and if so, are you amused by them, or what do you think of them?
BRENKUS: A big part of our show is debunking myths, so yes, we like to go back and look at “conventional wisdom” and shed some new light. In the “cold weather” experiment we did, we debunked that your head is the “main source” of heat loss. For some reason, people think that wearing a hat or helmet will keep you warm, but in reality only 10% of your body heat escapes through your head.

NICOLE ATKINS, singer-songwriter, February 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When did you become interested in music? When did people around you recognized your great talent and encourage you (or did they?) However you got to where you are, we fans appreciated it and wish you all the best.
ATKINS: That’s really nice of you. I guess people started noticing my voice when I was in college studying art, and my professors noticed that I was playing more gigs and making paintings and they were very encouraging for me to pursue music.
CZIKOWSKY: Where there things you were thinking of that inspired you when you were producing “Cry Cry Cry”? Is there some background to the song you could share with us?
ATKINS: I was coming to the end of a long term relationship but still living with the person at the time. When I was writing “Cry Cry Cry” it was kinda my way of dealing with the situation at the time.

VILLE HEIJARI, Angry Birds Creator, March 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: In the very, very, very, very unlikely event there is no NFL football on TV, what would you think of bringing Angry Birds to television?
HEIJARI: We are planning to create an animated series around Angry Birds. No production schedules or timeline yet, sorry!
Check the miniseries we’re doing with Bing on YouTube---expect similar hijinks, in a much larger scale.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Columnist, March 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I believe sometimes adding new characters detracts from our familiar characters and often takes away from the experience. Yet, the new female characters on “The Big Bang Theory” seem to be appropriate and are giving all the characters new character growth and news areas to be comedic about. I am finding the show is improving. I don’t know what others think but that is my opinion.
DE MORAES: …and CBS is hoping there are millions more like you out there because “Big Bang Theory” stands a good chance of becoming the tentpole of the network’s comedy slate next season, what with Sheen out on “Two and a Half Men”. Though, as some TV critics have noted, Jon Cryer is no slouch on the show, trying to re-cast one of the leads is far from a sure thing so even if “Men” comes back next season---and I think it will---it may take a ratings hit. “Big Bang”---which like “Men” is exec produced by Chuck Lorre---has done a particularly good job of adding new characters to the show.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, March 23, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: With all the speculation about who could replace Steve Carell on “The Office”, and whether that person could survive the scrutiny of being a replacement and whether the cast chemistry would be disrupted by someone new, I have the perfect solution. Don’t replace him with anyone. The show’s chemistry is fine and there are enough talented people on the show to carry the show. This is a cast viewers know and appreciated. It would make sense in real life that the manager’s position would be filled internally. I believe the current cast could keep the show going quite well/
ARGETSINGER: Okay, thanks. You’re probably right.

ASHLEY JUDD, actress, April 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: You seem able to take a negative and turn it around into a positive. That is a good trait. Are you aware of this, and what is your philosophy on overcoming adversity?
JUDD: I do believe that we grow by our ability to face and rectify errors. I do believe that the painful past becomes out greatest asset. And again it is through that alchemy, that wonderful process of transformation through person recovery. There’s been a lot of controversy in the past few days, for example, about some remarks I make in two paragraphs of the book about hip hop music and rap music. What my mentor in recovery has taught me is if I hear something three times from three different people, I might want to take a look at it. I have been very interested in that conversation, and absolutely hear that, although my point is valid, that there is a lot of misogyny in those genres, all of the genre is not misogynistic. That is an example of taking a negative and making it into a positive, which I can set a boundary. I can absolutely know my intentions were honorable and good, and I can take some feedback. Now, I really have to set a strong boundary around that which is violent, threatening me with sexual humiliation and violence and abuse, that is not feedback. That’s violence and abuse. So it takes that discernment and that is why I have a lot of strong women and strong people around me, to help me sort through these types of issues.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Writer, April 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: It’s the circle of life. “One Life to Live” has used its one life and “All My Great Grandchildren” has retired. I guess it had to happen.
DE MORAES: I like your “Circle of Life” attitude.
CZIKOWSKY: I do respect that Paul Reiser’s rather blatant rip-off, sorry, inspiration from Larry David at least paid homage to Larry David by having him on the show.
DE MORAES: Yes, that was nice, because David would be paid for the appearance….

RYAN WOODWARD, animator, May 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How many Google animators are there? How many Google animations have you done?
WOODWARD: This is my first Google Design! I’m not sure how many animators or designers they have on staff at Google, but the team I worked with was great.
CZIKOWSKY: What medium do you use in producing your work: is it all on computer or do you use paper? Have you ever, or would you consider, exhibiting your art in a gallery or possibly in an art book someday?
WOODWARD: Little bit of both. The computer is fast to work in, but sometimes the tactile experience of paper is necessary. I’d love to be in a gallery one day if someone will actually do it. I did my first gallery show in January and it was really great. Maybe more of that in the future. Who knows.
CZIKOWSKY: How does it feel doing storyboards? Although Disney and maybe some others have sometimes displayed the, does it bother you that very few public people ever see them? I presume you get listed in the credits at the end?
WOODWARD: No, it doesn’t bother me. It’s part of a process. I like to call it disposable art. It’s so fun to be part of the process of these films that it’s no bother that they all get trashed in the end. The ideas stick and that’s pretty cool to claim that.

BILLY WEST, voice over specialist, July 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I know I’m weird, but: Do you ever talk to yourself in character? Do you ever do it on purpose, and then watch people looking around trying to figure out where the voices are coming from?
WEST: This is a good question. I don’t do that consciously. If I do it, I am not aware of it, I am just ripping, it is for my own amusement.
It was something I always did kind of do when I was a kid. I did not have very may friends. I did not have a lot in common with the kids in my neighborhood. Plus, there was no one my age where I was going up. I was king of the little kids, or tag along with the big kids. I was kind of lost in space.
If I am with my friends, a highly skilled bunch of friends that do voices, that do humor, who are funny, sometimes I will just start ripping into a couple of different voices just to get some intercourse with something you just came up with, I guess I do when there are people around. It keeps you sharp.

DAVE HOLMES, television personality, August 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have to admit I have forgotten his name, but I remember MTV once had a young man as a VJ. I met him and gave him a card and asked if he would please autograph it. He signed the card and then walked off with it. Someone later explained it was my fault: I forget to explain to him I wanted the card signed and returned to me. Please tell me the rest of the VJs were not as slow witted.
HOLMES: Ha! I’m sorry to hear that. But I’m afraid we were all pretty dumb.
CZIKOWSKY: Jesse was the VJ who signed the card and walked off with it. I remember his name now, You know, they really should have awarded that contact to whoever it was that finished second. Can’t remember his name, though. (Holmes finished second.)
HOLMES: I know, right? I’ll pass that along to him. He’s a good guy.
CZIKOWSKY: Video did not kill the DJ after all. There is room for radio and video. Although, I am not certain if today’s generation realizes they can get music on things that spin around. What are some of your observations about the last three decades?
HOLMES: I was just talking about this (watch out! A name is about to get dropped!) Bob Mould. (Interviewed him for NPR’s “The Sound of Young America”). We shared a common concern that indie culture might be dying. Back in my day, you had to go to the COOL record store to get the good records---the indies, the imports. These records’ scarity is part of what made them so special, and the people you met at those stores became your friends. Now everything is available to everyone all the time, and nobody has to do the work. You can be hip without every trying. I can’t decide whether that’s good or bad.
CZIKOWSKY: Sure, everyone remembers the first song that was playe don MTV. But what was the second song played? (I think it was a Pat Benatar song.)
HOLMES: It was! It was “You Better Run”.

MIKE MITCHELL, photographer, August 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get permission to take photographs of the Beatles?
MITCHELL: Got a local magazine to procure a press pass.
CZIKOWSKY: Did you speak with any of the Beatles? If so, what did they say?
MITCHELL: Met Paul McCartney at a coke machine. I said hi, he said hi. That was about it.
CZIKOWSKY: How many photographs do you have of the Beatles that have not been seen by the public?
MITCHELL: About 460. Curiously the 46 sold by Christies represents 10% of the shoot. For a photographer that’s actually a pretty good take. The rest are “out takes”, just not as good as the rest.
CZIKOWSKY: Washington Magazine stated, when using your photographs, that the Beatles were a fad. Do you think they’ll ever catch on?
MITCHELL: It’s pretty good music, they probably have a chance.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you considered asking to photograph Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr in concert?
MITCHELL: Never occurred to me. I’m now just so into what I’m exploring with light.
CZIKOWSKY: Are you a fan of the solo works of any of the Beatles and, if so, which solo works do you like?
MITCHELL: I haven’t kept up much with individual works. But WAS really moved by Paul McCartney’s “My Ever Present Past”.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, and ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist, September 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Ringo Starr is not is the Hall of Fame as an individual or on the ballot. Yet, his solo songs continue getting much radio play and attention to this day, and he still tours and sells out theaters. I am surprised that he has been ignored.
ARGETSINGER: Ringo does not get enough credit, period. You know when the Beatles’ career took off? When they hired Mr. Richard Starkey, that’s when. I totally fell in love with him in “Hard Day’s Night”. What a babe.
CZIKOWSKY: A celebrity sighting was Garrison Keillor who not only signed for two and a half hours at the Library of Congress Book Festival, an hour and a half more than scheduled, staying until everyone in line had their books signed. He then was nice and chatted with staff. This was a great celebrity signing.
ROBERTS: Good for him---and none of you in line let us know about this until now. (Better late than never!) Keillor has a reputation of being somewhat cranky, so it’s nice to hear he was so generous with his fans.
CZIKOWSKY: Julianne Moor and Hoda Kotb were also at the Library of Congress Book Festival. Sorry we forgot to tell you in advance. Next time.
Also, I saw someone stating they were from the Polish national radio there interviewing people. I got interviewed. I wonder if I now have fans in Poland?
ROBERTS: You’re HUGE in the Warsaw book scene. Did you see Julianne? Was she gorgeous in person?
CZIKOWSKY: Julianne Moore wore sunglasses that hid her a bit, but she looked gorgeous and that was also the opinion of people around me. Granted, we only spoke for a few seconds with me thanking her, yet she was grateful and nicely smiled back. That was not the case with all authors, some of whom may have been tired after so many signings, yet she appeared to treat her fans well as much as I saw.
Same with Hoda, who was chatting with fans the entire time and even speaking to them because they came up to her.
ROBERTS: Excellent! I expect celebrities to be gracious while they’re in public. Good for both of them

JOE CLOKEY, Gumby Studio Head, and NICOLE LAPOINTE-MCKAY, Gumby clay animator, October 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY:I did not know your dad did the voice of Pokey. Who did the voice of Gumby?
CLOKEY: Ruth Eggleston was the voice in the 56 series.
Dal Mckennon was the voice in the 57 series and in the early 60s and in the 80’s and 90’s.
Dick Deals was the voice in the mid 60’s.
Norma McMillan was the voice in the late 60’s.
CZIKOWSKY: Go Huskies! When did you develop an interest in clay animation and did you learn anything at UConn that you apply to your work?
LAPOINTE-MCKAY: Yeah! Go Huskies! I apply a lot of what I learned at UConn! Went there to learn more about puppets and get a Masters Degree and I am still working in the puppetry field! The Puppet Arts program at UConn is a great start to getting into puppetry of any kind!

ZAC HAMMER, Amy Marshall Dance Company Member, and ALEX KARIGAN, Amy Marshall Dance Company Member, December 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are you planning more videos that you may tell us about?
HAMMER: Well, I believe telling would destroy the secrets. At this point we are still reeling from the point that this one has gotten as big as it did It is always something we do for Christmas cards around Christmas. I would say look for it again next Christmas or possible sooner. Just check into You Tube…
KARIGAN: And maybe things will happen.

ELAINE CARROLL, comedian, December 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you think Ashley Olsen is jealous that she is not the focus of this web series (“Very Mary Kate”)?
CARROLL: I sometimes wonder that. I think if my sister has a web series about her, I’d be jealous.
CZIKOWSKY: If Mary Kate were to do a series based on your life, what are some episode ideas you could provide her?
CARROLL: Wear lots of yoga pants and have your hair in a messy pony tail most of the time. Also, I drink a lot of coffee but that should come easy to her.
CZIKOWSKY: Sos, howsa hards is a it to seems (hic) drunk on tweeter?
CARROLL: it’sn ot 2 hard all u havta do is wait, someone, hold my hair back for asec
CZIKOWSKY: What is College Humor, and aren’t most of College Humor people out of college?
CARROLL: College Humor is a web site full of hilarious videos and articles. And yes, most of the people who work at College Humor are in their 70’s and 80’s.

CARRIE BROWNSTEIN, “Portlandia” TV series star, January 11, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Would you please tell us some about your background. When did you first study music and acting, when did you first perform, and how did your career develoo?
BROWNSTEIN: I grew up in a suburb of Seattle. I was always drawn to performing. I took improve and acting classes during summers and was involved in middle and high school plays. But when I discovered indie and punk music in high school, those things sort of took over. I am not a trainer musician. I bought a guitar and didn’t return to acting for many years.
CZIKOWSKY: You write, perform music, act, What can’t you do? Do you prefer writing or music or does it change over time? Do you think having these multiple talents makes you more aware and better at doing each?
BROWNSTEIN: OMG, I don’t do A LOT. I am a horrible visual artist. I can’t fix a car, sew, knit, cook etc. Statistically, there is more I don’t do than do.
CZIKOWSKY: What is your reaction to the success of “Portlandia”? When you first began working on it, did you expect it would be this big?
BROWNSTEIN: I’m very flattered and I feel lucky. We never went into it thinking anything other than we wanted to make the kind of show we’d want to see.
CZIKOWSKY: When did you first meet Fred Armisen? How did you get him to be in “Portlandia”?
BROWNSTEIN: I met him in 2003 at an SNB after-party that he invited my band to. We already had a bunch of mutual friends. We started making short videos under the moniker “ThunderAnt”. I didn’t get him to be in “Portlandia”, we just got into it together.:)

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, January 12, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: What exactly does “vote as many times as one wants” mean? Are there procedures in the People’s Choice Awards to prevent computer operations from casting continuous ballots? I know the Major League All State game allows voters to vote up to 20 times a day and then cuts themoff. How does the People’s Choice Awards work?
CHANEY: We may have to do an expose ahead of next year’s ceremony, clearly.
You vote online and the procedure is set-up to allow a single “user” to cast multiple votes. I don’t know if it cuts off at any point, but I suspect not.
Our internal online polls---which, to be fair, are not exactly uber-scientific---are designed so that people cannot do that. If you try to vote again ti’s supposed to tell you each user can only vote once.
The People’s Choice has obviously disabled that, or just doesn’t cookie its voters. Or something.
CZIKOWSKY: One can still do a joke on Melissa McCarthy without mentioning her weight. At the top of my head, such a joke could be “we are going to present her a Lifetime Achievement Award, for both her seasons”. It could be related to some other aspect of her work, but, yes, I do believe jokes about physical appearances (other than obvious appearances meant to be humorous, such as Carrot Top’s hair) are inacceptable, in my opinion.
CHANEY: Yes, you could mock the sudden, over-the-top success she’s had, which has gotten a bit out of hand. That would be appropriate,

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Writer. February 3, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I must say the last “Pan Am” cliffhanger was not the most clever. OK, no one tell me whether or not President Kennedy dies after he is shot. I want to wait until they show the next episode.
DE MORAES: Spoiler alert!

ENVIRONMENT

MARC EDWARDS, Virginia Tech Civil Engineering Professor, January 27, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How aware were officials from 2001 to 2004 that high metal level existed in the water (in the District of Columbia)? What could or should have been done about the high levels?
EDWARDS: They were extremely aware. The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority knew of the high lead levels in 2002, the EPA was alerted for the first time in 2003. The D.C. Department of Health was even consulted in 2004 about helping WASA prepare some public education materials, which did not sound an alarm of any kind to the public about how severe and pervasive the lead concentrations had become throughout the city.
CZIKOWSKY: Are there age or body weight conditions over which high metal levels in water will not cause damage to a child?
EDWARDS: There is no “safe” level of lead in water. However, the younger the child, the greater the potential harm that lead can do.

TIM APPENZELLER, National Geographic Executive Editor, April 22, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Have you considered doing an article on algae? I ask because, once you get past the snickers, you realize two crucial facts: algae is a more efficient source of fuel than bio-fuels such as ethanol and oil, and algae is easier to obtain than growing a crop or drilling into the grounds. I now the research is early and not complete, but it seems to me there is a possible good solution to our energy supply, and we should be exploring it more.
APPENZELLER: The algae research is really exciting, especially the diesel that you could use algae to capture CO2 from power plant exhaust and turn it into bio-fuel. But it’s early days, as you say. We did cover the research in a story and we did a story on bio-fuels in October 2007. But it’s probably too early for us do a full story on algae alone.

ANNYS SHIN, Washington Post Economics Reporters, September 23, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Is climate change on the G20 agenda? If so, what areas are open for discussion?
SHIN: Climate change is on the agenda, though financial regulatory reform rebalancing the world economy, and reform of the IMG and World Bank are likely to hog most of the attention. The main climate change-related proposal being pushed in Pittsburgh by President Obama would be a phasing out of fuel subsidies among G20 members. The Environmental Law Institute estimates here in the U.S., the Federal government handed out $72 billion in tax breaks and other subsidies to the oil and gas industry between 2002 and 2008.

BILL McKIBBEN, Middlebury College Scholar in Residence, November 23, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Have you looked at the issue of using algae for fuel? Several researchers have shown it is the most productive source of energy---far better than petroleum, corn, and cane sugar---and it is easier to find as it grows fast and doesn’t require drilling. I see Exxon is investing in this, but I wonder why more isn’t being said and done in this field?
McKIBBEN: There’s a fair amount happening---but there will be lots more the minute we actually put a serious price on carbon. Does algae beat coal on cost? Probably not. Does it best coal when the price of coal includes the damage it does to the atmosphere? Almost for sure. So that’s why Copenhagen is important.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you considered the long term consequences to your issue by considering the long term political consequences of attacking Obama, who is supportive of you on this issue? I see groups similar to yours and then watch conservative Republicans celebrating with glee. If environmentalists wish to attack Obama on global warming, Republicans will be glad to replace Obama. I wonder how many environmentalists who attacked Clinton and Gore were happy to see Bush and Cheney replace them?
McKIBBEN: The intent is not to attack Obama, but to get him to do more than he’s done so far ti raise this issue. I was an early supporter of Obama, and his fiercest advocates and volunteers came from the under-25 demographic---who also identified with global warming as their single most important issue. So in the long run, it seems to me in his best interest---as well as the planet’s---to get out in front on this. But I could be wrong---I’m not a political strategist.

MIKE TIDWELL, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Executive Director, December 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What do you say to the fatalistic approach some take to the climate change issue: that no matter how hard we try, there are just too many people, and we will never be able to reduce emissions enough to make a difference?
TIDWELL: There are definitely too many people on the planet for the way we live today. But what if---especially in the West---we reduced our per capita impacts 1000 percent? We use dramatically less carbon energy, we adopt sustainable diets, we stop sprawling, etc. What’s the carrying capacity for humans who have virtually zero impacts footprints? I don’t know. But here’s an interesting stat: All the ants in the world---combined---have roughly the same mass and share physical weight as all the world’s humans. We destroy the planet, but ants exist symbiotically in all the world’s ecosystem.

JACQUELINE SAVITZ, Oceana Senior Scientist, April 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How does this oil spill (in the Gulf of Mexico) directly ffect aquatic life? What immediate and direct damage does this do to what species of fish and other aquatic life, and what are some of the ecosystem changes that can result from this?
SAVITZ: There are a lot of marine life at risk. Seat turtles, fish, marine mammals, birds, you name it. Oil is extremely toxic to marine life of all kind.
Many fish spawn in the Gulf including Atlantic bluefin tuna which are under severe pressure from overfishing. Their larvae are very sensitive and the spill could affect their populations. Also snapper and grouper, all of those are important commercially.
There are also four species of sea turtles in the Gulf and they are all endangered or threatened. They can be exposed to oil when they come up to breathe, and end up being coated by oil and even swallowing some of it. This can interfere with their digestion, respiration, and a variety of other functions.
Sea birds are the classic poster child for oil spills. Coating can leave them unable to keep warm and cause hypothermia.
So there are a lot of ways marine life will be impacted by the spill even long before it gets to land.

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ, President of the National Institute of Ecology for the Government of Mexico, December 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: It is my understanding that most scientists familiar with global warming agree that it does exist, even if they do not agree on the degree to which it is effecting and may continue to effect the environment. Yet, I continue to hear commentators and even political leaders state there is no agreement amongst the scientific community that global warming exists. What, to your knowledge, if the level of scientific agreement as to whether global warming exists.
FERNANDEZ: There is very solid evidence that CC is real and that it is caused by human activities. The false debate has been fueled by people that do not want the negotiations to succeed. Pseudo-scientists often paid for by a few organizations linked to some high carbon industries keep producing information and media pieces to confuse people. It is unfortunate that even Congress people and representatives in some countries adopt this position. I would invite everybody to read more about this, but be attentive on the sources. Some organizations are disguised as think tanks but they are just professional campaigners at the service of some high carbon and very influential industries that do not want any change and do not care about millions of people threatened by climate change.
CZIKOWSKY: Are there representatives from the Peoples Republic of China at the (United Nations Climate Talks) conference and, if so, what have they been saying and what seems to be their attitudes?
FERNANDEZ: As always there is an important Chinese delegation here. I would say they have been acting responsibly. They are participating in the negotiations constructively, we hope that they will find together with the USA delegation a compromise formulation for the controversial issue of Monitoring,
Reporting, and Verification as well as the International Consultation and Analysis, so that we can complete a balanced package. I am hopeful. Even Japan, that had a terrible attitude on the first two days, now are behaving better, allowing for the negotiating atmosphere to be good to reach agreements.

LYNN GOLDMAN, George Washington University Public Health and Human Services School Dean, December 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What exactly does it mean that New York City is the largest city without a water filtration plant? What potential dangerous exposures face drinking water in New York City and what is done to minimize risks?
GOLDMAN: The New York City water is from a very clean source that is far from the city and has not required filtration because of lack of impact by industrial and agricultural pollutants. Hopefully it will continue to receive a clean bill of health as more work is done to understand what is going on with hexavalent chrominium.

STUART FREUDBERG, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Environmental Programs Department Director, April 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are there enough stations around for electric cars? Also, do you know about how much it costs for a gas station to install an electric charging station? I am wondering if enough is being done to entice enough of these stations.
FREUDBERG: Installation of electric charging stations is beginning around the region. Tomorrow COG is hosting an Electric Vehicle Forum to discuss where we are and how to make our region Electric Vehicle ready. We have experts in the vehicle world, utilities, and governments, and other regions, to stare how they are making this happen. Not sure about the cost of electric charging stations at gas stations, will look into that.

BILL McKIBBEN: Middlebury College Distinguishes Scholar, January 19, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: How discouraging is it for climate change activists to hear so many Presidential candidates state they do not believe climate change is read? I personally understand there is some disagreement amongst the scientific community as to how quickly and to what degree the climate is changing, but I have not seen any scientist (who is not a paid shill of a special interest in this debate) disagree that it is happening. Why isn’t the science of this getting across to several of our leading political figures?
McKIBBEN: It’s truly amazing. Newt said yesterday that Obama was like the President of Mars, but in fact, Obama is at least trying to be a resident of this planet, with its particular physics and chemistry. It’s the GOP Presidential candidates that seem embarked on a fantastic tour to some other corner of the universe with very different physical properties.

FASHION

VERA WANG, designer, April 6, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Thank you for the cheerleader uniforms. How was it you were chosen to design Eagles cheerleader uniforms? Have you been asked to design any other type of sports or cheerleading uniforms?
WANG: The owner of the Eagles is a dear friend of mine and we collaborated together on creating a fresh, athletic, charming image for the girls for both cold and warm weather locations, something that would resonate with all the fans (men and women). As for other “uniforms’ I have dressed three Olympic figures skaters: Nancy Kerrigan, Michelle Kwan, and Evan Lysacek
CZIKOWSKY: I am sorry you had to fall back on your second love of fashion. I hope fashion is working out for you, is it? What I want to know about is your ice skating career. You were exceptionally good. What are some of your best memories from your ice skating? Do you still put the skates on now and then?
WANG: My best memory was the last year I skated singles in the East Coast qualifications. Even though I didn’t qualify for the Olympic trials, I did my best performance ever, and as Dick Button says, it’s all about your personal best no matter what competition you are in. Then you can leave a sport feeling satisfied. As for skating these days…only when forced!

FOOD

CARLA HALL, “Top Chef” Contestant, February 25, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: If I were to call you to cater an event, and I said “bring me your best”, what would you produce for the affair?
HALL: Ooh! You’re not going to get off that easy. The name of my catering company Is “Alchemy Caterers, Changing the Way You Experience Food”. That said, I will ask you what your favorites are. When you put your energy into this list, I will spit out my take on it, and together we will prepare a perfect menu, one that will uniquely yours.

MIKE ISABELLA, “Top Chef. Season Six Las Vegas” Contestant, October 29, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: If you were to enter a restaurant where (fellow contestant) Robin is the chef, what would you order?
ISABELLA: Nothing.

JONATHAN SAFRON FOER, author, November 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Demographers point out that half of all people alive in the last 2,000 years are alive right now. We are consuming food at extreme historic rates. What does this mean to the animal world all that we are consuming?
FOER: We now raise 50 billion (that a “b” not an “m”) animals in factory farms every year. If China and India take up our eating habits---and the world population doesn’t increase at all---we will have to raise twice as many animals. There simply isn’t enough land on Earth to humanely and sustainably farm the amount of meat we “want” to eat. Americans now eat 150 times as much chicken as we did 80 years ago. Hard to call that radical change a “consumer preference”. One thing that every environmentalist, animal activists, nutritionist, and small or family farmer agrees on is that we need to eat less meat.
CZIKOWSKY: Many animals are bred to be much larger than they were a few decades ago. Is it possible to pass along the chemicals that make animals row larger so that we consumer them? Does this pose any health risks?
FOER: The truth is we don’t know for sure. We’ve made science experiments of ourselves and our children. We do know that cows fed growth hormones are more likely to have twins, and that humans who drink milk (from cows given growth hormones) are three times as likely to have twins.) American women who drink milk are three times as likely to have twins as American women who don’t.) These are only correlations. They don’t necessarily prove anything. But it’s quite scary now to know, isn’t it, just what the effects of eathing this drug-laden meat is?

JENNIFER LaRUE HUGET, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy Columnist, November 23, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How are turkeys raised when they are factory farmed? What is the difference between buying a free range turkey versus a factory farmed turkey?
HUGET: Factory farming generally involved small cages and no access to the outdoors. But free-range poultry are only required to have that access for 51 percent of their lives, and the “outdoors” might only be a tiny patch of ground. You might not notice any difference in taste or quality, but either bird might leave a bad taste in your mouth if you care about how the birds are raised.

JACQUELINE LOMBARD, “Top Chef” TV show contestant, June 24, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have a “signature” dish? If I were to order from you, what would you most want me to order, and why?
LOMBARD: I think that changes on a daily basis. What makes my style in NY is that I’ve always operate in the school of Alice Waters in terms of having a five course menu that changes daily with few repeat items. Yesterday we have a veal loin chop. I would tell you to order our roasted chicken with braised turnip greens, creamed leeks with bacon, and fresh watercress. It’s so yummy. Any day you can just come knock on the door and ask for the special.

ARNOLD MYINT and LYNNE GIGLIOTTI, “Top Chef” TV show contestants, July 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have signature dishes or particular things you make of which you are most proud? If so, what are they and where may I do to try some?
MYINT: I have a rolodex full of things that I’m proud of. I do the concept. I design the restaurant, menu, pick the wine. It’s all on me. You can experience that in Nashville at three of my restaurants.
GIGLIOTTI: I don’t have a restaurant. I used to have lots of signature dishes buy they’re no longer available. I love my venison wine with the foie gras French toast and apple cabernet compote.

TIMOTHY DEAN, “Top Chef” TV show contestant, July 15, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Is there a particular dish or dishes of which you are most proud? If so, what are they?
DEAN: From the show, the rockfish dish. Eric kind of scolded me about leaving the skin on, but that’s how we do it in Maryland.
As far as in real life, I think people need to try the 20 ounce bone-in-cowboy steak. We do steak, seafood, and chops, certified angus beef. Comes with a side for $30. Some people think 30 ounces is too much meat, but it melts in your mouth. I have a special rub. The majority of people don’t take it home. They sit there looking at the bone saying “I can’t believe I finished this whole thing.”

TAMESHA WARREN, “Top Chef” TV show contestant, July 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have a dish or dishes of which you are most proud? How do you create them?
WARREN: A couple dishes are: we have jerked foie gras. Basically the spices that would go into a traditional jerk and we let the foie sit for a couple of days in the marinade, then portion and sauté it. It’s very aromatic, has heat, but is not overpowering. The butteriness of the foie gras compliments it very well. That goes with a ginger gelee. I try to take classical dishes, or a component of a dish, and try to rework it to fit the style of cooking that I do. It could come from seeing something on the street.
CZIKOWSKY: If you had another change, would you participate in another chef contest TV series?
WARREN: Yeah, I would. I have a more or less basic idea of what they’re looking for, though that changes from show to show. I would definitely do it again. Regardless of what happens, good or bad, I’m still a winner in my eyes and it would be an amazing experience.

ANDREA CURTO-RANDAZZO, “Top Chef” TV show contestant, July 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If you had another chance to do another chef reality show, would you do it again?
CURTO-RANDAZZO: Only if I was a judge.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have a favorite dish? What do you most like to eat?
CUTRO-RANDAZZO: Picking a favorite dish would be like picking a favorite child---super hard to do. My favorite things to cook and eat would be Italian. That’s my background and it was my amazing Italian grandmother who instilled the love of food and cooking in me.
CZIKOWSKY: What dish or dishes are you most proud of when you make them?
CURTO-RANDAZZO: That’s another hard to answer question. Like picking a favorite child again. I’m proud of many dishes. I’m proud when the customer eats the food and is happy. To pin it down to specific dishes would be very difficult. I’m in the business of making people happy and having an amazing dining experience. That’s what I do.

STEPHEN HOPCRAFT, “Top Chef” TV show contestant, August 5, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If you were able to do another reality chef show, would you be willing to appear in it? Why or why not?
HOPCRAFT: This is my second reality chef show. My first one is the well known, quite famous “Chefs. Vs. City” on the Food Network. It was me and my pastry chef versus Aaron Sanchez and Chris Cosantino and we won, we beat them. Look that show up. That’s the successful Stephen. My record is one for one in TV cooking reality shows, so I’d like to make it 2 out of 3. If I lose that, I’ll do the best out of 5. I’m tough with the Rochambeau. You can be there all day til I win.

KENNY GILBERT, “Top Chef” TV show contestant, August 12, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Would you like to appear in another cooking reality series, if you had the opportunity to do so?
GILBERT: I would love to compete in another reality series. I got the bug. It was awesome. I love being in front of the cameras. I had no fear. I put my chef’s jacket on and grabbed my knives and felt like Superman putting on his cape. I loved being in front of the camera and competing.

AMANDA BAUMGARTEN, “Top Chef” TV show contestant, August 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If you had the chance to appear in another reality show, would you accept, and why?
BAUMGARTEN: Only if it was “America’s Next Top Model”. Ha ha ha!
CZIKOWSKY: If I were to order from you, what would you most wish for me to order, and why would you wish me to try that particular dish or dishes?
BAUMGARTEN: In the spring, I would hope you would order lamb. In the winter, I would want you to eat my cassoulet. In the summer I would want you to eat my heirloom tomato and avocado salad. In the fall, my venison or my grouse.

KELLY LIKEN, ‘’Top Chef” TV show contestant, September 9, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Having done this show, would you be willing to appear on another reality show, if you had the chance?
LIKEN: “Top Chef” was a great experience. I learned so much. But I think at this point I probably would say no, I would not be another reality competition TV show, but you never know. The opportunity hasn’t come. I feel very lucky to be back at home with my husband, my dogs, and my restaurant for now.
CZIKOWSKY: If I were to order a meal from you, what would you most wish for me to order, and why?
LIKEN: I definitely have signature dishes. Two of them that are almost always on my menu are elk carpaccio dish---the elk comes from this beautiful ranch in the mountains of Utah, served with mustard cream and tabbouleh salad; and my second signature dish is potato-crusted Rocky Mountain trout fillets. In the summertime, I serve those with heirloom tomatores and haricot verts. It’s hard for me to take them off the menu. My signatures revolve around Rocky Mountain food and what is produced and grown here. My menu is always changing according to what my farmers can source and grow for me.

ART SMITH, celebrity chef, and MARC GOLDMAN, marketing manager, October 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Are you familiar with the diet being mentioned by Don Imus that suggests that a diet free of sugar may be good. What are your thoughts on a totally sugar free diet?
SMITH and GOLDMAN: I am not familiar with his diet, but for me personally, I no longer eat any refined white sugar, even brown sugar. I do LOVE sweets, so I’ve discovered agave made from the agave cactus.
CZIKOWSKY: As Oprah’s chef, what have you observed during her battles with weight loss and weight gain, and what do you recommend someone do nutritionally who faces these battles all the time?
SMITH: As a personal chef to many of our country and world celebrities, just like us they deal with diet and weight issues. Trust me when everybody knows you they all want to feed you! I have won the battle by portion control and constant exercise. Keep people around you that show you love and appreciation.
CZIKOWSKY: When did you first run a 26 mile marathon, and how long did it take once you began running to be able to run such a marathon?
SMITH: I ran my first marathon three weeks, 4.32 second ago. I’ve been doing small runs and long one. Personally, I believe I was born to run, so it’s easy for me. I am excited about Sunday, but every race is different. I’ve heard there are some BIG BIG HILLS.

KRISTEN HINMAN, Washington Post special writer, December 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I tried kombucha once. I was surprised that a third of the bottle fizzed up and overflowed once I opened it. How normal is that?
HINMAN: I’ve had the same problem with kombucha that I’ve purchased at groceries. It’s annoying to lose half the drink after shelling out so much for it. The thing is the carbonation builds up as the drink sits untouched. So it a bottle’s been on a grocery shelf for a good long while, and was already pretty carbonated when the cap was sealed, you could be wearing it. You may see less of this as the commercial kombucha makers continue to tweak their beverages to cut down on fermentation after bottling. But the nice thing about making kombucha at home is that you don’t really have this problem if you are brewing and drinking regularly. The only time you need to be really careful is when you let the bottled kombucha sit on the counter to carbonate for a few days. As soon as the cap on the jar is taut, refrigerate!

CAROL J. ADAMS, author, April 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you know if most vegans insist their children also be vegans? I know one vegan who does not insist her child be one. It is her belief that the nutritional requirements for children may be different and thus she allows her child to have meat products. Yet she hopes her child will eventually become a vegan.
ADAMS: I think it varies. I have me lots of vegans who are raising their children vegan. If you don’t believe animals should be used, I think it is good to raise children according to that belief. Of course, the push back from our culture for making that decision is very strong. People often ask, “did you give them a choice?” to which the reply is, “did you give your kids a choice between dead animals and not eating dead animals”? Many kids would like to be given that choice. But I personally would feel that raising my kids vegan would be a great contribution to their health and spiritual welfare for they would know why they were eating that way. I have met vegan kids who are now grown up---they are wonderful examples of parenting by love.

BLACK METAL VEGAN CHEF, June 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If I were to order a meal from you, what dish or dishes would you most wish for me to request, and why those dishes?
BLACK METAL VEGAN CHEF: Any dish I would make you I would be sure it was amazing. This is not bragging…just to let people know that if you follow the various tings in the videos and cooking concept articles to come…you too will eat amazing food. I an not the only one that makes amazing food..I’m sure I have much to learn from all of you as well.

MATTHEW PETERSON, “Top Chef: Just Desserts” Finalist, October 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into CityZen. What would you most want me to try, and why?
PETERSON: Dessert tasting menu. We just started a dessert tasting menu at CityZen at our bar. We’ve been doing it for a while but I kind of dropped the ball at getting people in there. We had a lovely couple come in last night and partake in it. They said they heard about it, then came in. I thought that was great, that was really cool. You come to the bar and you can have three or four courses of dessert. It’s kind of off the cuff. It’s not stuff on the menu, it may be components of the menu, but I am going to take components from different dishes on the menu and make something out of it. If you want to have a cool dining experience, I know nobody else in D.C. is doing this. It is an opportunity to come in and see what I’m doing, see the restaurant if you’ve never seen it. Its $25, it’s a great deal. You can sit in our lounge, we have new lounge furniture. It’s a lot more inviting. You can have Andy, our sommelier, prepare some beer, cocktails, wine, whatever you’re in the mood for. It’s really cool. I really want it to be something that can take off, maybe people come in after a show or the arena.
TIM CARMAN, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 29, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Please pardon my ignorance, but what are some of specialties that distinguish Nigerian food from foods from other African nations? When I hear Nigerian food, I fear someone is going to ask me to give money upfront to help move the food out of Nigeria. Please enlighten me on Nigerian food.
CARMAN: That question is difficult to answer. Most people I talked to said that Nigerian food and Ghanian food are quite similar, but I rarely trust that answer. Sometimes I think it’s just a cop-out for when people don’t want to take the time to explain the difference. I know that some of the dishes are the same, but cooks in each country take different approaches. Like with egusi, I was told the Nigerian version is soupier than the Ghanian version.
FOOTBALL

TANNER COOLEY, Radio Show Host, December 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is your own football playing experience? Can your brother (Chris) get you a tryout with the Redskins?
COOLEY: I went to Utah State on a football scholarship and my career ended due to injury. I had three shoulder surgeries and even if I had a tryout with the Skins, I could never make it through what the players go through physicially.

MICHAEL RICKMAN, author, January 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is your opinion on coaches and how to motivate teams? There are so many different styles and techniques. More specifically, would you have advised Coach Zorn to do some things differently?
RICKMAN: The players seemed to like Zorn and wanted to play hard for him. I think they rallied around his optimism. In the end, though, that wasn’t enough. More than anything, players are motivated by the belief they have something to play for. Redskin players knew very early this season that it was a lost season and clearly lost their focus and desire. Jason Campbell eluded to that in an interview with Comcast SportsNet.

JANE JAKUBCZAK, Washington Redskins Team Nutritionist, September 16, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Are there any snacks kept around for the players? If so, what snacks are kept around for Redskins players?
JAKUBCZAK: Snacks are a very important part of the players’ nutrition plan. It is very unrealistic to try and get all 3,000 – 5,000 calories in just three meals, so we plan in two to three snacks as well. The snacks a player eats may look more like a mine-meal to us with 10 ounce 100% fruit juice, a large smoothie made with yogurt and fruit, and sometimes peanut butter thrown in especially for m guys that need to gain weight. Lots of players like to eat cereal for snack and will add fruit on top. We do have energy bars and granola around Redskins Park as well as well for players to grab on their way to a meeting.
CZIKOWSKY: How important is protein? I have read some nutritionists suggest that athletes should be looking more at improving their intact of vegetables and that there has been an overemphasis on protein. What do you think of such discussions?
JAKUBCZAK: I do agree we put way too much emphasis on protein at the expense of other nutrients. Protein is very important to an athlete (and others) to repair muscle breakdown, support a healthy immune system, and recovery from injury, but we need the vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables for our body to utilize protein optimally. I encourage a balanced diet between lean protein, whole grain carbs, unsaturated fats, low fat diary, and lots and lots of fruit and vegetables. I explain to my athletes that if you focus on one nutrient (i.e. protein) it’s like sending the quarterback out on the field without the rest of the team---one nutrient or one player can not win the game – it’s truly a team effort for football and nutrition! For a visual, I tell my athletes their plate should be ¼ protein, plus ¼ carbohydrate plus ½ fruit and/or vegetables. That is an optimal ratio for a performance and health enhancing meal.

ROMAN OBEN, former National Football League player, January 17, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is your opinion on over-celebrating touchdowns? Are they insulting to the other team, or should we let players have a few seconds of fun?
OBEN: “A few seconds of fun” is fine for an offensive player after scoring---because defensive players celebrate at every opportunity! But give an offensive player a few seconds, then he’ll definitely take it for granted.
CZIKOWSKY: The Jets seem to be overmatched in their games, yet they find a way to win. How do you think this will to win will do when they meet another superior team, the Steelers?
OBEN: There’s no one answer to this question---football is the greatest team sport in the world. Because everything has to go right just to score a touchdown, must less to actually win the game. And the Jets weren’t overmatched at all---it’s simple, get the team to play your style of football then you can dictate the outcome.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you think Brett Favre would unretire again?
OBEN: BRETT FAVRE SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM ALL THINGS FOOTBALL RELATED---unless he’s throwing to HS kids in Mississippi. Don’t think Vikes will be begging him to come back this summer.

JON DENUNZIO,Washington Post User Engagement Editor, and ROB SHAW, Bloomberg Sports Host, August 19, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are there people in fantasy football who try to draft the worst team? I should think drafting all kickers would make an interesting team, although the real challenge would be to try and draft the person at every position who is going to play the worst. That might even be a more difficult challenge than standard fantasy football.
DENUNZIO: Football Outsiders has run a “Loser’s League” for several years, and this is exactly the point---drafting players who play every week, but get really bad fantasy stats. Not sure they are running it in 2011.
SHAW: An interesting take on fantasy football, and yes, I have seen this done in a few leagues that reward the worst teams. My personal feeling is that you should only join a league where you know that every manager is putting forth the best effort. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with controversial trades and a lot of headaches. On the other hand, if everyone is trying to lose…the playing field will be balanced!

GAMBLING

JEFF SHULMAN, poker player, October 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: You do know that every time you have a good hand that the top of your right ear twitches 1/20th of an inch, don’t you? Just kidding. But, when Hollywood presents poker games as being contests where people figure out someone else’s “tell”, like a subtle twitch, how much of that is real and how much of that is pure Hollywood fiction?
SHULMAN: Tells are very important in poker, but not the most important. You don’t want to have a twitch unless you always have a twitch. The top pros try to trick the other players by swallowing, but it doesn’t work that often. More important is playing smart and not making mistakes.

GAY MARRIAGE

ROBERT McCARTNEY, Washington Post
CZIKOWSKY: I have a question, not for you, but for opponents of gay marriage. Why does it bother you so much what your neighbors do, especially when it does not affect you? Why would you wish to deprive others of the same legal benefits other couples enjoy? What is the purpose in harming others, just for some belief you have, and why should your belief guide the belief of others?
McCARTNEY: Here’s a question for opponents to answer.

TERRANCE HEATH and RICK IMIROWICA, same sex married couple, March 10, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If your only option was a civil union, would you have gotten a civil union? I presume you prefer marriage over civil union, or don’t you? What are your thoughts on civil union versus marriage>
HEATH: My experience in day-to-day life is that civil unions confuse people sometimes. They don’t always know what it means in terms of how they respond to our families, and sometimes need it explained. But when you tell people “I’m married”, they get it. They understand how to treat legal spouses.
CZIKOWSKY: I have asked opponents of gay marriage why they want to cause harm to their neighbors, and what concern is it to them? I hope you are greeted with warmth and respect by all, even those who disagree with you. Have you met many who disagree with you, and how are their attitudes towards you?
IMIROWICZ: To be honest everybody has been extremely kind to us. So many people have come up to congratulate us and some have shared thejoy they had when they married. Fortunately people choosing to attack newlyweds and parents of young children directly has not happened.
CZIKOWKSY: I am glad you are able to marry. Many do not realize that gay couples can be living together for years and, in a health crisis, be kept from seeing a loved one because they are not legally “family” and that important health care decisions could be left to a distant relative who has had little contact or concern for the person in the hospital. I know this is more of a statement than a question, yet perhaps you might give some of your thoughts on this.
HEATH: I have read and written about many such stories. One happened to a friend of ours. His husband, who was apparently healthy, collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. He was later found to have suffered a brain aneurism. Our friend arrived at the hospital only to be told he couldn’t see his husband or get information about his condition until he could prove their legal relationship.
He had to drive home, not knowing what was wrong or whether his husband was alive or dead, retrieve their legal documents, and drive back to the hospital. He was finally allowed to see his husband, who died a few days later.
I told that story to our neighbor down the street. She related a story about her husband being rushed to the emergency room with an injury. When she arrived at the hospital she simply said “I’m his wife”. And the response was basically, “Right this way”.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, June 9, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I did not realize that Rush Limbaugh is fine with civil union. Is Rush the new progressive media king? Rush hanging out with Elton John, I guess for a million dollars, I’d hang out with Rush.
ARGETSINGER: Indeed, for all the people questioning what Elton John was doing at Rush’s wedding---besides picking up a $1 million---it seems that there isn’t really that much political dispute between the two of them. Rush is okay with civil unions for gay couples, and Elton John has said that he doesn’t necessarily believe civil unions need to have the word “marriage” applied to them.

GAZA

ADAM SHAPIRO, Free Gaza Movement Board Member, June 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I believe Israel has lost a lot of respect by halting and attacking humanitarian efforts. Was there any possible military uses for anything that was attempted to be brought into Gaza on the ship that was attacked?
SHAPIRO: According to the Israeli logic, wheelchairs could be converted into weapons. We had wheelchairs on board. According to Israeli logic, paper can be used for weapons…we had paper on board. Our ships were inspected by EU inspectors and Turkish inspectors. This information was publicly available. Israel is now offloading the ships and all medial are showing the goods at the Israeli port are showing it all to be as we say---humanitarian supplies.
CZIKOWSKY: How did you decide to become involved in the Free Gaza movement, and what are the actions and goals of the Free Gaza movement?
SHAPIRO: I have been an activist for Palestinian rights for some time now. I joined Free Gaza after visiting Gaza following the Operation Cast Lead with a delegation from the National Lawyers Guild and seeing the devastation. The only way to help the Palestinians is to force the end of the blockage, and nothing else is being tried.


GEOLOGY

MICHAEL BLANPIED, U.S. Geological Servey Earthquake Hazards Program Associate Program Coordinator, March 9, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: As a layperson, it would be my guess that each time there is a shift (in an earthquake), there is a recalibration in the pressure along the fault line. Might it be possible that some shifts actually allow the shifting plates to be more stable than before whereas others increase the instability?
BLANPIED: Good thinking. The fault slip that happens in an earthquake changes the stress acting on other faults in the areas, and may influence how close they are to failure themselves. The biggest effect may be on the first fault itself: art of the fault immediately slipped adjacent to the part that slipped may be brought closer to failure. In 1999 the deadly Izmit earthquake in Turkey was followed a short time later by the Duzje earthquake to the east along the same fault line, and we believe they were re-altered through stress. When this is observed we refer to “earthquake triggering.”
CZIKOWSKY: I recall the odds of an earthquake on the East Coast are far less than on the West Coast, but that an earthquake on the East Coast would be more devastating. Is this correct and would you please explain what this means?
BLANPIED: That is true. Our plate boundary runs up the west coast but there are significant earthquake hazards in at least 39 states, affecting at least 75 million Americans. The problem with quakes in the central or eastern U.S. is two-fold: Seismic waves travel farther in the colder, older crust under that part of the country, so the damage can be more widespread. And there are more older buildings that may be vulnerable to being shaken. It is wise to examine earthquake hazards everywhere in the U.S. and to make prudent decisions about when it makes sense to replace or shore up vulnerable buildings.

CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT, National Geographic Traveler’s Magazine Columnist, April 15, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I was stunned to hear about this where volcanic ash grounded northern European air flights). Has this ever happened before? How thick is this volcanic ash? Is it headed only towards Europe?
ELLIOTT: Yes, Iceland is known for its volcanoes. In fact, it reportedly had one just a few weeks ago (that would be the Eyjafjallajokull eruption, which is said to have begun March 20 and ended April 12). The difference is that this one is kicking up a lot of ash high into the air, where it can affect aircraft. It doesn’t take a lot to harm a plane.
Volcanic ash damage aircraft engines, and in one notable case almost led to a crash. A Boeing 747 caught in the aftermath of the Galunggung volcano in Indonesia in 1982 lost thrust from all four engines and descended from 36,000 to 12,500 feet before all four engines were restarted, according to the aircraft manufacturer. The airplane, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Perth, Australia, diverted to Jakarta and landed safely despite major engine damage. The airplane subsequently had all four engines replaced before returning to service.

JAMES WHITCOMB, National Science Foundation Deep Earth Processes Section Head, April 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Is it true that the latest earthquake (in Japan) has probably increased the instability of the faults and that years of earthquakes are now more likely?
WHITCOMB: It is generally accepted that the earthquake increased the stress on the adjoining faults. For an earthquake of this size, the aftershock series will continue for many years, but at a decreasing rate with time.

GREECE

ZIAD ABDELNOUR, Financial Policy Council Chairman, February 22, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: What is the expected end plan for getting Greece out of its economic mess? It appears the strategy is to extend its economic misery to pay out creditors, but where is the means to pull Greece out of its condition of continuous debt?
ABDELNOUR: I don’t think any of the European leaders really know where this is headed yet…
Greece will receive $171.9 billion from the European Union (EU), $17 billion from the International Monetary Fund, and the rest from the European Central Bank.
In addition, Greece will exchange about $264 billion of its debt held by private creditors with new bonds with 53.5 percent value.
After the penal interest Greece has paid on these bonds already, we still see an insolvent country paying bondholders 50pc of face value when they should be getting nothing.
So Greece gets 100 billion Euros written off, but borrows 130 billion Euros in order to achieve this, so it is still borrowing more making its overall debt not better, but worse, in absolute terms.
To avoid future defaults, the Greek economy has to grow fast. Economic growth must come from exports. The question is whether Greece is in a position to substantially expand its exports. This will require the economy to be competitive; hence the cut in the minimum wage.
Just FYI, Greece’s economy shrank 7 percent in in the fourth quarter of last year and unemployment is 19 percent, a consequence of cuts in public wages and increased taxes inflicted during a downturn.
With less debt burden, the Greek economy could be prosperous, but only if the Greek government implements the austerity measures, if corruption is curtailed, and if people agree to work harder for less money…Highly unlikely in my opinion. So in my personal opinion we are going to be back to square one in a few years.
CZIKOWSKY: What will happen to Greek employees and residents during this long period of continued financial crisis?
ABELNOUR: They are going to have to find new ways of reinventing themselves, upgrading their skills, and becoming more entrepreneurial.
This has got to start not just in Greece but worldwide.
Counting on government to keep helping you, anywhere in the world, is a losing proposition.
Government’s job is not to create jobs…It is the private sector.
In my opinion, governments’ jobs worldwide should be to create an environment conducive to wealth creation…not job creation.

GUNS

JOHN FEINBLATT, Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coordinator, August 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: We just had another shooting in Pennsylvania. I fear one of the problems is we have had people with severe emotional problems who snap. Yet, in the past, they would start a brawl or smash something. People would fight with fists or knives. Today, it is so much easier to pull out a gun and start firing off a clip of bullets. I fear a big problem is we have made guns more accessible, and too many problems wind up being addressed by guns, don’t you think?
FEINBLATT: Actually, last year Congress responded to the Virginia Tech shooting---also perpetuated by someone with mental illness---by giving states incentives to share their mental health records with the Federal gun background check system. Unfortunately, Congress has still yet to fully fund this program.

ROBERT MARCUS, Bob’s Gun Shop Owner, October 25, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Approximately how many more guns have you sold compared to what the average store sells? I obviously ask so one may better judge if one of the reasons your store sells more guns police confiscate is because you sell more guns.
MARCUS: We have sold nearly 75,000 firearms since the enactment of the 1968 Gun Control Act. We maintain those records, a few years prior, and all are subject to trace requests. As mentioned, one of our competitors sold 900 guns and had 72 traces against our 6,000 plus and 88 traces. You are correct; the number goes up with the increase in sales volume.
CZIKOWSKY: If I were to walk into your store, and have all legitimate credentials, and I kept walking into your store every few days, how long could I keep this up? Would I be able to endlessly walk in and buy assorted guns every few days, or would this set of some warning you would act upon?
MARCUS: My answer to your first question is, “How much money do you have?” Seriously, Virginia currently has a law that limits a person to one handgun purchase in a 30 day period. Also, we have refused to sell to people who have come in once a month to buy the exact same gun. We do what we can, but do not think for a moment that people who have criminal intent will find a way; using different sales people or sending others in as straw purchasers.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe this publicity will send a message that, if I am a criminal and I want a gun, I should go to your store? Are you going to do anything different now that this message, even if not unintentionally sent, may indeed have gone out, and presumably you are now aware this message is out there?
MARCUS: I doubt the people you are worried about are Washington Post readers. As I’ve said before, we do all we can now.

JAMES CAVANAUGH, Former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge, October 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I asked the owner of a gun store if there was anything different he could do, and his answer was he already does all he can do. Let me ask you: is there anything more gun store owners can do that most are not doing?
CAVANAUGH: The first thing, of course, is for gun shops to scrupulously maintain their records and follow the law. In addition to that, they should make sure that all their sales people understand what straw sales are and how they happen. I advocate large signs, which many dealers use, describing and discouraging straw sales. We all count on dealers to ensure that their sales are lawful. Great question.

JAMES V. GRIMALDI, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 27, 2010
I know this was not the subject of your current writings, yet I am wondering if you might consider delving into how gun laws are created and the influence that the National Rifle Association has. The NRA has never, and legally need not, disclose their funding. Yet, the way they consistently fight any law that might impede the sale of any gun makes it suspicious that they are, if not funded, defenders of gun manufacturers who oppose any law that would prevent the sale of a single one of their guns. It seems to me, and this is my opinion, that the political dialogue over gun laws would be better served if advocates for hunters were conducted by organizations that respect their needs yet are willing to consider laws that get at illegal guns that are not used for sporting purposes. Have you given any thought to expanding your writings into these legislative battles and the politics and lobbying behind creating these laws?
GRIMALDI: Thank you for your comment and suggestion.

HEALTH

JOHN WEST, author, February 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What legal problems might you have faced with what you did (by engaging in assisted suicide), and have you been threatened with any legal actions?
WEST: No legal actions threatened yet. But it’s only been a week. We shall see. But I wrote the book to take a stand. To “Stand and Be Counted” as David Crosby’s song so aptly puts it. We all need to be willing to stand up for what we believe in, and I’m standing up for the privacy and dignity rights of a group that we are ALL going to be members of. Because EVERYONE dies. So we all need to think about how it’s going to end. Painful or Peaceful. Don’t you want that choice? I sure do.

ATRUTO PORZECANSKI, American University Professor, and DAVID ISSERMAN, RareShare.org Co-Founder, February 10, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I presume there are psychological benefits to people connecting with others who face the same rare conditions they face. I wonder if this psychological benefit also yields physical benefits, and if there are physical benefits to having a good psychological state in facing illnesses.
PORZECANSKI: All my doctors have told me having a good attitude and good mental health are crucial not just to survival but also to living with an illness.
ISSERMAN: I would agree with Arturo. Although I haven’t read any recent studies on the subject, it would make sense that there would be some positive correlation.

DAVID SCADDEN, Harvard Stem Cell Institute Co-Director, March 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Will you please discuss the issue of when human testing should begin, especially for terminally ill patients. When you see hope that there is a cure that shows up in animals, as I see some cancers have been cured in research with dogs, or stem cell growth recovery with dogs, when can we being testing on humans? I realize that there are no assurances that what works for one species may work for another, and I understand there are dangers and many unknown complications. Yet, when there is hope for terminally ill patients, isn’t it better to provide something that holds hope instead of doing nothing?
SCADDEN: This is an extremely difficult balance to strike; providing help at the earliest possible moment; without sacrificing safety. No one wants to hold back when the promise looks real, but causing harm is an anathema to all. Scientists pass along discoveries made in animals to those who can guide converting them into a human therapy and then the steps of review begin. It is usually years of testing to shape the right dose and means of delivery and establish safety. It is very important that those involved in each step realize the urgency for the people waiting at the end. I try to make sure the people here recognize how important their effort and timeliness is to those awaiting therapy.

STACY MALKAN, author, March 13, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Is there anything that can be done by state legislation and state governments (concerning carcinogens in baby toiletries)?
MALKAN: States are passing laws, municipalities are passing laws, and there are major market shifts occurring too. For example, the health care industry is coming together to buy safer products as a block, to force manufacturers to make changes. All of this, and the changes we all make as individuals, is making a difference. The market is already shifting, the smart companies are already paying attention to this stuff and getting rid of hazardous chemicals.

JAMES V. GRIMALDI, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 16, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Isn’t it the case with asbestos that it does not become a problem until it is disturbed? Also, sometimes the smallest particles can be more of a problem as they can go deeper into the lungs. Thus, wouldn’t present tests indicating asbestos is not a problem (at the Smithsonian) mean there is no problem as long as it is not disturbed? Yet, if it is disturbed, that is another matter.
GRIMALDI: That’s exactly correct. Asbestos is fine as long as it is encapsulated or inert. The Smithsonian says it is using correct methods on the walls---which would mean testing it fest to make sure it does not contain joint compound with chrysotile (asbestos) before breaching, cutting, or drilling into the walls, and then using “wet methods” when breaking into the walls.

STEVEN K. GALSON, Acting U.S. Surgeon General, May 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How does this flu compare to others in terms of number, especially at this point, during the spring season?
GALSON: The severity of the epidemic is actually more important than the numbers, and so far this virus is causing relatively mild illness.
CZIKOWSKY: If the fear is there will be a fall outbreak of the swine flu, are we taking enough steps to see that a vaccine, and that enough of the vaccine, is being made in time for distribution before the fall flu season? Also, while there are fears the flu may mutate, how much mutation is required before a vaccine is rendered useless against it?
GALSON: We have aggressively begun the process of developing a vaccine and are in active discussion with our partners nationally about recommendations for its use in the fall.

PAULA SPAN, Washington Post Magazine Contributing Writer, May 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Are there enough paraprofessionals and even professional working in the home care field to meet demand? As the number of elderly is expected to increase sharply in the next few years, will there be enough to meet demand? Also, will there be enough to work in rural areas?
SPAN: At the precise moment, experts tell me there are enough home aides overall though spot shortage in some locations. (Recessions may actually help increase the supply of available helpers, because better paid jobs are less available.)
But in the future, no, economists and health analysts predict a significant labor shortage. Partly because home care workers (and aides in nursing homes and assisted living, too) leave their jobs so often. Enormous turnover. Agencies are hiring all the time.
And partly because the number of elderly people who will need such help is going to jump. People are living longer, but with chronic diseases, so there will be more clients. And the number of boomers is going to strain the system. Something has to change.
In rural areas, one problem is transportation.

JANIS ORLOWSKI, Washington Hospital Center Chief Medical Officer, June 23, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Does your hospital use a helicopter? When hospitals use helicopters, what are the criteria for when they are used?
ORLOWSKI: We do have a helicopter service which has been in service since 1983 with over 45,000 missions. We did not use our service yesterday (after the Metro crash) although we were on alert. Decisions to use a helicopter are based on severity of illness and distance. We also have a ground transportation system to compliment our emergency response.

CECI CONNOLLY, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: May I please see some cost and savings estimates (of health care proposals?) What are the claimed possible costs of each of the major components of the health care bills, according to supporters and opponents? What are the possible savings, if any, that supporters and opponents see from major parts of these proposals?
CONNOLLY: Generally speaking, experts estimate it will cost about $100 billion a year over the next decade to provide coverage to 46 million uninsured Americans. President Obama has said he wants health reform to be deficit neutral. The current plans calls for squeezing about $550 billion out of Medicare growth over the next ten years (that is out of total Medicare spending of nearly $7 trillion). Congress is considering tax increases to cover the rest of the cost (perhaps higher taxes on the wealthy or a tax on high-priced employer-sponsored insurance policies). The big unknown is whether over the long term, we as a nation can slow the rate of growth through better coordination of care, eliminating duplication, investing in wellness, etc.

EZRA KLEIN. Washington Post Business Blogger, August 13, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I have a question on the “death panels” question. Granted, there are proposals that the proposed health care program may provide end-of-care counseling. Yet, doesn’t such counseling exist under some private insurance provisions? So, isn’t the real issue whether or not the government program will pay for such counseling?
KLEIN: Yep.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Columnist, September 15, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I am thinking back to candidate Howard Dean’s proposal that people could sign up for Federal health insurance when they do their taxes, and George McGovern’s recent editorial that we extend Medicare to everyone, and I wonder: have we allowed the issue to become so complex that it may collapse due to complexity? What might have happened had pro-health reform advocates asked for an easier to understand proposal such as what Dean and McGovern proposed?
ROBINSON: Good question. You might have noticed that special interests have considerable impact on Federal legislation, and this fact tends to make everything a lot more complicated than it needs to be. That’s why the tax code is so complex.

GERALD CONNOLLY, Member of Congress, September 24, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Did you see the poll where it shows a majority do not want a public option, while a majority also then replied they preferred being able to opt into a public health insurance plan? Isn’t a big problem with health care is that the issue is too complex and the public does not understand it? Wouldn’t it have been better if we tried for a simpler approach, such as expanding Medicare to everyone or allowing people to enter health insurance plans on the Federal income tax forms?
CONNOLLY: Yes, health care is a complex issue and perhaps a simpler approach would have been easier to understand. But we’ve been debating this subject since Truman and a consensus has been elusive. It is complex and difficult but that isn’t a reason to avoid the challenge.

TIM PAGE, Pulitzer Prize winning Music Critic, October 27, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What are the symptoms that define one as having Asperger’s Syndrome as opposed to other syndromes?
PAGE: I’m really not trying to cop out here, but I often say that I don’t actually know a great deal about Asperger’s Syndrome: I just happen to have it. For good psychological information, I would recommend Tony Attwood’s wonderful “The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome”.
I also admire the radical new autism activists, such as Aspies for Freedom, who believe that autism and Asperger’s should be considered
differences” rather than afflictions. I have some mixed feelings about this---although I do think some of the things I ended up doing were enabled my Asperger’s Syndrome, I still wouldn’t wish it on anybody, for I’ve felt pretty unhappy a lot of life. Still, I love their punchy, radical spirit---and who knows? Perhaps the depression and anxiety that seem to accompany most cases of AS wouldn’t be there if we didn’t always feel so strange.

EZRA KLEIN, Washington Post Business Blogger, October 29, 2009
CZIKOWKSY: I am trying to figure out how this current health care debate will end. Is there a possibility there could be a compromise that would get enough votes that would settle on a trigger but that increases the conditions upon which the trigger is set off?
KLEIN: Yep.

IRENE VILAR, subject of article, October 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t know if you know the answer to this, yet is there a root cause of this pathology? What is the thought process or explanation for this pathological behavior?
VILAR: Great question. This is what the book is about. In a nutshell: I am a Puerto Rican brought up by a depressed mother whose own mother chose political struggle over motherhood her. I am too the daughter of a woman who was sterilized despite herself as part of an American led experiment (developing as a result a valium addiction), who was betrayed by her husband and who had little opportunity to have access to education and who eventually committed suicide. When I graduate from high school at the age of fifteen I had one desire, to escape America and be free to do exactly what I wanted. This meant for me that as a fifteen-year old freshman in college I did not have to submit to any rule or law when it came to my sexuality. I wanted control over my body and the way I chose to have control could not have been more terrible. I fell in love with my literature professor. He was a philosopher and self proclaimed feminist who wanted no children and thought that women should be sterile if they wanted a career and true life of freedom. Call it an act of adolescent rebellion, the “reckless” desire to be fully a woman for a couple of days, whatever, but I “unconsciously” and systematically forgot to take my birth control pills and defied him. Thinking back through our mothers, as Virginia Wolff said, I know today that with each pregnancy I defied him as much as I defied the politics of sterilization that took my mother away from me. It was not a rational behavior, of course, when one is looking for a strategy of survival with very limited tools, one uses what makes sense in a sick way. I wanted control over my body and the way I chose to have control could not have been more terrible. Getting pregnant brought on a strange feeling: I could bring it on with nobody’s permission and I could interrupt it with nobody’s permission. Of course this did not mean that I wanted to do it again and again---a druggie also wants to stop every time. I was a creature in suspended animated addicted to the high of agency in pregnancy and the same of the down side, the inevitable termination built into the cycle in order to not lose him and also in order to be close to my mother, by identifying with the subjugated, powerless version of her. My blinding desire for control was at the core of my neurosis, very much like an anorexic.

PAUL KANE, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 25, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Senator Lamar Alexander states they will be no compromise (on health care issue). How does this poll? What percent of Americans want health care killed? What percent believe Congress should do something? What does it appear that the public wants?
KANE: There’s our latest poll, conducted along with ABC News. Here’s the paradigm that I did not understand until I went due north of Philly this week. Only 46% of voters in our survey supported the health care plan along the liens of what the House/Senate passed. (Our poll, FYI, has consistently scored a couple points higher for the legislation—and for Obama’s own approval rating---than other respect polls, such as Gallup; this isn’t a huge deal, because our poll and their poll has been consistent, so that’s the most important thing.)
Now, only 46% support the current bill, but 63% support a continued push for a comprehensive health care bill. Huh. So what do those 17% want? Well, I thought they were just confused people, until I went to Bucks County.
These 17T of the voters are the key battleground of the political future, these are the folks who simply don’t trust anything that’s a one party solution. They are people like Leonard Wilson, a 58 year old jeweler on Mill Street in Bristol. He’s a lifelong Republican who’s a backer of Presidents Obama, Clinton, and a backer of the GOP Congressmen. To him, the legislative solution has to be bipartisan in order for him to believe that it’s not just some partisan game of tit for tat.
He’s that 17%; he doesn’t really like or trust the current bill, in large part because it’s a Democrat only bill, but he wants Congress to keep working toward a comprehensive solution. Meaning, he wants it to be bipartisan/
Unless it’s bipartisan, he won’t support it.

FRANCES LARGEMAN-ROTH, registered dietician, March 18, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are some common foods that most everyone eats that should be avoided (by pregnant women)? I know most know not to smoke or consume alcohol and to avoid fish with mercury, but after that, there admittedly is much ignorance on what else should be avoided.
LARGEMAN-ROTH: Great question! There are lots of things to avoid in addition to the biggies (booze, tobacco, high mercury fish). Lots of women are surprised to learn that cold cuts, smoked salmon, and hot dogs are no the no no list. That’s because they’re at risk for listeria contamination, which can happen under refrigeration. Also, unpasteurized juices are another listeria risk. And on the caffeine front, keep it to no more than 200 mg a day. That’s about 18 oz cup of coffee, depending on the strength.

PERRY BACON, JR., Washington Post Staff Writer, March 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I believe, for right or wrong, that the health care political issue will be determined by the commercials and how the politicians and spin masters define the issue. Who do you think is ahead, and what groups appear ready to spend serious money getting their views known (aside from candidates)?
BACON: The labor unions, Organizing for America (the Obama campaign group), Moveon.org are among the big pro-health care groups. The Chamber of Commerce has been the most anti-group. But this will change now that the bill has passed, the two parties themselves will be highly Important in defining the popularity of the bill. I actually don’t think the spin matters as much as you say, voters are quite polarized on this issue and I think the ones who don’t already have an opinion probably will vote this fall more on other issues, like jobs.

ANDREW J. IMPARATO, American Association of People with Disabilities President, July 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are the shortcomings you see in the Americans with Disabilities law and in how it is being implemented, and what actions do you believe are necessary to improve upon this law?
IMPARATO: I think the ADA was well-written, but at times it has been interpreted by the courts and Federal enforcement agencies in a manner that sometimes undermines its effectiveness. For example, it should be a no-brainer that the ADA applies to the internet, but the courts are split on that issue. There are lots of issues like that that need clarification.

FRANK LUNTZ, pollster, September 27, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Might health care backfire on Republicans? While it is not popular, how popular do you think it will be to take away health benefits after the public has been given them?
LUNTZ: Most of the benefits have still not been given and the cost is prohibitive. I think the American people would prefer health care reform that is less expensive, less bureaucratic, and more personalized.

DAVID WILLIAMSON, National Naval Medical Center Traumatic Brain Injury Unit Director, October 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Some of the bombs rattle the brain and it may take some time to diagnose brain injuries. What are some of the ways one can tell if they are suffering from such injuries?
WILLIAMSON: Sometimes it is unclear early after a blast exposure whether there will be any permanent effects, or just a transient disturbance on brain functioning---what some people call a concussion.
We can tell if there is injury to the brain from brain imaging such as CT scans or from bedside examination of the nervous system.

NIECA GOLDBERG, New York University Clinical Associate Professor, November 24, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do women feel pain differently than do men and, if so, does this affect how they may feel some painful warning signs of heart attacks?
GOLDBERG: Men and women do experience pain differently. Studies have shown that women have higher tolerance to pain. Heart attack symptoms can differ in men and women. Both men and women may experience chest pressure, a squeezing or pressure on the chest as though an elephant is sitting on the chest. Sometimes the heart attack symptom is severe shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, pressure in the upper back.
CZIKOWSKY: Are there significant differences between the survival rates of women and men when having a heart attack, and do these rates vary at different stages of a heart attack?
GOLDBERG: In the first month after a heart attack, women have a higher risk of dying compared to men.
Heart attacks are less common in common in women under 50. Women are 50% more likely to die compared to a man of the same age.
This is why we need to educate young women on how they can prevent their first heart attack.

ELAINE ARON, author, February 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are there points where being together becomes too stressful that there becomes a health risk to staying together?
ARON: Definitely. There is considerable research on that. Staying in a bad relationship is especially bad for older people---perhaps because they are more vulnerable to things like heart disease and high blood pressure. Also, because they feel they will have fewer chances to find a new relationship, so it feels more hopeless. As a therapist, I tell people in an unhappy relationship that if BOTH of you are taking responsible for the situation and trying to change, through therapy, seminars, reading---whatever---then there’s still hope and it’s worth staying for awhile. (Otherwise, your partner may go to the next person, having become your ideal!) If the other person sees it as all your fault and refuses to look at his or her role in the problem, well…not much hope for change there.

HOLLY HEIN, psychologist, March 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When a celebrity enter drug and alcohol rehabilitation, there not only is the public pressure placed on the celebrity on kicking the addiction, but there is also the reality that the odds of anyone relapsing are high, The success rate of rehab from relapsing is only about 5%, yet most people do not relapse with the paparazzi following them. Might this be a good time for the public to focus on the reality that rehab often is a long process that often does involve extensive efforts and often either several short term rehab services or a few long term services?
HEIN: Most certainly. Addiction is a body, mind, and spirit that is off balance and it requires time, and effort, to really treat. There are no easy answers, but I can assure you that it takes lots of personal work to overcome so you can flourish in your life.

PETER VISHTON, College of William and Mary Psychology Professor, May 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What does it mean when a “brain connection” happens, and how important is it that the vast majority of these brain connections occur during the first five years of live?
VISHTON: The brain develops and changes throughout the course of our lives. A great deal of recent research has supported this idea. One longitudinal brain imaging study found that the frontal lobes continue extensive development even into our early twenties.
That said, there is an enormous amount of brain development that takes places during the first years of life. The number of neurons in our brain peaks around age 2. It is during those five years that we are best at learning languages and mastering new cognitive skills. So the first five years are important, but mental and physical development continue throughout life.

FABIO COMANA, American Council on Exercise Educational Curriculum Developer, May 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on training towards excelling at a specific sport, how young could one start training a child towards that spot, how does one avoid overdoing it, and then, at what point does the child get to pick the sport or sports that the child wishes to play?
COMANA: We see young people begin competitive sports at very young age (4 to 5 years of age). Ideally you should expose the child to a variety of different activities for the primary purpose of developing their motor skills. They tend to gravitate to the ones they enjoy and probably do well---this may initiate their path within that sport. Parents and coaches often put too much pressure on young children to train, perform, and excel, whereas to them, it is really all about having fun. 70% of children drop out of sports by age 13, in part due to this pressure and the lack of fun. While you can certainly reroll them in a sports-specific training program, always make sure they are enjoying it and having fun.

DAVID CERTNER, AARP Legislative Counsel, May 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If we don’t do something now, I fear health care costs will crowd out a good portion of our national spending, it is doesn’t already. Is health care projected to continue rising above the inflation rate and how should we contain these spiraling costs?
CERTNER: You correctly cite the real problem---that health care costs continue to rise at rates well above inflation. Part of the debate right now over Medicare often confuses this point---many of the proposals would simply ask people in Medicare to pay more, rather than tackling the real issue of rising costs. We need to hold the costs, not simply shift the higher costs to those in Medicare, many of whom can barely afford health care now.

ELIZABETH LODER, Brigham and Women’s / Faulkner Hospital Headache and Pain Division Chief, July 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you know, in states where medical marijuana is legal, if marijuana can help with some kinds of migraines?
LODER: With some other doctors, I recently looked at the published evidence about marijuana or synthetic cannabinoid drugs and headache. There is really not much good evidence. One worry I have is that there is some evidence that marijuana may (rarely) cause constriction of some of the arteries in the brain, leading to a severe sudden onset of headache. This “reversible cerebral vasoconstriction” can be serious. So I do not feel comfortable recommending marijuana to treat headaches.

MARGARET PRESSLER, Washington Post KidsPost Section Writer, August 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I know the basics: eat well, exercise, etc. What about a positive attitude? How important is a positive attitude, in your opinion?
PRESSLER” Every researcher I spoke to asked me if (her husband) Jim was happy because research clearly shows that happier people age better and look younger.

PETER CUNNINGHAM. Center for Studying Health System Change, Quantitative Research Center Director, September 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What will it take to get health care insurance costs under control? I remember an economist a decade ago ridiculing our concern over social security, pointing out that the rising costs of health care are going to absorb much more of our economy in a few decades. Health care costs for decades have risen at rates faster than the cost of living has increased. Seriously, what will it take to get costs decreased?
CUNNINGHAM: Right now, the best hope for getting costs under control is through reform of the delivery system as well as the way we pay providers. Most payment is still fee-for-service. The PPACA calls for experimentation with bundled payments, in which a group of providers treating a patient would receive a set fee, which means they would have more of an incentive to use services as efficiently and sparingly as possible. There isn’t enough evidence yet to know how well these reforms will work at controlling costs. Given the aging of the population and new technologies, there will continue to be upward pressures on cost.
CZIKOWSKY: You mention we will lose private sector innovation if we create national health insurance. What are those private sector innovations, other than increasing profits and higher costs?
CUNNINGHAM: The argument is that private companies have incentives to control costs, provide care more efficiently, and are more attuned to patient satisfaction than the Federal government. I think there are good reasons to be skeptical of that, since the Medicare program performs well on administrative costs and patient satisfaction, despite a lot of the criticism you hear. I think you do see a lot of innovations in the private sector, especially concerning health information technology and reform of delivery systems, but the delivery system would still be largely “private” even with national health insurance. Again, Medicare performs pretty well on many measures of efficiency.

MICHAEL GOTTLIEB, UCLA Medical School Clinical Associate Professor, December 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If one wishes to get pregnant and one partner has AIDS< what is the risk of the disease being transferred to the other partner?
GOTTLIEV: This can be done. There are clinics who will “wash” the male’s semen clean of HIV and then do in vitro fertilization.
I have several patients in my practice who did that and have healthy kids and an uninfected mom.
CZIKOWSKY: Does medical marijuana have any use for AIDS patients?
GOTTLIEB: It does not affect T cell counts or viral load, in my experience. Some patients are helped with the neuropathy (nerve pain) from previous toxic meds or with sleep and anxiety.

SUSAN BAER, writer, and PAGE MELTON IVIE, consultant, January 9, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: This may be an awakening as an example to what we may see more and more. As people live longer lives, we may well see spouses with diseases, dementia, etc. where the marriage has collapsed (the love may or may not continue) and the marriage remains for the sake of the health care (and/or the continuing love) while the other spouse has moved on to a new relationship. I presume there are no figures on how many similar situations there are, yet, I suspect we will be seeing this more often.
BAER: Based on the number of comments we received from readers relating similar situations, I’d say you’re right, there probably are many examples of creative, or nontraditional, arrangements where people are trying to make the best of a difficult situation.
MELTON IVIE: The National Family Caregivers Association estimates there are 65 million people caring for family members/friends with chronic or critical illness and injury. This number will only increase---and I have met scores of folks in similar situations and they are heroic. I wish more people knew about them. I hope we are reaching them positively with this story.
CZIKOWSKY: It is my understanding that many health care insurers do not cover brain injuries. I do not need to know your personal situation, yet I wonder what many uninsured with brain injuries do and isn’t this limiting the care that could be provided?
MELTON IVIE: A lot of Robert’s care was not covered. We would love to see greater coverage of cognitive impairment---this is a huge issue for folks with brain injuries. A lot of survivors end up in Medicaid, possibly in a nursing home, possibly worse.

KARL A. PILLEMER, Cornell University Human Development Professor, February 22, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I used to state that laughter and being happy are good advice for health and long life. I then had a physician tell me that there have been no studies proving this. Did many older people interviewed discuss happiness and laughing and the roles they play in their lives?
PILLEMER: What the elders argue is that people have the ability to choose to be happy on a daily basis, in spite of physical challenges, life difficulties, and personal losses. We have to remember that everyone over 70 has experienced these kinds of difficulties, and they argue that at some point, everyone has to make that choice. In terms of research more generally, there is definitely accumulating evidence that positive emotions do contribute to health.
CZIKOWSKY: Yesterday, there were news articles about a study that claimed that fasting, or limiting calories to under 500, every other day could extend one’s lifespan. Have you heard of such advice from people who have lived long lives?
PILLEMER: You can take a look on the web at the evidence on caloric restriction. It does seem to dramatically extend life in other animals, but of course it’s hard to test this in humans. Among the elders I interviewed, people who suffered from chronic diseases related to poor diet were very regretful about the choices they had made. The core lesson they offer is “Life like you will need your body for 100 years”---because you very well may!

HISTORY

DAVID S. FERRIERO, Archivist of the United States, January 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When people review documents from archives, how often is there a camera recording their actions? Is it time to require more photographic oversight, not just to prevent alterations, but removals?
FERRIERO: The (alteration of an Abraham Lincoln document) incident occurred in 1997 before security cameras were in place in all of the Archives research facilities. “Photographic oversight” is now in place.

AMANDA FOREMAN, author, November 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Lincoln has always impressed me with his soundness and reasonableness in decision making. I have often wondered what directions the Civil War would have taken had it not been for the reasoned decisions Lincoln made. What were other leading politicians advising Lincoln to do (regarding the Trent Affair)?
FOREMAN: In the Trent Affair, the majority of the Cabinet advised Lincoln to go to war with Britain. Thank goodness he listened to Seward instead.

HOCKEY

BRUCE BOUDREAU, Washington Capitals Coach, May 11, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Some coaches are strict and demanding; others believe in keeping the team loose and are not as strict. What is your coaching philosophy?
BOUDREAU: I think somewhere in the middle.

HUMOR

ANA MARIE COX, Air America Radio National Correspondent, and TUCKER CARLSON, The Daily Best Writer, March 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I just got an idea. Why not sell the right to put your signature on dollar bills? After all, how much would you pay to have the U.S. Mint run off a million bills signed by “Tucker Carlson” or “Ana Marie Cox”, Acting Temporary Treasurer of the U.S.?
COX: I would probably not pay enough to make it worth the Treasury’s while. And in general would just like the money.
That said, I am willing to actually serve as Treasury Secretary.
CARLSON: Other than serving as head of Amtrak, or host of “Jeopardy”. That’s honestly the job I’d like the most: money-signer.

SCOTT VOGEL, Washington Post The Travel Crew writer, March 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: The most amazing hike I ever took was in a park in Connecticut. The park had a number of trails, and we had followed every color code: blue, red, yellow. It zigzagged through all kinds of terrain, but we made it through. We later ran into a Ranger and we mentioned we had completed the new orange trail. The Ranger, though, burst into laughing. It seems the trees marked “orange” were the trees designated to be chopped down.
VOGEL: Ha!---there’s a post I can relate to.

LIZ KELLY, washingtonpost.com Celebrity blogger, April 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I just wanted you to know that I am twittering that I am writing this to you.
KELLY: I am going to twitter that I am answering your question about twittering about writing this to me.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, April 24, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I find it politically interesting that the Republican attack dog against Obama is Dick Cheney. Is anyone thinking Cheney should be the Republican pick for President in 2012? I think he could threaten to torture all Republicans to vote for him in the primaries.
MILBANK: Cheney in 2012: A sketch writer’s dream.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post columnist, May 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Is it true there is a reporters’ pool as to who will first sneak behind Joe Biden (who has expressed personal concern over the swine flu) and sneeze?
MILBANK: My money is on Broder.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, June 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Once the entertainment world sees there is a path to success in politics, which entertainers do you see on the horizon who could make serious and possibly successful entries into elective politics?
CILLIZZA: Me.
Patti Blagojevich.
Sanjyana.
Janice Dickerson.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, June 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: You know nothing to worry about. The Newspaper and Telegraph Writers Union is doing quite well. Our skills are easily transferable to the very stable fast food service industry.
MILBANK: Hopefully they’ll let me wear my smoking jacket at Taco Bell.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Columnist, June 17, 2009
WEINGARTEN: …A woman turnings tricks on the street for $20 is a prostitute but a really high priced hooker is not? I think this is a joke about hypocrisy, and it’s funny.
CZIKOWSKY: I asked a woman in the next cubicle if this joke was funny. I asked if she would sleep with me for a million dollars. She said she would. I then asked if she would sleep with me for twenty dollars. She said she would.
What was that punch line again?
WEINGARTEN: I hope this is true.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Staff Writer, June 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: British cookbook: 1. Insert food. 2. Boil. 3. Serve.
WEINGARTEN: Bill Hicks used to come out on stage in London, and just shout at the audience: “YOU DON’T BOIL PIZZA!”
CZIKOWSKY: Did you hear the story about the Washington Biological Survey? They would tag birds with tags saying in small print if found to send to Wash. Biol. Surv. One day they received a letter: “I found one of your birds. I did as instructed. I washed the bird, I boiled it, I served it. It was terrible.”
WEINGARTEN: Hahaha.
CZIKOWSKY: I’m not sure if you’re supposed to boil pizza, yet I learned the hard way: you don’t boil it in the same pot your boil your football shirt.
WEINGARTNEN: Thank you.

LIZ KELLY, washingtonpost.com Celebrity Blogger, July 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I have verifiable data of popularity, using an index once suggested by Gene Weingarten: the number of google results. Here are the results as of a few minutes ago:
Princess Diana 7,560,000
Elvis Presley 17,800,000
Jesus Christ 47,600,000
Michael Jackson 184,000,000
KELLY: Oh, well, that settles it once and for all. Let us not speak of this again.
CZIKOWSKY: I can’t believe North Korea hacked the Washington Post website. Afterall…kIM jONG iLL iS A kIND aND bENELOVENT lEADER.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 17, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I was watching TV and I realize something: the Korean government didn’t just hack into government and The Washington Post web sites, they hacked into the major networks and took over all programming. That’s the only explanation I can come up with such lame shows.
DE MORAES: You mean you don’t love “The Listener” and “The Philanthropist” and “Wipeout” and “Big Brother”?

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: The Obama birth was part of an Internet fraud scheme quite common in 1961 where Americans would be duped into placing birth announcements in newspapers for African babies in return for large sums of money so the African parents could come to America to take advantage of the Medicare benefits that had yet to become law. I am surprised you never heard about this. It is all over the Internet.
WEINGARTEN: Well, now I know. And it’s obvious.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 31, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Cililzza, that’s a funny name. OK, now you go and insult me. Maybe that way we can both get in on the free beer at the White House program.
CILLIZZA: SO good.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, July 31, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: My job has really become challenging, so to show that I am ready for a promotion, I resigned from my job.
Should I stop listening to Sarah Palin? I think she gives bad advice.
MILBANK: If you are listening to the former Governor for advice, I think you have been drinking too much of the Old Knucklehead, a Barley wine from Oregon.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, August 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Jesus would be neither a Republican nor a Democrat. He’d be arrested as an alien and deported to Nazareth.
MILBANK: Oh, Jeez Louise. You’re all trying to get me fired.
CZIKOWSKY: What do you think of this idea: we bring back “Crossfire” with co-hosts Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olberman?
MILBANK: In the Olbermann-O’Reilly war, I side with Campbell Brown.

LISA De MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 21, 2009
CZIKOWSK: Before the producers add Tom DeLay to the payroll, will they require a birth certificate or some form of identification so he may prove he is an American citizen?
De MORAES: Hahaha.
CZIKOWSKY: Any truth to the rumor I am starting here that Tom DeLay seeks to be added to the cast of “Mad Men”?
De MORAES: I’d rather see him play the principal on “Vampire Diaries”.
CZIKOWSKY: If we can get this Octomom series to be a hit and keep it going for a few years, then we can develop spinoffs for each of the 14 children and we’ll be set for decades.
De MORAES: I think that is the Gosselin’s financial planning for their kids’ future.

LESLIE GORNSTEIN, E! Blogger, and LIZ KELLY, washingtonpost.com Celebritology Blogger, August 27, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I remember asking once: how soon will it be before the “Michael Jackson is still alive” rumors start. I mean seriously, just because Jim Morrison got away with it…
GORNSTEIN: They’re already out there. Started the day he died, as I recall….
CZIKOWSKY: I saw a familiar face on Eighth Avenue a while back and I waved and she waved back, and then I realized it was Cameron Diaz, or at least her double, and she waved back briefly and then realized she didn’t know who I am and then just turned around so I nor anyone else would spot her.
And, yes, sadly, that has been the highpoint of my life.
KELLY: Thanks for sharing. Who knows---maybe that random act of kindness made Cameron’s day. Or, as Rachel Zoe and her team would call her: CD.

CHRISTINA BREDA, ANTONIADES, Washington Post Magazine Date Lab Editor and AMANDA McGRATH, Washington Post Magazine Date Lab Editor, October 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Has there ever been a match during a date lab, but not with each other, i.e. someone ran off with a waiter or someone at the next table or anything like that?
ANTONAIDES: Ha! Not that I know of. But I think a few have been tempted.
McGRATH: One couple a few years ago had a running joke that their overly attentive waiter was interested in the girl. But alas, I don’t think that turned into a torrid affair.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Critical question: Have you tried the new instant Starbucks, available at only about a dollar per glass? What gets me is their advertising: are they trying to tell us that their coffee is so terrible that you can’t tell the difference between it and instant coffee?
CILLIZZA: VIA!
I have avoided it despite the super-aggressive pushing of it on me whenever I go into a Starbucks (“Hey man, try this…it’s good for you…first time’s free”).
Frank confession: I dislike “regular” coffee almost as much as I dislike beer. So, it’s only the expensive, sugary drinks for me!

ANA MARIE COX, Air America Media National Correspondent, October 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: There is a wild rumor going around that you will be in Harrisburg tonight. The question is: why? Haven’t you read the brochures: one passes through Harrisburg, one doesn’t stop. There is nothing to see here, honest I hear you are going to be here to tell jokes. Don’t worry, living in Harrisburg makes us all laugh just being here. We should be an easy audience. Especially the members of the press. They start drinking in the late morning.
COX: THE RUMORS ARE TRUE, through Amtrak is doing its best to keep it from happening. I will be telling “jokes” or at least the things that wind up coming to me after my third bloody mark and second engine swap out.
So far all I’ve got is “Santorum”. Any other ideas?

MIKE BIRBIGLIA, comedian, October 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: When you were on Letterman, did you happen to notice if he ever went into a secret room with any female employees?
BIRBIGLIA: No, but that sounds sexy. Frankly, there’s not a lot of extra space at the Letterman studio. It’s a pretty tight space.
CZIKOWSKY: Welcome back from the future. I am from the future before the future where you’ve been. I want to warn you: many years from now, you will want to eat a sandwich from a machine with some kind of meat with a green color to it. Do not eat it. Take my word for this. You have been warned.
BIRBIGLIA: Thank you.
CZIKOWSKY: I am a total stranger with absolutely no idea what the answer to this question is: so, what do you plan on doing this Saturday around 8 pm? Anything fun?
BIRBIGLIA: I’ll be at the Warner Theater in DC.
I played there once before. I opened for the original Comedy Central Live Tour: Mitch Hedberg, Dave Attell, and Lewis Black on a single bill.
I said to the audience that night, “whether you realize it or not, thi sis the best comedy lineup you’ll ever see.”
I was right.

FRED HIATT, Washington Post Editorial Page Editor, October 14, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Who says humor is difficult? People have been laughing at what I write for decades, including the IRS.
HIATT: Sounds like we have a likely contestant here…

ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Staff Writer, and AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 14, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Courtney Love, you’re taken the first step, you’ve detoxed from Twitter. Now, please, take the second step…
ROBERTS: Three and four: Do something about the hair and clothes, honey.
CZIKOWSKY: I just learned Al Martino died a few days ago. He was big like Snoop Dog back in his day.
ARGETSINGER: Volare! The guy who played Johnny Fontane. How can he have been 82?

HOWARD KURTZ, Washington Post Columnist, October 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I believe the Balloon Boy father has indeed successfully pitched himself for another reality show. Now, all I wonder is when MSNBC will show him on a “Lockup: Inside Prison” edition?
KURTZ: I can’t imagine this guy is going to get a reality show, even if he stays out of prison. But maybe Richard Heene can write a book and do a weepy apology on Oprah.

LIZ KELLY, Washington.com Celebritology Blogger, October 22, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: OK, how about this idea for a reality series: Richard Hesse wifeswaps and lives with Octomom?
KELLY: That’s all very well, but where does that leave Jon Gosslin? Out in the cold, that’s where.
How about this: Hesse, Octomom, and John Gosselin all locked in an average three bedroom suburban townhouse with all of their kids?

LIZ KELLY, Washingtonpost.com Celebritology Blogger, October 29, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How many times do you expect to hear the following words over Halloween: Trick or tweet?
KELLY: Zero. Because I live in a neighborhood where Donnie Wahlberg and John Mayer do not come looking for candy on Halloween.
CZIKOWSKY: THE WIND JUST STOPPED! I wonder if John Mayer is outside.
KELLY: Nice Twits reference! (John Mayer wrote “Why is it that whenever I fart outside, the wind suddenly stops blowing?”) A cigar to this reader. Paul, get on that!
CZIKOWSKY: Thank you for the cigar, but you don’t have to send me one. I don’t smoke as much anymore. Unlike Elizabeth Hasselbeck, I know when to take them out.
KELLY: Oh, snap.

MAX BROOKS, author of “The Zombie Survival Guide”, October 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What if I am attacked by a zombie and a vampire at the same time?
BROOKS: Cut off the zombie’s head and tell the vampire you don’t like his hair. (That’ll send him away crying.)

PAUL SCHEER, actor, December 3, 2009
CZIKOWKSY: When is the “Lost” stand-up comedy appreciation going to occur?
SCHEER: It could happen there are enough comics that are fans. That would be great. All lost stand-up material.
It would be a lot of “What’s the deal with Sawyer?”
CZIKOWSKY: Are the balloon boy and White House gate crashers clues?
SCHEER: No, but read Tiger Wood’s Sext Messages and you’ll get a huge clue about Season 6.
CZIKOWSKY: I found a clue for you all. Is this helpful?: The walrus was Paul.
SCHEER: You figured it out!

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, December 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I think I know how to get the Salahis to testify. We hold a hearing with the Obama and the Redskins cheerleaders alumni, and we don’t invite the Salahis.
MILBANK: Also they should invite the balloon boy.
This would be an excellent Sketch even if the Salahis don’t show up. I would like very much to attend this hearing and watch the cheerleaders shake their fancy goldfish that have bundles of loose fleshy outgrowths between the nostrils. But which committee? I’m thinking Ways and Means.
CZIKOWSKY: If Wilbur Mills were still alive, he’d have a hearing with the Redskins cheerleaders.
MILBANK: Fanne Foxe. Now there’s someone who could shake her pompoms and swim with the pompoms.
CZIKOWSKY: You may not know this, but cricket is actually quite popular among people of lesser means in Philadelphia. It is played quite a bit in Fairmount Park. Polo, though, not as much. We tried to bring horses into Philly, but the giant rats kept scaring them away.
MILBANK: I am not at all surprised by this. I also suspect there is a lot of fencing in the off-season.

LISA DeMORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: OK, how about this: “Dancing With Vampires”? Each week contestants dance with vampires and one couple gets voted off a week.
DeMORAES: Love it, but you have to promise each episode will include bodice-ripping.
CZIKOWSKY: Of course you are right about vampires, noting it is huge with teenage females. Vampires are a hickey with danger.
DeMORAES: I am so going to rip off that line next time I talk to a network suit developing yet another (please, God, no) vampire TV series: “:Hickey With Danger”. In fact, that should be the title of the next vampire TV series. But I’m not sure where it goes from there since both vampire detectives (“Moonlight”) and vampire high school students (“Vampire Diaries”) have been done in series form…

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 5, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Salt and butter are two different things. If you buy salted butter, what do you do if you realize your recipe has too much salt in it, remove some butter?
WEINGARTEN: Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct.
The choice in butter should ALWAYS be unsalted. Sure, you might sometimes want salt on your buttered bread or some such. Then salt it. But someone who thinks butter always needs salt is a Philistine. You can recognize these people in restaurants, and avoid them. Here is what to look for:
] A waiter brings a serving. He is barely away from the table when the diner grabs the saltshaker and, like a priest with a censer, douses everyting in sight---without tasting anything, smelling anything, etc. This is your basic “salted butter person”, an individual to be avoided in polite society.
Yes, it is okay if you buy both, though it seems oddly lazy, like using “garlic salt” instead of garlic and salt.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, January 11, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If laughter is a sign of weakness, then show terrorists our TV comedy lineup. We must be the toughest nation there is.
MILBANK: If laughter makes us look weak, then giving the Tonight Show to Conan would have improved our defenses.

LIZ KELLY, Washington Post Celebritology Blogger, January 21, 2010
KELLY: As far as I know, Clinton Kelly has never directly addressed his sexuality on his show. According to Wikipedia, he’s openly gay. But here’s what he says on his own web site (when asked by himself---yes, himself, if he’s gay):
“I don’t care why you asked. The question, while stemming from a natural curiosity, could be considered rude and, worse, indicative of an asker’s less-evolved nature. When will we stop slapping labels on other people? “That guy’s gay.” “That girl’s a slut.” “That dog’s humping my leg.” If it doesn’t concern you, mind your own business.”
CZIKOWSKY: Memo to Clinton Kelly:
I could care less if you’re gay or not. But if your dog starts humping my leg, I’m saying something.
KELLY: Well said.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Anyone know if Conan can do commentary on luge races?
DE MORAES: I think he should compete in luge races.
I hope Colbert hires Conan to cover the Olympics for his show…that would be genius.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Hey, just curious. Anyone else (other than Rip Torn) get so drunk that they went home, sat down, removed their gun, and then suddenly realized they weren’t home, but in a bank? I am sure this mistake happens all the time, right?
ARGETSINGER: Oh, you’ve heard about those people who think they’re in the bathroom but they’re really in the coat closet? Similar debacle, times ten. Rip Torn now says that he took a war turn leaving the bar, and that’s how he ended up breaking into that bank. He was walking, not driving, btw.

PAUL WILLIAMS, washingtonpost.com Producer, LIZ KELLY, Washington Post Celebritologist, and GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I am on the verge of writing a great new hit song based on my ex-girlfriend and I thought maybe some readers could help me. I need something to rhyme with “you were my sexual napalm”. All I can come up with is “textual lip balm”. I really need some help.
WILLIAMS: “You spin me like a CD-Rom”?
“You’re better than Frank L. Baum”?
KELLY” Maybe “You’re my sexual napalm. Just lay back and stay calm”?
“You’re my sexual napalm. I’m not Yosuf Islam”?
WEINGARTEN: You’re my sexual napalm. Thanks to you, it’s not always “Hey, palm.”

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 24, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Dick Cheney and now Joe Biden. Is it now a requirement of the job of Vice President that the f-bomb be dropped? Oh well, I await when Obama carries out his job requirement and barfs on a head of state.
ARGETSINGER: Ha!

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Yo, Abraham Lincoln, you may not be eligible for health care due to your preexisting death condition, but you can still vote in Philadelphia.
CILLIZZA: ;)

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Associate Editor, March 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The prime rib at Voyeur West Hollywood (where Republican National Committee employees spent almost $2,000) is to die for. Of course they go there for the food. That’s their story and they’re sticking to it.
ROBINSON: And they were so preoccupied with the extensive wine list they hardly noticed the naked, writing…oh, never mind.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 31, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I am glad to see that the Republican National Committee spent almost $2,000 at a lesbian restaurant. Does this mean that Republicans are researching and soon will support civil union legislation?
ARGETSINGER: It’s the big tent philosophy at work.

LIZ KELLY, Washington Post celebritologst, and JEN CHANEY, Washington Post celebritologist, April 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Major breaking news: In a contract dispute, Josh Holloway’s agents have announced he has refused to shoot the final episodes of “Lost”.
This can be confirmed by contacting his agent Loof Lirpa at CMA.
KELLY and CHANEY: Did his demands have something to do with shirtlessness?
April Fools to you, too.
CZIKOWSKY: If Tiger Woods spent $10 million to keep a mistress quest, and now everyone knows: That wasn’t money well spent now, Tiger, was it?
It should make him peep with anger.
KELLY and CHANEY: I have nothing to add, but would like to congratulate you on the well placed “peep”.
CZIKOWSKY: How many peeps do you believe will come forward stating they dated Jesse James?
KELLY and CHANEY: I’m guessing there will be at least a few more. Keep an eye on Gloria Allred. Or, ummm, Gloria AllPeep.
We have a bet in the office, and I said four peeps. So I hope we hold steady for that reason, not to mention that fact that enough is enough, for peep’s sake.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, April 9, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How should I vote (in a Post poll on Kate Gosselin) if what I really want to see Kate do is be Octomom’s baby sitter?
DE MORAES: I think that would fall under “mom” but I’m kicking myself that we didn’t make this a category. Octomom’s nanny would be brilliant TV…

BECKY KRYSTAL, Washington Post The Flight Crew, May 10, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I have friends who went to a beach for their honeymoon.
They rested on the beach upon arrival and fell asleep and get so sunburnded they couldn’t touch each other for the rest of the honeymoon. Not a good way to start things off, I hear.
KRYSTAL: Oh, yikes. Wonder how long they were asleep. I was sunscreen-shopping this weekend and was so pleased when I came across a bottle with 100 SPF. Maybe that could have helped this couple!

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, May 14, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: This is not at all a parallel to British politics. So, with your tea, are you going more conservative on your use of milk and or sugar as you mix up your drinking coalition?
CILLLIZZA: I am a liberal user of sugar. Sorry, David Cameron.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, July 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Desmond is an excellent name. Of course, (Liz Kelly, who named her newborn son “Desmond” after the “Lost” character who had to push a button every 108 minutes) should know this means the baby will cry every 108 minutes.
CHANEY: Brilliant.
On the plus side, at least the kid will know how to turn the fail safe key.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, and ANDREA CAUMONT, washingtonpost.com moderator, July 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Anyone think Tim Riggins (character on “Friday Night Lights”) is even registered to vote? By the way, I have always noted how Riggins is a running back, as was the Redskins running back, and how Saracen is similar to Ron Sarasin, who was in Congress from the author’s home state of Connecticut. I wonder if there was any intentional of subliminal choice in those names?
CILLIZZA: Wow. That is nerddom well beyond me on “FNL”. Well played.
As for Riggs, there is NO chance he is registered. Although Billy might be, what with him being a dad and all.
CZIKOWSKY: Dillon (the fictional town in “Friday Night Lights”) is a town that has sprung up in recent years. It is highly suspected that most of its residents are actually Russian spies assimilating into American culture.
CILLIZZA: ANNA CHAPMAN. ANNA CHAPMAN. ANNA CHAPMAN.
CAUMONT: Chris, you might be better off with an “inverted nipples” reference, which is inexplicable the number two search term on Google.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How does this iced Via work? How does the powder know it is being poured into iced water? Does it explode or disintegrate or something if you accidentally pour it into hot water?
CILLIZZA: I have wondered the same thing. Is this a Pop Rocks and Coke phenomenon?

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Writer, August 20, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I already know this wouldn’t work, but I still wonder what “American Idol” would look like on CNN with judges Tucker Carlson and James Carville.
DE MORAES: That one’s easy: it would look like a show no one was watching…dad um dum!

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 27, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I guess Strasburg is the Washingtonian with the Worst Week. Yet, if this helps, Tommy John (not Elton’s brother) won more games after his surgery than before it. By the way, isn’t it bizarre coincidence that Tommy John would need the exact same surgery they named after him?
CILLIZZA: I am hoping that this isn’t Strasburg turning into Mark Prior. Baseball generally---and D.C. baseball specifically---needs Strasburg.
Hard throwing young, great story, etc.
At least we still have Bryce Harper…
CZIKOWSKY: I found a deleted chapter in Bissinger’s book “Friday Night Lights” where a Post reporter goes to write about Texas politics and attends an East Dillon football game. I think they should include that next season. Now, who could they get to play the Post reporter?
CILLIZZA: HOLY cow. I always suspected something like that was missing.
How about this “national reporter looks into alleged improprieties at West Dillon with Mr. McCoy as the main suspect”?
My “deep throat”? Buddy Garrity, of course.

PAUL WILLIAMS, washingtonpost.com moderator, October 14, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Supposedly UFOs flew over a Chinese airport recently. Every time someone posts “positive” footage of UFOs, I see nothing in the Post. Until I see it in the Post, I am not believing it.
WILLIAMS: We would never betray our alien overlords like thaAARRGGGHHH.
I’ve said too much.

SALIL MANIKTAHLA, self-appointed Professor of Zombieology, October 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: It was horrible. I was at the Capitol, and I saw about a hundred living dead creatures walking around muttering, barley making any sense at all. I have got to stop visiting the U.S. Senate, don’t you think?
MANIKTAHLA: Yeah, those aren’t zombies, those are Senators. I know, it’s easy to make that mistake. Here’s a good rule of thumb: don’t go around shooting zombies until you know for sure whether or not they’re undead.
The best way to be certain about whether you’re dealing with a mindless zombie is to look at the voting record or policy stances. Zombies are against climate change legislation, they don’t mind handing their money to big companies, and they’re not too familiar with the First Amendment to the Constitution. Oddly, they’re staunchly opposed to the Second Amendment, too.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost writer, November 5, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: As I traveled across the nation, I was able to watch the political ads of candidates I know nothing about in quite a few states. I have one question that is puzzling me after watching all these ads: How did every state find the most despicable people in the whole state and nominate them for Governor and Senator? At first, I thought it was just the one state, but in every state I went to, I learned horrific things about these candidates. How is it every stated nominated the worst possible people for office? How? How? How?
PETRI: I wonder about this, also. I recently watched, riveted, an ad that said the candidate’s first priority on getting elected would be to come to my house and euthanize my dog. I say “riveted” because had I not been held in place with actual rivets, I would have changed the channel and watched “Criminal Minds”. (But I repeat myself!) But the other candidate was planning to destroy all that was good and beautiful on Earth, which I assumed also included my dog, so it was a tough call.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, November 19, 2010 CZIKOWSKY: Any coffee recommendations today?
CILLIZZA: I have been on a gingerbread latte run lately.
I am setting myself up to be sick of them in the next month or so but I can’t help myself.
It’s kind of like Jimmy Fallon’s channeling of Neil Young doing “Whip My Hair”. I know I am getting to get sick of it but I can’t stop listening to it.
CZIKOWSKY: Any truth to the rumor that when they count the votes for Bristol Palin on “Dancing with the Stars”, many voters are finding the butterfly ballot confusing and are accidentally voting for her when they mean to vote for another candidate?
CILLIZZA: OOOH. Wait to make a nerdy ballot reference. LOVE IT!
Also, hanging chads.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, December 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Then in “Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” Today in Qatar: “If they come, we will build it. I guess we’re not in a position to promise $50 billion for a World Cup?
CILLIZZA: Just such a bummer.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Sketch Columnist and ALEZANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, December 17, 2010
CZIKOWSKYl: My child has been acting up. I threatened to censure him, but he is asking I only rebuke him. Where do kids get this stuff?
MILBANK: I would grab him by the earmarks and threaten to remand him to your house ethics committee.
PETRI: Threaten to throw him down the well of your house!

DAVE BARRY, author, January 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I always wonder what it was like to have witnessed the first significant changes in society: my great grandfather telling me when they built the first factory and watching the cars come off the assembly line; my grandfather telling me about seeing an atomic bomb test; mu father telling me about watching a man land on the moon. Well, I can now look forward to telling my children about the historic event I witnessed, according to Time Magazine, when I found old high school friends on Facebook. I hope that they are similarly impressed. Where do you place Facebook in the history of 2010?
BARRY: I see it as a technological landmark, in many way, as the Slinky, and maybe even Silly Putty. But it is not Etch A Sketch.
CZIKOWSKY: You missed the big story of 2010 of Brett Favre retiring…oops, sorry, mistake, that was the big story of 2009…sorry, again, I meant, 2008…oh, never mind.
BARRY: The NFL needs to hire a guy to follow Brett around with a tranquilizer dart gun.
CZIKOWSKY: You missed an important historic event. Future historians will book back at 2010 and remember that this was the year that the comic strip “Barning and Clyde” first appeared. Of course, by then, it will have its own ride at Disney World, be serialized into several movies, be responsible for a TV series with two spin-offs, and have commemorative plates available on QVC. How did you miss that one?
BARRY: The “Barney and Clyde” juggernaut is already huge enough without my help. I realized this when Weingarten bought a fourth helicopter. For his DOG.
CZIKOWSKY: Why do we care that the Mayans stopped making calendars as 2010? Our local publishing company stopped making calendars in 2008 and the world did not end.
BARRY: But what it if DID end, and this is the afterlife, and we’re all in hell? That would explain a lot of things. Snooki, for example.

MONICA HESS, Washington Post Staff Writer and DAN ZAK, Washington Post Reporter, January 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Wow, those ballerinas kicked zombies out of being in (in the 2011 In/Out List). That must have been some interesting battle.
HESSE: In the past five years, with the vampires / werewolves / rigmorale, we have officially exhausted every supernatural being in existence. And with “Black Swan”, we have finally realized that there is nothing scarier than a starving girl who needs a sandwich and could piroutte you to death with her sinewy legs.
ZAK: We’ll never look at a hangnail the same again.
CZIKOWSKY: Are “In and Out” lists still in?
ZAK: Through the years, “lists” have routinely been labeled OUT by this very List. Troll the archives and you’’ see that the List has always been both monstrously self-conscious AND winningly headstrong.
HESSE: It’s a meta, that way, meta being a term that is definitely Out.
CZIKOWSKY: This is weird. The editing office keeps composing that the Salahis are “Out” but when it goes to print, their names wind up over in the “In” section.
Hesse: Hahaha.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, and ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist, January 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Did either of you apply to be White House Press Secretary?
ARGETSINGER: Do you know how early the Press Secretary has to get up in the morning?
CZIKOWSKY: “Everyone in Hollywood is having babies”. Wow, that Betty White is truly amazing.
ROBERTS: Like we said---BIG year for her.

LIZ KELLY, Washington Post Celebritologist, January 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If Lindsay Lohan does not get an Oscar nomination for “Machete”, I’ll…I’ll…well, actually, I’ll probably just drink a lot either way.
KELLY: She did turn in a nuanced and sensitive performance. Especially when naked.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, January 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: To balance Dana Milbank, will you double your coverage of Sarah Palin? What could we do to make that happen? She could shoot a bear from her helicopter while singing a song for “American Idol”.
CHANEY: Ha. No, I’m thinking that we won’t.
But that’s an interesting idea. Then in March, we can promise not to cover John Boehner and he can double his Lindsay Lohan coverage.
Wait, that doesn’t make sense…

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, January 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Wow, I never imagined the White House would reach out and get a recognizable celebrity like Jim Carrey to be their Press Secretary. What a bold move was that? Wait…oh…never mind.
PETRI: He was great in “I Love You Phillip Morris?! But for me, this was one of those scenarios where the homophony between “carnie” and “Carney” leads you to some serious fale hopes about who would be conducting press conferences.
CZIKOWSKY: Hawaii will help its budget deficit by selling copies of President Obama’s birth certificate for $100 a copy. We in Pennsylvania wish to please, please urge people to start questioning whether Senators Bob Casey and/or Pat Toomey (take your pick, there is one from each political party) were born an American citizen (not, of course, that it even matters for Senators.) We really, really could use the money from selling copies of their birth certificates.
PETRI: I only want copies of their birth certificates if they prove something I wouldn’t expect about them, like they were actually born in space or made in laboratories by top men.
Also, aren’t there other things in Pennsylvania you could sell? You could have them all the word “Mutual” to the Liberty Bell…

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Columnist, January 31, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What would happen if a semi hauling a full load of magnets were to drive next to a Volt?
WEINGARTEN: Hahahaha.
Dealing with those magnets was not kind to my watch, by the way. One negative with an old, mechanical watch. Magnets screw them up.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: You forgot to include that it has been a few years now that the Redskins should have realized that their name is an insult to a group of people. They could make a quick and simple change, like to Reds, or Commies, or Buckskins, or Foreskins.
WEINGARTEN: They won’t be the foreskins so long as Snyder is in charge.
Haha. Circumcision joke!
It’s okay, I’m Jewish.
Why do Jews weak those skull caps?
Because those little propellers cost extra!
It’s okay, I’m Jewish.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, February 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Mick Jagger is 67 today, and he wishes to remind everyone: never trust anyone over 70.
CILLIZZA: It’s so true. I never do.
CZIKOWSKY: I ordered a Super Bowl cake from someone who is new to our country and does not understand football. The cake is supposed to read “Go Steelers”. Instead, it reads “Ghost Healers”.
CILLIZZA: Which reminds me of the most incomprehensible Wilco lyric I know of: “I’m a cherry ghost.”
Can someone PLEASE explain to me what that means?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, February 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The Delaware Wicca community remains disappointed that candidates continue to fail to address their concerns. That is all.
CILIZZA: O’DONNELL!
CZIKOWSKY: Have you tried that new Trenton size, or whatever it is called?
CILIZZA: Trenta!
And no. I am not a brave enough man. I am not sure my bladder could handle that sort of liquid assault.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, February 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: OK, how about this idea for a TV series spin off: “One and a Half Men”?
PETRI: I’m with Sarah Silverman on this: that half man is officially a man now and the title needs to be adjusted. Maybe Charlie can become the half. Or you can split it halfway and his hald can be called “2 and a Half Vatican Assassins and Goddesses”.
CZIKOWSKY:So, has Charlie Sheen’s ability to run for public office been diminished by all this?
PETRI: I hope he does! What Barack Obama did for people who admit to having tried cocaine, even once, Charlie Sheen will do for people who admit that “I can’t use the word ‘sober’ because that’s a term for those people, and I have cleansed myself.”
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have a photograph of yourself in a tiger outfit (as does Rep, David Wu) and, if not, would you please get one for us?
PETRI: That’s what the ComPost has been missing! Nothing says “occasionally thoughtful, topical humorous commentary and opinions” like “the person responsible is wearing a tiger suit.”
Only problem is, I don’t own a tiger suit. Would a Jabba the Hutt outfit cut it? I won two of those…
CZIKOWSKY: Ahhh, for those worried about tiger suits, why would someone own a Jabba the Hutt outfit?
PETRI: Just as one should own a cocktail dress and suit for fancy occasions, one owns a Jabba the Hutt outfit to be within the dress code at Star Wars conventions….

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Writer, February 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I got it: we have a TV special where Charlie Sheen cuts Justin Bieber’s hair…
DE MORAES: Much as I do not like Justin Bieber, I wouldn’t want Sheen around anyone while holding a sharp object…

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, March 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: There is legislation in ten states demanding Obama’s birth certificate be given to them. Should all ten states pass this law, would the birth certificate than be divided into ten pieces with a piece sent to each state?
PETRI: Not if the state really love the birth certificate! But that’ll be hard to determine…

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Writer, March 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am having my DNA analyzed. If they find I have tiger blood, does that mean Charlie Sheen is my father?
DE MORAES: Child support!...Lucky, luck you!

ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist, March 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I had this dream I was at a big Hollywood party, and everything started going downhill after I made the introductions: “Lindsay, Charlie. Charlie, Lindsay”.
ROBERTS: How do we know they’re not the SAME person? Have you ever seen them together? Think about it.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, March 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Is it true Dana Milbank has pledged to go all through March without ever once mentioning Charlie Sheen?
CHANEY: After his Palin fast, I would think that’s pretty manageable.
If I attempted something similar, I might lose my job.
I do, however, promise to go an entire month without mentioning White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley in Celebritology. It will be a challenge, but I have faith it can be done.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, March 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I heard something that washingtonpost.com is coming up with a plan to experiment with a hard copy of the Washington Post and selling it in public. I don’t know if this is a good idea. What do you think the chances are of a hard copy of the Washington Post working?
PETRI: Don’t sell this new product short; it’s the product of more focus groups that you can possibly imagine!
It’s portable, insanely fast download speed, don’t have a weird new layout that increases people’s willingness to pay for NYTimes.com, and you can use it to kill buys. And it turns your hands grey, which some people are into, apparently!
CZIKOWSKY: Charlie Sheen for President? Are we really ready for a The Cost of Prostitutes is Too (Darn) High Party?
PETRI: Or The Prostitutes is Too Damn High Party?
CZIKOWSKY: I look forward to seeing how Willie Nelson’s Tea Pot Party does. Willie Nelson – Charlie Sheen in 2012!
PETRI: Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
CZIKOWSKY: “Beatles” has 126,000,000 Google hits. “Jesus Christ” has 46,000,000 Google hits. John Lennon may have been right all along (at least in modern culture), Beatles are bigger than Jesus Christ.
PETRI: I got 50 million for Jesus Christ…
Although it seems your point stands.
Then again, don’t comparatively Google the Beatles and Bieber. Might be depressing.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, March 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Snakes are neither Republican or Democrat. They can’t pull any of the voting levers.
PETRI: With the fangs, they could probably manage one of those punch ballots. At least as well as most Florida 2000 voters.
CZIKOWSKY: A favorite story is the person who reported what turned out to be a tiger living above him because he noted “excessive urine” leaking into his apartment. Which leads me to ask” is there a normal amount of urine one should allow to leak into one’s apartment?
PETRI: “Is that urine leaking into your apartment into ours?”
“Yes, but that’s because I…own a tiger!”
“Awesome”.
CZIKOWSKY: We had a high school writing assignment as to whether we thought it was the lady or the tiger. I wrote it turned out to be Richard Simmons behind the door. They sent me to the school psychologist.
PETRI: Ha!

JOHN KELLY, Washington Post Columnist, April 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY:I hear the Bronx Zoo cobra was trying to make a break for it and head for some of those yummy Washington squirrels.
KELLY: According to Dr. Thorington’s book, some squirrels develop a resistance to snake venom. So bring it on, cobra!

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, April 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Did you get any interviews with any “Friday Night Lights” star who may have been on Capitol Hill yesterday?
CILLIZZA: I was offered a sit down with Tami Taylor aka Mrs. Coach ada Connie Britton and demurred because, in truth, all I wanted to do was ply her with question about FNL.
Speaking of which, we are only ONE WEEK away from Season 5 premiere on NBC.
Hard to exaggerate how excited I am. This is like how I felt heard I heard about the “Arrested Development” movie.
Or the opposite of how I felt when America tried to vote Casey Abrahams off of “Idol”. Have you no shame!
CZIKOWSKY: I am a confused dyslexic. I wonder about the existence of Tac.
CILLIZZA: ZING!

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Writer, April 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I suddenly realized: A few years from now, there could a new cast to “The Real Housewives of New Jersey”. And Snookie could be on that show.
DE MORAES: She will be asked, once she ages out of MTV. I’m sure, unless she’s got her own syndicated talk show by then…or is a judge on Smion Cowell’s 25rh reality completion series….

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, April 12, 2011
CZIKOWSK: I wish to announce I am considering forming a committee to consider whether or not I should form an exploratory committee to consider whether or not I should run for President. That is all.
PETRI: I wouldn’t do that. Sounds awfully bold.
CZIKOWSKY: Sure, I understand the moon landing was filmed on a Hollywood set, but how do we know the Civil War wasn’t also filmed on a movie set? I swear I saw Martin Sheer filming a scene in Gettysburg. Also, where is Obama’s birth certificate?
PETRI: Oh, “Gettysburg”! The only movie that felt longer than the battle that inspired it.
You can tell the Civil War was fake because nobody would actually sit still for half an hour to have a picture taken, especially not with an expression like he or she was in the process of passing a melon.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, April 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I go it: you announce you are considering running for President, but you will only make the announcement on the last episode of a TV show, and then you get “Friday Night Lights” to give you a role where you announce whether or not you are running for President. I think this just might work. It would be a ratings bonanza.
CILLIZZA: I will admit this is better than my idea of casting me as Billy and Tim Riggins dorkier uncle from the Northeast.
Sadly, your storyline is far more plausible.

GROVER NORQUIST, Americans for Tax Reform President, April 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The New York state government is trying to cut costs on executions, which cost about one million dollars. I wish they would use private contractors. I know a guy who knows a guy who could do the job for $10,000. I’m just saying.
NORQUIST: I think the cost is driven by lawyers, not the technology.
So if your friend wants to save taxpayers money….

JOHN POLLACK, former Presidential speechwriter, April 18, 2011
CZIKOWKSY: Is a pun fun?
POLLACK: Rhyming and Punning are close cousins. I think puns are a ton of fun that one can leave undone.
CZIKOWSKY: This discussion is a punderful idea.
POLLACK: Hey, what would Washington be without punditry?

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, April 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Just to show you are nonpartisan, do you think you cold be able to go one month without writing a word about the candidate challenging Obama for the Democratic nomination, Mike Gravel?
MILBANK: Is he back again? Good times!
CZIKOWSKY: Being from out of town, I have not seen the Dana Milbank stickers. Are they definitely of you? Do they say anything, or is it just a picture? Is it a photoor a drawing, and is it faltering or derogatory? You know, political campaigns have sprung from far less. Milbank in 2012?
MILBANK: It is derogatory, but accurate. The dot matrix type drawing that goes above my column in the paper sometimes. It says only “Milbank” underneath.
Depending on how far the sticker person wishes to go with this, I may be able to announce Presidential exploratory committee.
CZIKOWSKY: As a 54 year old, I am very upset over proposals to cut Mediciaid for people under 55. I should think there is a large segment of voters aged 54, 54, and who knows how much further, who feel very bitter at these recent proposals.
MILBANK: I know how you feel. When I was 16 or so, they raised the drinking age from 18 to 21.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, April 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have an idea for a produce I think would be a success: a Mayan 2013 calendar. What do you think?
PETRI: It’s like that book of Things Men Think of Besides Sex: all the pages are blank!
CZIKOWSKY: If the Naked Cowboy runs for President, will Times Square allow for equal time for other Presidential candidates to play guitar in their underwear?
PETRI: It’s the only way! And this would finally settle that Romney question…

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Writer, April 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: There is a headline in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer letting readers know that “Frat Didn’t Abuse Camel”. I feel so much better.
WEINGARTEN: I read this as “Fart didn’t abuse camel”. It seemed to make even less sense.
I wonder if frat-fart intentional misprints are common in colleges. “Hey, fart boy”.

DAVID THORNE, humorist, April 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: So, when do you think this Internet fad is going to phase out?
THORNE: The current fascination with online interaction is already beginning to show signs of war. I give it another six months or so before people are bored of it and rediscover fun family activities like Slip’n’Slide and Jenga.
CZIKOWSKY: The Internet may be a playground, but my children broke the computer playing hopscotch on it. I think we need a different playground. What do you think?
THORNE: When my offspring breaks something, I record the date, time, and incident. When he starts his first job, I will send him an invoice with wage garnishing and fortnightly payment options. He is only twelve and already the total exceeds the hundred thousand dollar mark so this should prove to be a pretty good nest-egg for me. I will probably buy a boat.
CZIKOWSKY: Why does the Internet news that Starbucks passed Burger King and Wendy’s to become the third more plentiful chain list McDonald’s as number one and Subway as number two, thus showing that whoever counted stores this month did not read the news last month that Subway passed McDonald’s last month. How can I trust my Internet news when the news won’t at least keep a consistent story?
THORNE: I didn’t read this question all the way through as I saw a squirrel playing outside, but yes, misinformation is a constant issue for me as well. Somebody should check the Internet and make sure everything on there is correct.
CZIKOWSKY: You are at dinner with Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and Jim Morrison, and you are allowed to ask only one question. What question would you ask?
THORNE: I am not a huge fan of any of those people so I would probably ask “was that my phone? I am expecting a call”. Then I would pretend to talk on my phone and say “oh, no really? I will be in there in ten minutes:” Either that or “can someone please pass the wine?”

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, May 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Between Michelle Bachman, Donald Trump, and Sarah Palin, who would have thought four years ago that Ron Paul would become the sanest of the conservative candidates?
MILBANK: While the night belonged to Herman Cain, let us praise Ron Paul’s ability to get the South Carolinians applaud his answer in favor of heroin legalization.
CZIKOWSKY: It has to be Herman Cain for President and Mike Gravel for Vice President. Keep it bipartisan.
MILBANK: I think if he’s going for a national unity ticket, Cain should pick a Democratic businessman, such as Dal LaMagna, aka Tweezerman. I ran into him last night and he’s available. Got only about 16 votes in New Hampshire last time, but he makes exceptional grooming implements---which could come in handy if the Mozza-loaded pizza makes a mess.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, May 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have a friend who has a friend who tells me that the deep dark secret to finding Osama was a telephone conversation that began “Osama, it’s me, Dave” and Osama responding “Dave’s not here”. Then again, maybe I need new friends.
PETRI: What does one get to celebrate the first Cheech and Chong reference in one’s Post Live Chat? Paper? Wood? Greenery?

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Writer, May 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When you proposed to cut off Medicare for anyone under 55, isn’t it time for all 54 year olds to change the Republican registration?
MILBANK: This is another reason why I see a problem with Paul Ryan’s fitness craze. He’s encouraging people to do the P90X to get in better shape, which could in theory reduce healthcare costs. But wouldn’t we reduce healthcare costs more if we lived extremely unhealthy lives and died before we reached the Medicare eligibility age, thereby reducing Medicare expenses to zero?

DC SQUIRREL, squirrel subject of John Kelly columns, May 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I would like to produce a Mayan 2013 calendar and put an end to all these doomsday proclamations. Anyone willing to join me?
SQUIRREL: Great idea! What other business opportunities are there? There’s that atheist who will adopt the left behind dogs and cats of Raptured pet owners. Imagine all the cars that will be looking for new owners. I think people expecting to be called to Heaven should be encouraged to leave their keys under the floor mat, just to make it easier on the sinners. And please drive carefully.

ROBYN OKRANT, author, May 23, 2011
CZIKOWSKY:I understand they have recalculated the end of the Earth. It is not the rapture but the end of the Oprah show that will cause it all.
OKRANT: You and I must have been separated at birth---I just made that joke to my husband. He just looked at me totally blankly.
CZIKOWSKY: You know, at 4 pm, there are other shows on other stations, and I am sure the station you watch Oprah on will have something new on. I doubt they will leave the time slot totally blank.
OKRANT: Ha! You don’t think there will be a placard of Oprah’s shining face for an hour each day? It might get better ratings than a new show.
CZIKOWSKY: What did you do before Oprah? Can you return to that life, or start from there? Seriously, certainly someone can remember a time before Oprah…
OKRANT: Actually. I was 13 when Oprah started, so I basically filled up my days with stuffing my bra and reading the “Little House on the Prairie” series. I don’t think that will hold the same amount of satisfaction for me at the age of 38.
CZIKOWSKY: It will be OK. Oprah will have a whole network. Oprah will still tell us what books to read and to watch her network around the clock. Oprah is still here to run our lives.
OKRANT: Do you think people will be as loyal to her network as they will be to her show? Especially given that she won’t have a daily show on OWN?

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, May 24, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The rapture happened. You see, there were so few of us raptured that no one has really missed us. Yes, those raptured were mostly that quiet guy down the hall in the corner that no one notices. Unfortunately, my forms got all messed up, and they sent me back. But, it happened. Honest (trust me, I’m a lawyer).
PETRI: How was it for you?
I wish there were some sort of yearbook category for “Most Likely to Be Raptured.” I think we should move to instate that.
CZIKOWSKY: I was voted Most Likely to Be Eaten by a Raptor.
PETRI: I won Most Relieved Not To Be Illiterate!
I actually did, but at the last minute they changed it to Most Jedi-Like, because I am nothing but consistent.
CZIKOWSKY: The rapture was OK, but a little bumpy. Seems turbulence is still an actual problem. There was supposed to be an in-flight entertainment but someone (I am not naming names) forgot to bring the film. It seems you need to bring both your passport and your birth certificate. I forgot my birth certificate so I was sent back. Boy, they really are crazy over that birth certificate issue.
PETRI: I thought they only needed your Rebirth certificate.
CZIKOWSKY: Camping was right. The world ended. This is the afterlife. We are stuck here in Washington, D.C. This must be hell.
PETRI: Conflicting viewpoints!
CZIKOWSKY: How does Camping and his followers know they will be raptured? Won’t they be surprised when the rapture happens and they are still here and their Muslim and Jewish neighbors have disappeared into the sky?
PETRI: Hey, don’t limit yourself to the big three! It could be that the Cherokee were right, except they wisely did not predict any rapture.
My favorite rapture-related narrative, while we’re on the subject, is a movie called “The Gathering”. You can get it as part of a three pack of End Times DVDs. There’s a shot of a playground with kids flying into the arms of the Lord, and everyone vanishes except for this one fat kid on a swing. How awful would that be? Apparently, there’s a weight limit? Or maybe he’d just had a sinful thought?
CZIKOWSKY: This rapture thing is going to mess up the 2012 Presidential elections. If all the good candidates are raptured, we’re going to be stuck with a bunch of unworthy candidates..
PETRI: Hmmm. This is making me think when you said this already happened you were right…
CZIKOWSKY: When the rapture happens, who on the Post gets raptured? Milbank? Weingarten? Clizza?
PETRI: Milbank already got raptured off the ComPost blog, so I assume it’s only a matter of time…
Weingarten has to stay for the Post Hunt! And Cilizza should go, but his beat would probably be entirely intact so he might be forced to absent himself from Felicity awhile to tell their story.
Which reminds me that I once met someone who thought Horatio had a dead girlfriend named Felicity, which would explain that last scene of Hamlet much better…
CZIKOWSKY: I went to the afternoon showing of “Spiderman” on Broadway this past Saturday. There is a song about the end of the world in the play. The audience started cracking up laughing.
PETRI: How was it? Were you killed?
I wish more shows had taken the opportunity to come out during intermission and say “Sorry, the lead actor just got raptured, but here’s the understudy.” That would have been golden!
CZIKOWSKY: So, other than the rapture not happening…see any good movies?
PETRI: “Pirates 4” was actually surprisingly good!

CHRIS CILIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, May 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Forget politics. I like Sarah Palin’s down home TV portrayal of Alaska. How can someone seem to love her state like that up and move to Arizona?
CILIZZA: Alaska average temperature: -120
Arizona average temperature: 80.
Nuff said.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, May 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: This is why au pairs are called au pairs. You can hire two of them for the price of one American.
MILBANK: I was unaware of that French translation, but it all makes sense now.
Possibly, then, I should hire an au pair from the Arab world to work alongside the Israeli. If they can come to some sort of agreement, I will ratify it with my auto-pen.
If this is successfully, I can then get one each from India and Pakistan.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, May 31, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: There is a rumor Sarah Palin may visit the Liberty Bell. Officials there state she has not made any prior arrangements. So, when she gets there, does she have to stand at the back of line in this long summer vacation crowd, or does she get to cut in front of everyone else? You know, how she handles this may determine how some vote (especially those in line).
PETRI: I think it would be funny if she stood patiently in line for several hours. Her approval rating would double! Can we start a Facebook page for this?
I was going to make a crack about the Liberty Bell visit, but it seems history anticipated me there…
CZIKOWSKY: If Herman Cain catches on, may the owners of Pizza Hut or Pappa John run, say, for Congress?
PETRI: Papa John has been frightening me in their most recent commercials. He puts strange…pauses in the middle of the sentences and then they have a take of him just laughing in what is clearly intended to be a winning, natural manner.
I think Dominos would be a hilarious candidacy, since their entire M.O. for the past year of ads has been to apologize abjectly for making pizza that tasted like cardboard, promise that everything would be different, and…well, can you taste the difference? I’m slightly relieved because I have always liked the taste of cardboard!

DAVE BARRY, writer, June 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The French and Indian War could be renamed Operation Early Rezoning.
BARRY: Or The Last Really Exciting Thing to Happen in Canada.

TOM SHRODER, author, June 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I figured out some clues (in the June 4 Post hunt) and I have dutifully gone to Philadelphia. Now, where do I go from here, and how much longer does this hunt last?
SHRODER: It ends November 13 in Miami.

JOE YONAN, Washington Post Travel Section Writer, June 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Where do I go to get the route that Paul Revere took to warn the British? I missed that one the last time I was in Massachusetts.
YONAN: Very funny. The only place you’ll find that route is in the mind of a certain politician. But you can follow the Freedom Trail, which includes a stop at his statue in the North End.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, June 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Every semester, I tell Political Science interns rule number one is “don’t do something stupid:. I then point out that every time you see some politician get in trouble, it was because the politician did something stupid. I also then state that rule number to w is to learn from your stupid mistakes, as people will make stupid mistakes. Thank you, Anthony Weiner, for being this semester’s poster politician. Well, here are some important lessons: Don’t lie. Also, if you are a celebrity of any kind, if you send embarrassing photographs of yourself, especially to people you don’t know, do not be surprised if the press find out. Any other lessons you can think of?
PETRI: It always is the cover-up, not the scandal!
It’s an infallible rule! Unless the scandal involves goats.
I have yet to see this theory tested, but I’m pretty confident.
Also, when you’re going to do something stupid online, just take a moment to ponder whether or not your last name will make it go viral. Just a thought.
CZIKOWSKY: There is an old goat joke about a politician being attacked. His accused is yelling at him declaring “I’ve heard you’ve had sex with sheep, with goats, with chickens, with cows…” The politician stands back, insulted, and replies “chickens?”
PETRI: Which came first, the chicken?
Hmm, could be inappropriate.
CZIKOWSKY: On the positive side, we have a member of Congress smart enough to get the photo portion of Twitter to operate.
PETRI: Yes! I know, right! So many of us haven’t sinned because we didn’t have the opportunity---or the capacity to get Flickr to cooperate with us.
CZIKOWSKY: I am glad Paul Revere warned the British that they were coming. We know the British may have been distracted after that boat ride and have forgotten where they were going. Plus, I am sure the NRA wanted the British to understand that no one is going to take away the guns from good Americans. Thank you, Sarah Palin, for finally allowing me to understand the Revolutionary War.
PETRI: My favorite part of this whole Revere Situation is the part where Sarah described the question as a “gotcha” question. The question ran as follows: “What have you seen so far today, and what are you going to take away from your visit?”
That’s a gotcha question if ever I heard one.
Also, the best use of the line “The British are coming” is from Mae West in the Timothy Dalton vehicle “Sextette”, which might be the worse movie of all time, or the greatest, depending on whether or not you have the ability to tell what a good movie it. I urge you to Google it!

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, and ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist, June 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Here is a hint to celebrities. Send out outrageous photographs to people following you on Twitter. It seems that will get you a lot of press.
ARGETSINGER: No kidding. I think it’s also had the effect of doubling Weiner’s Twitter followers in a week, and apparently, this is the most important goal for anyone these days.

SOPHIE HUGET, daughter of Jennifer LaRue Huget, and JENNIFER LARUE HUGET, Columnist, June 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Sophie. Quick, your mom isn’t looking, and we promise not to tell. What are some of the most embarrassing things you’ve ever seen your mom do?
SOPHIE HUGET: She has put salsa on yogurt. And warmed it up. I guess it’s good for her, but really…
JENNIFER LARUE HUGET: Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. (I know I’m not supposed to be looking, but I peaked anyway.)

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, June 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: We tourists in Washington D.C. wish to please be able to walk around without hearing numerous references to Rep. Weiner and other references to a certain part of his anatomy. We would appreciate that. Well, we’re off to the Washington Monument.
CHANEY: Thanks for the first guffaw of today’s chat.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, June 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: First, everyone knows Alex Baldwin lives in Manhattan, he lives at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Second, seriously, has anyone even done any polling on his running for Mayor? I actually think New Yorkers need to first grasp the idea. They might like it, but the Mayor’s race has been so topsy turvy that people have been focusing on who is leaving the race than to consider who else might run/
CILLIZZA: Jack Donagy is my President.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Columnist, June 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When Alex Baldwin is elected Mayor of New York (and he will be elected), will “30 Rock” be able to work that onto the show? Perhaps Jack Donagy could be elected Mayor, and the show could be part reality show, where Baldwin/Donagy are doing Mayor things, both for real and on the show? What do you think?
DE MORAES: I think Tina Fey should be his press spokeswoman and the show should become about his term in office. If they could get the majority of people in the New York metro area to watch, I think it would double the ratings…I’m all for it…

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, June 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Somewhere in Damascus, a lesbian is writing about life as a fat, bald middle age man in America..
PETRI: Truth! I think that qualifies as a low of the Internet. For every blogger posing as there thing, there is an equal and opposite blogger.
CZIKOWSKY: Herman Cain wants to build a moat around our borders and fill the moat with alligators. When the trucks drive by carrying the illegal immigrants inside them, is the plan that the alligators will bite the tires? I am trying to figure out how this plan works.
PETRI: Once I figure out the difference between alligators and crocodiles, I will get a detailed response on this.
I’ve always assumed that alligators are the ones that look sort of like bottle openers and that crocodiles are the ones that look like oven mitts, but most people respond to this knowledge with the question “Are you sure those are alligators and/or crocodiles? Are you sure you aren’t just sitting in your kitchen making things up?” and I don’t know how to answer that question.
CZIKOWSKY: I sure am an old timer. I remember back before Facebook had “poke”. It used to have “dip pigtail in inkwell”.
PETRI: Wow! I’ve heard of when it was Turn Into Bull and Visit, but I’m young that could be a myth.
CZIKOWSKY: I figured out how to stop people from illegally entering this country: flying bears.
PETRI: I like this idea. Also, if anyone made it in, we’d all be fine with it, because we would know that that person was capable of taking down a flying bear. I think that’s a bipartisan solution behind which we all can get!

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, June 17, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The press needs to find an appropriate candidate to take Weiner’s place. Are you able to check voter registration lists to see if anyone named, say, Seymour Butz or something like that, registered?
CILLIZZA: Paging Bart Simpson and Moe Szyslak…
CZIKOWSKY: I still think the person who was killed by a flying bear had a worse week than Weiner.
CILLIZZA: Wait, Someone was killed by a flying bear???

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, June 17, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If a Perry-Palin or Palin-Perry ticket is elected, and they agree with some of their supporters that Texas and Alaska be allowed to succeed from the Union, will the other 48 states and DC then elect a new President and Vice President?
MILBANK: I support this two state solution. But first we must create a corridor linking Texas and Alaska (this might involve war with Canada) so the new nation can be contiguous.

MELISSA BELL, BlogPost anchor, June 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Yeah, you claim you are a woman, but how do I know you aren’t a middle age man pretending to be a woman?
BELL: Dang it. You found me out. I don’t even have a photo to prove it. This is a struggle journalists are going to be confronted with more and more, especially as we continue to interview people outside of where we can possible travel to. We just have to be as diligent as possible and, also, accept that we’re going to be tricked from time to time.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, June 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I feel old. I remember when your heart felt a twitter, that was a good thing.
PETRI: I fell old too! I remember when the old timer equivalent of what you just said was “I remember when a mouse was something you fed cheese.”

TOM JACKSON, Washington Post Reporter, June 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: OK, as one who has been working on legislation to ban texting while driving, I am not certain how to even seriously approach banning this without being laughed out of town…
JACKSON: I think legislation that would ban sexual activity while driving, at least on the interstate highways, is utterly appropriate and should be seriously considered by all legislative bodies. Who would dare laugh at such a proposal? Who I say?

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, June 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Did you hear a UFO was spotted in London? I find it amazing that a spaceship would fly all the way from…wherever…and fly over the BBC offices. I find the odds of that happening equivalent to the UFO flying over Universal Studios.
PETRI: Remember the UFO that hovered over Manhattan?
That used to be my beat, but then I began to get emails from a man proclaiming himself the One World Ruler And Lord and insisting that Zygmar needed to abdicate, so I switched to covering somber, responsible topics like…the Bristol Palin memoir.
CZIKOWSKY: Kill the Republican 11th amendment. So Michelle Bachman went to Waterloo, Iowa to announce she has the spirit of Waterloo’s own serial killer John Wayne. Well, at minimum, that should make the other contenders a bit nervous, eh?
PETRI: I almost wish she’d take it up a notch and declare herself the HEIR TUNTO THE SON OF SAM, thereby taking this from a slowly more exciting arry of candidates to THE GREATEST GOP FILED OF ALL TIME! (Caps Lock Day observance, sorry.)
CZIKOWSKY: Well, now that Michelle Bachman has the spirit of John Wayne Gacy, all she needs to do is get some of that tiger blood from Charlie Sheen and she should be unstoppable.
PETRI: #WINNING.
Did you hear he and the goddesses broke up? I was really hoping they’d make it. They seemed to have long-term potential.
CZIKOWSKY: The Son of Sam is a bad serial killer to channel, since he claims he acted upon the direction of a dog. Seriously, I keep telling people, if your dog tells you to kill people, you should get a second opinion. See what a human recommends.
PETRI: Woof.
CZIKOWSKY: Charlie Manson sees from your “woof” that he should murder Sharon Tate. You know, “Helter Skelter” is about a roller coaster the Beatles rode as kids. I think the dog gave clearer advice than song lyrics about a roller coaster.
PETRI: This is worse than ordering in French! What’s dog for “Please don’t do that”!
CZIKOWSKY: A problem when joking about a person’s religion is to misquote it. Buddhist philosophy does not teach that people are “one with everything” but that we need to understand how each self fits into a large context. That would be like a joke where the bartender asks a priest what he’d like, and the priest looks over the drink menu confused and responds “boy, oh boy”. Because we all know that …no, wait, that doesn’t prove my point, does it? In sum, be careful when making religious jokes.
PETRI: One of my favorite jokes of this type comes from my college roommate.
A monk, a priest, and a rabbi walk into a bar. God’s nonexistence has driven them to alcoholism!
CZIKOWSKY: Would it be possible for Donald Trump’s hair to debate Rod Blagojevichs hair? Now that would be a debate worth watching.
PETRI: Whenever I see either of them, as long as we’re telling Old-Timey Long-Form Jokes, I am reminded of the jest where a man walks into a doctor’s office with a chicken growing out of his head. “Wow”, the doctor say. “You’re telling me”, the chicken says, “a week ago it was just a pimple on my seat.” I think their hairs feel similarly.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Columnist, July 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How “Two and a Half Men” explains Charlie’s absence: Charlie leaves home to become a song writer on “Glee”.
DE MORAES: Bingo.

ALEXANDER PETRI, ComPost Writer, July 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Wow, some hacker broke into the Fox News tweets and tweeted that Obama is a socialist…no, wait, sorry, that’s the correct Fox News tweets.
PETRI: Ha!
It’s like that Dorothy Parker quip about the famously laconic Calvin Coolidge. When told he was dead, she reportedly quipped, “How can they tell?”
Except this time, it turned out to be fairly easy to tell, with Fox.
CZIKOWSKY: I hope Casey Anthony is found innocent and set free. If so, anyone know how I may contact her to ask her out on a date?
PETRI: Date Lab?
Just be extremely, extremely specific about things like tattoos and “family status”.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, July 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am catching up, as I never watched “24”. I finished watching the first season, which takes place on the day of the California Presidential Primary, and, readers inside the beltway will immediately understand this: I am shocked, shocked that no time was spent going to vote. I mean, come on, it is primary day. And not one person on the show goes and votes? What message did this send to Americans?
ARGETSINGER: “Vote? Dammit it, Chloe, there’s not enough time!”
(Yes, a bit of literary license there; I know Chloe didn’t make it into season 1.)

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: A lost historical document: @PaulRevere: Tweet @ if by land and & if by see.
HESSE: And # if the Americans are warning the British that we have a right to bear arms?

JENNA JOHNSON, Washington Post Writer, July 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The funniest thing I ever saw an intern do: An intern once honestly commented that “Isn’t it ironic that Lou Gehrig would die of the disease named after him?” I at first thought he was telling a joke, but he actually had thought that Lou Gehrig had done fund raising for a disease named after him, and then died of that disease.
JOHNSON: hahahah! Wow.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, July 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Does anyone know who Casey Anthony is leaning towards endorsing for President? She lives in Florida, and the Florida primary should be important this year.
CILIZZA: Um…this would fall in the “pariah” endorsement in The Fix Endorsement Hierarchy.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, July 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am upset. Mila Kunis told me she was going out of town for the prom, and now I hear she is going with some other guy. What should I do?
PETRI: Just remember that she supplies the voice of Meg Griffin on “Family Guy”! That always does it for me.
CZIKOWSKY: I read in the Post that is it believed feet and fingers wrinkly when we so we don’t slip. That makes sense. Now, in the words of George Costanza, why is there “shrinkage” when something else gets wet? What possible reason is there for that?
PETRI: If I knew the answer to that, though, I’d be some sort of pool supplies baron living on a ranch somewhere. My only theory on this question right now is loosely the plot of Benjamin Button.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, July 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am sad to announce that the Sherwood Schwartz funeral will be today at 3 pm. The funeral will rerun at 5, 6:30, and d8.
ARGETSINGER: Hahaha.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, July 19, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The world is not fair. Borders is closing but Rupert Murdoch survives.
PETRI: I would suggest timidly that this is the market’s fault, but I think the addition of guilt to the immense sadness of seeing bookstores shuttered would overwhelm my feeble systems.
CZIKOWSKY: For us out of towners, where is the Face of God CapMac cart located? In my opinion, the banana caramel cupcakes at Magnolia are at least like kissing the face of a minor deity, so I am looking forward to stepping it up a bit.
PETRI: I love Magnolia! I remember thinking the same thing about their vanilla---like shaking the hand (paw) of Bastet, or something.
The CapMac cart moves around downtown to various stops---they’re on Twitter (@campacdc) for up to the minute updates!
CZIKOWSKY: Yoko Ono recently tweeted that one should organize their wish like they wish their brain to be. Well, that explains the mess and cobwebs in my room.
PETRI: I love Yoko Ono’s tweets! If you do everything they suggest, you turn into Yoko Ono!
My room is, naturally, full of bookshelves arranged into categories like “Books By Lady Authors That I Think Are Overrated”, “Dystopias”, “Books That Were Somehow A Result of World War I” and “Books Less Homoerotic Than A Separate Pace”. Actually that’s just the whole library.
CZIKOWSKY: The cast from Jersey Shore are going to Italy. May we please request the National Geographic organization conduct DNA tests of these people? People in Italy are praying that the tests they all descended from other countries.
PETRI: Other planets, possibly. That would be par for the course. When we expect alien visits, we think they will be powerful and want to save us or destroy us using Green, Saucer-Shaped Weaponry, and instead they send us their prematurely orange rejects to slowly pulverize our brains.
CZIKOWSKY: Help! I love books. I hate writing in cyberspace. I believe people take more time to create better writing when they write for printed materials. I hope you never catch me writing in cyberspace because…oh, wait…you mean this is writing in cyberspace?...oh, no…it’s all over…it’s all over…
PETRI: I know! It’s at moments when I’m complaining how much I hate the work of living, female authors or think print media is headed down the tubes for writing constantly about Snooki and Charlie Sheen that people sometimes have to give me a gentle tap and point out that---GOOD LORD! IT WAS EARTH ALL ALONG!
CZIKOWSKY: I heard a good knock-knock job. Want to see it? You start?
PETRI: I know that one! I know another one. I’ll be Godot. I start. LONG SILENCE UNINTERRUPTED BY HOPE.
CZIKOWSKY: Someone hit Rupert Murdoch with a plate full of foam while testifying. Is it time for American to hire The Three Stooges to monitor Congressional hearings?
PETRI: Please, that’s been long overdue?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, July 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If you want a caramel drink, just hold sugar over it. The heat (over 100 degrees outside) will melt the sugar into caramel in no time.
CILLIZZA: So true.
CZIKOWSKY: I understand Joe the Plumber received a $10,000 fee to make a Presidential endorsement. Can anyone else remember a payment for a “celebrity” endorsement?
CILLIZZA: That time when Bill Simmons endorsed me as “the homeless man’s Bill Simmons”…

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, July 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Politics is like middle school. Mitt is winning all the marbles at the marbles game and he thinks that is what will impress his classmates. Sarah and Michelle are pulling each other’s hair because each wants all the attention. Jon thinks people will like the smart guy, but few are even listening to him. Instead, they are listening to Tim’s book report, but it is putting them to sleep. The class loved Herman’s book report, but does the class clown really win in the end? It should be interesting who gets elected Class President.
MILBANK: I have received complaints from some middle school advocates because I compared Congress to middle school. I hereby apologize for insulting middle schoolers everywhere.

D.C SQUIRREL, July 22, 2011
CZIKOWKSY: I hear it is so hot, one could fry a squirrel on the sidewalk. What do you think of that?
SQUIRREL: I think you’re one sick puppy. Having said that, I do advise my fellow squirrels to avoid asphalt, concrete, roofing shingles, galvanized metal, and vinyl T-tops. All of those can singe the paws on a day like this.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, July 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: This weekend, I was watching local New York City television when I heard the sad news about the passing of Amy Weinhouse. It struck me as off when they ended with “Amy Whitehouse’s concert in New York next week has been canceled.” I am wondering: do they think there would be people who would think she was still going to appear at the concert after announcing she had died? What does this tell how the TV station thinks of its viewers?
PETRI: I would like to find the one guy who was going to show up anyway “I heard bad things about her live shows,” he might have said. “Maybe this will be an improvement.”
CZIKOWSKY: The Post is reporting the Congressional switchboard is overrun. See, this is what happens when you place a spending limit on switchboard operators and if you don’t raise the limit to hire more operators, everything comes to a crashing stop.
PETRI: What? Nonsense! And whatever you just said, I am pretty sure it’s the other party’s fault.
CZIKOWSKY: When the Federal government defaults and our economy falls into a deep depression and no one has any money and is out of work, what movies would you recommend?
PETRI: I’d see “The Grape of Wrath”.
One of my favorite possible apocryphal anecdotes is that during the Stalin era, they were trying to find a movie depicting America in a negative light and settled on “The Grapes of Wrath”, where the poor Joad family travels around the countryside in a beat-up Model T, utterly destitute, and everyone’s response was “Wow, even the poorest Americans have cars!” so it backfired.
I don’t know whether it would be inspiring now, but it’s worth a shot.
Or “Gigli”.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I found a new social network that no one knows about, yet I think it might just take off. Have you heard of MySpace? Do you think MySpace might catch on?
HESSE: Dream big, buddy,

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, July 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I believe some people are writing John Boehner off too early. He potentially has much greatness ahead of him. He could be on “Dancing With the Stars”.
MILBANK: Problem is after that, if he continues in the Hammer’s path, he may have to go to prison.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, August 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: My mother got me a cemetery headstone for a Christmas present several years ago. A false rumor went around that I was dying, but I’m still here. Doesn’t everyone give out headstones and funeral plots for presents?
PETRI: I’m going to start! The only trouble will be that, given the nature of life, one of the recipients will eventually die, and suddenly the gage grave with the Leslie Nielsen-style “LET ‘ER RIP” will seem out of place.
CZIKOWSKY: What are your screenplays about? Have you ever considered writing screenplays with another screenwriter?
PETRI: Speaking of faulty bananas---one’s a romantic comedy that’s basically “Annie Hall” from the girl’s perspective that I’ve been told has structural similarities to “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” but I promise is not like that. One’s a sort of “Thank You for Smoking” but about college admissions, and I’m working on two more: one’s basically Cyrano de Bergerac with a new technology twist, and the other one’s about a group of girlfriends who accidentally travel back in time and Complications Ensue.
And yes, because that would force me to act as thought there was a deadline, and that would be helpful.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, August 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are we to just take Barack Obama’s word that he is 50? Until he shows us his birth certificate, we should not…oh, wait…he did?...never mind.
ARGETSINGER: Ah, remember what fun times those were?”
CZIKOWSKY: Memo from Satan: “Satan burgers already exist. You know them as Big Macs. Many have fallen into my trap. Try getting out. Sugar coating them? Haven’t thought of that. (You do know I fry French fries in sugar water, right?) I am sure someone at some state fair will start selling fried Big Macs. After that, I will rule, yes, I will.
ARGETSINGER: Dear Satan: That you for the French fries.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, August 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I hope someday they will do a Superman story where they get the storyline correct. The true story of Superman is of a person with great strength and abilities who, when he is needed to save the world, transforms into journalist Clark Kent who then uses the power of the press to save the world….Where is that movie?
CHANEY: I heard a screenwriter was working on i., But he was also a journalist in his “other life” and got so bogged down with blogging/social networking/reporting/medial appearance responsibilities that he never finished it.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, August 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have learned the following from recent news events: You are a winner if you have tiger blood, but a loser if you have a tiger suit.
MILBANK: Lessons to live by.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, August 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I can easily explain Economics to you. Tape the stock pages onto a wall, blindfold yourself, take 30 darts, and throw then at the pages. Remove the blindfold, and buy 30 equal shares of the stocks where your darts landed. Do not sell the stocks and hold onto them until retirement or whenever you may sell them without tax consequences. Congratulations: you will earn more than what 80% of the stock market experts will too you to do.
Now that you are one of the giants of the stock market, I would say, yes, the video (of a startled cat bumping into a wall) you chose is the best explanation for how the stock market works.
PETRI: Here’s another explanation.
This reminds me on a quote from, I believe, Lord Palmerston, about the Schleswig-Holstein question. “This question is so complicated that only three men in Europe have ever understood it. One died. The other went mad. And I---forgot.” This is basically how I feel about the economy. But surely we must have understood it sophomore year or we wouldn’t have done passably on the curve graded exam, right? Externalities! Bear markets! Bear Stearns! Stern bears!
CZIKOWSKY: I am thinking of retiring and moving to Ames, Iowa. At least you get fed well once a year.
PETRI: Mainly empty calories, though.
CZIKOWSKY: I am thinking of writing a screenplay were mimes act out “Plan 9 From Outer Space” set to rap music,.
PETRI: Please do! Although that’s basically “The Room”.
CZIKOWSKY: Seriously, if you ever do want people to read your screenplays, and whether you wish advice, let us know. There are those of us who seriously would be interested in doing that. The type screenplays that most interest me are “Howard the Duck” meets “Gigli”. That would be a fantastic movie.
PETRI: I wish I’d written that type of screenplay. There’s clearly a market!
I’ll keep everyone posted…
CZIKOWSKY: There are fewer cat movies because they are harder to film. Oh, no, it is not that they are harder to train. Cats tend to be such divas.
PETRI: I hear they’re doing wondering things with CGI these days…
Knowing our luck, though, CGI cats would probably more recalcitrant than CGI apes.
CZIKOWSKY: They should do a film version of “Cats”, with real cats.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, August 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I went to see “The Help”, and I was very disappointed. I didn’t see the Beatles anywhere in the movie.
ARGETSINGER: Someone with better video editing skills needs to do a mash-up. Call it, “The Help!”.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, August 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: From your close, personal friend, a corporation: “I was really sad when I saw you tweet that corporations are the only friends that go to your parties. See, that is why we need Mitt Romney as President. It is corporations that create jobs and go to parties. OK, so maybe Exxon spills a bit on the rug every now and then. But, please, give us corporations a break (preferably in taxes).
PETRI: That’s the only kind!
Exxon is a little spilly, but it rounds out the party nicely, especially if you invite BP and Joe Barton as well, because then the evening is just people spilling and apologizing, which sounds like a recipe for a good party.
CZIKOWSKY: Dear Presidential Candidates: It was only a media event. It has no meaning on Delegates. Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin were smart enough to figure that out. A year from now, few will remember what happened in Ames. Pawlenty, I guess you didn’t have that fire in the belly, because it was only a poll where what food people served was a significant factor. Santorum, just because you finished fourth doesn’t mean you can claim victory, you still finished fourth. Bachman, you still barely got more votes than Ron Paul.
My question is…why?
PETRI: I concur!
My favorite part was all the press coverage saying in hushed, urgent tones: BREAKING: THE PAWLENTY TENT HAS RUN OUT OF BARBEQUE. You could really tell the actually pulse of the real electorate was being taken.
And yeah, don’t forget Ron Paul! He’s got a new ad out saying he’s the only one who will bring peace and prosperity and generally usher in the new millennium on Earth.
CZIKOWSKY: Someday, Pawlenty will be sitting in a rocking chair in a retirement home muttering to himself “if we only hadn’t run out of barbecue, I could have been President”.
PETRI: Then again, not being President will allow him ore room to purse his passions---moving people’s lawns, cooking them dinner, and googling. So maybe he’ll be relieved.
CZIKOWSKY: OK, Pawlenty gets 2,293 votes and withdraws while Gingrich gets 385 votes and he’s still in the race. Did I get that correct? P.S. Congratulations to McCotter. Where did you find the 35 votes?
PETRI: I wonder the same thing! I’d like to meet the McCotter voters. Either they didn’t get it---“I haven’t been following the coverage much, but I figured I’d show up and get some of the good eats, and that man had a sensible look to him”---or they were a group of rogue hipstervatives who were there to vote ironically, in which case the hipster plague has spread far faster and more inimically than even I feared.
CZIKOWSKY: Maybe “McCotter” is Iowan for “none of the above”?
PETRI: And Gingrich is Iowan for I haven’t paid much attention to politics in a while, but I hear the 90’s are back.”
CZIKOWSKY: Now that Pawlenty is out of the race, Paul Ryan figures there is an opening for him to get into the race. Gosh, if Gingrich and McCotter get out of the race, there will be a slightly smudge more of an opening.
PETRI: Like I said, all six dedicated Pawlenty voters are in high demand now. But if your criteria for a candidate is he looks kind of like Tim Geithner, your pickings are much slimmer than they used tob e and you might have to draft Ryan. Both of them have an expression that suggests they are secretly worried about the budget at all times, although Ryan at least has a Facebook fan page to his credit.
CZIKOWSKY: Has anyone noticed how nearly every character on “24” says the word “fine”? “Fine” must be mentioned several times in every episode. I think this could be a new drinking game: everyone drinks whenever someone on “24” uses the word “fine”.
PETRI: I haven’t watched “24”. (I know! But how much enthusiasm can you muster when you know that Jack Bauer will survive another improbably bad day, in increments of 40ish minutes with commercials?) but I want this to be stated for the record.
Also, as a non-watcher, I still wonder “When does Jack sleep?” Is this a rookie question? Does he sleep for eight hours while a subplot happens? Does he not sleep? Is he like a shark who must remain moving at all times in order to live?
CZIKOWSKY: I guess during a possible terrorist strike, everyone is wired to stay up 24 hours straight. It is comical, though, to figure out the real “real times”, as this show is supposedly is in “real time”. I am more impressed how quickly Jack Bauer gets through Los Angeles traffic. If this were real life, Bauer would be stuck on the 410 between 4 pm and 6 pm.
PETRI: I’d watch that! If they had a final season like “Boston Legal”, when the creators seemed to give up and just started breaking the fourth wall with wild abandon, maybe this could happen! The whole episode is just Jack Bauer sleeping, being stuck in traffic, and doing mundane household tasks. He might visit the DMV at some point. I think it could be ratings gold! (Yes, I realize this is in all probability the 936th time this joke has been made about that show, but I’d watch it anyway!)
CZIKOWSKY: How many Americans think: “Gosh durn it, if them raises the taxes of them super rich, how am I going to pay all them taxes when I becomes super rich”?
PETRI: I think we all secretly believe this. It’s the Temporary Embarassed Millionaires conundrum that Steinbeck talks about and I’ve referred to more times than I can shake a decently sized stick at this week. The logic is that we’ve worked hard for what we have and ought to be able to dispense with it as we see fit, not as Warren Buffett sees fit. Even if you agree that the wealthy now can agree to pay more, when the carousel comes around and you seize the proverbial ring, you worry your position might alter.
CZIKOWSKY: I have found the key to financial success. Warren Buffett went to Wharton undergraduate but never graduated. Bill Gates went to Harvard but never graduated. Mark Zuckerberg went to Harvard, but never graduated. The key in financial success seems to be to get an Ivy League education, but don’t graduate.
PETRI: Aw, dang it.
There are innumerable studies that point out that what really determines your odds of succeeding in life are not whether you get a degree but whether you are accepted.
Maybe it makes sense, though, College, say what you will about it, is a prime time for goofing off, and people willing to spend four years going that---I;m sorry, “studying pre-post-feminist aspect of Ezra Pound”, or rather, “things that Conrad might have had in common with Woolf, but then against might not have” (I actually took a course in this my senior year)---probably lack a certain fire in the belly.
CZIKOWSKY: There was, decades ago, a female Governor of Texas back in the days when Texas law required a husband to sign a legal document signed by a wife. There actually was debate, finally resolved against this, that the Governor’s husband would be required to co-sign any legal papers she as Governor signed. My, how times have changed, a bit, anyway.
PETRI: Wow. I’ll have to read up on that! But I’m glad she got elected in the first place.
This is probably a god time to note that I realize Bachman brought the question on herself by saying in 2006 that she was being submissive to Marcus, the forum in which it was posed just struck me as seriously wrong.
CZIKOWSKY: The income gap has not been this great since the Roaring 20’s. So, enjoy, as these will soon be known as the good old days. Spoiler alert: the 20’s don’t end well once 1929 comes along.
PETRI: Way to spoil the 20th century for me! Things seemed to be going so well under Hoover! I guess those who don’t learn are doomed to repeat, but I was hoping we’d repeat the bits where we were prosperous, had large suburban homes, and dominated the world stage.
CZIKOWSKY: I would want to have drinks with Sarah Palin, but only in hopes she starts doing and saying wild and crazy stuff. Wait, does she have to be drunk in order to get her to do and say wild and crazy stuff?
PETRI: Perhaps a White Russian? Drink a couple, and you’ll be seeing two or three from your house! Although she might quit before finishing the last one.
CZIKOWSKY: I would like to have drinks with Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. If Perry keeps blowing kisses towards Romney, I think we should start a petition encouraging them to get married. I wonder how many drinks that would take?
PETRI: Maybe just urge them to watch a lot of “Sesame Street”. I hear it’s dangerous propaganda for this sort of thing.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, August 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: OK, we do a series where a dissident Mormon married both Kate Gosselin and Octomom, and the series shows the hilarious situations this family has as they settle into a mansion in Beverly Hills.
CHANEY: “Come and listen to my story about a lady named Kate…”
This sounds horrible. Which is another way of saying that a reality show producer will probably pursue it.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, August 19, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I hear some Presidential campaigns are so short on money they are hiring aides to steal cars and sell the cars to chop shops. If we could only get a reporteR into ground zero to research this.
CILLIZZA (whose car was stolen in Iowa): Wait…

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, August 23, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Speaking of flush toilets…Do people realize that our own waste was a major cause of death until the invention of the flush toilet and, even then, not until people realized not to flush the waste into the water they drank from? More people died from diseases from waste than all wars put together.
PETRI: Unless you consider it a war on microbes! That’s what I plan to tell my putative kids when urging Waldo and Ralph to waste their hands vigorously.
CZIKOWSKY: What are putative kids, and who is the putative father?
PETRI: They’re generally believe to exist. I think in this case I meant hypothetical future kids, but, hey, putative had been sitting around in the lexicon all day getting fat and eating chips and needs to get out more. Based on the names, I assume the father is some sort of weird Transcendentalist.
CZIKOWSKY: How does one get to become a putative father? If you are seriously ill, I promise to be beside you with a cat in hand. What more can one want?
PETRI: At my bedside with a cat in hand! What more could one require?
CZIKOWSKY: Putative kids here: “I want to go to Yale. Start saving up.”
PETRI (a Harvard graduate): Yale? C’mon. You’re putative, and you already want to go to the Other White Meat? At least shoot for Harvard, Ralph.
(Sorry, I had to say that, of the Insufferable Forms of Socially Unacceptable School Pride Committee was going to have words with me. I promise I’m not ACTUALLY one of those people! Look, Ralph, pennies in the jar.)
CZIKOWSKY: I knew I had no chance to get into Harvard. Then I got a letter from Harvard telling me that based on what they knew about me, I was the type person they wanted at Harvard. So, thinking if Harvard thinks I can get into Harvard, I will apply to Harvard. I remember they had a huge application feel, but I went ahead and paid. Then they rejected me. I think they run an application fees scam from idiots like me who are duped into paying them. I think someone should report this scam.
PETRI: Nuts! Sorry about that.
I think those durn “likely letter” are responsible for more dashed hopes that Butler’s return to the NCAA Championship last year.
CZIKOWSKY: Never go sailing or stay in a home with Kate Winslet. That woman brings the worse luck.
PETRI: Didn’t she rescue Richard Branson’s mother, though? I feel like we’ve giving her the same bad rep as that lady in the joke who was there through thick and thin in the midst of all her husband’s troubles, until, at the end, he whispered. “When my house burned down, you were there. When our children fell on hard times, you were there. When my business stopped, you were there. When my health failed, you were there. Honey, I think you bring me back luck.”
CZIKOWSKY: I did mean the joke about Kate Winslet purely for laughs. I realize fire is dangerous and she was in a life threatening situation and we are all glad she got out alive. Plus, she did save a woman, and deserves much credit. At least she didn’t leave Leonardo diCaprio behind in the fire…
PETRI: Ha!
But then again, maybe Rose knew that is she rescued Jack they’d wind up in the suburbs failing to live up to their dreams…
CZIKOWSKY: President Michelle Bachman…President Ron Paul…President Herman Cain…President Thadeus McCotter. Yeah, think your job security is pretty much safe no matter won wins in 2012.
PETRI: No, but what about that really great guy who is so rational and sane and has a Super PAC already?
No, wait, I think I’m thinking of Stephen Colbert.
CZIKOWSKY: Rick Perry has chosen to associate with people that John McCain refused to be seen with. Rick Perry has said many statements that deserve to be scrutinized. So, write away on him and on any other politician. Sure, their supporters may feel offended, but this is what a free press does in a democracy.
PETRI: Yes! As Jefferson said, a nation that expects to be ignorant and free expects what never was and never will be. Also, we are supposed to cover the Kardashian wedding extensively.
CZIKOWSKY: Speaking of international news, does anyone know if Gadaffi has issued a statement regarding the Kardashian wedding?
PETRI: He is irritated that Lindsay Lohan stole his dress idea. Also, that she appears to be undergoing reconstructive facial surgery to resemble him more closely. He says he’s “flattered, but worried.”
CZIKOWSKY: It has been reported that Gadaffi escaped once by dressing as a woman. So, rebels, you may wish to look for someone leaving Tripoli wearing Vera Wang.
PETRI: Who does he think he is, Jeff Davis?
CZIKOWSKY: I think we should, like, look up to Miss USA contestants because, in an era of, like, inflation we need to rally behind, like our ancestors and, like supports our neighbors.
PETRI: Also, my hero is my father and I’m all for world peace. I’m sorry, wait, no. I’m all for US that thing that starts with and h and means we’re awesome.
From an ARRR WOMEN THINGS perspective, it’s refreshing that the honor of being the candidate who sounds most like a Miss USA contestant has suddenly lifted from Palin’s shoulders and landed on Perry’s,.
CZIKOWSKY: Are you the Alexandra Petri on Facebook whose photo looks like you are about to take on Conan the Barbarian? If so, what is the story behind that great looking profile picture?
PETRI: Yes! That was drawn by Renee Rober, a friend of mine from college who is a G in all regards. She was doing some sort of project doing fun portraits of people, and I asked to be drawn as a Jedi. I think she felt I belonged on the other side of the Dark/Light line.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, August 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When I felt the earthquake, my first thought, as I am sure was the first thought in the minds of many people, was whether this earthquake was impacting the Kardashian honeymoon. Has anyone been able to reach them to ascertain that they are fine from this horrific event?
CHANEY: I believe they are in Capri. So my guess is they are fine.
CZIKOWSKY: I find it incredible that many animals knew about humans that the earthquake was happening. The Washington Zoo reports that the apes and Jesse James were seen climbing trees minutes before the quake.
CHANEY: Posted without comment (but while quietly giggling…)

AARON BLAKE, Washington Post National Politics Reporter, August 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Now for the tough question where readers will judge how you stand on the critical issue of the day: Where do you stand on “Friday Night Lights”?
BLAKE: I will say only this: I once wrote in “Coach Taylor” on an actual local ballot election.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, September 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Maybe the black smoke from the bus scrambled Matthew Fox’s brain functionings (when he attacked a bus driver)?
CHANEY: That’s right, resolve this complex situation the same way the writers resolved “Lost”. Blame it on MIB.
And a bottle getting uncorked.
Restraining myself from another bad joke…
CZIKOWSKY: If an urban myth is not true in a city, does this mean it might be true in a rural area?
CHANEY: It does, actually.
Similarly, suburban myths may be absolutely valid in a major metropolis or small village.
That’s one to grow on, people.

CHRIS CILIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, September 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If the Oreo is the Cadillac of cookies, is the Milano the Mercedes Benz of cookies?
CILIZZA: I do love me some Milanos.
And where do Samoas fit in our cookie hierarchy?
CZIKOWSKY: Samoas are like the DeLorean of cookies. You seldom see them, but when you do, you pay attention.
CILIZZA: Wow. This is really good. That would make Thin Mints the Honda Accord of cookies. Everyone has then, they’re pretty good, but you don’t get superjazzed up when you see/eat them.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, September 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Which candidate will offer to best Mitt Romney by promising to bring a life size doll of Winston Churchill into the White House? I personally think it will be Rick Santorum, so he may use it to continually remind him to speak against gay issues.
PETRI: He could use that famous (possibly apocryphal) Churchill quote from when Roosevelt allegedly surprised him in the bathtub. Churchill stood up and said something like: “You see, Mr. President, the Prime Minister of Great Britain has nothing to hide from the President of the United States.”
CZIKOWSKY: I am a Pro-Death vote. I support Rick Perry, because I hate Texans, and he’s killed more Texans than any other candidate has.
PETRI: Who let the wildfire in?
CZIKOWSKY: Let’s start a “Vote for the Worst” to save the worst Republican candidate. OK, so everyone vote for Jon Huntsman, no, wait, Herman Cain, no, I mean, Rick Santorum, oh, or course, Michelle Bachman, or, wait, Sarah Palin…Newt Gingrich, no, Thadeus McCotter…
PETRI: You can’t really argue with McCotter. That is why no one invited him to these things, even though he’s really been working on his hair lately.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, September 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I wonder if the Obamas plan on asking Journey to perform at the White House?
CHANEY: If they did, I am guessing they won’t now.
They should totally invited Steve Perry to perform. You know, because the President and First Lady have nothing better to do than think about the Salahi/Journey situation.
Speaking of which, we need a need for this “scandal”. Journeygate seems too predictable.
CZIKOWSKY: Dear Brad: Angelina has not been kidnapped, she just ran off with me, that is all.
CHANEY: Signed, Lou Gramm, former frontman for Foreigner.
CZIKOWSKY: Is “Whitney” any good? It has had the most bizarre of advertising, i.e. connecting morning sex to why we should view a show. If she punishes her boyfriend with the sound of her voice, will viewers enjoy the sounds of her voice?
CHANEY: I have heard that it’s so-so. Critics seems to like the other show she produced, “2 Broke Girls” a bit more.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, September 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Now why did they have to kill off Charlie Harper’s character on “Two and a Half Men”? You would think the producer Chuck Lorrie would want to keep open the option of enticing Charlie Sheen to come back sometime. Sometimes I just wonder what people are thinking.
PETRI: I know! They seemed to get along so well!
CZIKOWSKY: Now, now, Republicans do not believe in class warfare. Republicans believe that all poor and middle class people should pay lots of taxes and dream to someday become wealthy enough not to pay taxes. That is not class warfare, that is the American dream. If you take away that dream, America dies,
PETRI: That’s it! It’s the Temporarily Embarrassed Millionaire problem! That’s why we’re all irritated with Warren Buffett for suggesting that he has too much money. “When I have as much money as Warren”, we murmur, “I definitely won’t think it’s too much.”
CZIKOWSKY: One of my favorite stories was a former Supreme Court Chief Justice who once boarded the train and discovered, when the conductor came around, that he didn’t have his ticket. The conductor recognized the Chief Justice and told him not to worry about it. The Chief Justice replied “you don’t understand. Without the ticket, I don’t know where I am going.”
PETRI: Ha!

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, September 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t understand why getting married the same place as where one married a previous wife should creep anyone else out. I married my first and third wives in the same place, although I did use a different Elvis impersonator to officiate.
CHANEY: I understand Paul McCartney also will be married by an Elvis impersonator. What a coincidence!
CZIKOWSKY: Where do I go to sign up to be famous for being famous?
CHANEY: I believe the place you want to go to is called the Internet.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, September 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am not certain what the $16 muffin is, but it is possible to get a gigantic muffin that really is a huge cake shaped like a muffin in some New York bakeries. So, if that is what was bought, that doesn’t surprise me. Yet if it was a normal size muffin, the muffin better have had caviar and been able to five me financial advice in order to justify costing $16.
PETRI: I would take financial advice from a muffin.
CZIKOWSKY: If Zooey and Whitney can get TV shows, when does Alexandra get her TV show?
PETRI: If they’re going backwards through the alphabet (which by all appearance they are), I’ve got a while! Maybe I’ll get a hurricane.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Columnist, September 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The New Yorker poll is too confusing for young people. They could tell which one was funnier, but that they couldn’t remember which comic went with which choice, so they guessed where it was. It was too much trouble for that generation to check if they were voting for the right comic. By the way, this is also how they vote in all local elections.
WEINGARTEN: Sigh.
CZIKOWSKY: The litmus test for the Republican nomination is getting stricter and stricter. You must be against climate change, vaccinations, evolution, and even government itself. You must be for Christianity, the flag, and nation (in that order). Then, when you pass the litmus test, you look ridiculous to the rest of the country. This is not good for Republicans.
WEINGARTEN: It’s really exciting to me. They are self immolating. It’s sort of like McGovern in ’72.
CZIKOWSKY: Here is the key question: When do Barney and Clyde plush toys, posters, greeting cards, and lunch boxes come out?
WEINGARTEN: I think we need to be “bigger”,
Of course, we anticipated this and created a character for licensing potential, with an inside joke. Clyde’s adorable pet rabbit is named “Adolf”, except when they are panhandling. In that case he has a stage name: “Fluffy McNeedsahug.”
CZIKOWSKY: OK, so bioya didn’t work. I have been searching for something that the urban dictionary doesn’t yet have, and I think I have found one for you, which is sort of naughty looking at first sight: titswc. Tell it to someone who cares. What do you think?
WEINGARTEN: I like it.
Bioga was my attempted coinage of a new acronym, for “blow it out…
etc. But someone on Twitter pointed out it’s already in the Urban Dic.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, September 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I wonder when we will start seeing Presidential endorsements of actors for roles in movies?
ARGETSINGER: Excellent question. Let’s try to make that happen.
CZIKOWSKY: I think that would be great. Where do Presidential candidates stand on who should be the next James Bond? Or Cat Woman? I think that will tell us a lot about their decision making abilities.
ARGETSINGER: I agree. We don’t want to bother them with “Twilight” sequels---just major, iconic roles with a significance to the global economy.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When you Google search before a date, also Google search yourself so you may defend yourself from what your date found out about you.
HESSE: Oh my word. This is getting complicated.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, September 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: In an imperfect world, Demi Moore would be dating Charlie Sheen.
CHANEY: On “Access Hollywood Live” today (I had it on in the background while I was working---don’t judge me) Billy Bush suggested that if the rumors were true and the marriage is over, she should date an older guy, like a George Clooney.
Obviously Clooney has a girlfriend but I am not sure if that would work regardless. Sheen would never happen because of the Estevez connection.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, October 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you think Michael Richards used to go to the same camp as did Rich Perry?
PETRI: Oh, man, that would be the worst summer camp ever! It would be even worse than Safety Camp, which was the worse summer camp I can come up with, where people just spend all summer teaching you how to use tools safely. I guess these are variants of the same thing, actually; one teaches how to use a tool safely, the other, how to be one.
Any other suggestions for terrible summers?
CZIKOWSKY: There was that Youth Actors and Singers Camp with guest instructors Michael Jackson and Roman Polanski.
PETRI: This is the part where I ask if I can make a joke about how you shouldn’t let either of them demonstrate pitching a tent and my editor says “probably not.”
CZIKOWSKY: The difference between Rick Perry and Dick Cheney is that Cheney did not want to shoot someone in the face but did so, while Rick Perry would like to shoot someone in the race, but hasn’t done so.
PETRI: Maybe this could be the basis for a charity of some sort…
CZIKOWSKY: Isn’t is ironic that Amanda Knox is released just as it is announced “Arrested Development” is returning? I have no idea what that even means.
PETRI: 10 points!
You have unearthed the hidden theme of this, which is correlation/causation.
And yes, AD is back!!
Next, The Wire! (I know the AG tried that, but he should try harder!) And The West Wing.
CZIKOWSKY: In our rush, we will make mistakes. Plus, some of us are dyslexic, (some may have had some wine for breakfast), so these questions will often contain many mistakes. Reminds me of the person who always insisted on proper English who only went on to announce she was going to run for Pubic Office.
PETRI: We once had a course listed in the catalogue as “Orgasmic and Evolutionary Biology”.
Everyone was disappointed.
CZIKOWSKY: Why are we considering people for President who have indicated a willingness to consider their state succeeding from the Union, i.e. Palin and her attendance at an Alaska First Party meeting and Perry stating it may be legal for Texas to leave the Union? A historic irony is that Jefferson Davis did not favor the Confederacy succeeding from the Union until his state voted to do so. Palin and Perry make even Jefferson Davis look like a moderate.
PETRI: This makes me think that is someone hasn’t made How to Secede in Business Without Really Trying, we’re all missing out.

ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist, and AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, October 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Someone posing as a Mexican drug lord when a terrorist hires him to assassinate a Middle East politician? Sorry, I saw that when it was called “24”.
ROBERTS: Which leaders to my question: Did everyone’s cell phone always work? No dropped calls, no drained batteries? I noticed that Jack never seemed to charge his phone.
CZIKOWSKY: Actually, in season 8 of “24”, the cell phones don’t work after an explosion at CTU and…I need a life, don’t I?
ARGETSINGER: You know, it was my absolute favorite show, but I can’t remember any of the plot lines.
CZIKOWSKY: We need to Occupy Beverly Hills, to protest greedy stores that won’t let you wear their jewelry on a trial basis and then try to claim you stole it.
ROBERTS: Yeah, Lindsay, right on! You lead the charge on Rodeo Drive---I’ll be right behind you, at least until they pull the pepper spray out.
CZIKOWSKY: Anyone know where I may get some Salahi costumes? That way I may go to as many Halloween parties as I want/
ARGETSINGER: That was so last year.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, October 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Celebrities Occupy Wall Street all the time. Of course, I mean the fancy restaurants near Wall Street/
CHANEY: Right.
And they don’t believe in handouts. Much like Jesus, as Victoria Jackson pointed out. I mean, Jesus was totally anti-handouts

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, October 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How does Chris Christie for Vice President look today?
MILBANK: The more he denies interest, the more I want him.
But hasn’t that job already been offered to Marco Rubio?
CZIKOWSKY: Of course a relatively leaderless movement will lack coherent messages as people are joining Occupy Wall Street for individual reasons. Yet, there is a central theme which is easy to figure out: People are mad at what they see is a disparity of power (or wealth or whatever) in the financial industry versus their own situation, be it lesser employed, underemployed, unemployed, or bored and looking for something to do.
MILBANK: Well, the Republicans and the Democrats have leaders, but they aren’t coherent. What’s with all this importance about being coherent? Are we making adhesives?
CZIKOWSKY: Are there any good Congressional races coming up in Long Island? (Just helping you deduct this trip to your high school reunion as a business trip).
MILBANK: Much obliged, but its’ Southwest Airlines, so no biggie. On the other hand, I hear there’s a very competitive Senate race in Hawaii…
CZIKOWSKY: Have you seen Herman Cain’s birth certificate?
MILBANK: Yeah, but I couldn’t make out a lot of stuff because of the tomto sauce stains.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, October 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: This explains it all about the “Imagine” singer: All Herman Cain is saying, is give pizza a chance.
PETRI: Hey-o!

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, October 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I guess I can never be President. I was born in Manhattan, and we all know the birthers consider Manhattan a foreign place.
MILBANK: This is why Bloomberg had the presence of mind to be born in Massachusetts. Or maybe that’s not any better.
CZIKOWSKY: All I know is Hillary Clinton goes to Libya and the next thing you know Gaddafi is dead.
MILBANK: I know. Has anybody heard the rumor she’s replacing Biden on the ticket? (They haven’t denied it for a few days…)

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, October 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Why is it a gay couple in Ohio can own a lion but they can’t get married?
PETRI: If I retained anything from the “Lion King”, it’s that marriage is especially stressful for lions.
CZIKOWSKY: I am reminded of the Jerry Seinfeld quote that the most common fear is public speaking and the second most common fear is death, meaning that at a funeral, more people would prefer to be the person in the coffin than the person giving the eulogy.
PETRI: Seinfeld hit it on the nose!
What terrifies me these days is that if you consume more than 14 non-diet sodas per week, you are twice as likely to engage in violence!
(“It’s not you, it’s just me,” as correlation said to causation.)
CZIKOWSKY: For all of you afraid of water, just think of Eddie Rickenbacker, who survived 24 days in a life raft, living on a seagull and rain water. Great, now I am afraid to ever fly again.
PETRI: The worst part was when Eddie Rickenbacker got back to shore and discovered that He Was The Black Freighter.
Oh, never mind, I think I’m getting him confused with someone else.
CZIKOWSKY: I am very afraid of drowning. To paraphrase W. C. Fields, I’d hate to find myself in something that fish make love in.
PETRI: “A woman drove me to drink, and I didn’t even have the courtesy to thank you her!”

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, October 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am new to this area and I found this quaint Irish themed restaurant that appears to be very popular and reasonable in price. I had their most delicious menu item called a McRibb. Although, I did feel a little ill afterwards, but it might just be a bug going around.
ARGETSINGER: McRibb---isn’t that Scottish?
CZIKOWSKY: May we please ask that part of her public service be that Lindsay Lohan not pose for Playboy?
ARGETSINGER: Hey, nobody has to look if they don’t want to.
CZIKOWSKY: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are making a movie about the life of Whitey Bulger. Hasn’t Whitey been punished enough?
ARGETSINGER: Hahaha. Which one will be wearing the aging makeup?
CZIKOWSKY: Steven Tyler lost a tooth just as John Lennon’s tooth goes on auction. Well, now I know what to get Steven Tyler for Christmas.
ARGETSINGER: That is very thoughtful of you.
CZIKOWSKY: Anyone see Gary Johnson or Buddy Roemer? No seriously. Did anyone else know they are also running for President? Anyone see them? Anyone? Anyone?
ARGETSINGER: The way things are going, they could still surge.
CZIKOWSKY: There used to be an organization called Viewers for Quality Television that had never criticized any show yet would support shows that obtained praise from its membership. It was self supporting and not tied to the industry. It also demanded quality without an agenda, such as other groups had that sought to take shows off the air. Yet, today, with the Internet, public opinion is so rampant that the voice of a group who sought only quality has been drowned out and the group is no more. I understand the way to keep a show on the air now is to write to Washington Post discussions held by Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, and the industry now understand that is the best place to get the pulse of America. Incidentally, speaking of the pulse of America, some of you need to diet. Our arteries are hardening a bit.
ARGETSINGER: Thank you for your thoughts. I do like to think of myself as a cultural arbiter and watchdog. I may be singlehandedly responsible for keeping competitive ballroom dancing on network television in the 21st century.
CZIKOWSKY: Charlie Sheen: “Wait, a blood alcohol level of .4 is bad?”
ARGETSINGER: Well, if you know what you’re doing, and you have tiger blood…

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I’ll write a Monica Hesse page on Wikipedia. Now, your family did flee Castro’s Cuba, right?
HESSE: Right before Sophia Loren modeled her eyeglasses off the pair I wore when she delivered by birthday earlobe pulling.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, October 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Costume idea: Amy Weinhouse? Too soon? (It is a good excuse to drink at a party, or, on second thought, too soon?)
CHANEY: Yikes
Actually, I included Weinhouse in my group costume suggestion as part of the In Memoriam costume. I suspect lots of people will go as her because her look was so recognizable.
You know what’s sad? After writing four posts, with a total of 40 costume suggestions in them, I still have no idea what I am wearing to my son’s daycare Halloween party tomorrow.
CZIKOWSKY: If it is your son’s daycare Halloween party, I might remove Amy Weinhouse from the suggestion list.
CHANEY: Clearly. The costume idea I suggested were for the masses, not for my personal use.
CZIKOWSKY: Costumes to children’s parties are tricky. You try to fit in as a Tellytubby or Spongebob and there are some parents who think you’re a weirdo. Of course, those are usually the parents who I thought came in costume as moonshiners, until I learn they aren’t in costume…
CHANEY: Ha.
Last year, I went as Hit Girl, minus the weapons, mainly because I wanted to have purple hair.
CZIKOWSKY: Purple hair is good. You could go all out and go as Barney.
CHANEY: Bite your tongue, myfriend. Actually, I have had legitimately purple hair in the past and will probably again in the near future, Halloween aside. So, you know, there’s that to look forward to.
CZIKOWSKY: Lindsay Lohan’s community service should be watching over her father and making sure he doesn’t assault anyone. Sorry, not a costume idea, unless you want to go as Lindsay, but, they you’d have to arrive so late to the party…
CHANEY: Actually, Lindsay Lohan was a costume suggestion on this list. I don’t think I have all the cosmetics to pull it off, though.
CZIKOWSKY: What? Those stories are made up? There isn’t a bad child who arrived from outer space who now dates Jennifer Anniston?
CHANEY: I know. Shocking, right? The stories sound so…so real.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, October 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Which is the best idea: a “Dumb and Dumber” sequel, the return of “Beavis and Butthead”, or a third term for George W. Bush?
CILLIZZA: Return of Beavis and Butthead. I loved that show.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, November 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Why would someone tape bacon onto a cat and photograph it? Do they think dogs don’t have enough incentive to chase cats?
PETRI: This all goes back to the blog of Jon Scalzi, who formulated the Bacon Cat Law of Internets (I might not be getting this quite right) where you put in years of effort in making a great blog (his blog is indeed great) and then the entry that gets the most views is the one where you take a picture of bacon taped to your cat. He noticed the raging debate and linked to both my and Gene Weingarten’s piece, which is intensely joy-making! Visit his site and he’ll explain it better than I can.
CZIKOWSKY: When I tape bacon onto a cat, do I use duct tape? Is duck tape only for taping bacon onto a duck?
PETRI: Duck tape works for both cat-baconing and duck-baconing, although scotch is more often involved.
`”Scotch tape?”
“Who’s talking about tape?”
CZIKOWSKY: Did you know that one half of all humans who lived in the past 2,000 years are alive right now? I have reached two conclusions: 1.) We in total use a lot of resources. 2.) Those past life people have to be wrong because at most each person only gets one past life over the past 2,000 years, and they claim we each have many past lives. I think the resources one may be more important, though.
PETRI: No, I think you are confusing what is important with what is impressive! I’m really concerned. Someone ought to start a commission for generating past lives for post-boomer people!
CZIKOWSKY: What was your job in a library? I had a friend whose college job was to reshelve books at night at the college library. He would spend the entire evening studying and then return all the unshelved books back into the deposit bin. He’s now a wealthy financial advisor.
PETRI: That’s genius!
That’s why I will never be a wealthy financial adviser. I diligently shelved all kinds of books! Sometimes I scanned books into pdf files for patrons who requested it, and in the course of that I got to peruse all sorts of fun tomes about topics like Secret Hideaways in the New York Subway and Suicides in Seattle from 1914 to 1925 (oddly compelling).

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, and ROXANNGE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist. November 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: OK, who in the press has the courage to ask this: Do any of the Presidential candidates have tattoos?
ARGETSINGER: Didn’t Bush 41 have a tattoo? A Skull and Bones one or something?
CZIKOWSKY: “New Girl”: Wow, a whole TV episode where the joke is a 32 year old woman can’t say “p***s”. Great, now I can’t say it, either.
ROBERTS: That’s yet another reason I don’t watch the show. Turns everyone into 30-going-on-17.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have been feeling a little sick at work. I am going to tell the nurse that I have a rare condition called Palhinthinstra and, when you goggle Palhinthinstra, you will arrive at this discussion where you learn that this is a rare condition that requires two weeks of vacation time to recover. Do you think this will work?
HESSE: This Palhinthinstra plan is very good. I think it can be transmitted via the Internet. I think I caught it from you.
CZIKOWSKY: Remember every one: Palhinthinstra: A rare serious health condition where the body needs approximately 14 days of rest in order to recover. Cut and paste the above in blogs, tweets, and social networks everywhere.
HESSE: Yes. It shall be our homework for the week. Spread this disease, and spread it wide.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: OK, if fairy tales are in, how about this: we have a woman, and she lives in a shoe. We could get Octomom. She has a cow that can jump over the moon as maybe we can get Richard Branson to buy advertising. What do you think?
DE MORAES: I think it needs to be a crime drama…who gets bumped off in the pilot---the woman or the cow?

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY:I like to go to the fanciest restaurant in town, one where a tie and jacket are required, order expensive wine, maybe some lobster, sit alone, and read the “National Enquirer” in front of everyone.
HESSE: Oh, good. Next time, we’ll go together and I won’t feel weird about my “Us Weekly”.
CZIKOWSKY: I want to thank you for being the first journalist to stand up for those of us who suffer from Palhinthinstra.
HESSE: Palhinthinstra is a very serious disorder. You catch it via the Internet. It has no symptoms but requires two weeks of paid vacation time in order to be cured. So far, very few employers seem to know about Palhinthinstra. We are attempting to rectify that by spreading knowledge of the disorder throughout the Internet. Thank you for your concern.
CZIKOWSKY: My life is ruined. The Creamery at Penn State just pulled their Jerry Sandusky Ice Cream.
HESSE: Maybe they’ll bring it back under a new name. What flavor is it?
CZIKOWSKY: Sandusky Blitz Ice Cream is (was, sob) banana (oh, no, here come more bad jokes) ice cream with chocolate covered peanuts (oh,no, the jokes will get worse) and swirls of caramel. I won’t even touch what you’d rename it.
HESSE: Oh, Dear.
Thought: Chucky Monkey by Ben & Jerry’s might be a suitable replacement for the time being. It’s banana flavored with chunks of chocolate and walnut. It is my favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor. Hopefully this will ameliorate your pain somewhat.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I hate 11/11/11. I am still writing 10/10/10 on my checks.
HESSE: Really, why bother learning the dates? They always change the next day.
CZIKOWSKY: I hate this. Being dyslexic, I keep writing 11/11/11 instead of 11/11/11.
HESSE: As long as you’re remembering to do forward slashes instead of backslashes, you are totally fine.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, November 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe Universal’s release of “Snow White and the Huntsman” during the Presidential campaign will boost the Huntsman campaign?
MILBANK: You have discovered John Weaver’s secret plan.
Was that filmed in New Hampshire?

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, November 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am not Mitt Romney. If I run for President, may I be the non-Mitt Romney front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination, at least for one day? Incidentally, I have never sexually harassed anyone and I can name three government programs I would reduce, and I can remember them. Yet I am sure I will think of some way to go away after a day or do. I’ll do something, that’s for sure.
PETRI: I’d state on a national poll that I intended to vote for you! How do we get this train running?
One last bar: is your first or last name sufficiently out-of-the-ordinary? We only want people with names like Mitt, Newt, Barrack, Herman, and (for a while) Saxby. No Toms, Dicks, or Harrys need apply.
CZIKOWSKY: We in Pennsylvania are shocked to learn that Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner have called off their wedding plans. We never even knew our Auditor General Jack Wagner was dating Heather Locklear.
PETRI: Who would have thought? Maybe the initial audit was unsatisfactory.
CZIKOWSKY: My favorite Christmas song is “Give the Jew Girl Toys” by Sarah Silverman. I gather the whole family around and we sing it every year.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, November 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I believe Callithump is a group who believe in original ideas, as Californians who want a Governor who can thump other states’ Governors.
PETRI: Interesting! I thought it was like a Heffalump somehow, but I’ve been told that Heffalumps are now under control after they fumigated the Playboy Mansion.
A callithump sounds like an instrument for children not gifted enough to play the calliope.
CZIKOWSKY: I never understood the words “till death do us part”], I would like to think that marriage lasts beyond death. That I will see my late wife after death and we will still be married. Although, if I remarry, I am not quite certain how that works…
PETRI: I think a guy once asked Jesus that question…I think Jesus probably had a more authoritative-sounding question.
One of my favorite hobbies has always been telling people that all relationships end in breakups or death. “And I’m not ready to die yet”, is an optional bonus sentence for the end of that ir you want to incorporate it into a break-up at some point.
CZIKOWSKY: Well, according to my religious teaching, Jesus was so confused by the questions about being married to multiple wives after death that he moved to America where he founded a religion where we were allowed to have multiple wives on Earth. Or something like that.
PETRI: That is exactly what happened.
CZIKOWSKY: Like in “Rocky Horror”, love is eternal, or until you get zapped with rays from a space gun.
PETRI: :Dammit, Janet!”
CZIKOWSKY: Now that Cain may soon be out of the race…Is it my turn yet to run for President and be the front runner? Where do I sign up?
PETRI: I think you need a pack of some sort first? Call Stephen Colbert, he’s an expert on campaign finance. And by “He’s an expert on campaign finance” I mean “He discovered the farthest limit of satire, and the limit of satire is our campaign finance system, which is already so absurd that it is quite literally impossible to mock.”
CZIKOWSKY: The way to determine if you stay in the race for President is this: If you can explain to your wife it was a one or two time thing and it will never happen again, you stay in. If you have to tell your wife it’s been going on for 16 years, you’reout.
PETRI: That’s a good rule.
Alternative thought: he is too overcome with the memories of George Harrison to remain in the race. RIP: George! I always thought your post-Beatles career was underrated!

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Humor Writer, November 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t mind being asked (on job interviews) if I intend to get pregnant or not. Yes, I fully intend to get pregnant, and I fully intend to use a future employer’s health benefits. I will say it proudly to any job interviewer. Although, I will admit, I do fear it may be a good part of why I have never been hired. Oh, does it matter that I am male?
WEINGARTEN: Nicely done.
CZIKOWSKY: How I handle explaining God: I tell my children there was a God, but because they’ve been bad, the Easter Bunny killed Him.
Is that good parenting?
WEINGARTENl It’s okay, but you need details of the execution. It has to be better than crucifixion.
Q: What is it called if the whole Jesus story is made up? A: Crucifixion.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, November 30, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Has anyone noticed how language has changed over a few decades? “Make love” in the 1970s may not mean sex, whereas today it does. “Rock and roll” used to mean to have sex in the early 20th century. By the mid-20th century it meant to listen to music. And we all know how the word “gay” has changed. Well, I am off to be gay and rock and roll and, if things go well, maybe make love.
ARGETSINGER: Sounds lovely. Maybe you and I can meet for a ginger based dish in one of the bars around Dupont Circle, if you know what I mean. (I don’t).
CZIKOWSKY: Actually, I don’t know what you mean, but anytime you want to meet for some ginger, let me know. You bring the sugar and I’ll bring the salt, and at this point, I have absolutely no idea what we’re telling each other.
ARGETSINGER: Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, December 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I triple dog dare you to put your tongue on that flag pole. Which reminds me, when I do that, is it true that warm water will loosen the tongue that is stuck to the flag pole? Does anyone know for sure? Or do I just let my friends rip my tongue off the pole?
CHANEY: Actually, your friends will just leave you there while you flail your arms and scream, “Dun leb me, cum back.” Only Mrs. Shields will be kind enough to call both the cops and the Fire Department to help you remove your tongue from said pole.
I think warm water might work. That would make sense. I am not going to test it out, though.
CZIKOWSKY: Where do I go to file to annul the entire last season of the Kardashians?
CHANEY: The Court of Poetic Justice.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you suspect Piers Morgan initially did not know who Patrice O’Neal was?
CHANEY: I have to suspect you. Morgan accidentally referred to him as a she at the beginning of a segment about the comedian on his show.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, December 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I believe Donald Trump should be allowed to moderate a Republican debate, but only if he is permitted to pick one candidate at the end of the debate and announce “you’re fired” and that candidate has to withdraw from the race.
PETRI: I worry that this might set a dangerous precedent, or result in a President Omarosa, but it’d be the logical next step for the evening…
CZIKOWSKY: How can someone spend $100,000 to hide records? I don’t spent any money, in fact,, I don’t want to lose my records, and I can never find any of my records.
PETRI: I only find them when I’ve invited people over and sit in underused chairs and I hear the faint crack of vinyl breaking in half.
It’s been described as “legal, but unusual”. I have no idea why it would take $100,000 when all you have to do, in my experience, is drop your laptop down one flight of stairs, but maybe Romney knows something I don’t.
CZIKOWSKY: Larry King wants to be frozen when he dies? I don’t understand. I thought he already was frozen. I thought he already is dead.
PETRI: Ha! +5
CZIKOWSKY: Lady Gaga is meeting with White House staffers today. Any thoughts on her replacing Biden as Obama’s running mate?
PETRI: I have a lot of mainly angry thoughts about Lady Gaga after watching her video for “Marry the Night”, which compared unfavorably to that scene in “Clockwork Orange” where they force Alex to watch images of horror because at least in “A Clockwork Orange” those images are accompanied by good music.
But, hey, it might add some spice to the other end of the ticket…
CZIKOWSKY: Lady Gaga is discussing her anti-bullying campaign with Obama’s staff. Yeah, Newt, that means you.
PETRI: “And Dan Savage”, Rick Santorum says, hopefully
“Why?”
“Just Google me. I mean, er, don’t Google me.”
CZIKOWSKY: Sure, one can find a Benjamin Harrison impersonator But where are the William Henry Harrison impersonators?
PETRI: I used to know one, but the last time I saw him he was out talking in the rain for several hours in an inadequate jacket and I haven’t seen him since.

ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist,and AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, December 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When I read that author David Guterson won a Bad Sex in Fiction Award, I immediately wondered: where do I submit entries for the Bad Sex in Reality Award? Supposedly Guterson wrote “then they rinsed, dried, dressed, and went to an expensive restaurant for lunch.” How is that bad? Reality is “and then the drain was so clogged it took a plu,ber an hour ti fit it, there were no fresh towels, we put on our dirty clothes because we still don’t have enough money to fix the washing machine, and then went to McDonald’s,”
ROBERTS: None of this actually says the sex was bad. How about “he kissed like a dead fish and lasted 90 seconds” bad?
CZIKOWSKY: When the flight attendants read the safety information, does anyone listen? Anyone know what they are saying? Although, I will credit a flight attendant for finally letting me understand how a seatbelt works. Before then, I had no idea.
ARGETSINGER: “Your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device”---that point always stays with me.
CZIKOWSKY: Wow! I watch most of the shows Democrats watch and none of the Republican shows. Maybe I should register to vote.
ARGETSINGER: Too busy watching some awesome TV, huh?
CZIKOWSKY: You have to turn off your Kindle during takeoff and landing? Oh, if there only were some way to make a hard copy of your book and take that onboard.
ROBERTS: You’re a genius.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: So, the debate between Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum (only confirmed debaters so far) is supposed to be like the Lincoln-Douglas debates. I can see that, but what do we do when both candidates want to be Douglas?
HESSE: Make Donald Trump volunteer to be Mary Todd Lincoln? I would be far more excited about this debate as a “Lincoln-Douglas” affair if all the participants came in period costumes.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, December 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Re: Tom Cruise in “Top Gun 2”. They don’t let 50 year olds serve as Top Guns. Although, I guess with movie make up and computer generational capabilities, Tom Cruise will look young enough. Or maybe they are going to make him a teacher or something, or a tired grandpa who yells at the new recruits to keep off his lawn.
CHANEY: Right, well the speculation is that Cruise will play Maverick at a different place in his life. Perhaps, as you said, an instructor.
Side note: I actually opened my door to yell as some kids running through my yard the other day and realized I had become the codger who screams at kids to stay off her lawn. I stopped short of shaking my fist.
CZIKOWSKY: It is OK to yell at kids to stay off your lawn. Just as long as you do have a lawn, and there really are kids there. Otherwise, you might be Lindsay Lohan after a bad evening.
CHANEY: No, there were definitely kids. And I’d don’t think they were ghosts or anything Horror Story-ish.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, December 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Oh, vey, a war of Christmas? Seriously? With all the lights, trees, consumer spending, you think people are doing it for New Year’s Eve? Even Hanukkah is a holiday designed to mimic and integrate with Christmas. When the TV shows the Peanuts gang gathered around the holiday tree discussing how there is no God, then you may say there is a war on Christmas.
PETRI: (Some commentary, for when this comes out on DVD).
CZIKOWSKY: I believe what we learned today is that we hope people have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a righteous Ramadan, a holy Hare Krishna, and to the atheists, may nothing bless you.
ETRI: And on that note, thanks.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, December 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I am not sure who he is, but I hear there is a lot of excitement that Higgs Boson was spotted on the Penn campus in Philadelphia.
ARGETSINGER: I’m not sure who he is either, but his fans call him the “God particle”, which is sort of the same treatment Eric Clapton used to get.
CZIKOWSKY: Dear Governor of Maryland. It is not just you. I also tweeted I’d like to meet up with Lady Gaga for dinner, and she never got back to me, either.
ARGETSINGER: Keep trying!

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I submit this find as my nominee for Quote of the Day: “The call for Chester A. Arthur coins is not big.” –Joe Birden. That is a philosophy to which I believe we all can agree.
HESSE: You know, I did a story last year of the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee---the regular people who are in charge of deciding what your money looks like—and I think they would dispute this. There was a lot of heated discussion about obscure Presidential coins.
CZIKOWSKY: I fully believe the Sandusky legal team when they used the term “1-800-REALITY: without realizing it is a number for a gay porn line. I suspect they truly believed it was a child porn line.
HESSE: That was an exceedingly unfortunate miss-speak, wasn’t it?

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, December 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Just a few more days left. Any more despots want to die in the Year of the Dead Despots?
PETRI: I’m thinking of dubbing 2011 the Four Funerals and a Wedding year, because that pretty much sums up everything that happened.
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t want to upset our North Korean readership. Is it OK that I renamed Kim Jon Il as Kim Jon Dead?
PETRI: As long as you skipped the intermediate Kim Jon I’m Not Dead Yet, Kim Jon I’m Not Dead, Kim Jon I Feel Happy, Kim Jon I Feel Happy.
Wow, that Monty Python joke was dead when I started, and I think I just flogged it into the Realms Beneath, but hey, it’s the thought that counts.
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t think this advice is original: Always forgive your enemies at Christmas; nothing annoys them more.
PETRI: Sounds like that (Oscar Wilde) app that’s make me obsolete has already been invented. The old-fashioned respect for the young is dying fast!
CZIKOWSKY: Anyone seen the redistricted Ninth Congressional District in Pennsylvania? Tell me that is not a long haired woman with a heart and star thought balloon kicking a two legged moose.
PETRI: It’s not a long haired woman with a heart and star thought balloon kicking a two legged moose.
It’s an artist’s rendering of how Europe might have looked if World War I had turned out differently that someone spilled coffee on.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Columnist, December 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I believe Barack Obama is the best President our country has ever had since Bill Clinton.
WEINGARTEN: I agree.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, January 3, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Have you ever met anyone in Iowa was has never met a Presidential candidate?
PETRI: I’ve been assiduously hunting. I though I found one at the bar across the street from the Romney headquarters (called Delirium Tremens, which I find a hilarious juxtaposition). He seemed not to be interested in politics at all, and had the joviality associate with never having had your hand shaken by a campaigner.
Abut it turned out he was a Ron Paul supporter.
CZIKOWSKY: Breaking news in Philadelphia: During the inauguration of Mayor Michael Nutter’s second term, his wife and daughter were called forward to receive flowers. The only problem was: no one remembered to order the flowers and there were none. Maybe that is a sign of things to come. The Mayans were right. There are no flowers at inaugurals in 2012.
PETRI: Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing. Where have all the flowers gone? Long time ago. Where have all the flowers gone? I’m being intentionally evasive because I forgot to order the, all right?
-Pete, Paul, and Mary, first draft.
CZIKOWSKY: When did Kim Il Un become Kim Il Eun. Is Kim Il E-un an electronic version of Kim Il Un?
PETRI: This is just my Gadhaft Gaddafi Qadfah Qaddaffffy: that guy who dressed like an Ottoman---not the Empire, the home furnishing---problem rearing its ugly head again.
CZIKOWSKY: I read of your recent desire to purchase a firearm. Do you still intend to buy one, or maybe you’ll just borrow Gene Weingarten’s AK 47?
PETRI: I’ve never borrowed a firearm, but I think there has to be some sort of special exception to the Second Amendment for people like me, who are capable of severely wounding themselves using common household implements like muffin trays. Besides, I doubt Gene will want to part with it,

DAVE BARRY, Pulitzer Prize winning author, January 3, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: The sad part of Colonel Gaddafi’s death is that he was just two weeks away from being promoted to General.
BARRY Don’t feel too bad for the guy. He’s currently polling sixth in Iowa.
CZIKOWSKY: The problem with “Spiderman” Turn Off the Dark” is you go into the theater, they turn off the dark by turning on the lights, and the audience presumes that’s it and everyone goes home during the first act.
BARRY: Another problem is that it’s a Broadway musical about Spider Man.
CZIKOWSKY: How did Greece get in such a financial mess? Why didn’t they just switch to a low interest rate Visa card?
BARRY: Is this Paul Krugman?
CZIKOWSKY: I am not Rick Perry, honest. OK, quick, no looking at your notes. Name three things you would abolish.
BARRY:
1. “Light” beer.
2. LinkedIn, whatever the hell it is.
3. Hunger. (This actually should be first.)
CZIKOWSKY: True, the IBM computer can win on “Jeopardy, but how would it do on “Wipeout”?
BARRY: It actually does a pretty good job. The problem is, it’s over in .0000000000000000007 seconds.
CZIKOWSKY: Message from Donald Trump: Are you able to produce your birth certificate? What does it say on it?
BARRY: It says my hair is 100 percent natural.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Humor Writer, January 3, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: If you fantasize about people who don’t exist, you search for a world of your creation and you wish to avoid the realities of the world you live in. This probably explains why you are a writer, as you wish to use your brain to create things as you wish for them to be. Actually, I am just pulling your leg. I don’t know what it means. I never even took Psychology 1.
WEINGARTEN: My assumption has been that I long for sex without baggage. But I don’t. I like intricacies. I like being in love, and all that implies.
So I dunno.
CZIKOWSKY: To what extent does it bother you that people seem willing to take advice from a professional humor columnist than seeking out, oh, I don’t know, a doctor?
WEINGARTEN: I am a highly knowledgeable professional humor writer, which is actually more dangerous. I speak with authority about things I barely understand.
CZIKOWSKY: I remember a guy in college who was proud of his “porn stash”. I guess he felt it helped him open up with the women he picked up. So, some of his “friends”, before an important date, substituted his stash with gay porn…
WEINGARTEN: Hahahahaha.

DAN ZAK, Washington Post Style Reporter, and MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 3, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: “Out: Beat poetry. In: Erotic beat poetry.” If you would, please write an erotic beat poem.
ZAK: Monica.
Play me like a harmonica.
Fin.
HESSE: Dan, please report to Human Resources.
CZIKOWSKY: (Re: request for a poem about Putin and gluton)
If you want to know what is “In or Out”,
It all depends on the senses in your snout.
Do you puke when you hear about Putin,
Or do you vomit when you eat gluton?
HESSE: Please reconstruct this as a limerick, or that poetic form that Gene is always using. Can someone go ask him what that is? “Dactyl” might be involved.
ZAK: Higledy piggledy
Dan Z and Monica
Have drafted a list
For what’s cool and what’s queer.
Tired and weary they
Hipster-ironically
Now vow not to mention
The List til next year.
HESSE: Dan, I am going to take this in place of your beat poem, and cancel the HR call,

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, January 4, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Pittsburgh being “In” was you? Did you also know that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in, movies about penguins are out, and that the Pittsburgh Pirates are in and Caribbean Pirates are out?
ARGENTINGER. I can only assume that that was what I had in mind.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, January 6, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: So, when the primaries reach Pennsylvania in April and the Taylors go to the polls, their choices will be Obama in the Democratic Primary and Romney in the Republican Primary and…and…and?
CILLIZZA: I have a dream ticket.
Ron Swanson/Buddy Garrity.

ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist, January 11, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Jon Hamm confirms “Mad Men” will return. Of course, by that, he is referring to the South Carolina Primary.
ROBERTS: With less good looking leading men.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Washington Post Staff Writer, January 11, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: In keeping with current topics, I even have a dead skunk joke. Do you know what the difference is between a dead skunk in the middle of the road and a dead Beltway resident in the middle of a Mississippi road? There are skid marks in front of the dead skunk
HESSE: I had only heard that joke with “dead journalist”. I’m glad to see that I belong to two classes of people that Mississippians would not brake for.
CZIKOWSKY: Think happy thoughts. The dead possum might not be dead. Our dog caught a possum once and we took it away from the dog and threw it into the outdoors garbage pail. Hours later we heard it rumbling trying to get out. They indeed do a good job of playing dead. Incidentally, we did let it out and be free. I believe it moved to Mississippi where it became a Beltway writer.
HESSE: Posting. For all of us.
CZIKOWSKY” Did you see Rob Lowe on “Californication”? Wow. Quite a different character tan on “Parks and Recreation”.
HESSE: Oddly, however, both of these shows rhyme.
CZIKOWSKY: I did not realize the rhyme, and this will be quick and crude (and per utilize/use discussion), but here goes:
Rob Lowe finds he can utilitze
His charms on “Parks and Recreation”.
But he can brutalize
When he is on “Californication:.
HESSE: Can anyone else top this, in terms of bringing together chat threads? I can’t.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, January 17, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Joe Paterno stated he never realized a man could be raped. Rick Santorum believes gay sex is the same as bestiality. I have made the following conclusion: they must have the worse sex education in Pennsylvania.
PETRI: “First base”—that’s man on dog, right?
CZIKOWSKY: Rick Santorum believes second base is when you spank your monkey, which in the man on animal thought, involves hitting an actual monkey.
PETRI “It makes you go blind, because when monkeys are angered they tend to go for the eyes.”
CZIKOWSKY: Rick Santorum will never again appear with a vacuum. Everyone in Pennsylvania knows that vacuums are third base.
PETRI: This is the best-kept secret of the 1950s.
CZIKOWSKY: Just because Huntsman withdrew, the Huntsman daughters may keep campaigning, right?
PETRI: I endorse this.
CZIKOWSKY: What? You can get Burger King delivered to you? That is going to be troubling to today’s youth, as when they realized the difficulties of figuring out how much to tip for a 99 cent burger.
PETRI: It depends on service quality.
Not to be a Quentin Tarantino movie all of a sudden, but what’s the correct tip? I always do at least 15 and then round up to the nearest dollar amount plus .01, so that Bank of America will let me keep the change. I think this unnerves my server.
CZIKOWSKY: Much has been made of the fact that serious candidate Randall Terry received more votes in New Hampshire than did serious (I believe) candidate Rick Perry. Yet few have observed that Vermin Supreme also received more vote than Rick Perry. Which leads to my question: Who is Vermin Supreme, and why is the mainstream media not reporting on this obviously important candidate for these times?
PETRI: I love Vermin Supreme! I was first made aware of his existence when someone forwarded me his Wikipedia page with the addendum, “You ought to marry this person.” What I most admire about him is his consistency and commitment to the same issues, for decades now. And that boot hat. Can’t argue with the boot hat.
CZIKOWSKY: What? You’d consider marrying Vermin Supreme over me? Well, that will be several more months of therapy…
PETRI: Look, marriage is a sacred, time-honored institution---like most institutions, something that your family forces you into in order to get you out of the house---and I just haven’t met that special person;/corporation yet.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 18, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: So, in sympathy with the Internet shutdown, I am not going to use the Internet today. No, wait…
HESSE: Doh!
CZIKOWSKY: I hear the United Nations black helicopters took out Wikipedia and now they are coming to take away our guns.
HESSE: Correct.
CZIKOWSKY: ( )
(The above comment deleted in sympathy with the Internet blackout protest.
HESSE: ( )

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, January 25, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: My favorite part of the State of the Union was when Obama turned to Mitch McConnell, pointed at John Kerry (and his bruised face) and stated, “see, and that’s what I do to Senators I like.” Or did I dream that?
ARGETSINGER: Ha! That was a dream while napping through the boring parts of the speech.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 25, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: What is self-deportation? When William Shatner self-deportates, is he using Priceline or is he on Star Trek?
HESSE: That’s what happens when Scotty is on vacation and he has to beam himself into a four star hotel, which he got for the price of a two star hotel. Obviously.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, January 27, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: How many delegates will the Moon have at the Republican National Convention, and might this be enough to put Gingrich over the top for the nomination?
MILBANK: Newt’s lunar delegates will probably cause Romney support to, uh, crater.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, January 31, 2012
` CZIKOWSKY: If a groundhog can determine weather patterns for six weeks, then what I learned in Meterology class is really, really wrong.
PETRI: Meterology class was where you studied the metric system. Meteorology class was down the hall.
CZIKOWSKY: I had a dream about a snake smoking a cigar on a train going through a tunnel. Do you think that means anything?
PETRI: As long as your mother wasn’t on the train, you’re fine.
CZIKOWSKY: If all those Florida snakes get onto an airplane, we are doomed to have a repeat of one of the worst movies of all time.
PETRI: The Snakes are getting on an airplane to remake “The Room”?
CZIKOWSKY: Actually, the snakes are getting together and doing a revival of “The Tree of Life”. (I bet that gets a reaction.)
PETRI: (overturns small table)
CZIKOWSKY: What is this about Tiger Moms? Isn’t it dangerous to be raised by tigers?
PETRI: Yes, but only because they are so insistent that you excel at the piano.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, February 1, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: This may be a dumb question, but I really don’t now, so I ask. Given Elton John’s advice to Madonna that she lip sync, have any or were all of the Super Bowl half time shows lip sung or were some sung live?
ARGETSINGER: It’s not a dumb question. I always assumed that we all lip-synched. (s that the proper past tense?)
CZIKOWSKY: The past tense of lip sing is lip sunk. At least at the Super Bowl.
ARGETSINGER: Yes, that sounds right.
CZIKOWSKY: Ask Clint Eastwood “What do you believe were some of the critical turning points of your career?” Or, “Is it true you’re dating a Kardashian.”
ARGETSINGER: Well, there’s something.
CZIKOWSKY: What is this about Barney getting married? Are purple dinosaurs allowed to get married? What will the kids think?
ARGETSINGER: Let’s get Rick Santorum on the case.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 1, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I can remember you stated your birthday is in June, and I can remember that without looking it up on the Internet. Or did you write it is in July?
HESSE: Ha. I tink you can remember this because my birthday is in July, and when it came around last summer I was on vacation and made a big fuss about how I was chatting even though it was my BIRTHDAY and I was ON VACATION. It was very melodramatic.
CZIKOWSKY: I went to Penn. You are correct. Quakers does not stir fear in opponents. “Defeat our opponent but not too hard, and don’t hurt anyone.”
HESSE: Also, eat oatmeal.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, February 2, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I love the lesson of “Moneyball”: that the way to combat a team that can buy all the best players is to find the best underrated, value players.
Another lesson of the film on how to be a successful ball team: Buy all the best players.
CHANEY: Ha, yes.
It’s also a weird underdog story in that it reduces all of the underrated players to mere pieces of data that can be plugged into a numerically driven strategy. That contradiction actually makes it a more thought-provoking story, in my opinion.

AARON BLAKE, Washington Post National Politics Reporter, February 3, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: When may I see a debate between Presidential candidates Stephen Colbert and Roseanne Barr?
BLAKE: YES! Roseanne Barr is running for the Green Party’s Presidential bid. But I would rather see her in a debate with Tom Arnold and Ralph Nader than against Colbert.
CZIKOWSKY: I love “Justified”. Although I must be the only person who watches it and thinks “I bet Barack Obama does not poll well in Harlan”.
BLAKE: Indeed.
Fun fact, though. This is Rep. Hal Roger’s (R-Ky.) district, and Democrats hoped to have a chance at winning it if redistricting pans out for them.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, February 14, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I put on my Facebook wall “All in all it’s just another brick in the wall.” That is all.
PETRI: I know this is supposed to be a humor chat, but seriously, the video for that song continues to terrify me.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, February 16, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Nice to see a Harvard graduate, Jeremy Lin, finally make it big.
CHANEY: It is. Yet another Ivy League underdog story.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Columnist, February 17, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Are there award ceremonies for TV critics? I would love to see this, especially if I could watch celebrities watching you as you walk down the red carpet.
DE MORAES: …and I’ve got JUST the gown for the occasion, too…Sadly, no such thing.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Columnist, February 24, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Re: texting while driving. Also, do not wear your Google glasses while driving. (This is sent in by a cyborg from the future).
DE MORAES: Thanks for that tip.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, February 28, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Why does Kid Rock perform at a Mitt Romney rally, in front of a group of people who ordinarily believe he should be put in jail for the way he looks and acts?
PETRI: Clearly they’ve stopped inviting him to benefit concerts.
Next you’ll be seeing Sheryl Crow.
There people’s lives literally consist of wandering the landscape in perpetual search of a benefit concert where they can perform songs with strange, baffling, complacent lyrics. Please, someone do American a kindness and book them for a string of bar mitzvah or sweet sixteens, just to keep them away. Honestly, a Kid Rock performance is the only thing that could make the atmosphere at a Romney rally less jovial.
CZIKOWSKY: I wonder how many of us would date someone if we had first read their Google search history. Any ideas on that?
PETRI: A wise friend of mine once noted that dating in the modern era consists of a long dance of pretending that you haven’t Googled the other person.
But read one’s browser history. There is no one whose browser history, if broadcast, would not fill the world at large with shame and horror, to mangle a Maugham quote.
This being said, I think we all understand that It’s Not How It Looks! Those searches were because I was researching the Supreme Court decision and not because of a personal interest in crushing small rodents underfoot.
The thing I’d judge most would be a person whose search history had nothing incriminating in it at all. That would be the biggest red flag of all. That---and a few hunts for duct tape---would imply a serial killer.
CZIKOWSKY: You do know this is an actual fetish. I had never heard of such things until an episode of a TV told of a guy who got his thrills stepping on bugs. This had me really, really worried when I had to call for an exterminator and the exterminator told me I had to leave my house for an hour. I wondered what the exterminator who doing all alone in my house for an hour.
PETRI: I know! I wasn’t making this up! The only reason they were making those videos and subjecting the Supreme Court to them was because people were into this sort of thing.
CZIKOWSKY: I am having trouble not quitting Google, but telling Google jokes. Have you heard the one about the baby whose father told people the baby is an expert on the Internet and modern music? To prove it, the father asks the baby, “Name the leading Internet search engine and the top current performer?” The baby squeals “google, gaga..” Everyone is disgusted and leaves. The baby looks up and states “Yahoo. Justin Bieber?”
PETRI: Heh!
CZIKOWSKY: “A poet can survive anything but a misprint.” – Oscar Willde
AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, February 29, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: How soon they forget: Sean Young? No, I don’t see your name on the guest list. Who did you say you are?
ARGETSINGER: I know some people around here who could teach her a thing or two about party-crashing.
CZIKOWSKY: I note the Oscars are not geared towards the print media. I wake up every morning after the Oscars and hear on the radio which picture won for Best Picture and then pick up my newspaper to read the inside scoop on that cinematography award.
ARGETSINGER: I had to write two different stories. People out in distant suburbs got a story that started with Christopher Plummer (and thank God he won, because my “Christopher Plummer wins” lead was stronger than my “Max Von Sydow upsets!” lead, and my “Jonah Hill wins!” lead was nonexistent. Then my second story was original all about “The Artist” winning (though I did have a “The Help wins!” lead in my back pocket)---but Meryl Streep’s win ended up taking precedence.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 29, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Great, now someone is going to start a “cats with cooking utensils” blog…
HESSE: If that doesn’t exist already, I’ll eat Angie’s leg.
CZIKOWSKY: You’ll eat Angie’s leg? Great, I put that in my “Google” search and now I seem to be on some crime watch list. I guess I shouldn’t have been looking for a fava bean soup recipe on the same day.
HESSE: It puts the lotion in the basket.

JEN CHANEY, Washington Post Celebritologist, March 1, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: What is it like being on the “Parks and Recreation” set? Who did you see and what did you speak about? Did you give Rashida Jones the ten bucks I owe her?
CHANEY: Rashida Jones was not there on the day I was there, so I am afraid you still owe her ten bucks.
The set was amazing in terms of the level of detail. The murals, everyone’s desks---it is extraordinary what the set designers and dressers do to create this rich detail, much of which you don’t even see when you’re watching an episode.
I got to watch a couple of scenes being shot with Amy Poehler, Adam Scott, and soon-to-be guest star Kathryh Hahn. I also chatted briefly with Poehler, and at great length with Scott and Nick Offerman. I am writing a story that will run later, probably right around the time the last run of P&R episodes begin in April.
CZIKOWSKY: I always find it interesting that a.) so many people do not know that Peggy Lipton is Rashida Jones’s mother and b.) so many people do not know who Peggy Lipton is.
CHANEY: Indeed. How can they not know Norma Jennings from “Twin Peaks”?
CZIKOWSKY: I am finding all kinds of interesting celebritology information on the Beatles on the Internet. Did you know that the drummer from Genesis was one of the screaming kids chasing the Beatles in “A Hard Day’s Night”? Did you also know that singer Yoko Ono was married to one of the Beatles?
CHANEY: Wait a minute…Yoko Ono was married to a Beatle? First I heard of it!
CZIKOWSKY: I wonder how Sacha Baron Cohen wound up with Kim Jong Il’s ashes?
CHANEY: It is quite curious, isn’t it? Maybe Kim Jong Il really liked “Borat”. I mean, I can kind of see how that would be the case.

IMMIGRATION

DANA PRIEST, Washington Post National Security Reporter, January 29, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Why do we require foreign nationals to return one year to their home country before we admit them into this country? To me, doing this provides terrorist groups with a ready list of people to contact. Wouldn’t it be better to allow people to maintain a continual residence and further assimilate into American society?
PRIEST: The priority is to cut down on the number of people coming and that step probably helps in that regard.

TIM KANE, Kauffman Foundation Senior Fellow, May 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Not only are many immigrants highly motivated, yet I recall a study that has shown, throughout history, that the most productive workers typically are second generation Americans. Thus, might this spell hope into the future that there may be a devoted future generation workforce emerging?
KANE: Agreed. Maybe some clues for our education system in there, too.

RAUL GRIJALVA, Member of U.S. Congress, April 28, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have any thoughts as to whether the Republican National Convention should be held in Phoenix?
GRIJALVA: It certainly would fit nicely into the RNC’s theme on immigrants.

DORIS MEISSNER, Migration Policy Institute Senior Fellow, May 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The second generation of immigrants tends to be among the most productive of workers. Immigrant families tend to be the most stable nuclear families as opposed to most other groups of Americans. They tend to instill a sense of working hard upon their children. I know this is a generality, byt overall, there seems to have been a good amount of truth to this. At a time in a few decades when we will need a sharp increase in productivity to help our global competitive edge, highly productive children of immigrants may be just what our economy needs.
MEISSNER: It is a generality, but one borne out by lots of experience and research. It is true, though, to the extent that the next generation must be equipped with the education and skills to succeed. The motivation is and will be there---it’s in the nature of newcomers. But we are now in a knowledge-based economy and we need to be sure our education system allows these younger workers to be able to compete and succeed. Important not just for them, but for us all.

PAUL VIRTUE, Former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service General Counsel, July 28, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I haven’t read the decision (of a Federal judge on Arizona immigration law), but does it reaffirm that states cannot unilaterally make decisions on immigration and foreign policy which are reserved for the Federal government?
VIRTUE: Yes, that is effectively is exactly what the Judge is saying in enjoining those four sections of the law.
CZIKOWSKY: In sum, what portions of the law become effective tomorrow? What do they do?
VIRTUE: SB 1070 was an amalgamation of amendments to existing law as well as some new provisions. Only four sections have been enjoined, the others, for example, the crime of stopping in traffic to pick up day laborers, will become effective.
CZIKOWSKY: A Sheriff in Arizona stated he will have his Deputies undergo a sweep for illegal immigrants, regardless of the outcome of this court decision. Is this sweep now illegal under Federal law?
VIRTUE: If the sweep is focused on the state crimes of harboring or transporting undocumented aliens it would be lawful under this ruling. If just focused on illegal status or working without authorization, likely not.
CZIKOWSKY: Economists project we may have a shortfall of several tens of wage earners that will be needed to keep our economy growing. Do you see any change in the public mood, which seems to wish to restrict immigration, to realizing we may need to seek to increase immigration of wage earners to keep our country’s economy strong?
VIRTUE: I don’t foresee a change in the public mood as long as we are in such a difficult economy, but I can certainly see a change as the economic picture changes. Surveys project that some seven million members of the current workforce are undocumented.

ABDIRIZAK BIHI, Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center Director, July 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Approximately how many police officers and social workers are from the active Somali community who could help bridge differences between government services and Somali residents?
BIHI: Ten years ago, when we had a conflict with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) after a Somali mentally ill man was shot, we started to sit down with MPD. We requested that MPD hire Somali speaking policemen. Chief Olson did then. I am very proud to say we have over seven Somali American policemen working our neighborhoods. This made a tremendous difference. We also have a lot of professionals including MDs, social workers, RNs, businessmen and women, Somali American Marines, Navy, Army, and many vets.

INDIA

STEVEN MUFSON, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 1, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: There was a comment in the Indian press that some officials fear most a war with China than a war with Pakistan. How do you perceive the tensions between China and India and the possibilities of these two countries actually going to war?
MUFSON: India and China fought in 1962 after China attacked to settle territorial disputes. And there is some residual tension. But I would say that India has much more reason to fear conflict with Pakistan. I don’t think China has any interest in getting involved in conflicts with its neighbors. Economic development and domestic stability are its priorities and you never know how a foreign conflict will work out. It can always turn out to be destabilizing.

INSURANCE

ZACHARY GOLDFARB, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 3, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Is there a growing sense that insurance should be regulated by the Federal government rather than by the states? Haven’t these recent crises shown that effective regulation is necessary and that disperse regulators who are unable to fully examine books is not the best process to oversee large companies.
GOLDFARB: There certainly is a growing sense that the Federal government should regulate---or have at least strong oversight of---the insurance sector. But don’t expect any action soon. The Obama Administration had only a very modest proposal for insurance regulation in its blueprint for overhauling the financial sector---essentially creating a surveillance office in Treasury---but some on Capitol Hill want more dramatic action. The insurance industry itself is split, but states hate the idea of giving up their purview over the industry.

INTELLIGENCE

GREG MORTENSEN, Central Asia Institute Co-Founder, February 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is it like to be investigated by the CIA? Did they interview you, did they speak to your friends? Were they at least pleasant?
MORTENSEN: I was investigated by the CIA in 2001 and 2002, which obviously was a time when the U.S. was in a reactive, heightened state of fear and concern. They were neither pleasant or rude to me, very business-like. They also did not harm me or use aggressive methods.
My concern was that at the time (and even today) this is a very grey area with no laws or jurisdiction about what a private citizen is obligated to do.
What I did after the initial two investigations is to contact our Montana State Attorney General for advice, and she told me that if the CIA contacted me again to tell them that I would be happy to talk with them, but only in her office in Billings, Montana. Anyhow, the CIA contacted me twice afterwards, but when I told them I would only talk to them, in the presence of the Attorney General in Montana, they did not contact me again.

RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN, Washington Post Associate Editor, February 23, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: This may be an oversimplification of an issue, yet I fear it may still apply. If you take a person who isn’t a terrorist, imprison his for being a terrorist, when you release him, should we not be surprised that he then thinks he is a terrorist?
CHANDRASEKARAN: Well, that’s what Ajmi lawyer, Tom Wilson, argues. He contends that Ajmi was little more than a low-level Taliban fighter, if that---that he was a lost, confused young man, not a terrorist mastermind or al-Qaeda operative. But, he says, locking Ajmi up at Gitmo for about four years turned him into a hardened Jihadist. Is that what happened? We’ll never know for sure. There’s plenty of evidence to support that view. There’s also evidence that shows that he was drawn to radical ideas when he was in Kuwait, before he ever went to Pakistan/Afghanistan. Would he have turned into a suicide bomber if he had not been caught in Pakistan and turned over to the Americans? Maybe. But he also may well have gone back home---as many Kuwaitis who fought in Afghanistan did---and sought to resume something of a more normal life.
CZIKOWSKY: I should have thought that one of the advantages of releasing someone is that it would give our intelligence agencies someone to keep track of and to see who contacts the released person. Obviously, either we did not have the resources to track released detainees or we have an intelligence failure here. Do you have idea on how we handle keeping tabs on released detainees?
CHANDRASEKARAN: Seems like a reasonable expectation. However, U.S. intelligence agencies lack the resources to track everyone who has been through the prison. Some are being monitored---the government, of course, will not say who or how many. But the CIA and other agencies do not have the ability to monitor them al. (There are more than 500 former Gitmo detainees out there.) In some cases, the U.S. government relies on foreign intelligence agencies to watch people. That’s what was supposed to happen in Ajmi’s case. But it appears the Kuwaitis didn’t track him that closely, if at all.

PAUL KANE, Washington Post Staff Writer, May 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What discussions are there about the nature of Congressional oversight over the intelligence community? Briefing members of Congress who can’t take notes and can’t discuss what they hear is not really oversight, in my opinion. In fact, it may give the intelligence community to go ahead with some things that a civilian political leader may not fully comprehend and can’t fully question. Is Congress considering different oversight methods?
KANE: Dianne Feinstein, Senate Intelligence Chairman, is pushing a legislative change that would require full-committee notification of just about every subject. Some super-sensitive subjects would be kept to the Gang of 4---Chair and Ranking Member of House/Senate Intell Committees---but the full committee would be able to look at some logs to have an idea of the general subject of what the Gang was told.
In the House, Pelosi is working with Silverstre Reyes, House Chairman, on a similar means.

DANA PRIEST, Washington Post National Security Reporter, May 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: An advantage to building a prison in Guantanamo is that it is a hard place from which to escape. If we are concerned about housing prisoners who are potentially dangerous should then manage to escape (despite the difficulty of that happening in a well designed prison) and people are fearful about having such prisoners and potential escapees “in their backyard:, doesn’t our country still have lots of fairly secure areas, especially in parts of Alaska (where the Governor can look at the prison anytime she wants), deserts, and islands including many islands in our various territories, especially the Northern Mariana Islands which is closer to Asia than it is North America. Cuba is not our only fairly secure option.
PRIEST: I agree.

FREDERICK P. HITZ, Former Central Intelligence Agency Inspector General. July 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: If this is not classified, what type of information was this (Russian) spy ring after?
HITZ: That’s the hard part. Obviously, the Russians are very sophisticated people with a good command of modern communications technology. Perhaps they believed that their “spies” might develop insights that intel sources could not duplicate.
CZIKOWSKY: I remember how, as a person with a Russian last name, even though it was my Great Grandfather who left Russia in the 19th century, how some people look suspiciously at me in a government job. When I was hired, some Russian spies had just been arrested in similar work in other states, so I know what this paranoia looks like. I do hope it does not reemerge, as it seems there will be a few people who can’t help but stereotype others.
HITZ: I understand your concern. Think of the situations of Muslim-Americans.

DANA PRIEST, Washington Post Investigative Reporter, December 20, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: This might be a bit of an oversimplification, but this is my general theory based on what I have read about our homeland security efforts. It seems good ideas are taken from key administrators and then created as easily as possible in the implementation stage. We joke that we have homeland security according to the lowest bidder, but I think it is more than that. I believe we need to do more to scrutinize our efforts and assessing how much protection they actually are adding and then redesigning our efforts more effectively.
PRIEST: Measuring what works and what does not is a key question here. Does it really help to solicit tips from everywhere and then weed through them, or to have a focused approach? In general, the government has not done a good job evaluating the large number of programs out there. As money becomes tighter, this might happen more. We’ll see.

JAMES LEWIS, Center for Strategic and International Studies Technology and Public Policy Program Director, August 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is it that keeps banking, CIA, etc. computers more secure than the typical business computers? How much would it cost a business to upgrade to more secure levels?
LEWIS: What we’ve seen is that it might be a wash---that if companies took what they spend now and used it a bit more effectively, they could be more secure. Companies need three things , and there is where some agencies have an advantage: trained people, good rules for “hygiene”, and the right technologies to see what is going on in their network.
We can work in a Harry Potter reference by saying the real secret is “constant vigilance.”

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

KIRK SAVAGE, University of Pittsburgh Art Association Professor, June 15, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I would like to throw out a question, more for discussion than for you to answer. I believe there should be a monument for victims of Armenian genocide. Yet, one can’t raise the issue without creating great debates over the extent or even if such genocide ever occurred, and there are numerous political ramifications to recognizing the Armenian genocide. So, how should this genocide be recognized?
SAVAGE: This has been a very difficult issue for the Holocaust Museum, which has made great efforts to connect its central story of the Jewish holocaust with genocide it other places and times. But as I’m sure you realize, there are huge political difficulties involved in recognizing the Armenian genocide, owing to Turkey’s longstanding denial of it. And the U.S., Europe, and Israel want to maintain good relations with Turkey. This points to the kind of political questions that always intrude into memorial efforts.

TED KOPPEL, BBC World News America Contributing Analyst Septembet 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY:Al Qaeda argues there is a war between Muslims and Christianity. Are responses in America against Muslims only allowing Al Qaeda to argue that they are correct? Wouldn’t it be better if we led by example that we are a nation of religious tolerance?
KOPPEL: Precisely the point I made with less brevity and elegance. I agree.
CZIKOWSKY: In working with BBC, what are some of the differences, if any, you have noted on how most people in Britain view the war in Iraq versus how people in America view the war?
KOPPEL: I actually work with BBC in America here in Washington. I have no particular insights on how the British view the war in Iraq; except to note that the bodies of those British troops killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan are received, without exception, on their return to the U.K. with public ceremony and great dignity. Our returning dead are certainly received with great dignity and impressive ceremony, but it happens without intruding in any fashion on the lvies of most Americans.

HEATHER PAUL, SOS Children’s Villages Chief Executive Officer, January 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How is SOS funded and approximately how many people are served by your efforts?
PAUL: Hundreds of thousands of generous individuals and corporations worldwide support SOS Children’s Villages, as do governments that provide child subsidies and land for SOS facilities including homes, local schools, medical clinics, and daycare. We raise nearly 80,000 children without parental care and nearly a million more at-risk children through our family strengthening programs.

FRANK RUBINO, international criminal defense attorney, May 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Shouldn’t we be the nation setting the example for other nations by following the Geneva Convention? I believe we would be receiving far more respect and less hatred if we were following to follow the rules of human right. Or am I missing something?
RUBINO: I completely agree with you. The United States should be the world leaders in the advancement in civil and human rights. In a civilized society, you simply can’t lock people away and ignore the basic human rights they are entitled to. There is no reason that the detainees cannot receive family visista nd still maintain the security of the institution.

INTERNET

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What does it mean to be removed as a Facebook friend? I am relatively inactive. I check my site maybe once a month and respond to maybe one or two messages. A person at work dropped me as a friend, stating it was because I am inactive. Yet, what harm is there in keeping me as a friend? I should think the lack of constant updates on everything I am doing should be a blessing.
HESSE: This is the first I’ve heard of someone being dropped because they do too little on Facebook. I’d love to hear from other people who have done this or can offer reasons.

DAVID SUTPHEN, Internet Innovation Alliance Co-Chair and AARON SMITH, Pew Internet and American Life Project Senior Research Panelist, February 23, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How much of the digital divide is generational? I would think that older people would be less likely to be current on using computers.
SUTPHEN: Age undoubtedly plays a role in adoption and I believe the cut-off where the divide grows most substantially is with seniors over the age of 70.
SMITH: Age is definitely one of the biggest factors in whether or not someone goes online or has a broadband connection at home. Yet while seniors are less likely than other groups to get online they are really active and engaged once they overcome that initial hurdle. For example, people over 50 are the fastest-growing group when it comes to blogging, or to using social networking sites. Once seniors are expose to the benefits of technology and get some training to overcome their apprehensions about using new tools, they’re just as active as anyone else in their online habits.
CZIKOWSKY: Is there a digital divide in schools, or do most schools regardless of socioeconomic status or region of country have similar access to computers? If there are significant differences among schools, what are these differences?
SMITH: One of the goals of the Federal government’s new broadband map is to study the extent to which schools are (or are not) connected to the broadband world, so that’s a great resource for that information. Schools and libraries obviously play a key role in providing access to groups that might otherwise not have it. For example, in our teens work, Black / Latino students are about as likely as white students to go online---but white students are much more likely to do so from home, while minority students are more likely to rely on access at their school or in a library.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Style Section Staff Writer, February 23, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I observe that monicahesse.com is available.
HESSE: Which I should probably remedy, in case I ever want to start a business selling dinosaur sweatshirts and Queen of England paraphernalia.
I am also newly obsessed with Kate Middleton.

FRANCIS DESOUZA, Enterprise Security Group Senior Vice President, May 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What exactly is cloud computing?
DESOUZA: That’s a great question. Cloud computing covers a lot of areas. At a top level, cloud computing is an approach to IT where many users (potentially even from different companies) get access to shared computer resources, rather than each having their own dedicated servers. This offers many advantages, including lower costs and getting up and running quickly.
CZIKOWSKY” As a personal consumer and not a company, how might this affect me?
DESOUZA: Cloud computing is good for consumers because it means that they will be able to access more and more capabilities directly from websites online, rather than having to buy software and installing the software on their computers at home. For example, for years, people had to buy tax preparation software like TurboTax and install it at home. Today Intuit (the company that makes TurboTax) also provides this capability as a “cloud offering” on their website, and consumers can use it without having to install anything at home.

VIVEK WADHWA, Washington Post Columnist, June 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Who is/are the new people in charge of the OpenGov initiative and are they potentially as enthusiastic as the champion, Vivek Kundra, they are succeeding? A champion has resigned, bot do you think it may be possible there may be others who will pick up the torch and continue the efforts?
WADHWA: The White House people mentioned several names to me. I wasn’t blown away with the list. I suspect that they need to find a real successor to Vivek. This made me more nervous about Data.gov.

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have heard bits and pieces that the future of computer operations for organizations is moving away from having large IT departments towards cloud computing. I am vaguely aware that cloud computing is shared computing. Yet, I do not know enough to yet grasp how cloud computing will reduce expensive IT departments. Are you able to please explain this?
HESSE: So, I was trying to come up with a concise explanation for you when I found this piece from a tech magazine (“What Cloud Computing Really Means” by Eric Knorr and Galen Gruman in “InfoWorld”). The pertinent paragraph is this one?
“Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Could computer encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT’s existing capabilities.”

IRAN

KAVEH AFRASIABI, Iranian Political Scientist, June 18, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: When are the next scheduled national elections? I ask because regardless of the final determination on this election, don’t demographics tell us that future elections are more prone to favor a new type of leadership? To what degree does the current leadership recognize this, and do they seem willing to compromise or are they more prone to insist on strict allegiance to traditional governance?
AFRASIABI: We have Parliamentary elections coming up, that would be the 31st national election in 31 years. The leadership lowered its guard and allowed a uniquely competitive and transparent race this year and that is one reason I disagree with conspiracy theories claiming a coup. But right now some feel that there has been an abuse of process so we shall see what happens once the dust settles, which may be awhile.
CZIKOWSKY: Would you please provide us with some basics on Iranian election. How is voter checking conducted, and how easy or difficult might it be to conduct voter fraud? How are the votes physically counted and what checks are there that the vote count is accurate? What are the faults that could potentially lead to voter fraud? Are ballots easy or difficult for voters to understand and vote for the candidates of their choices?
AFRASIABI: Well, to make a long story short, in addition to two sets of election monitors, the candidates have their own monitors, some 3,000 of them this time, and the Interior Minister and an election vote count and electioneering org are in charge of the process. Votes are hand counted by some 6,000 people, and it appears that some electronic devices were also used this year to tally but I am not clear how widespread it was. The possibility of voter fraud has always marred Iran’s elections and there is nothing new about it, bear in mind that we’re dealing with a new and evolving system in a modernizing country so there are always glitches that lend themselves to fraud, in addition to manipulation by this or that candidate. Iran’s electoral law is under review for updating and hopefully this crisis spurs that process. I am in favor of international monitors to prevent fraud.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the sentiment in part of Iran that we don’t see on camera?
AFRASIABI: The Tehran disturbances have engulfed a number of other cities and towns in Iran, such as Mashad and Shiraz, and there appears to be a polarization that parallels what we see in Tehran, but my information on what on throughout Iran is somewhat limited.
CZIKOWSKY: It has been noted that many of the protestors’ signs are in English. How widespread is English understood in Iran? Are these signs deliberately meant for the non-Iranian English speaking public and thus are seeking international support? Does this have the danger of backfiring internally? Are there many signs in English, or are English speaking camera operators seeking out the few signs that are in English?
AFRASIABI: Well, English is popular among middle class Iranians and the English signs, I believe, are meant for the global audience watching the events in Iran, to elicit sympathy.

IRAQ

ERNESTO LONDONO, Washington Post Foreign Service, June 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How well prepared do the Iraqi troops appear to be to take over the roles given to them by the withdrawing American troops?
LONDONO: Great question. It varies. The Iraqi Army is generally given higher marks than the police forces.
In some parts of Baghdad and other cities, I think they’ll do fine. Morale seems to be healthy and their training has improved a great deal.
I think the biggest problem they will face in the months ahead will be logistics issues. Things like having spare parts for vehicles, getting people paid on time, getting gas for their vehicles, generators for their stations.
The Americans have for years put out file after fire on the logistical side of things because they didn’t want the Iraqis to fail. That’s commendable, but I think it has created an unhealthy dependency.

DAVID FINKEL, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 14, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I know every person is different, yet what are some of the prevalent attitudes among the soldiers (in “The Good Soldiers”)? Do they believe they are making a positive difference or is there a sense of hopelessness? Do they believe they are connecting with the Iraqi civilians or do they fear their presence is upsetting them?
FINKEL: It comes down to this” there were 800 soldiers in the battalion, and 800 versions of a final answer. Until the end, more of the soldiers did in fact think they were having an effect. In their area of eastern Baghdad, things for awhile did seem quieter. But as they were getting ready to come home, their area exploded into violence so suddenly and shockingly that everything they had assumed was called into question.
CZIKOWSKY: Did the soldier you write about have any interactions with Iraqi soldiers? If so, what is their impression of the Iraqi military and the soldiers themselves?
FINKEL: Yes, they did, sometimes comically, sometimes tragically. For instance, when they would be hit by a roadside bomb that was within sight of an Iraqi-manned checkpoint, they would wonder who exactly they were working with. Other days were better, others were worse. In late March 2008, when Mouri al-Maliki took Iraqi troops into the southern city of Basra and things went badly, the shivers of that were also felt in eastern Baghdad, where hundreds of Iraqi National Police the soldiers have been working with ran away from their posts and defected. That said, not all of them ran away, and so mixed in with disappointment for the American soldiers was a feeling of some success.

DAN ZAK, Washington Post General Assignment Reporter, November 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: You have written about Charlie Sheen? Do Iraqis know who Charlie Sheen is, and if so, what do they think of him?
ZAK: An excellent question. Charlie Sheen did not come up during a single interview of conversation. However, I talked to some Iraqis who really enjoy “The King of Queens”. The Americans are coming, and they are bringing sitcoms!
CZIKOWSKY: I know this is a broad question, yet what is the general perception of Iraqi youth towards Iranian youth? Is there hope that the two countries will someday reconcile their differences, and perhaps reconciliation might happen when the young become prominent in positions that could make this happen?
ZAK: Another facet that went unexplored by me. I took a nationalistic approach to Iraqi youth: What do they think of their own country? I know that some of them are critical of Maliki’s perceived closeness to Iran, and of the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s hypnotic influence over young Shiite fundamentalists.
I talked to a Dean at Baghdad University who told me that it’s going to take a generation born in 2008 to reconcile intra- and inter-national differences. So that cohort will be able to run for office in, like, 2038. Democratic success in Iraq, if that happens, is going to take decades.

ISRAEL

GRIFF WITTE, Washington Post Foreign Service, February 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What are differences between the two candidates (Tzipi Livni and Binyamin Netanyahu) in how they intend to approach communications with various Palestinian groups?
WITTE: This is a central issue in Israeli politics. Livni favors continuing talks with the Palestinians, and she served as Israel’s lead negotiator during last year’s Annapolis process. She warns that unless Israel can reach agreement on the creation of a Palestinian state, Israel will face a demographic dilemma. A clear majority of Palestinians are between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. That, Livni says, will put Israel in the position of having to choose between its democratic and Jewish natures.
It’s important to note that Livni only favors talks with moderate, West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. She was one of the leaders of Israel’s 22 day war against Hamas, and she does not favor direct talks with the Islamic movement.
Netanhayu has been much more critical of U.S.-backed peace talks. The negotiations, he argues, are a waste of time given the Fatah-Hamas split. He also warns that ceding the West Bank to the Palestinians could make the territory a launching pad for rockets that could reach Ben-Gurion Airport. He has vowed not to allow Jerusalem to be divided, and he has said he will not relinquish the Golan Heights to Syria. Instead of a political deal with the Palestinians, Netanyahu talks of “an economic peace”, in which Israel helps to improve economic conditions in the West Bank.

STEVEN COOK, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow, February 20, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Isn’t it sometimes easier for a leader from a hard core position to negotiate with the other side, as the loyalty of the negotiator is less questioned? Are there openings here where Israel may finally begin unofficial talks that lead to a truce that affects both Gaza and the West Bank?
COOK: This is the old “only Nixon can go to China” argument. It’s entirely possible. An Israeli version of this aphorism is “Only Labor can make war and only Likud can make peace.”
I am not terribly optimistic about new diplomatic openings. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, is quite weak. Hamas, which is locked in a struggle with both Israel and Abbas, controls the Gaza Strip.
That doesn’t seem like the best scenario for success, but in time, there are likely to be new opportunities to bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

KOREA

EVAN FEIGENBAUM, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow, April 14, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Other than flexing their muscles and trying to show other countries they also have some military strength, why would North Korea want to send these missiles? For a nation that can barely feed its people, what sense is there in spending these resources on missiles and upsetting their neighbors when they have nothing to gain but some sort of prestige from it?
FEIGENBAUM: This is a point that has been repeatedly made to North Korea about their nuclear weapons and missile programs. As Colin Powell once put it, “you can’t eat plutonium” and, goodness knows, the North Korean people have suffered enormous deprivation. But several issues probably explain the launch: First, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-Il, has been sick, and there is a lot of political fluidity in Pyongyang. North Korea has previously used actions like this to make propaganda points for the regime inside the country. “Successfully” launching a rocket enables the regime to claim great scientific prowess. That’s exactly what the regime is now doing. Second, North Korea has long wanted to develop ballistic missile technology, so this test may be well connected to development of its Taepodong long-range and missile technologies are similar. The United States previously tried to negotiate away North Korea’s missile program but without success.
CZIKOWSKY: If China fears instability within North Korea, from where might this instability arise? Are there any serious organization opposition factions to the present leadership? If so, how much of a potential threat are they?
FEIGENBAUM: There is not an organized opposition inside the country, although there are sporadic reports of dissent and, as in any country, there must be different views within the elite and among North Korea’s millions. We know from North Korean refugees and defectors that there is plenty of discontent in North Korea. But there’s nothing to suggest that this discontent is going to produce a revolution from within. Remembering that in the mid-1990s, North Korea was in pretty dire straits: famine, economic decline, death of its founding leader, international pressure over its nuclear program. But the regime survived. And that’s sobering, at least to me, since reports today suggest that North Korean may have some economic advantages it didn’t have back then, including remittances back to North Korea from North Koreans who have fled or moved abroad. Aid and trade with China, South Korea, and other countries also keeps the regime in power. As to what China fears, they appear to fear several things: a wholesale collapse of the North Korean state, refugee flows, and so on.

GORDON FLAKE, Mansfield Foundation Executive Director, May 26, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: After the internal succession problems are resolved, what do you see as the hope for the future of the North Korean leadership? Shouldn’t they look at the difficult in even providing enough food and resources to their people and decide it has come time to spend more on basic necessities and less on missiles?
FLAKE: I would certainly hope that a post-Kim Jong II regime would focus more on food and less on weapons of mass destruction, but I fear that such change will only come with a fundamental transformation in the “nature” of the regime, not just in a change in the man at the top. This is a regime that relies on three pillars to maintain its power: 1.) Control over the movement of people, 2.) control over the means of production, 3.) control over the flow of information. The opening and “normal” nation status that we have to offer them fundamentally threatens their control over their people and thus regime stability The problem is in essence the nature of the regime itself and that is part of what makes issues like this nuclear test so intractable.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the reaction of the Chinese government to these recent tests? North Korea may be an ally, but isn’t there some nervousness whenever any neighbor develops nuclear weapon capabilities?
FLAKE: The Chinese reaction has been historic. China has a longstanding mantra about non-interference in other countries’ “domestic” affairs---born largely out of their desire to avoid international critics of their own domestic problems. However, in 2006 China and Russia both voted (twice) to impost sanction on North Korea. Just over a month ago, in the face of a unified position from Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo, both Beijing and Moscow signed on to very toughly worded U.N. Security Council Statement condemning North Korea’s missile launch. These actions mark the departure point for the current Chinese response which is likely to be stronger still. China clearly doesn’t want a nuclear North Korea, but they also do not want instability in the region and their actions are often determined by the tension between the two objectives.

BOB DIETZ, Committee to Protect Journalists Asia Program Coordinator, June 6, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What are the dangers that international pressures (seeking to release two imprisoned journalists) may have the effect of providing validity to the North Korean government’s desires to appear defiant to the rest of the world?
DIETZ: That’s always something to consider, frankly. CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists) is following the lead of the family on this. They kept fairly strict silence until the trial date started to draw closer, and then decided to make an appeal on a humanitarian basis.
CPJ has been involved in scores of these cases since 1981, when we were founded, and looking back we realize that each one of them has been different.

ED O’KEEFE, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: The two imprisoned reporters work for Al Gore’s organization. Of course Bill Clinton is going to want to do anything he can. I believe North Korean desires recognition, and this is a potential win-win where Clinton can help without involving our government directly. Why would anyone expect otherwise?
O’KEEFE: It appears this situation could indeed emerge as a win-win for all involved.

GORDON CHANG, CNN and Fox News Analyst, August 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What does the North Korea leadership want? Why do they allow their citizens to remain without adequate food resources? Why doesn’t the leadership try to do more to help their own people? I would think a leadership would wish to have a better legacy for their people to remember them by.
CHANG: Why doesn’t Kim do more for his people? Destitute people by and large do not start successful revolutions. Kim looks at China and does not want to end up like his Chinese counterparts: living in a wall compound and insecure about their continued rule.

DAVID ROTHKOPF, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Visiting Scholar, August 24, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is your reaction to the North Korean government offering to discuss matters with the South Korean government? What role would you advise our State Department to take in this situation?
ROTHKOPF: I am always skeptical of the North Koreans. In the past couple decades they have had cycles of warming and cooling. In the end, they have an unsustainable situation there economically and gradually they will have to embrace some change. We have a role to play…but this is one of those situations where we have to be careful not be bigfoot the process. Others can lead here too…and we should step in when needed.

LABOR

GREG WARNER, Deputy Assistant U.S. Labor Secretary, April 9, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Could the MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) use more inspectors and staff? How many mines can each inspector get to, and when violations are found, is there adequate staff to monitor enforcement and act if safety measures still are not undertaken?
WARNER: MSHA is required to inspect each underground mine four times per year and each surface mine twice a year. In 2008 and 2009 MSHA completed 100% of its mandated inspections---four per underground mine and two per surface mine----with the current number of inspectors. After violations are found, inspectors make sure the mine operator has fixed or “abated” the violation (unless it was corrected immediately). Mine operators have to maintain a safe environment whether or not the inspector is present.

LAW

PETER KING, attorney, March 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What generally happens if the assets left (in a will) for the care of a pet are used in total and the pet still requires care?
KING: At that point the guardian of the pet would have to pay. Generally, we advise clients to overfund their trust and then just leave the remainder to family members or charitable organizations.

LIBYA

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Associate Editor, March 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What does an exit strategy from Libya look like, and what do you believe it should look like?
ROBINSON: I don’t know. One issue is that we are working toward two different goals. The UN-sanctioned international effort is supposed to protect civilians---nothing more. But President Obama says that U.S. policy is that Gaddafi should go. So, if we’ve made it impossible for Gaddafi to bomb Benghazi and other urban areas, have we sufficiently protected citizens? Is it even possible to protect civilians with just an air campaign? And even when we’ve satisfied ourselves that civilians are safe, do we then act in accord with our policy---meaning, do we go after Gaddafi---or not?

DANIEL BYMAN, Georgetown University Security Studies Program Professor, March 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I ask this and it seems few have an answer, and maybe that is the answer, there is no answer. Maybe you have an answer: Is there an exit strategy from Libya?
BYMAN: This is perhaps the question. I’m not sure there is a defined exit strategy, but there is a hope: that Qaddafi falls quickly, and the United States can leave any transition to its allies in Europe and the region. The problem, as the military likes to say, is that hope is not a policy. So if Qaddafi doesn’t fall, or if things get messier in the process, it is not clear to me that there is a Plan B or C.

LITERATURE

JODI PICOULT, novelist, March 6, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What do you do to master great writing ability as well as grasping medical and legal issues? I presume you either graduated with a degree in English and then completed medical and law school, or else you are a terrific researcher. How did you develop such wide knowledge?
PICOULT: I don’t have a medical OR law degree---but when I need that research, I find people who are experts and do loooooing interviews, or shadow them for a few days, so that I can write about the characters and their actions with authority.

AMY DICKINSON, syndicated columnist, March 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Were you always the type of person who could analyze situations and give good advice? Somehow I imagine you like Lucy with a booth selling advice for a nickel. When did you realize you were so good at advising others?
DICKINSON: Thank you for imagining me as Lucy Van Pelt. I once played her in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, though that’s the closest I ever got to becoming a cartoon character.
Actually, I am more inclined to ask for and take advice than give it---I think it’s because I’m the youngest in a large family. I’ve always been the recipient of much advice---all of it unsolicited, of course.

DAVID IGANTIUS, Washington Post Columnist, May 27, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Do you know any Iranians, either in Iran or in America, who have read your book (“The Increment”)? If so, what have been their comments?
IGNATIUS: Yes, I showed the book to several Iranians before publication, and I have heard from a number of them since then. To summarize: They thought the book offered an accurate description of the country. One Iranian friend told me “I felt I was in Tehran.” He may have just been being nice to the author, but that pleased me.
CZIKOWSKY: In your opinion, how far long is Iran towards building a nuclear weapon?
IGNATIUS: My own guess is that U.S. intelligence is right, that the Iranians are somewhere between three and five years from making a deliverable nuclear bomb.

STEVE HENDRIX, Washington Post Reporter, and JEAN CRAIGHEAD GEORGE. Author, October 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What were Jean Craighead George’s first reactions when Steve Hendrix contacted her?
HENDRIX: I can tell you that she was immediately gracious and willing to help in any way. Jean, what did you REALLY think?
GEORGE: Steve, you told me your idea for a story, and I wanted to go to the Catskills, too, if only in my dreams.
CZIKOWSKY: What is “The Last Polar Bear” about and when does it come out?
GEORGE: The “Last Polar Bear” is out now. Put out the light and save the polar bear.
CZIKOWSKY: Is Mr. Hendrix interested in pursuing locations of any other of Jean Craighead George’s books? If so, does Ms. George have recommendations on some sites that should be visited?
HENDRIX: Wow, if you based your travel life on Jean George books, you really would see the world! My daughters would love for us to go to Jules of the Wolves country in Alaska.

ORSON SCOTT CARD, author, November 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: You write a wide of genres, not just science fiction. How do you decide when you are going to write science fiction as opposed to writing a Biblical fiction work? What inspires you to write what you do write?
CARD: I have a dozen stories that I’m more or less ready to write, but my priority in sorting among these books is definitely influenced by financial priorities---some books pay more when I finish them! There are also the publishers’ priorities. Right now, for instance, I will be writing a Pathfinder novel and a Mithermages novel every year till both trilogies are done. Two books a year is a lot? So chances are I’ll not finish any other novels till those are done. But the other stores are very much alive in my mind. As long as I’m not run over by a bus, I’ll finish them as soon as I can.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have a writing schedule? What writing patterns, if any, do you have? Do you have any advice on writing you could pass on to other writers and prospective writers?
CARD: I wish with all my heart that I had a writing schedule, but whenever I manage to have such a schedule. I get a bout on insomnia that throws it completely off.
My macro-pattern as a writer is that when I launch a novel, I get about five chapters of fifty pages into it, then take a break to let all the new stuff that came up gel as I discover how my plans and outlines need to be altered. After a week or so, I return to the novel and finish it in one intense rush that lasts between three and five weeks, depending on the length of the novel.
My micro-pattern is that early on. I can only do one writing session a day---three or four hours, however long it takes to write an entire chapter (or part of a chapter, ending at a climatic moment). Later on, I will break into a new pattern of two sessions a day, one right after I get up in the morning, and then---after exercise or errands, something to take my mind off writing and get me away from the computer, I come back for a second session. Usually these “two-a-days” take longer than 24 hours, so that my “morning” session moves into the afternoon, my “evening’ session into the small hours of the morning. Very strange and disruptive. Fortunately, my family lets me haunt the house like a ghost during those writing periods, knowing that Dad comes back to the real world between novels…

COREY OLSEN, “The Tolkien Professor”, February 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Why should I read Tolkien? What should I know before I begin to read Tolkien?
OLSEN: You should go into it with a recognition that it will not necessarily give you what a lot of modern readers look for in a novel. If you are willing to be open-minded about the fantasy frame of the story and allow yourself to invest in the story and explore Tolkien’s fictional world imaginatively, I think you will find it rewarding.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Writer, April 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is this debate over double spacing after sentences? I have never heard of this in my 54 years on this planet (experiences on other planets not relevant to this discussion). I do not know about education after when I attended, yet I was taught in school you space two spaces between sentences. When did they start teaching differently, and, more important, when did people being looking down on us who do what we were taught to do?
WEINGARTEN: Two spaces after a period, which is what I will do out of habit until the day I die, used to be necessary but no longer is. It was needed in the era of the typewriter, where all letters took up the same amount of horizontal space. That meant that the overall spacing of a document was much less regular (lots of space around the “I” not so much around the “m”), and therefore you needed EXTRA EXTRA spaces to show people where sentences ended.

ANDREA BONIOR, licensed clinical psychologist, April 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is “The Friendship Fix”, why should I buy it, and should I buy a copy for all my friends to fix our friendships?
BONIOR: Well, I wholeheartedly endorse the third question! In fact, they might each need two!
It’s, in short, an exploration of all things friendship---from how to choose the right ones to how to nourish the good ones, weather storms in the drama0filled ones, and end and get over the not-so-awesome ones. It also has chapters devoted to friends and sex, friends and work, friends and technology, friends and life transitions…a lot of the stuff that for twelve years as a therapist and six years writing Baggage Check (not to mention an undisclosed amount of years as a human) I’ve seen trip people up.

CAITLIN SHETTERLY, author, May 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have a garden? Gardens are a good hobby and also becoming a good way to supplement the food budget in these tough economic times.
SHETTERLY: I don’t, alas! I live in Portland. Someday I hope Dan and I will have enough money to buy a house and have a garden---this is our dream. Btu both of my parents (divorced) have gardens and as I write in this book, I grew up with both of the growing most of what ate! When we moved home with mom we grew the food for that whole season in her little garden!

CHARLAINE HARRIS, author, September 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are you able to please tell us something about what projects are “in the works”, how far along are they, when may we expect them, and while I don’t expect you to give away any plot spoilers, what are some of things you are able to tell us about them?
HARRIS: I am working on the editorial changes for the next Sookie, “Deadlocked”, out next May. Next I’ll write two short stories, one for my next anthology and one for a Joe Lansdale anthology. Then I’m working on the graphic novel I’m working on with Chris Golden, “Cemetery Girl”. It will appear next year. After that, I’ll begin Sookie 13, the final installment.
CZIKOWSKY: How long was it between when you first thought of your basic ideas for Sookie Stackhouse and when you started writing it?
HARRIS: It wasn’t too long between my vision of Sookie’s world and when I began the book. I’m not much of an outlines. I have a loose plan, if I’m lucky. If I don’t have a plan, I fly by the seat of my writing pants. My strength and my weakness!
CZIKOWSKY: How much impact do you have on what happens to your characters on HBO’s “True Blood”? What exactly are you able to, and not able to, do regarding what happens on the show?
HARRIS: When I gave Alan Ball the rights to the characters, that’s a comprehensive thing. He stays true to the spirit of the books, which is all I ask. This is very typical of any deal with Hollywood.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, December 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The best political book of the year: “Poop Happened” by Sarah Albee. Seriously, this book explains one of the most significant social and health problems humans faced for centuries. More people died from diseases due to sanitary conditions than in all the wars. This book finally chronicles the importance of this in history, and evey today’s current public policies of clean water are of extreme importance worldwide. Plus, the book has the word “poop” in the title.
CILLIZZA: Hard to argue with that kind of logic.

MARIJUANA

MICHAEL ROSENWALD, Washington Post reporter, November 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have more details on whether the tobacco industry in general supports legalizing marijuana? As tobacco use declines, they could use their land and resources for growing marijuana. Are they actively lobbying to legalize marijuana and to push that they be allowed to be the primary growers? Do you know if they oppose allowing individuals to grow their own marijuana?
ROSENWALD: This is a great question, and one I tried to report out. One could have an easier time getting a shoelace to talk versus getting the tobacco industry to talk about this issue. I couldn’t even get analysts or trade groups to talk about it. I can’t speculate on what their motives are, but experts I spoke with said it wouldn’t take that much effort to turn their business and growing systems toward pot production. And it does, as I point out, come up in the millions of pages of tobacco documents released as part of the tobacco lawsuits. Great question.

ADRIAN HIGGINS, Washington Post Gardening Columnist, November 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The legislation in Pennsylvania would have the State Police supervise the growing of medical marijuana to prevent the product from being transferred into the underground market. Does the D.C. legislation have a similar component to see that the pot that is grown is used only for medical purposes?
HIGGINS: Well in D.C. they are only permitting no more than eight growing centers, each with 95 plants. The argument is that the supply won’t come anywhere near meeting the legitimate medical demand.

MARINE BIOLOGY

ANDY DEHART, National Aquarium Biological Programs Director, August 3, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts of the movie “Jaws”? Did it create many misconceptions about sharks?
DEHART: We have to remember the novel “Jaws” by Peter Benchley was only written to be a good horror novel. It was intended to vilify sharks. Once he realized that it did that he became one of the most vocal shark conservation advocates out there. If you look at Cujo and Jaws they are similar movies about normal animals gone bad, but yet we do not fear St. Bernards. I do think the fact that sharks live in the ocean when we are not comfortable plays a large part in that. They are not furry and have obvious teeth and blank appearing eyes.
But I do feel public perception has changed immensely since Jaws through programs on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week and from people getting up close and personal with large sharks at public aquariums and even getting in the water and diving with sharks. All of these things were not readily available when “Jaws” first came out.
It has been a slow climb for sharks but I do feel they are being respected for their role in the ecosystem and not just feared. The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 which passed the House and is up for review in the Senate is a good example of that. There is a lot of political and community will to save sharks, but we need more of you.
CZIKOWSKY: Is it true that, even though sharks will bite a human, we really aren’t on their menu and they usually spit us out?
DEHART: Humans are not on the diet of any shark species. Often times when we are attacked, because we are mistaken for their normal prey, the shark does swim away never to come back.

JULIET EILPERIN, Washington Post Reporter, August 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I know if a shark bits us, it will discover we are not a yummy fish and it will likely then spit us out. Of course, that doesn’t do the person who was bit any good. I wonder if there is some smell of something human swimmers, who might know they are swimming with sharks, could war that would let the shark know that we aren’t really worth biting?
EILPERIN: That’s a great question. Scientists are working on a shark repellent that would do exactly that ---while they won’t say what exactly is in their formula, it’s an effort to replicate the scent of rotting sharks, since that repels them. I should say, we’re still a while off from being able to embed that sort of scent in a sunscreen, or some other easy fix.

MARRIAGE

SOUTHERLYN REISIG, LousySpouse.com Co-Founder, October 29, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What do you consider the proper thing to say to a co-worker in most circumstances when a divorce is announced: “sorry”, “congratulations”, or say nothing?
REISIG: One of the nicest things someone said to me was a voice mail on the day of my divorce, congratulating me on closing this chapter. He told me that I had handled such stress with grace and elegance, and he was proud to be my friend. He also said that he knew there were great things ahead for me, and that I am a great mom.
That was really sweet…and totally made me feel great! I saved that voice mail as long as my phone would let me!

PEGGY VAUGHAN, author, November 17, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is an affair? Some state that an emotional attachment between two people not married to each other, even if there is no sex, is cheating on their respective spouses. Do you agree or disagree?
VAUGHAN: The classic definition of an affair is when a married person has sex (intercourse) with someone other than their spouse. However (as is clear from the question), that definition is far too narrow to cover the experience of today’s couples.
Sexual intercourse is not a requirement for there to have been an affair. An affair has taken place whenver you are in a committed relationship (whether or not you’re married) and your partner:
Secretly engages in a relationship with another person that involves any kind of sexual activity.
Secretly becomes involved in a sexually-charged relationship with another person, without sexual activity.
Secretly develops a meaningful emotional connection, whether sexual or platonic.
Secretly engages in any variation or combination of the above.
As you can see, the primary factor is “secrecy”. So the key to defining an affair is that secrecy and deception are involved. In fact, people often recover from the fact that their partner had sex with someone else before they recover from the fact that they have been deceived.
Under this broader definition, a person is likely to feel that an “extramarital affair” has taken place whenever there have been “secret” interactions with a third person---whether sexually-charged or emotionally close. Basically, if it “feels” like an affair to the spouse of the one involved in the behavior in question, then in “practical” terms it’s an affair.
In the final analysis, it’s up to each couple (and indeed, each person) to determine for themselves whether their particular situation fits the “definition”. However, a focus on defining an affair often distracts from getting down to the issue of dealing with the situation—because in practical terms, it’s an issue that needs to be addressed in a serious way, no matter how it is defined.

JEN KILMER, mother of 11 children, August 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How similar or different do you raise your children from how your parents raised you?
KILMER: Great question! I remember not having many means as kids. But, it didn’t really matter at the time. There seems to be more stress now on having things (Ipods, Game Boys, Wii, etc.) But, the thing that I want to always follow my parents is their faith and hard work. I grew up on a small farm and learned how to cook. I think today this is also a missing factor in many children’s lives. They often get things the easy way. Thanks for the question!
CZIKOWSKY: Have you found the children have formed a secret alliance to work against the parents. I recall a friend who was from a large family and one of the children would deliberately get into trouble so that while the parents were scolding or disciplining that child, this was in fact a diversion so the other children would be able to accomplish something behind their parents’ backs. I sometimes think children of large families would make the best intelligence agents.
KILMER: Great idea! Perhaps I should encourage that trade! Actually, we have great kids. I have not seen the espionage tactic yet. But, call me in a few years when they are all teenagers! Actually, I may promote this…since tattling on your siblings during social events may be helpful to out parenting!!!

BRAD WILCOX, University of Virginia Sociology Associate Professor, September 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How does cohabitation compare with children brought up by single mothers?
WILCOX: The “Why Marriage Matters” report focused in its first two editions on divorce and single parenthood.
But as I was reviewing this literature on families for this third edition with my colleagues, I was struck by this fact:
On many outcomes, children in bio- and step-cohabiting families look a lot like children in single-parent families, even after controlling for socioeconomic difference.
So even though kids in cohabiting families have access to two adults, they don’t generally do better than kids in single-parent families except on economic outcomes.
I think this is probably because cohabiting relationships tend to be characterized by less commitment, less sexual fidelity, more domestic violence, and more instability, compared to married relationships. Needless to say, these kinds of relationship factors don’t foster an ideal home environment for children.
And it’s also very clear from the research that kids in a stable, single-parent home are less likely to be abused than kids living in a cohabiting household with an unrelated adult male.

MEDIA

ANA MARIE COX. Air America Radio National Correspondent, and TUCKER CARLSON, The Beast writer, February 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What do you think of the comments of people such as Bill Press who feel talk radio is more dominated by conservative viewpoints than by liberal viewpoints? Frankly, if you ask me, there should be a show with varying viewpoints, such as a talk show with Tucker Carlson and Ana Marie Cox, or perhaps a TV show with Tucker Carlson and Bill Press. Wild idea, huh?
COX: Ha-ha, “Spin Room” reference. Tucker, care to comment about Take Five?
More seriously: I think the market for radio is largely dominated by entertainment value and isn’t necessarily a reflection of what policies people actually want. True confession: I listen to Rush a lot myself. He is both entertaining and a great way to learn about the arguments being made by rank and file conservatives. I would probably enjoy having a drink with the guy. (Not sure if he would with me.)
But he couldn’t even keep McCain from getting the nomination. He seems to think that Obama intentionally caused the Sept. 18 run on money markets. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SEAN HANNITY (who is neither entertaining or a good example of Republican arguments mostly because he seems to be himself confused by the,). I’m fine with him “dominating” talk radio because he’s not actually dominating anything else.
Also **blush**
CARLSON: Thanks, Ana, for being the only person I’m not related to who remembers the “Spin Room”. Still the most fun I’ve ever had on TV.
As for radio, you’re right that consumer choice drives ratings. Sometimes consumers have bad taste, and this makes a certain sort of liberal crazy. But if you want a free country, there’s nothing you can do about it. Democratic might feel better if they remembered that these guys re just talk show hosts, not foreign leaders with nukes. Get some perspective, would be my advice to huffy would-be violators of the First Amendment like Sen. Harkin.

ROY HARRIS, author, April 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How does one get nominated for a Pulitzer?
HARRIS: Most often, one’s newspaper, wire services---or now online-only publication---picks its best work to be nominated. It only costs $50 a throw (although that could start to get prohibitive for some papers….)
It is possible to self-enter your work. Or, over the years, fans of the work involved can make a nomination. In short, nominations can come from anywhere.

EMILY BAZELON, Double X Editor, May 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: As we are discussing whether the Internet will replace newspapers and TV, do you see sites like yours replacing magazines? Will you have video on your site? Do you believe sites like yours might eventually replace similar TV shows?
BAZELON: Yes, we are running video on the other site---some original and some we partner with other sites for, or pull from You Tube. I don’t think short videos really replace TV. At least not good TV that warrants 30 minutes or an hour of viewing, as opposed to a brief snippet.
I don’t think sites like ours will replace print magazines. There is a tactile appeal to reading something that you can hold in your hands. Especially for long pieces, it’s just more pleasurable. Or such is my view, anyway. But four years at Slate have convinced me that the web offers a vitality and spontaneously that print can’t match. For conversations like the one we have on our blog, XX Factor, nothing else will do but the web. And the links mean that readers can follow along on a writers’ research journey, which I love.

MAX ROBINS, Paley Center for Media Executive Director, August 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: “60 Minutes” did not have strong ratings in its early years. Isn’t this a good testament to the determination of Don Hewitt that the network brass remained supportive of this innovative show until it finally found its audience?
ROBINS: Certainly, Don was persistent, but in the era when “60 Minute” was launched, shows generally had more time to prove themselves, both news and entertainment. There was so much less competition and less financial pressure on news organizations.

PAUL FARHI, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 22, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Did you see CBS on a list of ten large companies most in danger of financial failure? I presume it will survive somehow. Yet, it would be interesting to ponder what might happen if CBS suddenly went off the air. Where would its audience go?
FARHI: Its audience would go where it audience is going now. To cable. To the Internet. To video games. To a million billion places. CBS going down---and I’m not saying that such a thing will happen any time soon---would be something like the Titanic going down. A big sinking, but it’s happened before and since and will again in the future. It’s the nature of boats, and networks.

HOWARD KURTZ, Washington Post Columnist, December 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: As the expert on “spin”, what are your thoughts on how Tiger Woods handled it? Was retreating in silence a mistake that kept the story going? If Tiger Woods had held a press conference stating he lost control of his car, apologized for his driving mistake, and stated that he was willing to meet wit the police and pay whatever fines would be assessed, would the press have relegated this to the back pages and this story might have gone away?
KURTZ: I don’t think the story would have gone away, but I think Tiger would have garnered more sympathy in the court of public opinion. As it is, a new mistress or two---“birdies,” as the New York Post calls them---seems to emerge every day while Woods remains silent. He doesn’t even have a spokesman defending him. So the stories are largely one-sided.

DONNIE SIMPSON, WPGC-FM Radio Show Host, February 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How can you leave your morning radio show? How will people ever wake up? Do you realize future historians will trace the collapse of the American government to oversleeping Federal workers who lost their motivation to continue once you leave? As Fox News would put it: why do you hate American by leaving us?
SIMPSON: I’m shocked to know that I have that kind of impact on America’s psyche! That’s very flattering, but I think I’m too dark for Fox News to cover anyway. LOL.

LIZ SPAYD, Washington Post Managing Editor, February 16, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe online newspapers will continue to operate on advertising revenue or do you believe they will have to start charging for content?
SPAYD: There’s a lot more experimentation going on in that direction. And our business side spends plenty of time evaluating the pros and cons, and the means of doing it. Hopefully anyone who comes to our web site sees plenty of news and content worth spending a little money for. That said, there’s lots of calculations to make.
Not a satisfactory answer, I’m sure, but not an easy question either!

LEON HARRIS, WJLA News Anchor, March 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: As another “Leon”, I have always admired you. I recently read Mika Brzezinski’s book and heard her speech. She believes she was dropped from network news, on her 40th birthday, because networks prefer to showcase younger broadcasters. Do you believe there is age-ism in the network broadcast world?
HARRIS: Simple answer---yes, I do. And unfortunately, it hits women the most often. At the risk of sounding chauvinistic, however, I will concede that the stations are in the audience-building business, so the rules may be a little different. If the person you have fronting your product isn’t attracting the most customers, you have to make a decision. Companies that produce tangible products do it all the time. I think it hurts our business when experience is sacrificed on the altar of youthfulness.

ROY J. HARRIS, JR., The Economist Group Senior Editor, April 12, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: In researching your book (“Pulitzer’s Gold”), have you noticed any patterns in what types of writers and articles are more apt to win Pulitzer Prizes, beyond the listed standards for winning?
HARRIS: The greatest pattern was stubborn in reporting---being skeptical about what officials told the reporter, and then not taking no for an answer if “no” didn’t make sense.
My favorite stories over the 94 years of the prizes have been those David v. Goliath tales. And they’re also the most fun to re-tell.
The pattern imposed by the Pulitzers themselves, however, involves getting results. For the Public Service award, the Pulitzer organization looks for work with a measurable impact on the community. In the last few years, for example, the Walter Reed Army Hospital expose cleaned up a terrible situation; the Boston Globe’s priest sex abuse scandal changed Catholic Church policy, and ended a horrific cover-up of crimes; the Wall Street Journal’s revelations about stock-option backdating heled correct those abuses.

KATHLEEN PARKER. Washington Post Columnist, April 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How did you find out you had won your Pulitzer Prize? Did you get an official notification and did work leak out before you received the official word?
PARKER: I had no inkling that I was even in the running, though I knew I had been nominated. Usually the finalists are leaked early on. Since I hadn’t heard anything, the PP wasn’t on my radar at all. Then, Sunday in the Green Room before “Face the Nation”, someone whispered a congrats. I had a hard time focusing after that, I confess. An editor’s phone call later in the day confirmed. I was and am speechless.

SARAH KAUFMAN, Washington Post Staff Writer, April 14, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How did you find out you had won the Pulitzer Prize and what was your reaction when you won?
KAUFMAN: I found out while on assignment in Mississippi, when Marcus Brauchli phoned to find out when I’d be flying home. Reaction: whoa, wow, and whoopee. But most of all, gratitude.
CZIKOWSKY: You are right that there will never be another Cary Grant. Even Archibald Leach commented he wished he were Cary Grant. What sparked your decision to write about Cary Grant?
KAUFMAN: Thank you for the question! One of my editors, the great and legendary Henry Allen, suggested I look at old movies and consider analyzing the way actors moved in them back in the golden age. We talked about Grant, Hepburn, Gable….the works. I started watching the movies and the thunderbolt struck: the story is about Cary Grant. No one can touch him.

HOWARD KURTZ, Washington Post Media Reporter, April 19, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How much credibility does Kitty Kelley have? I ask that a sa serious and open question: I have heard people attack her and defend her. What are your thoughts on how reliable something she writes is?
KURTZ: I haven’t read every one of her books. But on the Oprah book, she does have a lot of on-the-record sources, perhaps as a response to earlier criticism about her heavy reliance on unnamed people. She is a celebrity biographer who writes gossip books, but she has also assembled a wealth of information on Oprah. I did ask her why she felt the need to delve into the speculation about Oprah’s relationship with Gayle King.

KITTY KELLEY, author, April 28, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you feel comfortable researching someone’s sexual history? Why do you believe it is important to readers to know this?
KELLEY: Sexuality is very much a part of our lives and when you’re writing a full and comprehensive biography you explore the intimate. In the case of Oprah, she’s talked about her past and present sex life so it would be irresponsible to ignore it in writing her biography.

TOM SHALES, Washington Post Television Columnist, May 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I read Sarah Silverman’s autobiography. She writes how nothing she wrote for SNL (“Saturday Night Live”) ever aired. What is your understanding of how SNL writers operate? From the TV shows (such as “30 Rock”), it seemed like it is a collaborative effort. How do SNL skits get written?
SHALES: FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK!!! Not ha-ha funny either. Just pick up a copy of “Live from New York”, the backstage story of Saturday Night Live. Folks, I am sorry to plug this old book (I saw a used copy for ONE CENT on Amazon the other day---ONE CENT!!!!!!!) but you must admit, the circumstances all but demand it.; If you read the book, you’ll know that even Larry David during his year there as a writer claims not to have gotten anything on the air. They apparently work with a wildly lavish producing ration, the way some directors short ten or twenty times as much footage as they’ll ever need on a finished film. So on Saturday night at 11 pm, SNL has enough material on hand to produce TWO new episodes, and by preening away to the “good” stuff, they supposedly come up with a wunnerful wunnerful show…I thought Sarah’s autography was about “bedwetting” (based on her appeared last night with Jimmy Fallon on his show)…

MARCUS BRAUCHLI, Washington Post Executive Editor, June 21, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on the future of printed newspapers? While their circulations are down across the country, do you believe there will be a sustained market for print editions well into the future?
BRAUCHLI: We think printed newspapers will be around for years to come. Research that we do suggests many of our print readers remain intensely loyal to the print edition. Many don’t want to go online for news, and even those who do often insist they prefer the newspaper as a compendium of the day’s news. They like the serendipity of a newspaper, discovering things they didn’t set out to find; they like the broadsheet presentation that allows them to see many articles, photos, and graphics together on a large page; they like that a newspaper is finite; they like the tactile quality and portability of it. As long as we have those readers in sufficient numbers, it’s a reasonable bet that we’ll have advertising that aims to serve them.
We’ll keep publishing a newspaper as long as there’s an audience and a good business in it. But, to amend an answer I gave above, obviously we have to be economically viable to survive over time, regardless of the success of sister companies like Kaplan.

TOM SHALES, Washington Post Television Columnist, June 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Noting how New Yorkers get their water from the Poconos and how New York does not have a water filtration plant (one of the few big cities not to have one), it was disturbing to watch “Gasland” on HBO last night and realize the water of 11 million could be contaminated from fracking fluid from natural gas drilling (It did not mention what would happen if the gas leaked out). I mean, if the water is contaminated, there would be no more “Saturday Night Live”. Is there word on how “Gasland” did? I guess it may be too early, but do documentaries like this tend to get reactions, or do people tend to forget about them after awhile?
SHALES: HBO’s Monday night documentaries---tho some air on other nights---are among the best things on the network and yet largely unsung. I would write about every one of them if the editors would let me. As for impact and whether they have lasting effects, I guess you’d have to take each one separately. And yes it’s probably too early to gauge reactions. One positive sign: how negative the reaction is from people in positions of power. The less they like it, the most likely it has struck a nerve and made some good points. One oddity: HBO has scheduled a documentary about the suicide doctor, Kevorkian, for July. They just did a docu-DRAMA on the guy with Al Pacino. That seems like plenty of attention for now. Obviously a right hand at HBO doesn’t know what they left hands are doing—at least no always.

JEFF McCALL, DePauw University Communications Professor, April 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How much responsibility, if any, does Glenn Beck take for his own comments that led to the boycott in the first place? Has he expressed any indication he wished he had said anything differently?
McCALL: If Beck has any regrets for his remarks, there has been little evidence of it. He speaks his mind and goes forward, which is why a lot of people like him, of course. The remarks that sparked the boycott were not helpful…but it took a long time for FNC to finally discontinue the show.
CZIKOWSKY: Is there any indication on who can fill the shoes of “being Glenn Beck”, including, perhaps even Glenn Beck on another network?
McCALL: I doubt if FNC will try to fill 5PM with the next Glenn Beck. I will also be surprised if Beck shows up on another network.
Keep in mind that Beck came to FNC from CNN’s Headline News channel. He doesn’t have that many other places to go. MSNBC?

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, April 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I see very few people agree what, to me, is the outrageous suggestion that you should favor one ideology over the other. Yet, I do not think that you should necessarily pick on everyone (an option in the survey). I do believe you also should, and you have, also note when something has gone right. (It is just that few things inside the Beltway ever do go right…)
MILBANK: This is a good point.
Problem is, whenever I write a piece about how terrible wonderful somebody is, nobody reads it. Did a piece praising Dick Durbin and Tom Coburn’s work on the Gang of Six last week, but it pretty much vanished into the ether.
Most I try to honor those who are doing a good job by ignoring them.

RICKY CARIOTI, Washington Post Photographers, NIKKI KAHN, Washington Post Photographer, and CAROL GUZY, Washington Post Photographer, April 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I know photographs tell a thousand words, yet I am wondering what words you think when you see your photographs of Haiti?
CARIOTI: I see desperation.
KAHN: I see the enduring spirit of the Haitian people.
GUZY: In most devastating situations like that, you see glimmers of hope across a landscape of hell. I think these kinds of tragedies bring out the best and worst in people, and it’s humbling to see everyday heroes emerge out of the rubble.
CZIKOWSKY: What was the most difficult part of being in Haiti at that time?
KAHN: I think getting the images back to show because I don’t think the rest of the world was aware of the scope of the disaster. And getting the images back on deadline when equipment was failing was challenging. The little things you take for granted are not there when you’re working in that disastrous situation. There’s aftershocks, but it’s nothing compared to what the Haitian people endured. And that is was why it was so much more important to make sure you got it right and made sure you got those images back. It was a stunning disaster, on so many levels.
GUZY: For me, on a personal level, it ripped my heart out because I had been to Haiti so many times during my career. Going through the city and seeing the buildings shattered that I spent so much time in---the cathedral, the palace. And then realizing there were bodies buried beneath that rubble. And for a long time we were really concerned about the kids we had known forever that are like our extended family, and the concern that they had perished as well. Fortunately, they hadn’t.
CZIKOWSKY: Congratulations, the photos are amazing and devastating,. Are there images you wish you could forget? Scenes you wish you hadn’t witnessed?
GUZY: Certainly, the little school girl, and there were a lot of kids in that school who were crushed to death. They were going about their day---and in an instant, their life was over. Something about those uniforms was haunting. They were sitting at their desks, doing schoolwork when their world crashed in on them. And it’s always seeing kids---that hurts the most because they didn’t have the chance to live their lives.
KAHN: I think for me, there were so many images that I never took pictures of, but they’re images I’ll never forget.
CARIOTI: For me, it was a man digging through rubble with his bare hands, seven months later, still looking for his aunts and niece, knowing that there were in that pile of rubble, and it was just a matter of getting to them---and this was seven months later.

ROY HARRIS, CFOworld Editorial Director, April 19, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Any word on how Gene Weingarten is taking the fact he didn’t win a third Pulitzer?
HARRIS: I’m sure he’s dealing with it with great humor. Actually, winning in 2008 and 2010 was a remarkable honor. There’s some terrific competition out there. The Joshua Bell in the Subway piece is one I’ll remember forever.

VIJAY RAVINDRAN, Washington Post Company Chief Digital Officer, April 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I went to trove.com and I see I have to enter through my Facebook account. Is that the only way one can enter trove.com?
RAVINDRAN: Trove currently uses Facebook Connect for registration. Since Trove is all about the user, it takes advantage of Facebook Connect to pull in your interests as outlined by your profile to help jump start the personalization. Facebook Connect also allows us to offer many more features that allow you to interact with your friends---we’re excited to have some new site capabilities in the near future. We think having a social news experience is much more enriching.
We understand that there are concerns among some about using Facebook and encourage folks to check out our privacy pledge (written so normal people can read it).
Our plan is to roll out additional ways to login in the future, but, we do not have a specific date yet. You can leave your email address to be contacted by going to Trove.com.
CZIKOWSKY: If this helps any, I do not mind the ads. I would rather see ads with free content than pay for access to news on the Internet. The Internet is so broad with so much to choose from, I am not going to waste time, effort, and money paying to read news on the Internet.
RAVINDRAN: Thanks for the feedback. We’re excited that Ford thought enough of our effort to sponsor it.
We think there is a place for free and paid sites and that consumers will help drive where this goes. Trove is important to the Post as not only a site for consumers, but as a sandbox for new revenue products as digital news evolves.
And I agree with your other point, there is so much good content our there, the challenge is discovery, and we think Trove can help/
CZIKOWSKY: Where I work blocks Facebook, so I would have no ability to link to trove.com to keep alert to news from this site at work.
RAVINDRAN: Thanks for the feedback. We plan to have other means to long onto Trove in the future. And we have a form to be contacted on the landing page (trove.com).
Because of how Facebook Connect works, if you are able to long in once from a computer (say while it is at home) to Trove, being blocked from Facebook later won’t stop you from using Trove. But I realize there are many who use secure machines that can never leave the office, and for you, we’ll have a solution later this year.

GLENN KESSLER, Washington Post Correspondent, June 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How does you fact check matters such as economic analysis when even economists do not agree? Often in economics one person’s gain is another person’s loss. Something that may help the economy today could hurt it tomorrow. Economics is not a science that is easily fact checked.
KESSLER: You are right that this can be difficult. I try to focus on claims that are based on a real number—i.e., whether the debt has increased more under Obama than the previous 43 Presidents. (Not so.) This is a number that can be looked up in the historical record.
I try not to fact check economic beliefs, i.e., whether raising taxes is always bad. That’s a political philosophy. Sometimes, however, I might try to explore the economic context of such beliefs, but in that case, I do not award Pinocchios. I think providing context is always an important part of my job, and I do not always have to play a game of “gotcha!”

ERIK WEMPLE, media blogger, July 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Jay Rosen, a Professor at New York University, writers that News Corporation is really a lobbying organization for policies. What is your opinion of this opinion?
WEMPLE: Yeah, I read Jay’s piece in the Guardian. There’s clearly plenty of evidence for Jay’s argument, even here in the United States, where his newspaper properties aren’t as robust as they are in Australia or the U.K. Former reporters of the New York Post have alleged that their editorial instructions would often algin with Murdoch’s business interests. For example, when Murdoch was looking to court Beijing, reporters were apparently instructed to go easy on China. And when the Murdochs had reached some reconciliation with the Clintons, likewise. Too, Fox News’ treatment---or pooh-poohing---of the current scandal on its air speaks to what Jay is talking about. So it’s a fair point to make. For balance, though, Murdoch loves a good, fleshy newspaper story on its own merits. He’s a news person to the core.

FARYL URY, Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, July 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: You were one of the first Facebook members at Harvard. Do you remember how you first heard of Facebook, how well did it work, what was the talk around campus about it, and how close to the movie was the Harvard reaction to Facebook? Also, do you think this Facebook idea may actually catch on (just kidding)?
URY: Nope, FB will never catch on! Just kidding 
So I found out about it from Mark Zuckerberg, who was a sophomore at the time but had been in my freshman dorm at Harvard.
I enjoyed the “Social Network” movie but it’s a movie. From what I remember, Mark was a good guy. Also, I WISH the Harvard parties were always that fun!

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Columnist, August 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Still not the worst idea pitched this year: When does the D.C. Squirrel get his own TV series?
DE MORAES: I am a HUGE fan of D.C. squirrels because they are TV for my dogs when I’m at work. They watch them out the window for hours and I am grateful for the service they provide. I think the Post should take a page from PBS’s “Nova” and train a Squirrel-Cam on a squirrel family park…like PBS is doing a Nova in which they plant a remote camera over some hawk’s nest to watch the family…

TRACEE HAMILTON, Washington Post Writer, September 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: It does not bother me that Sarah Palin, then single, had sex with Glen Rice. Yet, should it bother me that a reporter, Palin, had sex with someone she would be reporting about?
HAMILTON: Yes. That’s considered bad form. Otherwise, I’m with you---it doesn’t bother me either.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Columnist, September 16, 2011 CZIKOWSKY: I have noted some writings that the new TV shows show women as sex objects. Do you agree?
DE MORAES: According to the actresses on these shows,---particularly the lead actress in the new “Playboy Club” drama series”---“sex object” is the new “feminism”---because they choose to be sex objects…

ROXANNE ROBERTS, Washington Post Columnist, and AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, September 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I heard Zooey Deschanel was in an awful accident. Someone said she was in a trainwreck of a show last night. Do you have any details?
ROBERTS: Couldn’t bring myself to watch a grown women pretending to be 21. I have so many other ways to waste my time.
ARGETSINGER: Oh, I had to watch, especially after Hank Stuever gave it a grade of “F”. (My favorite part of his review.)
The show was so embarrassing. All the actors are too old for this. I’m an open person, and even I knew it was phone---I can only imagine what an actual 21 year old would make of it. And all the slang and references seem about four to eight years out of date. And it we’re going to lean of the crutch of nostalgic touchstones, can be please come up with something fresher than “Dirty Dancing”? “Dirty Dancing” nostalgia is a cliché unto itself by now.
CZIKOWSKY: Zooey is 32. Is her character supposed to be twentysomething or is she supposed to be an immature thirtysomething? After watching balding thirtysomethings portray high school students on TV shows, I am beginning to accept (and maybe I shouldn’t) that TV often does not use actor who act their characters’ ages.
ARGETSINGER: I think she’s supposed to be playing someone in her “late 20s”. Though the scene that shows her as a 10 year old angst-fully signing “One of Us” would put her more at early 20s. And it’s not to say that Zooey Deschanel couldn’t pass for early 20s…it’s that, why are we expecting people in their early 20s to act like 16 year olds? You know who I hold responsible The baby boomers. But that’s for another conversation.
CZIKOWSKY: OK, everyone close their eyes so no one can see how everyone else is voting. Now, be honest. Raise your hands if you will watch (even if you won’t admit it) a reality show with Michele Salahi, Neal Schon, and Taraq Salahi?
ARGETSINGER: Well, that’s a good question. I can honestly tell you that only professional obligation would get me to watch. But the, I’m really burned out on reality TV. Standards have dropped so much in recent years. How about the rest of you?
Of course, don’t assume that this is all about a reality TV show. While that’s the ultimate prize, of course, there’s plenty of incentive in the gossip-industry complex for someone to engineer their life. You don’t need a reality TV show to live a reality-TV life.
CZIKOWSKY: I hear the Obamas tried to crash a Journey concert.
ARGETSINGER: They should!

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, and ANDREA CAUMONT, washingtonpost.com Producer, October 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Speaking of sexism in advertising, are you going to be a good girl and not drink the Dr. Pepper Ten because it is for men only?
PETRI: To be honest, I never drink Dr. Pepper. I would say that it’s because it’s too mysterious, but really, it’s because it isn’t coffee. That’s the reason I don’t drink most beverages.
How do we feel about this? It reminds me of those “man laws” commercials for Miller Lite, except that it’s going for the demographic of people who really were swayed by seeing the NO GIRLS ALLOWED sign on the outside of the clubhouse. Yes, I know it’s playing off the Men and Women are Different / Women Are Wimps stereotypes in the worst say, but most ads do that, they just aren’t as blatant about it. The Windex commercials where the woman’s thought process appears to be “no! must stop time! Must keep all things clean! Must maintain veneer!” always terrifies me.
CZIKOWSKY: They need to make a video game for kids where they zap germs around the house. Then it will be cool for both sexes to clean.
CAUMONT: My brother and I totally had this game for the Atari when we were little where you were a toothbrush and the screen was a month and your mission was to brush all of the dirty plaque germs out of the teeth. We loved it.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Writer, December 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: An on the air firm alarm actually happened to me. I was doing a live radio interview via telephone when the fire alarm went off in my building. I just continued with the interview until the interviewer said something like “well, maybe we should let you evacuate your building.”
I am sort of surprised that have sound alarms on sets, just for that reason (of one going off during the NBC Evening News). I would have presumed they would have just visual alarms, or sound only if the fire is confirmed and headed for that particular room. We learn something ever day.
DE MORAES: I had part of the roof fall down on my head when I was doing a phone interview with the Mayor of New York, when I worked for New York Magazine…Leaky plumbing upstairs…Just thought I’d share.

ABDUL ALI, FOLIO Managing Editor, and NATALIE HOPKINSON, The Root Contributing Editor, January 9, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Aside from the question of a seven year old suddenly singing offensive lyrics in public, isn’t there another discussion that needs to take place between the parent and child? Does the seven year old understand what the offensive lyrics mean? Further, since music mimics life, when is it time to explain some of the facts of how people live that are reflected in the songs the young people hear?
ALI: I think you raise a good point. I’m constantly contextualizing the images and lyrics that my daughter is exposed to. Pointing out the less glamorous aspects so that she knows nothing is as it appears in these commercial fictions of “reality”.
HOPKINSON: I usually just pray my kids don’t understand what they are singing. I know that I didn’t when I was their age…But these kids are so smart. I don’t know…

MIDDLE EAST

ELLIOTT ABRAMS, former Deputy National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, February 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How much effect might the overthrow of a long term ruler in Tunisia may have inspired people two countries over to realize they may do the same thing in Egypt?
ABRAMS: I think Tunisia was the trigger for Egypt.
CZIKOWSKY: About what percent of the Egyptians population wishes to continue the treaty with Israel, and about what percent wish to break it?
ABRAMS: I don’t have poll data, but I think most Egyptians are very hostile toward Israel. Whether they actually wish to abrogate the treaty is a different matter.
CZIKOWSKY: It has been reported that the demonstrations are not expressing anti-American sentiments. While I presume the demonstrators have not been expressing a collective uniform sentiment, what has been expressed about the future of Egypt towards the United States? What is the popularity of the United States amongst the Egyptian people?
ABRAMS: Mixed. Most view us as having backed Mubarak and backing Israel, and they don’t like that. But they also know that America is a democracy and an open society and they admire the country in many ways. Try offering visas and we’d see a huge rush to grab them.
CZIKOWSKY: As demonstrations have broken out in Tunisia and Egypt, are there any rumblings in other countries with long term rules, such as Libya or Saudi Arabia, or are things most quiet in other countries?
ABRAMS: The King of Jordan reacted to some rumblings today, by firing the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. There have been demonstrations in Yemen, and calls for them on February 5 in Syria. But there have been no such rumblings in Saudi Arabia.
CZIKOWSKY: What are the reactions of the Syrian government to these events? Do they appear worried about their own internal difficulties and that these events could complicate both their internal and state affairs?
ABRAMS: They must wonder what Syrians think about the regime, but the organs of repression are very strong and very vicious. I take Asad’s interview in the Wall Street Journal yesterday to be a response, and he talked about change and reform. I believe it’s all lies.

MICHAEL SCHEUER, Former Central Intelligence Agency Osama Bid Laden Unit Chief, March 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are the chances that the upcoming generation will insist upon more democratic representation, and if this happens, might more militant views moderate under the scope of public inquiry?
SCHEUER: Some of the younger generation will want more democracy, but more will want Islam. The lies of Clinton, Bush, and Obama have prevented Americans from understanding that al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other like-minded groups draw heavily from the Islamic world’s best and brightest.

BRAD HIRSCHFIELD, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership President, May 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: The problem with reaching peace between Israel and Palestinians is that reasonable minds may have been able to come up with solutions. Yet small extreme factions that dissent have always been able to destroy any agreement. To me, the question I wish to pose to you is how do we get to a point where extreme groups will no longer be able to effectively veto any peace agreement? Or, perhaps, I should be posing a different question?
HIRSCHFIELD: The extremes, as you call the, hold sway because people allow them to. If there was a genuine will to solve this on both sides, it would be solved. Right now, the vast middle actually allows the extremes to act as their representatives, making progress impossible, without throwing the extremists to the side.
More generally, we need to be careful about who we call “extremists” because too often it is simply acceptable code for those with whom we disagree. Feels good, because it defines “us” as reasonable, but not very helpful to go that way.

MILITARY

DAVID SWERDLICK, The Root Contributor. April 8, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How does the Obama Administration view the Defense Department budget? I believe the neocons felt that American needs to show it supremacy in military force, which led to the new challenge that our threats are less military and more terrorist. What differences have Obama’s policies made at the Pentagon and through our military?
SWERDLICK: Excellent question. The “Wall Street Journal” recently ran an editorial pressing the President to commit to replacing outdated W76 nuclear warheads. The general idea was that for us to remain a deterring force, our warheads have to be reliable.
There’s probably an alternate universe where an Obama Administration, or the still Gore Administration pre-9/11 would have tried to ratchet down some Defense spending, but with two wars, an escalating situation between the recognized Pakistani government and the Taliban forces within the un-policed federal areas, and the potential standoff between Israel and Iran over nukes, I don’t see how Obama can do more than trim a few billion in waste out of the Defense budget. I wish I had better numbers in front of me, but I don’t.

RICHARD GURNON, Rear Admiral, April 9, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Like the police send in undercover police into crime areas, is there such a thing as sending an undercover ship that would be prepared to deal with a pirate ship?
GURNON: That tactic was used in WWII with some success but it is not currently in use.

JOHN CRONAN. Hijacked Maersk Alabama Third Engineer, April 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What protections, if any, against pirates were on board? What is the protocol you take when you realize there is a pirate ship near?
CRONAN: At the time we had fire hoses rigged and tied off to the railing. That’s all we had. As far as precautions, we had satellite communications so distress calls were placed immediately.
We sound the alarm which is a systematic ringing of the ship’s bells and PA announcements and that’s what we do. I heard the bells and I heard the captain’s (Captain Phillips) voice on the PA.

BRADLEY GRAHAM, former Washington Post Pentagon Correspondent, June 15, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: It seems that Secretary Rumsfeld often disagreed or ignored advice from the military brass. What do you believe were the judgment factors that he used in creating policies over the objections or against the advice of Generals and military officials?
GRAHAM: Early on as Secretary, Rumsfeld was intent on reasserting civilian control of the military. He and a number of those he brought with him were concerned that under the Clinton Administration, the military brass had managed to dominant the Pentagon’s civilian leadership. So Rumsfeld made a point of seeking outside advice for how to carry out his transformation agenda. And the four star heads of the military services continued as a group often to feel sidelined by Rumsfeld, particularly on operational matters. That was largely because Rumsfeld took a narrower view of the responsibilities of the Joint Chiefs. But it’s not correct to regard him as generally dismissive of the views of senior military leaders. In fact, he arguable was too deferential toward the combatant commanders---the Generals and Admirals who head the military’s regional and functional commands. And in the case of Iraq, in particular, he should have actually done much more to challenge sufficiently some of the military advice he got.

KRISTIN HENDERSON, reporter embedded with 2ndBattalion, 7th Marine Regiment in Afghanistan, June 22, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: We spend billions of dollars to create the best military in the world. Why don’t we spend the money for what will be useful for troops in harm’s way?
HENDERSON: That battle is currently underway in Congress. Secretary Gates; proposed DoD budget cuts back on big ticket weapons systems which are more useful in conventional warfare, in favor of what’s needed for the current more unconventional wars. Some say that approach is short sighted, that we need to be preparing for the next war, not the current one. That’s a lot of interesting debate about what the next war might look like.

JOSEPH ROCHA, Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell advocate, October 13, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: The outdated arguments that some people give for keeping homosexuals out of the military demonstrate, to me, how their attitudes should fade away. We need more volunteers in the military. There is no gay or straight way to being a soldier; either you can do the job or you can’t. How do you argue with the people who believe homosexuals cannot perform military jobs?
ROCHA: Simple.
No research ever produced supports their position.
All research shows that Unit Cohesion is NOT affected.
All Allied Forced but Turkey allow gays in their military. Which of course means that overseas, out troops out fighting alongside openly gay foreign troops. Sometimes even led by them. Ultimately if the detractors are not sold on the gay argument you argue logistics and cost. The country cannot afford another $363 million to uphold the policy and cannot afford another 13,000 high skilled troops lost to this policy.

THOMAS KONNIFF, Army Judicial Advocate Corps Officer, November 6, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: The suspect (in shootings at Fort Mood, Major) Nidal Malik Hasan, was on the Federal government’s “radar” as a troubled person. Isn’t this a telling sign of a major problem of our anti-crime intelligence: we have gathered lots of information on many suspects, yet we have not devised an effective means to go through all this intelligence to effectively identify who it is that poses a real risk?
KONNIFF: Yes, the military conducts extensive background security checks on both enlisted and officers. If he was going to be deployed he would have had to be screened for a security clearance---don’t know how they would have missed this, but it’s very scary.
CZIKOWSKY: MSNBC had a retired Colonel interviewed who stated he doubted that a motive was that the Major was ridiculed by colleagues. He states he found that no one ridicules a Major. Does that seem correct to you, or are these exceptions where people will ridicule someone at that rank?
KONNIFF: I’m sure he could have been ridiculed by some of his own rank, or above, but that would be uncommon for a Major in the officer’s corps---especially a doctor---they operate in their own universe with in the Army.

CHRIS BOWIE, Northrop Grumman Analysis Center Corporate Director and MICHAEL ISHERWOOD, Norhrop Grumman Analysis Center Director of Air Force, December 10, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Are there any operational difficulties with a stationary pilot, say in Colorado, operating a craft in Afghanistan” Does the signal ever break up and, if so, what does the craft then do?
BOWIE and ISHERWOOD: Typically, if the signal is lost, the aircraft light control software will take over and the aircraft will do what it was instructed to do before launch. It could continue to fly the mission, hold in the area, or return to base. Again, it will do what it was instructed to do before launch. In this regard, it is very similar to a manner aircraft.

GARY GATES, UCLA Las School Distinguished Scholar, February 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: This is not for you, but maybe you can comment. Why do people care who is gay? Why do they to see their co-workers suffer and lose their jobs for what they do in private? What really is the problem with having gays working in the military?
GATES: Attitudes towards LGB people have been changing. There are a variety of reasons why people are uncomfortable about same sex orientations, not the least of which is that many religious traditions believe such behavior is sinful. However, of the various LGBT-related public policy issues currently debated (e.g. marriage, parenting, employment discrimination, DADT (“don’t ask, don’t tell”)), Americans in numbers approaching 80% reject the idea that employers should be permitted to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
Similarly, large majorities support lifting DADT. Even if individuals are uncomfortable with gay people, most believe that LGBT people should be allowed to work without hassle.
CZIKOWSKY: Who are some of the people who have been dismissed from the military for being gay? In this era when we need more people in the military, who is the military now missing due to these dismissals?
GATES: Those discharged under DADT represent a wide cross-section of the military. They have been officers and enlisted and from all branches. There is evidence that they are relatively high skilled.

DAVE BEDEY, Retired U.S. Military Academy at West Point Senior Faculty Member, February 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Why should we care if someone in the military is gay or not? What regulations exist that would not already handle any inappropriate sexual behavior of any orientation? Otherwise, why should we care what people do in private? Why should we seek to cause harm and deny jobs, especially at a time when we need more people in the military, for what they do in private?
BEDEY: The repeal of DADT poses two related risks to the military effectiveness. The first, and most familiar, has to do with unit cohesion. Unit cohesion is the bond that enables combat effectiveness. It is founded on sharing a common purpose and being willing to subordinate self to the needs of the unit. The effect of unit cohesiveness is hard to judge---but in the professional opinion of most retired Generals and Admirals who have weighed in on the issue, unit cohesion would be put at risk.
The second risk is to the military community---which includes military families that live together. The military community is much more conservative and attached to traditional values than is society at large. Given the President’s endorsement of full Federal rights to same-sex couples, it is not unreasonable to think that this would include access to family housing on base. Our military communities ought not become embroiled in this aspect of the culture war. This will degrade our military effectiveness.

AMI NEIBERGER-MILLER, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors Spokesperson, June 11, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How long with this investigation (into missing records at Arlington Cemetery) take? How hopeful are you that the missing records will ever be located?
NEIBERGER-MILLER: It’s evident from the Secretary’s remarks yesterday that the problems are systemic and will take major changes to fix. I am encouraged that the Army is taking immediate steps to fix these problems. The families will be asking about this and asking for accountability. We don’t know how long it will take. The problems discussed yesterday with 211 mislabeled/misidentified sections but my sense is they will need to look at additional sections as well a the new system is put in place to ensure everything is correct. So we don’t know how long it will take but we want the Army to get a better system in place.

DANNY HERNANDEZ. Former U.S. Marines Lance Corporal, December 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Might military personnel who were dismissed for being gay be allowed to reenlist? If this is allowed, would you (who was so dismissed) want to return to service?
HERNANDEZ: It is our understanding that once the implementation process is completed, there will be a way for those who have been previously discharged rejoin the military. I am 100% committed to returning to service.

BRUCE FLEMING, United States Naval Academy English Professor, January 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I agree with your insights (on Captain Owen Honors). What would have a different level of sensitivity in a general public crowd does not have the same sensitivity in a military setting. We have to realize the intended audience and, yes, it may be crude, but even the general public has its own sense of acceptable crudity. I think we should not be in the business of censorship especially when the intended audience was not insulted by the content. Were they many within the intended audience who felt offended when they viewed it? What was the general reaction of those who saw the film who were on the ship?
FLEMING: A former student, female LT, wrote to say that she was there and had no problems.
CZIKOWSKY: While I admit it is wrong to use offensive humor, it happens, and often we laugh. While some pretend to be offended at Howard Stern, Don Imus, Saturday Night Life, etc. for their sexual references, would you agree we still find a lot of those criticizing faithfully watching?
FLEMING: More to the point is that the sailors use them. Officers can guide by example and good-humored hectoring (“not on my watch”) but if they show themselves to be SHOCKED and APPALLED and wing into high punishment gear, stuff only goes underground.

MARC GOLDWEIN, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Policy Director, February 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Is it time to seriously consider cutting military spending and looking at taking a reduced military role around the world? In my opinion, and Egypt should be the most recent example of this, we spend lots of money propping allies who lose the confidence of their own people who then blame America for keeping their unwanted government in power. We would save money and win more respect around the world if we gave other countries less military weapons and more projects that improved the lives of the people within the country.
GOLDWEIN: Though the Administration does put forward some Defense cuts, it actually allows Defense spending to grow with inflation.
As Senator Coburn is fond of saying, though, “peace through strength can’t be accomplished through a waste of money”.
We are buying weapons systems we don’t need, offering benefits we can’t afford, and frankly not getting the greatest bang for buck (excuse the pun).
The Fiscal Commission cut Defense spending by almost 5% in 2013 and showed enough illustrative savings to get us there. The Sustainable Defense Task Force undertook a similar exercise.
We can cut Defense, we just need to know where to look. At some point, we’ll need to answer the fundamental questions about force structure and about what our military should and shouldn’t do. But there is a lot of waste to get rid of before that.

STAN COLLENDER, Qorivs Communications Partner, April 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What does the Defense Department proposed budget look like right now, and what areas are potentially most vulnerable should Congress insist in making cuts to the Defense Department?
COLLENDER: The President supposedly will announce some additional reductions in military spending when he speaks at 1:30 today. I’ve heard $150 billion over the next 10 years. The fastest savings come from reductions in personnel, but that’s unlikely given the overall unemployment rate. Operations and maintenance is where the savings are likely to come from.

ISABELLE DAUST, American Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Unit Manager, April 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: One of the lessons of the Nuremberg trials is that it is the duty of military personnel to refuse to obey an illegal order. How well has this been remembered?
DAUST: There is a Module in Exploring Humanitarian Law (curriculum developed by the Red Cross for high school students) that addresses the issue of commander responsibility and refusing to obey illegal orders, based on what happened at My Lai.

STEVE VOGEL, Washington Post National Staff Reporter, June 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Does the Defense Department have its own personnel who make repairs within the Pentagon, or does it contract out any of this work to the private sector?
VOGEL: The renovations work was mostly done by contractors hired by the program. Hensel Phelps, a Colorado-based contractor, oversaw most of the work in wedges 2-5, while General Dynamics did the IT work.
Most of the routine repairs are done by the Pentagon building staff. With a 6.5 million square foot building holding 22.000 people, they’ve kept pretty busy answering calls from people who have water dripping on their heads and the like.
CZIKOWSKY: I have heard that Dolley Madison saw to it that a portrait of George Washington was rescued for the White House before the British invaded and burned the White House. Is it true before before they torches the White House, the British General took home the portrait of Dolley Madison, who it is said was a striking woman?
VOGEL: It’s interesting because we often think that the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon was an unprecedented attack on the American government. We often forget that nearly 200 years ago, during the War of 1812, the British captured Washington and burned not only the White House and the Capitol, but also the War Department, Treasury, Navy Yard and every government save the Patent/Post Office.
Dolley Madison did indeed see to it that the portrait by Gilbert Stuart was rescued. A small portrait of Dolley was taken by a British soldier, but his conscience was stricken and he returned it years later.

STEPHANIE HIMEL-NELSON, Blue Star Families Communications Director, June 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are you familiar with efforts to improve something as simple as the transfer of school records and the appropriate placement of children of military personnel into appropriate classes? Military personnel often transfer several times and the laws in different states and course offerings in different schools vary. I know some states are moving to allow a child of a military personnel to graduate according to the graduation requirements of the state from which they came, as often students will transfer in their senior year only to discover that the state requires course they were not required to take, and did not take, at their previous schools. This is something military families don’t immediately think of, until they are faced with these problems.
HIMEL-NELSON: Transferring schools has long been an issue for military children. I know I don’t have to tell all of you that when a child has to change school every two to three years, problems will come up. (I could go into a rant about what happened to my GPA when I moved from a DoDDS school in Germany to a civilian school in Nebraska in the middle of my sophomore year!) There are also issues for special needs children, or kids with learning disabilities, as well as children on the normal academic track.
Now we thankfully have the Interstate Company on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. I believe 36 states have signed on to the compact, which helps to make school transitions more uniform. It covers tings such as record transfers, course sequencing, graduation requirements, extra-curricular activities, missed testing, kindergarten, and first grade age variations, power of custodial parents while one is deployed, and other things such as data sharing and training.
But it’s really more than just academic standards that need to change. Teachers and administrators need to understand a bit more about the military lifestyle and the deployment cycle to make transferring as painless as possible for our kids.

TOM SHRODER, journalist, June 30, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How useful were drones in the search for Osama bin Laden, and does it appear there is a significant future role for drones for military intelligence purposes?
SHRODER: The drones are probably the fastest growing capability of the American defense establishment---both military and clandestine services. Although drones gave Obama a choice---fire a missile into the compound or attack it with a force of commandos---ultimately, they didn’t play a significant immediate role. The compound was designed to foil attempts to look inside from the air, or to penetrate its walls with airborne listening devices. However, the pressure the campaign of drone attacks put on the al Qaeda leaders created the situation where Osama had to hide out in a compound, a virtual prisoner, and communicate entirely by courier---which in the end proved to be his downfall. Drones are here to stay, and their use will expand not only over theaters of battle but over our own territory as well.

PAUL LESTER, Captain, United States Army, July 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: After our initial evaluation of the (Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program) testing, are changes being made to the tests?
LESTER: We have refined the GAT and reduced the number of questions to the smallest number needed to provide a good assessment. For example, we have recently re-released the Family GAT. Here, we reduced the number of questions from 250 to 84.

STEVE STROBRiDGE. Military Offices Association of American Government Relations Director, August 17, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How might these budget cuts affect housing assistance for military families?
STTOBRIDGE: I haven’t seen any specifics on that, but I think we have to take leaders literally when they say “Everything is on the table.” I don’t think leaders want to cut housing allowances, but if pressed to come up with options, they could consider things like changing the allowance standard to cover 90 percent of median housing costs rather than 100% of the median. There are any number of options that could be available if pressed.

DAVID McKEAN, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Legal Director, September 21, 2011
CZKIOWSKY: I see in today’s local newspaper that a woman who left the Air Force for being gay will be rejoining the Air Force. How easy/difficult is it form someone who left the military for being gay will be allowed to reenlist?
McKEAN: For those who were kicked out under DADT (“don’t ask, don’t tell”) and who received honorable discharges, and who are otherwise qualified to serve—they will be allowed to apply to reenter the military just like anyone else who has prior service. This will mean that all service qualifications (age, physical fitness, need for skills, etc.) will apply. Those who are able to reenter will be accepted based on their qualifications and the needs of the service.

OLYMPICS

ASHLEY CALDWELL, U.S. Olympic Freestyle Skier, February 18, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How old were you when you began skiing and at what age did you begin practicing for competitions? It is amazing how much you have accomplished. How did you do it?
CALDWELL: Hey! I was three when I started skiing, just for fun with my family. I started aerials when I was 13 and started competing when I was 13. I guess I did it like anyone accomplishes anything, by having fun and working hard!
CZIKOWSKY: How is the snow? We have some here, if you want some more.
CALDWELL: I would love some more! The conditions are rough! The snow just isn’t holding like it normally would. Every time we land the landing hill gets a huge hole in it. Because of this we have to fix the bill every time. This means we only get one jump every half hour, when we usually get one every 15 minutes. So we’re getting less jumps, which isn’t ideal. The jumps are great though and the hill workers are doing their best!

PAKISTAN

DANIEL MARKEY, Council on Foreign Affairs Senior Fellow, May 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: As we consider our relations with Pakistan, how much does our diplomacy has to also consider our influence over Pakistan in stabilizing relations with India? How volatile or calm are current relations between Pakistan and India?
MARKEY: To stick with the India angle, I would note that India and Pakistan just restarted a dialogue that had effectively been frozen since the Mumbia attack. So that’s a good thing. But it is a process, not a solution. If we’re lucky, neither Pakistan nor India (nor the US) will inject the Indo-Pak issue into the latest crisis, as we have enough on our hands already.
But clearly many Indians are in some way happy to see this episode play out, if only because they think it vindicates their position---that Pakistan is the global hub of terrorism.

PHYSICS

GERALD HAR,. SETI Institute Physicist, November 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have any thoughts on the Physics theory that our universe may be inside a black hole, thus explaining the curvature nature of our supposed boundaries?
HARP: I don’t know if you can call it a black hole for sure, but our universe is definitely bounded and has a very strange relation between gravity effects and position in space. Saying we live in a black hole is not precisely correct, but it gives the right “fee” about the universe as we know it.
CZIKOWSKY: When messages are sent into outer space, do we also send a means to interpret our messages? For instance, do we also send a dictionary, where whoever receiving the messages can look at something visual to understand what the different words mean, and hopefully then an intelligent form of life can put together the message and understand what it is we are telling them?
HARP: I’m not an expert in decoding languages, but just as you say, a significant message could be prepended with a very simple dictionary.
Many social scientists, including our own Doug Vakoch at the SETI Institute have studied the problem of writing some very simple “words” people can easily decode (like the binary representation of Pi) and then gradually work up to more complex concepts. There are certain ideals, such as liberty, justice, and altruism that are difficult to get across without a very large background of cultural knowledge. This is why children are not very good at making right decisions all the time---they haven’t gained enough experiences to really understand, say, the golden rule.
But we are hopeful that with deliberate effort, it will be possible to understand ET when we finally listen with the right “ear”.

POLITICS

ROBERT G. KAISER, Washington Post Associate Editor, February 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How might you be able to separate out the influence of lobbyists if campaign finance could relegate them to just being hired guns? Of course, the real question is whether it is realistic that Congress will ever create campaign finance rules where no funds come from lobbyists or the people lobbyists represent.
KAISER? Yes, this would be a big change. I’m not sure it is even possible, however. How could we ban campaign contributions from “the people lobbyists represent”? Only by banning ALL contributions through a system of public financing.
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on banning lobbyists from serving government posts, and if they are banned, when should there be exceptions to the ban?
KAISER: As a citizen I’d be all in favor of the sort of ban Obama proposed without exceptions. Was, for example, Mr. Lynn of Raytheon really the only person Obama could have found to be Deputy Secretary of Defense? Of course not.

TERENCE SAMUEL, The Root Deputy Editor, February 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What advantage is there to attempting to place a moderate face on the voice of the Republican Party (in electing Michael Steele as Republican National Chairman) if the real fight for its leadership will likely be between Jindal, Huckabee, and Palin?
SAMUEL: I think a lot of Republicans hope that will not be the case, and if it is, Steele will have failed and the party will pay a price at the polls.

ED O’KEEFE, Washingtonpost.com Federal Eye Blogger, March 3, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: To what degree might RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s apology to
Rush Limbaugh for calling him an entertainer now enhance the image of Rush
Limbaugh as the current leader of conservative Republicans if not the Republican Party
itself?
O’KEEFE: It already has. We’re talking about it, aren’t we?
EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Columnist, March 3, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Doesn’t the mere fact that Michael Steel has apologized to Rush Limbaugh for calling him an entertainer further legitimize Limbaugh as a leading spokesman for Republicans? Here you have the Chairman of the Republican Party offering deference to a radio show host who, if he had stuck to his original statement, he could have continued to pass off as a person interested in ratings for a show. Instead, he has handed Limbaugh credibility.
ROBINSON: What’s really embarrassing is that in his anti-Steele tirade, Limbaugh pointedly informed him that he is not, in fact, the leader of the Republican Party. Steele, in apologizing, seemed to acquiesce. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the whole party is scared of Limbaugh’s huge audience. I don’t think Limbaugh is the person who can return the Republicans to power. To put it mildly.

BILLY WHARTON, “The Socialist” Editor, March 16, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe the Federal government should insist on more employee involvement in the companies that are bailed out? For instance, now that taxpayers essentially own majority interest in AIG, how might we require that the employees have a greater say in how the company is managed?
WHARTON: There are many wonderful examples of the self-management of companies by employees. State nationalization can play an important role in the reorganization of failed businesses and in thinking about the ways in which different sectors might interact. Following this, it is essential that employees play a determining role in the functioning of the company. Here, I recommend looking at some examples from the occupied businesses movement in Argentina, the Mondragon sector in Spain, and even the cooperative sector in the U.S.

VANESSA GEZARI, Washington Post Magazine Contributor, March 16, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Every time I hear political scientists explain why there are fewer females than males in elected positions, they usually state that women tend to enter politics later in life. What do you recommend that would encourage women that they can enter politics earlier in life?
GEZARI: From my point of view, there are a lot of really strong and valid reasons that young women and girls give for not wanted to go into politics, and I guess I’d start there. Why is our political culture so fractious and negative, and is there a way to change that? Can we present more ideas and models of life partnerships that are more equitable, so that girls don’t have to worry from the time they’re teenagers about how they’re going to do it all? I think girls and young women are very confident in many, many areas now, and that’s largely a product of a concerted social effort to be attentive to their needs and desires in academics, sports, etc. We can do the same with politics, but maybe politics has to be defined differently---or expanded----to fit them in.

NAOMI WOLF, author, May 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts to the polling data on Millenials that show they do not view women’s issues the same way as do older aged generations? While they poll as the most tolerant generation, open to racial justice, increased immigration, acceptance of gay marriage, etc., they do not seem to find women’s rights as much as a concern. Indeed, they see females as attending college more so than are males, they see many females earning higher salary than males, they grew up with the slogan “a woman can do anything a man can”, and, in perhaps what is at least a partial victory for women’s right, they do not see the need for women’s liberation in the same light as older generations see it. What do you think?
WOLF: A great question. In a way it is heartening since the goal of feminism has always been ideally to become obsolete because at some point we should get there. However, I do worry that this data show more young people’s personal observation of many women who are doing well at the expense of their understanding a bigger picture especially as it applies to women in poverty or in lower income jobs and households as well as the enormous inequities facing the majority of women on the planet who are living in the developing world. So I hope these young people take a good Women’s Studies 101 class to be reminded of these ongoing structural inequities.
Also, other data show that this rosy view of equality collapse when young women have children.

MICHAEL KAISER, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts President, May 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is the current financial state of the Kennedy Center? Do you receive public funds, and if so, what are the proposals for future funds looking lie? Are private donations remaining strong, or has the economy led to cutbacks in what people are giving?
KAISER: Thanks for asking. The Kennedy Center receives public funds for the upkeep of our building, since we are the official memorial to President Kennedy. But like other arts organizations, we have to find the resources for our programming. We are doing well, though it is a challenge in this environment. Fortunately, I saw the writing on the wall a year ago so we could affect this year’s budget early and have not been forced to take drastic actions. We expect a small but proud surplus this year.

RAHAN SALAM, author, May 20, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Do you think the public actually buys the idea that Democrats are Socialists? The Red scare worked in the 1950s but I fear only makes Republicans look laughable in the 21st century. How does this labeling boost the image of Republicans as people with alternative ideas?
SALAM: I think you’re right; it’s silly. It’s a form of venting. And you have to admit: everyone vents from time to time; including the best of us. Unfortunately for Republicans, venting won’t help you win elections.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you seen the polling data of Millennial voters? How are you going to keep reaching out to a new generation of voters that strongly supports government intervention in keeping them safe after the trauma of 9/11 and in many other areas that concern them?
SALAM: I sure have seen the polling data, and it’s not very encouraging. I don’t think Republicans should embrace government as a solution to all problems. But I think they need to stop pigeonholing themselves as a party that only talks about taxes and national security; you can’t concede the entire landscape of domestic policy reform to the other party!
Re: government intervention: this is a generation that expects a high quality of service and flexibility, which could work to the advantage of the right. Of course, Dems also understand this.
CZIKOWSKY: The Republican Party is one that says had John McCain picked Tom Ridge as his running mate that some right wing leaders would have walked out of the convention, and one where Arlen Specter is no longer a Republican. What is the relevance of the Republican Party to voters in Pennsylvania, who see it as the emerging party of Pat Toomey who, despite his strong ideology, has few chances of winning statewide?
SALAM: The Republican Party is bigger than Pat Toomey. The great tragedy for me is that Sam Katz was never elected Mayor of Philadelphia as a Republican.
But more directly: Pennsylvania is an aging post-industrial state that is losing a lot of brainpower to other regions. Some of that has to do with a heavy tax/regulatory burden. Making government cheaper and more effective---a la Mitch Daniels in Indiana---could make a difference. The question is, does Pennsylvania have a Republican like Mitch Daniels? I honestly don’t know. But is she’s out there, Republican should be working double time to get her to run for office.

KATHLEEN PARKER, Washington Post Writers Group Columnist, June 10, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What was Sarah Palin’s reputation for returning phone calls and messages before she ran for Vice President? Does she have basically the same staff as Governor before and after this run and has she added staff since becoming a national celebrity?
PARKER: My understanding is that Gov. Palin was inundated with volumes of requests. She was suddenly famous and in demand. The problem was that she wasn’t willing to delegate or hire the staff she needed to deal with it. Machinery can be put in place for such things---and plenty of GOP handlers and funders tried to help,

TRACY GORDAN, University of Maryland Assistant Professor, June 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: State government revenues are based primarily on sales and income taxes, the revenues from which are influenced by the national economy. Rainy day funds are supposed to help alleviate problems when revenues to state government decline during economic downturns. Is this a lesson that rainy day funds need to be kept higher and allowed to grow more during strong economic times?
GORDAN: Yes, many view larger rainy day funds as a good policy choice. In the last major recession, states were able to spend down these funds to alleviate some pressures on the budget. However, it’s hard to imagine a rainy day fund adequate to meet budget gaps of 10% or more of general funds as exist in many states. You could imagine voters might get antsy seeing that money sitting around.

RICK PERLSTEIN, author, August 18, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: It is my observation hat “liberals” do not know how to debate the rhetorical attackers on their terms. Not that they are going to sway their attackers, but it might help sway undecideds. When attackers respond “why do you hate America?”, I would love someday to hear a “liberal” shove it back with “why do you not trust our system of checks and balances and the voting public that we would never allow for death panels. Why do you not trust America?” I would have loved to hear Arlen Specter respond to the man yelling at him that someday he is facing God with “yes, and when I face God, I want Him to know I tried to help those who needed health care get health care.” Why do we seldom see such responses from “liberals”?
PERLSTEIN: Amen. I think the answer to your question is a lack of courage and leadership and clarity on the part of some liberal elected officials.

RICK MEEHAN, Ocean City, Md. Mayor, August 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How much money does Ocean City spend a year to replace and retain sand? If this is a problem, how much worse, if any, has it gotten in recent years?
MEEHAN: I will try the short answer. In the late 1980s we partnered with the Federal Government, the State of Maryland, and Worcester County to create a Beach Replenishment District. We built a sea wall along the boardwalk and created a dune protection system from the end of the boardwalk to the Delaware Line. We then pumped in sand to create a level of storm protection based on the 100 year criteria. Today, we place $500,000 a year into a maintenance fund with our partners and every three or four years, based on sand elevations, we pump in sand to maintain required levels of protection. By protection I am referring to hurricane protection. We have not experienced any damager of property from the ocean since the inception of this project!

BEN BRADLEE, Washington Post Vice President at Large, and SALLY QUINN, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 26, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I have my own story about meeting Ted Kennedy. Yet it is like so many other stories that it strikes me that Td Kennedy was aware that people, even “little people” like me, would be remembering what Ted Kennedy would be doing for them and he took the time, indeed extra time, to be of help. Was it the sense of duty that was instilled in the Kennedys that they should be attentive to others? Was it that Ted Kennedy realized what he meant to others and that he knew he did not wish to be remembered as one of the many prima donnas of politics who brush people aside or have aides take care of their problem? What was it that made Ted Kennedy so caring about others while being so genuine in his concern?
BRADLEE and QUINN: It was his calling. You’ve pretty well summed it up.

TOM RIDGE, former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, September 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Are you willing to make a Shermanesque statement today? You will not be a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2010? Or would you like to keep that option open?
RIDGE: I said in the book (“The Test of Our Times”) I have written recently that the best political job I ever had was Governor of Pennsylvania. I have no plans to run again and there’s always that part of the Pennsylvania Constitution that would prohibit it if I did, but thanks for the thought.
CZIKOWSKY: After September 11, it was clear that police, fire, and emergency services need to be able to communicate with each other during emergencies. It is now eight years later, and that ability has not been accomplished in many places. What is causing the delay is something so obvious?
RIDGE: Great, great question. We have been paying lip service to the heroic role that our police and fire departments and other emergency service personnel played on 9/11 and frankly play every day in other ways in our communities. The technology exists, the money exists, its time for Congress and the FCC to dedicate bandwidth so that these brave men and women have the interoperable communications network to stream voice data and video. If we’ve got money for clunker cars, we should have money to build the heroes’ network that will help our first responders do their job.
CZIKOWSKY: I remember on September 11, 2001 you initially stated you were not going to the Pennsylvania crash site as you weren’t needed and would likely only be in the way. I actually thought that made sense. Yet, you changed your mind and wnet. What made you change your mind, and might it because there still was a role you could show as a leader? Or, what were your reasons?
RIDGE: I don’t remember that conversation. I do remember that once I discovered the total situation I rushed back to the State Capitol as soon as they would allow the State Police helicopter to get airborne and visited the site later that day. I may have expressed concern at the very outset in learning about that crash that I did not want to somehow interfere with police and rescue efforts and I’m confidant to tell you early on that the decision was made quite early that day I would get to Shanksville as soon as I complete my emergency work at the State Capitol.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Columnist, September 8, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Bob McDonnell made disparaging remarks about women, homosexuals, and fornicators. What size of a voting group do these groups consist of in Virginia?
ROBINSON: You’re referring to the thesis GOP candidate McDonnell wrote at Regent University. Women alone are a majority, so you don’t even need to tally the homosexuals and the fornicators. The issue of how his bigoted sentiments will play in northern Virginia, the bluest part of the state. A month ago, I’d have told you it looked like McDonnell would win. Now, I think the whole thing is up in the air.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, Rice University History Professor, September 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is the current update on Hurricane Katrina? How many people remain displaced to this date? How much action has been taken to revitalize the destroyed areas and how much action has been taken to guard against this devastation from happening again?
BRINKLEY: All very complicated questions. But I’ve been pushing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a category 5 levee system. We need to treat New Orleans with the same respect the Dutch do Amsterdam.
CZIKOWSKY: I like how Teddy Roosevelt was an accidental President. He was such a great politician and reformer that political bosses thought they were getting rid of him by making him Vice President.
BRINKLEY: That’s exactly right. The Republican Party bosses were aghast that TR was in the White House. They feared, in particular, his radical conservation agenda.
CZIKOWSKY: Gifford Pinchot was a leading Pennsylvania politician, Governor, and forester that was inspired by Theodore Roosevelt. How close were they and what mentoring did Roosevelt provide Pinchot.
BRINKLEY: I write about this at great length in “The Wilderness Warrior”. Pinchot was like a son to TR.

GERRY CONNOLLY, Member of Congress, September 24, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: On what basis should a voter from your district make a decision on who to vote for Governor?
CONNOLLY: I think Northern Virginians should make their decision this November based on who has a record of supporting our transportation needs and a willingness to support net new revenue to invest in projects like the 29/Gallows interchange. As Northern Virginians---Republican or Democrat---we need a Governor who understands our congestion and is willing to address it. I’m supporting Creigh Deeds for that reason. This morning’s “Washington Post” made a great case for Deeds’ position and criticized his opponent for a “smoke and mirrors” approach to transportation.

STEVEN F. HAYWARD, American Enterprise Institute Fellow, October 6, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Where do you put Joe Scarborough as an influence on conservative thought? This is someone who has a radio and TV than has its entertainment aspect yet he has also written a few thoughtful book where he attempts to define conservative thought.
HAYWARD: I like Joe (have been on his show once) and think he strikes a nice tone in his discussions.

REIHAN SALAM, New Foundation Fellow, October 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I see a genuine conflict for conservatism. If it is the goal of conservatives to make things more affordable, then conservatives should look at ways to lower health care costs in total, perhaps by expanding Medicare to all. If it is the goal only to reduce public costs, then they have to be willing to allow the private market to raise costs at the expense of lowered public costs. For instance, we can reduce government regulations. Yet allowing the free market to decide could result in higher costs to consumers. For instance, privatized schools or privatized prisons possibly will cost more than public schools or public prisons, as these entities will need to include a profit margin that does not exist in the public model. What do you see as the role of conservatism: make life easier and more affordable to the public, or reduce the role of government in our lives?
SALAM: There are subjects of tremendous debate. Very briefly, my sense is that the dramatic expansion of public programs will eventually have to be paid for through taxes---the real route to lower prices for higher quality is competition. Not pathological cost-shifting competition, which we have now in the health insurance sector. So we need reforms that work to that end, and fortunately conservatives have been working on this issue for years. I’m cautiously optimistic. This is a very complex issue and I hate to oversimplify.

RONALD HELDERMAN, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Are there any key “wedge” issues where the candidates (for Governor of Virginia) differ and voters are choosing according to these differences? Or does it seem to be that voters are voting on party affiliation and non-issues such as past statements in grad school?
HELDERMAN: This is a race with quite a number of issue contrasts. The two candidates’ approaches to solving transportation are very different. McDonnell has been more supportive than Deeds of expanding the number of charter schools in Virginia. Deeds has more actively advocated raising teacher pay. In general, they have contrasting views about the role of government in society. Deeds wants to close Virginia’s gun show loophole, McDonnell does not. And it goes on.
That said, plenty of people will vote largely on party affiliation because they find that their views are generally align more with one part or the other and that helps guide them in choosing candidates.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 23, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: The real issue in New Jersey politics: does television mean that Howard Taft was the last literal heavyweight to be successful in politics?
CILLIZZA: Just a terrific Taft reference.
And, all streaks are made to be broken. Political guru Stu Rothenberg once wrote how it’s impossible (or next to it) to get elected to the Senate with a beard.
Then along came Jon Corzine and his big pile of money…the rest is history.

R. CRAIG DEEDS, Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia, October 26, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Through all the issues and rhetoric, perhaps the most important thing a Governor actually does is the budget. What are your budget priorities?
DEEDS: As Governor, I will lead in making sure we create economic growth while reducing spending. I’ve laid out a comprehensive government reform plan to create efficiencies in government. I’ll make sure we continue to invest in creating economic opportunities and keep Virginia schools world-class.
The transportation trust fund is in crisis. That is an issue of urgent importance to the economy of Virginia and one that I’ll address in my first year as Governor.

ALAN GRAYSON, Member of Congress, November 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What is your opinion of the proposal from Ron Paul and Bernie Saunders calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve Board?
GRAYSON: I’ve worked hard to make that happen. We’ve had a series of oversight hearings in which my questioning made a splash (three million views on YouTube, in one case), and I worked with Democrats for months to make it a bipartisan bill, helping to line up over 100 Democratic cosponsors.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you ever hang out with Joe Wilson? If you’ve met, what did you two discuss?
GRAYSON: I’ve never said a word to him. And vice versa.
CZIKOWSKY: I am trying to figure out a possible end result for health care legislation. Do you believe it may be likely that what can pass will be legislation where the trigger for a public option has greater conditions upon which the public option is created should costs not be brought down significantly?
GRAYSON: The House bill will have a public option. The Senate bill probably will have a public option, in some form or another. Then we’ll see what happens in conference. In the end, it’s very likely that we’ll have a public option.
CZIKOWSKY: For those who think you are “nuts” for criticizing K Street, maybe it will be useful to educate the public on just how powerful K Street is and how much they distort legislation for the benefit of paying clients over the general public interest?
GRAYSON: Of course. That’s what they’re paid to do. And paid very, very well. Just look at the disclosures. And that’s just the ones who spend most of their time lobbying for specific legislation.

MICHAEL A FLETCHER. Washington Post Staff Writer, November 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: It is interesting that where Democrats ran to the center, Democratic turnout was unenthusiastic. Yet, in New York Congressional 23 and even New York City, where progressive Democrats ran, Democratic turnout and the final election results were better than expected for Democrats. Could this be a signal that Democrats do better with candidates who run more progressive and less to the center?
FLETCHER: Interesting point.

PAUL KANE, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I believe a key lesson Democrats should learn is they need to motivate their base. Their base is becoming the Millennial voters, who voted 2 to 1 Democratic in 2008 while composing 20% of the electorate. They stayed away in large numbers, composing only 10% of the electorate in 2009 and the majority of Millennials who showed up voted Republican. Democrats and Republicans would do best to keep an eye on how this group thinks.
KANE: This is a key focus for some Democrats right now. Indeed.

TIM KAINE, Governor of Virginia, January 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How do you think the health care issue will affect Democratic Congressional races in 2010?
KAINE: I believe that passage of health care, which I’m very confident will occur soon, will create a tailwind for Democrats going into the 2010 midterms.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 15, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: A much underrated political fiction book: “The Senator” by Drew Pearson, which showed how some 1960s insights into how the U.S. Senate really worked.
It is from this book I learned an important lesson that often still holds today in politics:” The right things get done for the wrong reasons.”
CILIZZA: Absolutely. And who knew the former Cowboys wide receiver wrote a book on the Senate?
And, yes, I am kidding.

SHANKAR VEDANTAM, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 19, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: This (“the telescope effect”) has applications to political science. We have often heard how voters react less to the politician who knows all the statistics on how many people will be affected by legislation and more to the person who has some good rhetoric that personalizes an issue. Am I correct on this or am I missing something?
VEDANTAM: I think you are absolutely correct. Candidate Obama or Candidate McCain would be much less effective in talking about job loss in general than about Susan Harris or Pittsburgh, a mother of three, who just lost her job and her health insurance and now has to choose between paying the rent and paying her medical bills.
I don’t think there is a problem in using individual stories to personalize larger issues. The problem is that we are often careless about how we do this, and then sometimes come to believe that helping Susan Harris is the point, when she is only the standard bearer of a problem that is larger than the individual. We feel good about saving the individual---which is good and important to do---but forget that acting morally requires us to be much, much more.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, January 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Great non-fiction political book: The autobiography of U.S. Grant. In its day, it was one of the largest selling books of all time.
Great fiction political book: The autobiography of Ronald Reagan. Some wonder if Reagan ever even read it.
CILLIZZA: I have been meaning to read that Grant book forever. Need to get on it.

DICK ARMEY, former U.S. House Majority Leader, February 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The Electoral College map looks bleak for Republicans. How do you believe the Tea Bag Movement will operate to get Republicans to a majority of the Electoral votes? Where do you see your movement as tilting Democratic states to the Republican column?
ARMEY: President Obama and Speaker Pelosi can thank Howard Dean’s “50 state strategy” for laying the ground work for the Democratic landslide in 2008. The Tea Party Movement is much the same, and Tea Party groups exist in every state and city across the country. Back in December, I was invited to an event in Brooklyn. I know groups that exist in places like San Francisco. It is because of this national network you will begin to see small government folks win in places like Massachusetts. As for specific states to watch, I expect to see conservatives pick up in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arkansas, and Colorado.
CZIKOWSKY: How should the Republican Party deal with the divisions of its historic support of Main Street businesses and for programs that support businesses, loan guarantees, etc., versus the rising conservatism that such policies are “corporate welfare” and need to end? Is there room in the Republican Party for both factions and, if so, where should they compromise their different views of business support?
ARMEY: In my view small government conservatives are on the side of the entrepreneur. Big business often seeks to grow its market share by colluding with big government. Too big to fail tramples on the start up. If government is not redistributing goodies, and lets competition work, consumer and main street will win.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 19, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The retirements of Birch Bayh’s son and Ted Kennedy’s son reminds me of those scenes from the gangster movies where the gangster’s sons decide not to follow in their fathers’ footsteps. II have seen the attitudes of those in politics, and of the public, have changed dramatically. It used to be that people on the Democratic side wanted to end a war, improve the environment, or fight for civil rights while people on the Republican side wanted to preserve American values and defend democracy against communism. Today, I see little ideology and a lot of money: money just to get elected and money dictating what policies move. There is so much money, and a generation of new staffers totally attracted to money, that the atmosphere has changed tremendously. I believe the public has figured this out and they do not respect politicians as much as they did, especially in the pre-Watergate era. I know this is more of a comment, yet, I ask, how do you see staff and politicians and the public viewing the atmosphere of politics today as compared to a few decades ago?
CILLIZZA: There’s NO question there is less partisan cooperation and that people on opposite sides of the aisles are far less likely to be friends than in past decades.
I’ve heard that explained as due to the boom in plane travel---members can now get home every weekend---or just from the fact that the bases of the two parties have grown more dominant.
Whatever the reason, it’s clearly true.
CZIKOWSKY: ‘Prayer for a City” by Buzz Bissinger is fascinating. Ed Rendell let a college graduate (who has since gone on to become a famous writer) follow him everywhere during his first term as Mayor. I understand this book did not sell many copies, but it may be the best personal observations of a Mayor book ever.
CILLIZZA: And of course Buzz Bissinger wrote the original “Friday Night Lights” best which is responsible for the best show on television.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Now that Joe the Plumber has endorsed Sam Rohrer for Governor in Pennsylvania, anyone think that a low turnout primary with a high turnout of angry conservatives might mean a Rohrer upset in the primary?
CILLIZZA: Nope. Tom Corbett is the VERY likely Republican nominee and is a favorite in the general election as well.
That said, we said the same thing about Martha Coakley… ;)

ANNABEL PARK, Coffee Party USA Founder, February 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Where, outside of the Internet, does the Coffee Party exist? Do you have an office, a publication, bumper stickers, etc?
PARK: It is growing faster than we were prepared for it to grow. Please look at our website.

HOWARD KURTZ, Washington Post Media Reporter, March 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I had never heard of the Coffee Party until last week. Does this movement look like it has legs and may challenge the Tea Party?
KURTZ: At the moment, it seems a Facebook-fueled movement organized by a woman in her Silver Spring, Md. Apartment. So I don’t even think it’s on the radar screen yet. A WP article describes its goals as to “promote civility and inclusiveness in political discourse, engage the government not as an enemy but as the collective will of the people, push leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008.” That’s pretty general. And “civil discourse” may not be the best rallying cry for mobilizing millions.

BEN PERSHING, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Why did Kay Bailey Hutchinson state she was resigning, is she really going to resign, and how may she be viewed if she does resign or, if perhaps she reneges and does not resign?
PERSHING: Good question. I assume Hutchinson originally said she would resign to focus on the Governor’s race because a.) she thought she was going to win the primary; and b.) it would show that she was really committed to the race. But once it became clear to her that she really might lose the primary---and be stuck with nothing---she “postponed” her resignation.
Now, she still claims she’s going to quit the seat at some point, but I don’t know anyone in Washington who believes that she will. Maybe we will all be proven wrong.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, March 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I note, like Sarah Palin, Karl Rove’s book signing tour is hitting Republican communities and avoiding large cities where he would sell more books but he would be possibly exposed to more (shudder) non-Republicans. How do you read his book tour schedule?
MILBANK: Well, I think Sarah Palin arranged her schedule so that she could pop over to Canada regularly for her medical care. Rove uses medical care so has more flexibility.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, March 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t understand why whoever shouted “baby killer” (in Congress) refuses to step forward. I hear theories it was a member of the Texas delegation.
I should think one would want to admit to it, take his ten minutes of fame like a man, and take the punishment of hundreds of thousands of campaign contributions from right wing contributors.
MILBANK: Yes, the Joe Wilson model would seem to argue in favor of the culprit confession. But it sounds as if they we’ll have our man pretty soon, one way or another.

TERRANCE GAINER, U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms, March 25, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: It is tragic that people have attacked Congressional district offices. As Senate Sergeant at Arms, have you seen any increase in the number of threats made upon the Capitol and Capitol offices since the new health care bill has become law?
GAINER: We are not overly concerned but in the law enforcement business one grows accustomed to hate and hurt. The families of Members and the younger staff have usually not experienced some of the things said and done recently. I see the Members and their staff tackling tough issues, involved in noble work and there is no reason to attack them.
Most people are above that.
CZIKOWSKY: How much of an uptick in threats to the Capitol has occurred? Are we talking closer to a 1 percent increase, 10 percent increase, 100 percent increase, or more?
GAINER: The increase has been numerically minor but very heated.
CZIKOWSKY: A militia blogger has called for people to throw bricks through windows of political offices. How worried are you that threats are being taken seriously and are not an expression of just outrage?
GAINER: We take all threats seriously and will vigorously investigate and where appropriate seek criminal prosecution. Clearly we can disagree while not being disagreeable.

VINCE BZDEK, The Washington Post Editor, March 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Has Nancy Pelosi ever commented on how she hopes or expects history to record her career? Would she rather be remembered for what she accomplished or is she looking forward to being remember as a path setter for females in politics?
BZDEK: She told me that, more than anything, she wants to be an inspiration to young girls. She hopes that her election as Speaker and the record she accumulates will inspire more girls to get into public service. I take her at her word.

DAN QUAYLE, former Vice President of the United States, April 5, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What would be your thoughts of a third party movement led by Michael Bloomberg?
QUAYLE: He would be good. He needs to return to the Republican Party.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you considered a return to elected politics? Which, related to the first question, are you now in Arizona? Would you consider running for office there or would you consider returning to Indiana and getting re-involved in electoral politics there?
QUAYLE: I have lived in Arizona since 1996. I actually grew up in Arizona and moved back to Indiana when I was a junior in high school. My son Ben is now running for Congress. It is time for the next generation to step up and clean up the mess in Washington.
CZIKOWSKY: Who should Arizona Republicans vote for Senator, John McCain or J.D. Hayworth, and why should they vote that way?
QUAYLE: I am really focused on my son Ben’s campaign for Congress in CD 3. Please help him out.

DAVID WEIGEL, Washington Post “Right Now” Blogger, April 12, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: It is the analysis of political science historians that Republicans have a tendency to reward losing, but tested, finishers for the Presidential nomination with a future nomination.
Goldwater lost to Nixon in 1960 but was nominated in 1964. Reagan lost to Ford in 1976 but was nominated in 1980. Bush lost to Reagan in 1980 but was nominated in 1988. Dole lost to Bush in 1988 but was nominated in 1996. McCain lost to Bush in 2000 but was nominated in 2008.
By that history, Mitt Romney should be the nominee in 2012.
What are your thoughts, both on this tendency of Republicans to go for “tested” candidates, and on how Republicans seem to think of Romney.
WEIGEL: No offense, but I don’t generally like this. They don’t appreciate all the historical and logistical factors that went in those races. For one thing, literally every one of those campaigns happened under a slightly different primary system, with different amounts of time between the elections, and different states up for grabs. That said, Republicans are very forgiving of also-ran candidates who watched the guy the party nominated go down to defeat. And a lot of Republicans will tell you that Romney, for all his flaws, wound never had bobbled the economic crisis the way that McCain did in 2008. How much sympathy does that get him compared to the anger out there about “Romneycare” in Massachusetts? Hard to say, but Romney is on far, far more comfortable ground defending his heatlh care plan than he was pretending to be a social conservative. I can imagine a situation like the one we saw in the early 2008 Democratic debates, where candidates tried to drag Hillary Clinton down over her war vote, but she’d gamed out their attracts 1,000 different ways,

MARK POTOK, Southern Poverty Law Center Publications and Information Director, April 19, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I know there have always been a few “crazies” that even those devoted to a movement would condemn. Yet, perhaps with the popularity of the movie “2012, I am detecting a movement towards “crazies” believing they can bring down government by halting their operations by faxing hundreds of pages of jibberish and typing up e-mails and faxes. I know of a government office that has been getting phone calls about chip implants with government mind control. A problem I see is these activists may reach a partial goal in that they will start disrupting government offices, especially since they are under threat of layoffs, and they won’t have time to filter through all their nonsense. The other part is what makes me paranoid: that there are some of these crazies with guns who believe Obama is the ant9-Christ and that Armageddon is coming, and I fear what these people are going to do when they go off their meds, or whatever it is that drives them further beyond rationality.
POTOK: The microchip implant business is a popular Patriot theory. Even McVeigh talked about that at one point. And, as you may have heard, a particular Patriot leader last week called for followers to shoot off guns around the country at midnight last night in the hope of shutting down 911 service. It didn’t happen, luckily.
While most people in this world will never act violently, the scar thing is a few will. Timothy McVeigh showed us that it only take one to get through.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Writer, April 30, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I see Rick Perry suggested Charlie Crist withdraw from the race, remain a Republican, and run for the Senate in two years. I wonder how much thought Charles Crist gave to this idea?
CILLIZZA: I think some.
But, Crist likely concluded that the problems Republicans have with him won’t go away in two years and by then the political winds could have shifted in a way that made him being elected totally impossible,

AMY GARDNER, Washington Post Staff Writer, May 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I understand Rand Paul’s views are very close to the libertarian views of his father Ron Paul. Yet, I also read how he is considered more mainstream than his father. What in particular separates him from his father’s views that makes him “more mainstream”?
GARDNER: That’s an interest question and it really depends on who you talk to. I think Rand Paul’s views on some issues have evolved a bit away from his father. Whether this is a political calculation or a genuine ideological shift is an open question. For example, he has previously talked, like his father, about closing the U.S. detention facility at Guantanmo Bay, but he doesn’t anymore. The younger Paul has also been cleared and perhaps more forceful on the campaign trail about his opposition to abortion in virtually all cases. He used to talk a lot about abortion being a states’ right issue, but he now supports a Federal “Human Life” amendment.
CZIKOWSKY: Does Rand Paul’s showing provide any vindication for Jim Bunning for supporting him?
GARNDER: I think that’s possible. There’s no question that his surge doesn’t reflect well on Mitch McConnell, who handpicked Trey Grayson and endorsed him last week. So it must be satisfying to Bunning supporters…who are angry at McConnell’s role in pushing Bunning out…that McConnell’s power is not absolute. On the other hand, as McConnell’s people are quick to point out: Grayson is having trouble connecting with voters. Paul is not. So it’s fair to remember that this race is about the candidates as much as it is about their proxies.

DICK ARMEY, former U.S. House Majority Leader, May 19, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What differences, if any, do you see between the philosophies of Ron Paul and Rand Paul, and is there any political significance in any of these differences?
ARMEY: Yes. Rand is younger.
In all seriousness, I believe Ron is a representative of a movement in Congress, but Rand will make his impact as the next Barry Goldwater.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Writer, June 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: There seems to be one general question that these primaries may (or, of course, may not depending upon confused outcomes) answer: Is there room left for political moderates in today’s world of politics? Is this a fair question?
CILLIZZA: Absolutely. Lincoln clearly ran as a moderate---much to her electoral detriment.
Tom Campbell in the California race has tried to position himself as a moderate, too.
In Nevada, Sharron Angle is clearly the most conservative of the three serious candidates in the Senate race---and also the most likely to win.
Being a moderate these days is not a recipe for success. You make neither side happy and wind up getting caught in a political no man’s land.

BEN PERSHING, Washington Post Staff Writer, June 28, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: One person’s pork is another person’s jobs. Is there an estimate as to how many Federal funds Senator Byrd guided to West Virginia? In a state that is relatively financially less off than other states, how important were these programs to the people and economy of West Virginia?
PERSHING: Byrd’s fondness for Federal funds---or pork---was a huge part of his legacy and also helps explain his longevity in office. No matter what else was happening, West Virginians believed it was good for the state to have him in Washington. You’re right when you say “one person’s pork is another person’s jobs.” That the inherent tension here. The money and Federal projects Byrd brought to West Virginia absolutely did help people get hired there and helped the state economy, but was that at the expense of the rest of the country? Are Senators simply obligated to do whatever they can for their state regardless of the national consequences? Much to chew on this morning.

L. CHRISTOPHER PLEIN, West Virginia University School of Applied Social Sciences Assistant Dean, June 28, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: One person’s pork is another person’s jobs. Is there an estimate as to how many Federal funds Senator Byrd guided to West Virginia? In a state that is relatively financially less off than other states, how important were these programs to the people and economy of West Virginia?
PLEIN: There is no doubt that Senator Byrd has been associated with this and this is part of his legacy. But the issue is more complex. What is and what is not pork can be a subject of interpretation. I would like to share two observations. First, it is clear that Senator Byrd was instrumental is securing funds for West Virginia that were aimed at capacity building, that is building infrastructure and catalyzing employment opportunities. By this measure, Senator Byrd was accomplishing what was expected of legislators and was very successful. Second, and perhaps more importantly, when some find fault with institutional practices, such as those in Congress, the tendency is to personify the issue by identifying one individual as a case in point. The large issue of how Congress effectively appropriates Federal funds is very important and should not be overlooked. There are matters for continued discussion on procedures and practices of the entire institution.
CZIKOWSKY: In Senator Byrd’s career, when was he most and least popular in West Virginia? How much has public opinion about him swung among West Virginians and how did Senator Byrd react when his approval was waning?
PLEIN: I’d like to take this question in a somewhat different, but related, direction. In recent months, Senator Byrd took stances that clearly calls for rethinking the environmental impacts of relying on coal as an energy resource. His most recent contribution to his legacy may have been to lend his reputation to rethinking current practices in the coal industry and the future of our energy policy.


TOM GOLDSTEIN, SCOTUSBlog Co-Founder, June 28, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Has there been any Republican Senator who has stated an intention for voting to confirm Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court Justice? Has there been any Democratic Senator who has stated an intention to vote against confirming her?
GOLDSTEIN: Not yet, and it’s shaping up on largely partisan lines, I think. The only Republican who has seemed to break ranks at all with the opposition is Lindsay Graham. And no Democrat has suggested s/he might defect.

ALEX MacGILLIS, Washington Post Domestic Policy Repoter, July 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: A lot of these discussions seem rooted in the Federalism versus state republicanism debates of the 18th and 19th centuries. What major philosophical differences, if any, do you see from these debates today and those of the beginnings of our government?
MacGILLIS: A good question. Obviously, our system has sought from the start to keep power from being unduly concentrated in the capital by apportioning a fair amount of authority to the states. And states still have plenty of power, and public employment is scattered around the country in the form of millions of state jobs. But the Federal government has nonetheless grown over time. And while some of the growth has occurred in areas that true federalists would argue belong at the state level, the case can be made that a lot of the growth properly belongs at the Federal level. There are obvious areas like national security, and then there are areas such as health care reform---one reason the Democrats decided to try to overhaul the health care system was that many of the states that had the most uninsured people were showing next to no inclination to deal with the problem on their own. So if you have more things be handled at the Federal level, the question then becomes, is there anything that could be done to keep the actual work from becoming too concentrated in one region of the country, so that things are not as out of balance as they seem to be today. That is what I’m hoping to get people thinking about,

DAVID WEIGEL, Slate Political Reporter, August 9, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The Tea Party has a candidate for Governor in Pennsylvania. Are there signs more Tea Party candidates may begin emerging?
WEIGEL: Actually, Tea Party activists who are more Republicans are working hard to prevent third party candidates. They dog piled on the “tea party” candidates in Nevada and Florida, and I expect them to do the same in close races they don’t want spoiled or Naderized.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, August 11, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I was shocked when I saw Linda McMahon’s TV ad where she states wrestling is fake, but the issues of today are real. Wrestling is fake? I thought Vince McMahon always insisted it was real. How will fans of wrestling survive?
CILLIZZA: Yea. It was a blow to me today. You mean Hogan didn’t actually beat Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania fair and square? NO!
But more seriously folks, McMahon’s campaign strategy to the wrestling stuff is to minimize the more salacious elements by noting that it is fiction, a “soap opera” in her words.
It’s a smart strategy, but maybe not a winning one. After all, some of the things that happened to wrestlers---including a series of high profile deaths---weren’t part of the story line; they happened in real life.
And, that’s where it becomes more difficult for McMahon to sell her background as simply involvement in an entertaining soap opera.

ALAN ABRAMOWITZ, Emory University Political Science Professor, August 16, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I am interested in your idea of the disappearing center. I am particularly interested in the generational split that I see, and if I am viewing this correctly. The younger voters tend to be more liberal, in fact they appear by far more “pro-government response to solving problems” in polls than other age groups. The older voters tend to be more anti-tax, less government. Thus, I see political is often a battle between the more conservative older voters whose numbers are dwindling but they vote in higher percentages than other age groups, versus more liberal younger voters whose numbers are increasing but they vote in smaller percentages than do other age groups. How close or off are these observations?
ABRAMOWITZ: Yes, there is a generational divide on these sorts of questions as well as on some social issues like gay marriage. Part of the generational divide is due to the shifting racial composition of the electorate. Younger voters include a much higher proportion of nonwhites. In a midterm election, though, younger voters don’t turn out as much as older voters---their share of the electorate will be down from 2008 and that’s going to hurt Democrats.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, September 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: So, how bad a week did Jan Brewer, uh………………………………………………………………………you know?
CILIZZA: Oh. My Gosh.
I have seen a lot of awkwardness in my time covering politics but that Brewer’s brain freeze ranks right up there.
Watching the video, I was shouting “say something…anything”; it was genuinely painful to watch.
Brewer was considered very vulnerable prior to her decision to sign the state’s immigration law in the spring---and now we can see why.
I still think she is the favorite in the fall---thanks to the popularity of the immigration law---but a slip-up like that debate has to be a very worrying sign for Republican strategists.
It certainly gave me pause.
Heyooo!!!

AMY KREMER,Tea Party Express Chairwoman, October 7, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Where do you get your funding? Is it public record? How much is contributions from individuals? Do you accept any PAC funds?
KREMER: We are a federal PSC and all of our money comes from individuals across the country. We cannot accept any corporate money. The maximum donation that we can accept is $5,000. This is not the same as other tea party groups that are c(4)s and can accept unlimited funds from anonymous donors. We are truly funded by the grassroots.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, October 18, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Modern rule of politics: If you ever wish to go into politics, never be a fraternity or sorority pledge master.
CILLIZZA: So true. Fix, not a member of a fraternity. (Largely because no fraternity would have me.)

BILL DONAHUE, writer, October 25, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is your perception of the relative levels of religious activism versus political activism you noted among the Tea Party members you observed? I ask because I get a sense there are a lot who are more motivated by religious rather than political activism, and I wonder to what degree this religious appeal is bringing religious activists into the political realm?
DONAHUE: I would say that most Tea Partiers embrace a brand of religion that is inherently political. So their activism is both religious and political at the same time.
CZIKOWSKY: Among the Tea Party members you observed, approximately how many appeared to be African American, of Hispanic descent, and of Asian descent?
DONAHUE: On the busy, as far as I could tell, there were no people of color.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, October 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I believe, as I will sit back months from now, looking back at the lessons learned from the 2010 elections, there is one lesson that will stand out above all others” rents are too damn high.
CILLIZZA: I, too, have learned that lesson well.

GEOFFREY BAYM, University of North Carolina Greensboro Media Studies Associate Professor, October 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on Stephen Colbert hosting a real event, even testifying before Congress, because while “Stephen Colbert”, like Jon Stewart, is an entertainer, isn’t Colbert more of a fictional character? Jon Stewart can go out and “be” Jon Stewart. Does portraying oneself as a fictional character, as does Stephen Colbert, create different dilemmas than those facing Jon Stewart when becoming “real”?
BAYM: You’ve definitely identified the core difference between Stewart and Colbert---Stewart performs as himself each night, which Colbert is fundamentally a fiction. In practice, that means Colbert can take far greater risks than Stewart can. Stewart after all is accountable for his words, while Colbert can always insist it was his “character” speaking.
That being said, though. Colbert’s testimony before Congress (and let’s not forget his long-running series “Better Know a District”) illustrates the extent to which the factual and the fictional have merged in contemporary politics. That’s the point of much of Stewart’s critique---the ways in which theatrical spectacle has replaced serious discourse in American politics (and media). By being a fictional character, Colbert performs that point for us regularly.

ROBIN GIVHAN, Washington Post Fashion Editor, November 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: In the era of Twitter and brief news bits, are we becoming more reliant on visuals to determine which celebrities and politicians we like? If so, what are some of the dangers that we may be “judging books by their covers” when it comes time to select who we want to lead us?
GIVHAN: I’m deeply horrified by the reliance on Twitter to communicate anything of substance, but I do think that our attention span has decreased and we are prone to making snap judgments. To me, that means getting a handle on public presentation is all the more important.
That said, the danger is if we try to judge someone’s behavior based on their attire, you can’t. You get a sense of the image they want to project, the manner in which they hope you will respond to them, their place---or desired place---in the social hierarchy, and so on. But you can’t tell if they are a good or bad person. You can’t measure their IQ by their attire. I know a lot of brilliant women who revel in fashion, and I know a lot of bozos who think they’re too smart for fashion and frankly aren’t very smart at all.

REBECCA TRAISTER, Salon.com Writer, November 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I live in Pennsylvania, where our state legislature always has the fewest of female legislators among all states. The Political Scientists claim it is because we have a full-time legislature and the professional female politicians tend to enter politics later in life, thus providing men overall with better changes at filling legislative offices. Do you accept this theory?
TRAISTER: I am from Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and am all too familiar with the dearth of female representation in the state.
One thing worth noting is that in many cases, it is east coast states like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York (pre-Clinton and now Gillibrand)---the ones we think of us urban, liberal, etc.---that have the hardest time putting women in office on local, state, and Federal levels. Places like Alaska, Texas, Arizona, have FAR better records, which speaks to a lot of factors and a lot of history, but which also highlights the ongoing tensions between progressivism and feminism, something I write a lot about in my book (“Big Girls Don’t Cry”).
But the heart of your question, about the theory that it’s a full time legislative structure that prevents women from coming into the process early in their careers, speaks to one of the critical pieces of progress we need to implement, which is acceptance of women who can simultaneously mother and govern (thanks to equal partnerships, daycare, stay-at-home partners, etc.), something that we are JUST getting used to seeing on the political landscape. I have written about the trill I got---despite my political disagreement with nearly every word that came out of her mouth---upon seeing Sarah Palin conclude a Vice Presidential debate and reach for her newborn. This was a history making moment in America, and in politics. Because the fact is that whatever the reasons that her son was on stage that night, seeing a Vice Presidential candidate who also was a mother meant that that is something we will be able to see again in the future. And that opens up doors to millions of women. That doesn’t mean that walking through it will be easy---that there won’t still be questions about whether or not they’re good or capable mothers. But being able to conceive of or visualize a candidate/elected official who happens to be a mother to young children is absolutely groundbreaking, and gets us at least one step closer to a world in which it’s not so different from a candidate/elected official who happens to be a father to young children.

KAREN SKELTON, Dewey Square Grounder Founder, November 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe that the polls, which some believe are under-represented by more progressive voting and more Democratic young voters who only have cell phones, may in fact be skewed towards showing Republicans being stronger than they really are?
SKELTON: That could be true, and the same could be true of under-representation in the Latino and African American and other ethnic communities, especially so if they are economically downscale. And as you know, since you asked the question, these communities also tend to use cell phones and they tend to skew Democratic.

CHRISTOPHER NICHOLAS, Eagle Consulting Group Strategist, November 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe that the polls, which some believe are under-represented by more progressive voting and more Democratic young voters who only have cell phones, may in fact be skewed towards showing Republicans being stronger than they really are?
NICHOLAS: This is an interesting question. There is no doubt that cell phone only voters skew urban and younger. Most pollsters will tell you that they account for this. But with many now reporting that nearly 25% of folks only have cell phones…at some point you need to take them into account. Pollsters will need to address this as we head in 2012.

JON RALSTON, Las Vegas Sun Political Columnist, November 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: As much as Harry Reid was controversial, one thing in his favor might have been was that he was effective. Major legislation, including health care, passed that very well might have been stalled without his efforts. Was Harry Reid’s ability to get things done much of a factor in his reelection?
RALSTON: I don’t think so. This election was won because it was about Angle more than Reid. Some people may have thought about his juice in D.C. But more were voting against Angle, I think.

TOM DASCHLE, former United States Senator, November 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: You observed how Ted Kennedy and Phil Gramm could disagree but come together on compromises. It is my fear there are more ideologues in Congress who seem to wish to win or lose but never compromise. Am I wrong? If not, what may it take to get more in Congress to seek compromise rather than stalemates on legislation?
DASCHLE: You are nor wrong.
There are many ideologues in Congress today. The only way for progress to be made is for there to be more dialogue, more relationship building, that leads to more truth and then more common ground.
CZIKOWSKY: How divided are Republicans? Will the Tea Party make it difficult for Republicans to keep their own members together, much less Congress?
DASCHLE: I assume the Tea Party will present some difficult choices for Republican leadership. Do they worry about their base or do they worry about good governance and finding common ground?
CZIKOWSKY: What roles can new members of Congress play in governing Congress, especially since they usually are not given large roles in these seniority based institutions?
DASCHLE: New members can be a huge factor in changing the way Congress works. They have little or no investment in past decision-making. As a block, they can bring about real change.

REM REIDER, American Journalism Review Senior Vice President, November 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Remember, MSNBC, do not contribute to candidates, unlike Fox, which just hires the candidates. How do you view Fox hiring so many, especially Republican, candidates?
REIDER: Yes, it certainly does. Fox is the full employment act for unsuccessful GOP politicians.

FELICIA SONMEZ, Washington Post Congressional Reporter, January 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Of the new Republican members of Congress, who seems more concerned that the right wing of the Republican Party may move it so far to the right that is will lose of lot of the middle in 2012 Congressional elections, and who sees more concerned that the right wing agenda needs to be adhered to and become the focus of the Republican Party?
SONMEZ: Well, of the incoming Senators, Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) gotten plenty of attention for his conservative positions, but another one to keep an eye on is Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah); he’s succeeding Sen. Bob Bennett, who was ousted by party activists at the state GOP nominating convo last year. Lee is among the most conservative of the incoming members and although he hasn’t gotten too much ink as of yet, that’ll prob change going forward. As for the most moderate embers, take a look at Toomey and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) among others.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the Republican leadership thinking on global warming issues? Do they appear willing to let any type of legislation go forth addressing this?
SONMEZ: The outlook doesn’t look great. House GOP leaders announced last month that they’re nixing the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which was established in ’07 and headed by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). With so much of the focus on economic issues and spending, climate change is likely near the bottom of the list for now.

KATE FARRAR, American Association of University Women Director, and JESSICA GROUNDS, Running Start Executive Director, March 17, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I work for a state legislature, Every year, I receive a survey from my Ivy League college from which I graduated asking if I am available to answer questions from a student interested in my career. In 25 years, I have never had a single response. I also note that the state legislature has not other undergraduate hires fro Ivy League schools. It seems that graduates want to work in DC, New York, or in city government, but definitely not for the state legislature. As I note the attempts to get more women into politics, may I please suggest that more look into working for and maybe running for the state legislature? We are known as the “laboratories for democracy”, our staff salaries are close to (and I understand higher) than Congressional salaries. We are smaller, so one is able to have more of a direct impact working for a state legislature.
FARRAR: I couldn’t agree more. My first job was lobbying at the state legislative level in Connecticut. And, I’ll admit, my goal is to run as a state legislator one day! One of the key things we showcase of part of the trainings are the range of positions for public office. Often, the political speaker we have at the training is from the state legislature. The participants learn so much about their role in affecting change in the state. In the evaluation after the trainings, the participants list the potential office they would be interested in, and state legislator is regularly among them.
GROUNDS: This is a very good point. The state legislature is an incredibly important place where women need to get involved. We are still only 23% of state legislators so there is a long way to go. We should be able to capitalize on the fact that women still overwhelmingly do the family and elder care and so they often prefer to stay close to their families. I should add this reality is often the primary factor that makes it challenging for women to rise in leadership roles in some many industries, politics, law, business. Also a state legislative position is often part time and much closer than traveling to Washington, D.C. I think strategies for recruitment and retention of women in these positions are developing, but we still have a long way to go,

NEIL MULHOLLAND, National Park Foundation President, April 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you fear that the movement to cut government spending will lead to less money being made available to National Parks? If that happens, what contingency plans, if any, are there?
MULHOLLAND: We are greatly concerned about budget cuts. The contingency plan is to rally all Americans to make Congress aware of how important our National Parks are to all.

CHARLES KOLB. Committee for Economic Development President, May 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is Speaker Boehner’s thoughts on military spending? Are Republicans willing to consider this previous “sacred cow”?
KOLB: I hope that military spending will be treated like every other dollar should be treated in the Federal budget. In other words, the money should be spent on activities that we need and that are priorities for our nation’s defense and national security. We have already seen examples where the Defense Department has been under pressure to continue spending on weapons and equipment that it doesn’t want and doesn’t need. In some instances the pressure comes from members of Congress who want the spending to continue in their district or lobbyists whose clients benefit from the spending. I would hope that both Democrats and Republicans would work together to make sure that our Defense budget reflects what we truly need rather than rent-seeking that results from some lobbyist or other pressure.
CZIKOWSKY: How strong is his caucus behind Speaker Boehner? If he sticks to his position without wavering, are there enough Republicans who may accept compromise and thus undermine the Speaker’s position?
KOLB: Politics inherently involves the art of compromise. Most political leaders always look to shore up their base. I’m sure Speaker Boehner is no different than any other major political leader. The Republican Caucus in the House has added new members from the Tea Party, and I still think it’s too soon to know exactly where that group is going to go. My sense is that other leaders such as Eric Canton and Paul Ryan want this Speaker to succeed, and also want to make substantive progress in attacking the structural deficit.
Democrats, by the way, face similar challenges as President Obama attracts criticism from both the left and right wings of his own party.
Welcome to Washington.

DEVIN, Wanda Alston House resident, and SARAH FELICIANO, Wanda Alston House resident, May 23, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you find hope in the evidence that, while prejudice continues, today’s young people are more accepting of others for who they are, including gays and transgenders, more so than previous generations? There is hope, I hope.
DEVIN: There is always hope. Reverent Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. states the arc of time bends towards justice. Evolution and progress are constant processes in this world. The question that I pose is at what expense will these advancements be made? Upon whose backs shall this generation stand to secure a future for the next? We all have an equal investment in this hope.
FELICIANO: I believe that depends large on the area of the country where one lives. However, overall, I would have to say yes. 

GREGORY PAUL, researcher, June 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Atheists and agnostics make up a significant part of the electorate, yet it seems it would be political suicide for suicide for anyone to actively seek their support. Has there ever been a candidate who actively sought the support of an atheist group or to appeal to the atheist vote?
PAUL: As far as I know no one has ever run on an atheistic platform. Even in the most secular voting districts, it would probably not be a particularly useful position to take.
In some areas such as the Southeast and the Midwest, atheists probably make up less than 5% of the electorate. On the coasts it will be markedly higher especially in urban areas, maybe a quarter to a third in NYC or San Francisco.
The great majority of nontheists are progressive liberals. However, there is a large minority, maybe a quarter to a third, that are libertarians in the mold of Ayn Rand. For example I have info that David Koch is an atheist.
Of course, the Christian Bible contains the first explicit description of socialism enforced by death (in Acts), that the religious right is anti-socialist is one of the great political scams of our time.

ALAN WOLFE, Boston College Political Science Professor, October 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have noted a few Occupy Wall Street signs about auditing the Federal Reserve Bank are also found at some Tea Party rallies. Might this be an issue where there may be some common ground between at least forces within both movements, i.e. distrust of our national banking system?
WOLFE: It might be a common area of interest if the Tea Party had made more of its focus the privileges already possessed by the already privileged.

STEVE FAINARU, The Bay Citizen Interim Editor in Chief, November 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I understand many of the Occupy movements are pointing out the lessons of non-violent resistance. A problem always is getting everyone in your movement to follow the requests for non-violence. From what you have observed and heard, how much, if any, of the violence that has happened has been from Occupy Oakland members? If someone from Occupy Oakland has committed violence, did the other Occupy Oakland members act to stop it, support it, or did they appear powerless to do anything about it?
FAINARU: There’s a really intriguing dynamic playing out here. Often when things begin to get tense, the protestors will argue amongst themselves over how far to go.
As some protesters set upon a longshoreman and began rocking his truck, others chanted: “Peaceful! Peaceful!”

ALEC MacGILLIS, New Republic Senior Editor, November 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I note you have Occupy Harvard as what should be occupied next. I am wondering if Occupy Wharton might be more direct and pointed.
MacGILLIS: Good point. I struggle a bit with what target to put on this issue. The point generally was that higher education as a whole ought to be targeted for a range of offenses---the rise in tuition, the high pay of college presidents, colleges’ lobbying against progressive tax reform that might lower big charitable donations, and their encouraging students to go into finance, with an eye toward higher alumni giving. Obviously, Harvard is not alone in any of this, and in fact it’s been doing a bit more to address the lack of access for non-rich kids than many other schools. But I chose it anyway just as the most obvious stand-in for elite higher education. Its prominent makes it a symbol unlike any other school.
CZIKOWSKY: What about Occupy Starbucks? Is there a better symbol for making an inexpensive item used by the masses that has been turned into an expensive icon with its own language (“venti”, “barista”) and cultural distinction (young professionals and college students welcome, bathrooms are closed to outsiders).
MacGILLIS: I’m all for it---I’m definitely not a Starbucks guy. One other point that could be raised against the company is that it has been fighting against unionization, just like Whole Foods and a few other companies with progressive sheens. That said, while Starbucks has had the lamentable cultural/symbolic effects you describe here. I’m not sure that its impact on inequality is at the scale of some other companies out there. As you may know, Jon Stewart’s been having some fun with the Starbukcs-as-potential target riff.

MOLLY KATCHPOLE, petition activist, November 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is next for Molly Katchpole? Are there other crusades you wish to undertake?
KATCHPOLE: This is going to be a very broad answer, but something that’s ALWAYS interested me is how to make big, complex issues more accessible to the general public.
I think that we need to educate one another as much as possible with truthful, factual, yet heartfelt information especially as it related to politics and policy. I hate to see people rely on outlets like CNN and Fox News for their information because it’s so skewed. I’d love to try to fix that.

ALEXANDRI PETRI, ComPost Writer, November 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What do you think of Alec MacGillis and his call to Occupy Harvard? (Well, I understand you already did that, and you there, what, four years?)
PETRI: As he points out, Harvard does actually have general financial aid! But the larger point is a good one---college tuition is out of control, so (even assuming the playing field for getting in was even, which people often question because some folks can pony up Significant Dollars for SAT prep and tutoring and et cetera, whereas others are stuck doing it on skill alone) the people who wind up going may not be a cross-section of society. And if that’ s something that bothers you, go flood in.
Speaking of Occupy Harvard, a bee that has been buzzing around my metaphorical bonnet for the past week was the walk-out some students staged from Economics 10, an Intro Economics course taught by N. Greg Nakiw. The logic, as far as I can understand from the letter they posted before doing this, was that “the economy is unfair, and that is probably because economics are bad, and we ought to learn alternatives.” Keep in mind that this is an introductory course where the Malevolent and Biased things they teach you mainly fall into the category of This is How Supply and Demand Work According To Simplified Models. And given that the Occupy movement is already too often charged with, to put it mildly, “having at best vague ideas what it is talking about”, to walk out of a lecture where you might learn something about it sends the absolute wrong message. Fortunately the 99% are large enough to accommodate people who realized that, and some of them sat in, in protest.

ANITA KUMAR, Washington Post Virginia Politics and Government Reporter, February 24, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: The Governor (Robert O’Donnell) and legislators stated they were not aware of the invasiveness of trans-vaginal ultrasounds. Did this bill not receive a public hearing? Were no letters or phone calls made to legislators or the Governor to which they paid attention? Did no one in the Capitol ask around or Google what it is?
KUMAR: There were several debates in committees and then on the House and Senate floors. But until about two weeks ago not many people were talking about the invasive nature of the tests. Many women have ultrasounds, but the abdominal jelly-on-the-belly kind. Even the opponents were not really speaking about the trans-vaginal tests. They were speaking about cost, privacy, etc. That changed about two weeks ago when a Senator and a NARAL lobbyist started bringing up the issue. In the last week, there was a lot of discussion.

POSTAL SERVICE

STEVEN PEARLSTEIN, Washington Post Business Columnist, March 31, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Is it me, or hasn’t Saturday mail pretty much been eliminated already? It seems I hardly ever get any mail on Saturday. I used to assume they did light duty on Saturday anyway, so I really won’t miss it much.
PEARLSTEIN: I have the same impression.

PRESIDENCY

MARC FISHER, Washington Post Metro Columnist, January 20, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: “The new era of responsibility” struck me as the message that might best be taken from this inaugural address. What are your thoughts on President Obama’s labeling of this direction in which he sees us moving?
FISHER: This was clearly an attempt by the President to get everyone on the same page about the serious nature of the economic and existential crisis facing the nation, and to make it clear that there is no way forward that doesn’t include sacrifice and a sense of common purpose. While his rhetoric was not as compelling as FDR’s in a similar moment, he came out of the Clintonian laundry list that muddled the middle section of the address to end with a very pretty and very powerful series of images.
As one person in the crowd told our reporters, this was not one of Obama’s speeches that made people cry or swell with pride, but rather one that communicated seriousness of purpose and the deep sense of commonality that today’s crowd represents.
CZIKOWSKY: Here is a political legalese question: does the Constitution state the outgoing President’s term expires at noon today? During the few minutes between noon and when Barack Obama took the oath of office a few minutes after noon, was Joe Biden legally the person with the authority to act as President?
FISHER: We had quite a debate on that point in the newsroom. There are some lawyers who argue that Biden was effectively the executive in charge for those minutes after noon when Obama had not yet been sworn. And the truly picky among the Constitution lawyers and lawyer wannabes were even arguing that the flubbing of the oath means that they need to do-over backstage to make Obama’s Presidency official. But I’m hearing that the consensus among the lawyers who know this stuff is that the public ceremony of the oath doesn’t carry a whole lot of legal weight, and that once the certification of election was accomplished, Obama more or less automatically took office at noon today.

ANN STOCK, former White House Social Secretary, February 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What does one need to know in order to become a White House Social Secretary? Where does one go to learn this? How does one become a White House Social Secretary, or at least a member of the Social Secretary’s staff?
STOCK: I started my career as an elementary school teacher, then worked in politics and business. I was recruited for the job because of my experience. My advice---get involved in politics at your local level and keep adding to your experience. You’ll be amazed---the Social Secretary’s staff is very small---five or six people.

DAN FROOMKIN, Washington Post White House Columnist, February 25, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What do you think of Robert Gibbs? Is he providing sufficient information? Does he seem to have the proper amount of access?
FROOMKIN: Honestly, I’m disappointed. But I haven’t given up. The guy has so darn much access, he ought to be providing a heck of a lot more information. But these are early days, still. It’s not entirely unreasonable for his first impulse to be to deflect. Maybe that will change over time.

DAYO OLOPADE, The Root Washington Reporter, March 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How does a faith based organization handle dealing with churches that include partisan politics from the pulpits?
OLOPADE: My understanding is that the government, and the faith office, have no real oversight as to what goes on in the pulpit during any given Sunday, whether the organization receives federal funding or not. Team Obama has said they will not allow any hiring discrimination in churches, mosques, or temples that receive taxpayer money---a significant and pointed overturning of a Bush-era rule.
But proselytizing over a sick patient, or encouraging a hungry soul or recent addict to take a pamphlet or piece of literature as they depart a shelter is a decidedly murky ethical ground. Obama and his advisers say “whether it’s a secular group advising families facing foreclosure or faith-based groups providing job-training to those who need work, few are closer to what’s happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods than these organizations. People trust them. Communities rely on them. And we will help them. “Love it or hate it, they plan to help them---and that is one of the major and more troubling pitfalls of having an office for faith outreach.
I’d just add that many faith groups are operating tax-free to begin with; but using the Office to reach-out specifically to these groups and provide them with extra money only complicates the question of what messages public money should endorse.

GARANCE FRANKE-RUTA, Washington Post National Web Editor, April 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I presume Vice President Biden was answering a question honestly and not according to policy, as I believe it was his personal recommendation that his family be cautious regarding the Swine/Mexican Flu (maybe to be politically correct we should rename it the NAFTA Flu). As I understand it, the death rate from this flue has not, as of April 30, 2009, been that high. Yet, advising against taking airplanes and subways has to be sending people into a panic. The first question people are asking is “does Biden know something more that we don’t know”. So, let me ask: do you believe Biden knows something more than has yet to be disclosed, or do you think he was just answering honestly as a father and husband overly concerned about his family?
FRANKE-RUTA: I believe Biden was being Biden, as they say. There has at this time been one reported detain the United States, though a larger number have fallen ill.

MARC GOODWEIN, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Policy Director, May 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How happy are you with these (proposed Obama budget) cuts, keeping in mind this is a progressive government that also seeks an increased role in stimulating the economy. Could you have expected more cuts from this Administration, or do you think this is as good as can be expected?
GOODWEIN: You bring up a very good point. When the economy is doing as poorly as it is, generally, the government should be INCREASING its spending and CUTTING taxes temporarily---to stimulate an economy where consumers and businesses are afraid to spend.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying to make government more effective and efficient. Even with these cuts, spending in 2010 is projected to be $3.5 trillion, compared to $3 trillion in 2008. So we’re not talking about big spending cuts here. But we are talking about small, lasting changes designed to improve the way we spend taxpayer money.
Over the long-run, of course, we will need big deficit reduction. And we can start proposing (and enacting) changes now---they just shouldn’t take effect until after the economy has recovered.

ANDREA CAHN, Special Olympics Project UNIFY Director, August 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I understand from interviews Maria Shriver has given that her father’s Alzheimers appears to be advanced. How is he doing?
CAHN: Mr. Shriver is doing well. He is surrounded by family, and love, and although Alzheimers is a factor, he is happy and healthy.
CZIKOWSKY: Eunice Shriver was the first living person to be depicted on official currency. She was honored for her work with the Special Olympics. How did it come about that she received this honor?
CAHN: You are correct that she is the first living woman on currency, even though the silver dollar with her depiction is not in circulation. Those folks who collected those coins, released in 1995, are, I’m sure, glad they did. I believe some of her ardent friends supported this effort, and got the appropriate backing necessary. It was not surprising given her work and advocacy for persons with intellectual disabilities, and her role in getting the Americans with Disabilities Act passed.

VINCENT BZDEK, Washington Post News Editor, August 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I know the Kennedy legacy is facing. Yet should we also note the positive impacts that some are having, such as Robert Kennedy, Jr. on environmental issues and Mark Shriver on children’s issues?
BZDEK: The thing that struck me most when I was researching a book on the Kennedy legacy (“The Kennedy Legacy”) was Ted Kennedy’s legislative legacy. He’s cast more than 15,000 votes and written more than 2,500 bills. His fingerprints are on most of the major social programs that have been launched in the last 40 years. His legacy rivals that of many Presidents, and has impacted real lives more than the legacies of his brothers.
CZIKOWSKY: People forget what an amazing time America had during the Kennedy years. The Kennedy economic team helped produce an economy that was around 1 percent inflation and 3 percent unemployment. We had worries about the Cold War, Russian, Viet Nam, and Cube but we were not at war anywhere.
It just seems sad to me that after Kennedy died, we had Viet Nam, Watergate, our loss of manufacturing greatness, and things have all changed. Not that one expects things to remain the same. Yet, wasn’t there some truth to the good feeling of “Camelot” because things were so good for most Americans?
BZDEK: After Bobby was killed, Walter Mondale said “I don’t think we’ll ever be the same.” I think we do look back with nostalgia at those times, but one of the reasons we do is because of the assassinations. John Kennedy will forever be remembered as the young dashing scion of Camelot in part because he was never able to grow old. Because of his death, and Bobby’s, our view of their times has been romanticized, I think.

BARTON GELLMAN, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 13, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I presume we haven’t heard Bush’s side of Cheney’s complaints, but isn’t it possible, even if Cheney refused to realize this, that Bush simply realized that Cheney’s advice was, well, not always correct? Cheney had a good run during the first term, and maybe Bush realized these policies weren’t exactly what Bush wanted? Where is it written the President has to do what the Vice President wants?
GELLMAN: Bush really was the Decider when he wanted to be (with the one caveat that Cheney sometimes did things, ostensibly on Bush’s behalf, that Bush didn’t know about.) No one who saw them together doubted who was in charge. Cheney’s influence was indirect---his advice, and his orchestration of options before they reached the Oval. And yes, Bush became convinced in the second term that Cheney’s advice was unswerving, even when, from Bush’s perspective, it didn’t work. Cheney regards resolve in the face of unpopularity, and waiting for the long term, as moral imperatives. Presidents to be more pragmatic in their outlook.

PHILIP RUCKER, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 22, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: They did it to John Kennedy, they do it to Ronald Reagan, and now they are doing it to Barack Obama. I wish people would stop referring to the background of our President every time we elect an Irish American.
RUCKER: President Obama is not Irish American, but I understand your point. The fact that he is the country’s first African American President is a historical distinction that is difficult to overlook. This is particularly so in South Carolina, where most of the people I interviewed last week viewed Obama through the prism of race. It was an inescapable subject.
CZIKOWSKY: This may be splitting technical hairs, as racially Obama is African American, yet Obama is Irish American through his mother.
RUCKER: Touche.

MATT LATIMER, Deputy Director of Speechwriting for President George W. Bush, October 1, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What were President Bush’s opinions of the neoconservatives on foreign policy and do you believe it shifted over time? If you did see it shift, what do you believe are the reasons behind the shift?
LATIMER: That’s an interesting question. I did notice when I got to the White House that attitudes on foreign policy did shift. We changed our position on North Korea, for example, at the strong prodding of Secretary Rice. On Iraq, we were suddenly for a timetable to withdraw (though we didn’t call it a timetable). And there was a new interest in talking with Iran, which for years we were told wouldn’t do it. I think the shift started happening after the 200t elections, which the President saw a something of a rebuke. The “moderates” in the White House seemed to gain influence.
CZIKOWSKY: Ronald Reagan made a point to try to sound positive in most of his speeches. President Bush seemed to allow for positive and negative comments. Do you believe the positive attitudes helped shape Reagan’s image and how do you believe Bush’s speeches helped shape his ratings?
LATIMER: Well, that difference can be exaggerated. President Reagan wasn’t shy about throwing political punches when necessary. And President Bush did like to be optimistic in his speeches. “I’m an optimistic guy”, he frequently say. One of the things I mention in my book (“Speech-less”) that I think is interesting was an effort to have the President condemn gay marriage in a commencement speech. President Bush bridled at this, saying he didn’t want to be condemnatory. He said he wasn’t going to tell some gay kid in the audience that he can’t get married. That’s sort of a different view of George Bush than conservatives and liberals might have.

TAYLOR BRANCH, Pulitzer Prize winning historian, October 8, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Did former President Clinton express any sadness of watching the “economic miracle that happened during his Presidency, a balanced budget, low inflation, high employment, vanish after he left office? Did he ever say what he would have done differently with the economy of the 2000s?
BRANCH: We have very few discussions on tape after he left office.
At one of them, he did express regret that President Bush so quickly pursued a big tax cut that Clinton believed would undermine the hard-won budget surplus. He proved right about that.
CZIKOWSKY: One of the most important revelations in your book (“The Clinton Tapes”) is that mutually assured destruction is no longer a detriment to nuclear way. Would you please tell us more in depth on what foreign leaders told Clinton that they thought they could survive and win a nuclear war?
BRANCH: Clinton himself never saw nuclear war as anything short of a catastrophe. But he does mention alarming conversations with some leaders who did not always agree, notably in India and Pakistan.

MARK OKOTH OBAMA NDESANDJO, Barack Obama’s brother, November 12, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I realize this (“Nairobi to Shenzhen”) is a book of fiction, yet I also have read you have based this upon your life, as do many fiction writers. What I believe many readers will ask, I will now ask: about how much of what you write about the character’s mother, father, and brother is fiction?
NESANDJO: This is a question that I also struggle with because I know that when I wrote this book it was first as an autobiography over seven years ago. At that time I had shunted a lot of the painful memories to the back of my mind but as I write this autobiography I was confronted with a fundamental problem and that is that I didn’t know my father is his good parts as well as his bad parts. I also knew that to write a book that was honest, I could not describe my father in a way that made him a cartoon. The reason for this is that I truly believe that everybody has good parts as well as bad parts.
At that point I started to consider my father in his fullness. I remembered that my mother had told me that my father, when he was six years old, had been abandoned by his mother. My mother told me “Mark, something like that must affect a man very deeply.” I remembered this story and I imagined.
What would my father have said about his life if he had written a diary that detailed the most significant moments of his life? I started to write this diary because I wanted to imagine the good parts as well as explore where the bad parts had actually come from. But at that point it was no longer an autobiography.
Since it was no longer an autobiography, it had become a novel. Over the years I continued this novel on and off, particularly in the last few remarkable years. The novel draws closely from four characters in my own life: my father, my mother, myself, and my grandmother. As I write this book, I’m always faced with the question, where does the author end and the character begin? I believe that a novel or autobiography must have authenticity like good music and the person I know best is myself. An autobiography will be coming out that answers may of the questions that the novel has raised.
CZIKOWSKY: I read of your insights into the rigidity of textbooks and education in China. I would appreciate it if you were could compare the degree of this rigidity to schools in other countries and what you believe this says about these different cultures?
NDESANDJO: Thank you for the question. I believe you are referring to David’s (or the book’s) description of a school book mentioned in the novel. This does not necessarily reflect my own opinion but it does reflect some points of view that I have come across in my experience as an English teacher working with Chinese as well as foreign teachers the brief time I was a teacher.
Right now my focus is on discussing the book but the autobiography will address some of these insights, not only about China but particularly about the U.S. and Kenya.

HOWARD KURTZ. Washington Post Columnist, January 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I wonder if people who complain about a President going on vacation in his childhood state of Hawaii would complain as much if they as President from, say, Alaska?
KURTZ: Well, the White House reporters would undoubtedly complain, judging by the shots of Ed Henry and company walking around in board shorts.

ED O’KEEFE, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 2, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Hey, kids want to be cool, just like President Obama, so they want to take up smoking. Think that might get Barack Obama to stop smoking?
O’KEEFE: Yes---the White House has been very careful to address this use. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Monday that the President chews nicotine gum but occasionally slides and smokes. He gets asked about it in interviews and gets defensive.
The big challenge or question is: Will we ever see a photo of President Obama smoking?

STEVEN HAYWARD, American Enterprise Institute Fellow, March 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I know aides to Reagan deny this, so I will accept that Reagan officially endorsed and supported Bush in 1992. Yet, I recall one aide, who some say was disgruntled because he had been fired, claims Reagan told him he voted for Clinton in the ballot box. Who knows what he did in the privacy of a ballot box. Yet, I find it interesting this discussion of whether Reagan would vote for Palin. Was Reagan still a Reaganite after he left office? There may have been different views from a President Reagan, who was also leader of his party, and the more reflective former President Reagan.
HAYWARD: Interesting story, and possibly true. Reagan was usually a party man, but apparently (I think Lou Cannon reported this) Reagan didn’t support voteing for Max Rafferty in California in 1968 (a Senate race) and supported Joe Lieberman against liberal Republican Lowell Weicker in 1988 (going as far as wanting to send Lieberman a campaign contribution). So his party loyalty had limits. I think he maintained a Reaganite after leaving office, but between his dismay at Bush raising taxes, and his possible admiration for Clinton’s political gifts (remember that Reagan loved FDR), he might possibly have pulled the level for Clinton in 1992. We’ll likely never know.

HOWARD KURTZ, Washington Post Media Reporter, March 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I am seeing interesting comments on President Obama’s address on health care. How would you rate his speech and what he remarked?
KURTZ: I thought the speech he gave to the Democrats on Saturday afternoon, whether you agree with the health legislation or not, was the most emotional I’ve seen him give as President. It was like, what happened to that guy? He talked about why he went into politics and was nothing like the detached and professorial speaker we’ve seen so many times. I tweeted a line to that effect and it would up on the Huffington Post. But the speech was largely lost amid the rush of weekend events.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 24, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Select people get an official pen that signed a document. So, it used to be one pen per letter, and I guess it is now one pen par part of a letter. Members of Congress hope for the day that Vladimirosky Michalrocavidillevokic is elected President, so everyone can get a pen.
ARGETSINGER: Or John Jacob Jimgleheimerschmidt.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I hear good comments about the passionate speech that President Obama gave on health care last weekend. Should President Obama consider becoming more outspokenly passionate, and might voters better respond to him in this manner, rather than the most cautious speeches given prior?
CILLIZZA: I think many of his advisers (and Democrats in Congress) would like to see him be more passionate and more populist.
The problem? Obama isn’t like that by nature. He is more of an intellectual---examining the problem clinically from all sides before making a decision.
Obama was his most effective on health care when he was out on the stump for it over the past week---and in Iowa City yesterday.
The question is whether he can keep that sort of passion and rhetoric up for the next seven months. And, even if he can, does he want to?

DAVID REMNICK, author, April 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: When Obama spoke of the story of Joshua, what did you detect in the thoughts of those who fought the struggles before him? Did they feel Obama should have participated in more of the struggle because he reaped the rewards of their effort, or where they mostly goad to see their efforts pay off with a younger and more accepting new generation?
REMNICK: You’re referring to Obama’s speech in March, 2007 at Brown Chapel in Selma, Alabama---a resonant place in the Civil Rights struggle---when Obama paid tribute to the “Moses generation” and, essentially, put himself squarely in the leadership of the “Joshua generation:. What Obama was doing there was part of an effort to introduce himself to African American voters, in particular, who were starting to think about their choice between him and Hillary Clinton. Obama was just three years old when “Bloody Sunday” and the march from Selma to Montgomery led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 during the Johnson Administration. He could not possibly have been there with King and John Lewis and all the rest. But he counts himself as a beneficiary of their moral and physical courage. And as John Lewis has said, Obama’s election comes at the end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma---it is the result of so much blood, sweat, and tears.

MICHAEL LIND, New American Foundation Economic Growth Program Policy Director, July 12, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: You have written about Lincoln. I find it interesting that Lincoln achieved comprehensive reform, yet it took the background of a Civil War where his opposition was not participating in the decision that led to the comprehensive reform. Even the Emancipation Proclamation was a political document that had little immediate effect (although it would have major effect after the Civil War was over). The border states were exempted, so they would not switch allegiances to the Confederacy, the Northern states had already banned slavery, and the Southern states were at war. Is this analysis accurate or have I missed some points?
LIND: Yes, you’re correct. Which reinforces my point---if it’s hard to accomplish comprehensive reform during a civil war, it’s infinitely more difficult during peacetime, even in a Great Recession.

JON COHEN, The Washington Post Polling Director, July 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: How solid is the disapproval of Obama? I ask because, and this is just my theory, that while the public is disappointed in him, they are more apt to reconsider their opinion of him should they feel his performance improves. I don’t detect the hard core opposition that I saw for Bush or Clinton.
COHEN: This is a great question, as so much of politics is about intensity. In this new poll, 35 percent of Americans say they “strongly disapprove” of the way President Obama is going his job. Some 28 percent of solidly on his side. This is the first time strong disapprovers have outnumbered strong approvers by a significant margin.
But your sense is correct, these numbers are nowhere close to as bad as were George W. Bush’s toward the end of his second term. He basically had majority strong disapproval most of his final year, with very few strong supporters. We didn’t ask intensity as much during the Clinton years, so it’s hard to compare on this point.
Back to Obama, another trouble finding in the poll is that twice as many now have strongly negative than strongly positive views about how he’s handling the economy. That’s a big challenge to face when it comes to issue No. 1.

CHARLES MURRAY, American Enterprise Institute Scholar, October 25, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Did the Arkansas lawyer Bill Clinton lose his (non-elite) status and become part of the New Elite by going to Yale?
MURRAY: Actually, I’ve come to have a fondness for Bill, after having been, let’s say, not on his side during the 1990s. If you grow up as he did, you never leave that part of your experience behind.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, December 10, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Obama is compromising on tax cuts to the wealthy and emission rules in compromising with Republicans, who want to see him defeated in 2012. I still wonder that the political climate would be like if, instead of compromise, he chose to stand firm and even if his views are defeated, he has set the distinctions upon which may choose in 2010?
MILBANK: That’s exactly what Paul Ryan is saying in explaining why he wasn’t backing the debt commission proposal: He’d rather “accentuate the differences” between the two parties in 20120. If we’re all about making distinctions every four years, we’ll never get anything done, because no party will become so dominant that it can unilaterally impose its’ agenda. So I’d rather have fewer “distinctions” and more agreements.

JAMAL SIMMONS, Raban Group principal, January 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I believe President Obama has the correct long term plan: we need to create jobs now to keep our country from falling into an employment recession, yet we then need to reduce Federal spending to keep our debt from engulfing our economy. Unfortunately, these politically appear to be opposite messages, and it is hard in this sound bite era to explain this. How do you believe the President’s message is getting across, and how well does the public understand this?
SIMMONS: The President is trying to answer it. I like your approach. First focus on jobs, then the deficit. We can’t cut spending now we have to get to get the economy on more solid ground. Once we have growth, we can focus on the deficit.

CRAIG SHIRLEY, author, February 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I noted that one of President Reagan’s key to success may have been his constant optimism. This is important in that, no matter what the problem, he conveyed to everyone that a solution was possible. I think, as a leader, this was a good trait. Do you have any observations on how Reagan personally inspired the people around him and the public?
SHIRLEY: He got it from his parents, his upbringing in the Midwest.
His marriage to Nancy, the sheer joy of being a free man in a free country, free to pursue his dreams, free to meet people.
Abraham Lincoln once said that people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Reagan had made up his mind to be happy.
CZIKOWSKY: What did Ronald Reagan think of George H.W. Bush? There have been some authors who claims he was disappointed in his Vice President. Some claim Bush abandoned some of Reagan’s legacy and that Reagan spoke more favorable of Clinton at time. What have you found?
SHIRLEY: He certainly had a lot of doubts in the ‘70s and the 80 campaign about Bush, but they came around after Bush went of the ticket and they actually became good friends.
I can’t speak to what he thought about the Bush Presidency or Clinton, but you’ve sparked my interest!

STEVEN HAYWARD, American Enterprise Institute Fellow, February 7, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Ronald Reagan was a good actor, and a great communicator as President. Thus, some think much of his Presidency composed a lot of his reading speeches like cue cards and not being very involved in deciding what it was he was reading. What is your reaction to that accusation?
HAYWARD: One of the main revelations of the last 15 years, with the opening of private papers, meeting transcripts, and other behind-the-scenes documents is that Reagan was more involved than we thought, and took a very active role especially in writing his speeches. Many of his most famous passages he wrote himself; in many cases, very long passages. He also tended to write his own talking points for his summits with Soviet officials, and disregarded the State Department briefing books.

DEL WIBER, Washington Post Reporter, March 29, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When I listened to the tape (of the shooting of President Reagan)---and I have to admit to being confused about understanding all the ling---it sounded to me that momentarily someone thought Reagan had not been hit, and then it was realized he had been shot. Is that correct? I am not faulting anyone, as they quickly realized he was shot, but I am just wondering if I heard the tape correctly or if I need to get my ears checked.
WIBER: You have a good ear. At first, Secret Service Agent Jerry Parr---who was with Ronald Reagan in the limousine fleeing from the Washington Hilton after the gunfire---did not know the President had been shot. In fact, he thought he had gotten Reagan out of harm’s way and go on the radio and said “Rawhide is ok, Rawhide is ok”. Rawhide is Reagan’s Secret Service code name. Anyway, they were driving back to the White House when Reagan’s condition began to deteriorate. And Parr decided to divert to the hospital. Even then, Parr thought Reagan may have punctured a lung with a rib during the scramble into the limousine. Nobody---including Reagan---realized he had been hit until a doctor spotted the bullet hole in his left side, about five inches below his armpit.
This scene is one of the most dramatic in the book (“Rawhide Down”). In a matter of about 90 seconds---probably less—Jerry Parr saves Reagan’s life twice. He got the President out of Hinckley’s direct line of fire (if the agent had been a split second slower, Reagan would have been hit in the head). In the care ride back to the White House, Parr noticed that Reagan had bright frothy blood on his lips---that’s a signal that the blood is oxygenated and coming from the lungs. So he decided to divert to George Washington University Hospital. Doctors say if Parr hadn’t made that decision, Reagan would have die.

GARRY ADELMAN, Civil War Trust History and Education Director, and FRITZ HAHN, Washington Post Reporter, April 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I was surprised to learn the amount of time Lincoln spent at the Old Soldiers’ Home. I wonder how spending time in the midst of veterans affected his thoughts during the war.
ADELMAN: From what I have read, this was simply a natural thing for him to do. Anything else would have been foreign to Lincoln. He and his wife were closely involved with soldier care throughout the war, and very often without any press…
CZIKOWSKY: I have noticed that little (in my opinion) has been written of the attempt to assassinate President Lincoln while he was horseback riding near Soldiers Home. I think that is a part of history that needs to be recognized.
HAHN: Agreed, The story goes that Lincoln was riding back to the Soldiers’ Home one night (alone, as he hated guards) when there was a shot from the darkness that knocked his hat off. They’ll tell you about that if you take a tour of Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home.
There were constant threats against Lincoln’s life, dating back to before the inauguration, but Lincoln doesn’t seem to care. He would walk around at night, by himself, from the White House to the War Office or the Army Headquarters. Very strange (and lucky) when you think about how things could have gone.

STEPHEN F, HAYES, The Weekly Standard Senior Writer, September 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I found it interested when Lynne Cheney said that all these years, people had been mispronouncing their last name. I am wondering why Dick Cheney never said anything all these years.
HAYES: It’s true that it’s pronounced like “beanie”. I’m speculating, but I’m guessing VP Cheney never pushed to correct it because the mispronunciation had become so widespread. Interestingly, one of the few people who regularly pronounces it correctly is Uber-Cheney critic Chris Matthews.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

LORENZO BENET, People Magazine Assistant Editor, February 18, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: When Sarah Palin was first chosen to be John McCain’s running mate, some of the initial stories mentioned how she had admitted using marijuana. This over is not a big deal in politics, except I noticed that some of the “religious right” seemed to then pull their punches about Obama’s admitted youthful drug use in his autobiography. I don’t believe past drug use was much raised as a concern from either side, except in the small blogosphere world. I am now wondering, though: where did the reports that Sarah Palin used marijuana originate, where they true, and is this a sign that most of the public is no longer as concerned about youthful indiscretions and more about current qualifications?
BENET: Palin admitted to using marijuana in the 1980s when she ran for Governor in 2006 but it’s my understanding it was a one-time thing. I do think youthful indiscretions are becoming less of an issue so long as they aren’t excessive.
CZIKOWSKY: What were Governor Palin’s associations with the Alaska First Party? During what time period did she attend its meetings and when did she speak at their meetings? Did she ever renounce their intentions to separate from the Union before she ran for Vice President?
BENET: Gov. Palin was never a member of the party, however Todd was for a few years though in the book I quote sources saying he wasn’t very active.
CZIKOWSKY: Did Lisa Murkowsky endorse Palin for Vice President and did she campaign at all for the McCain-Palin ticket?
BENET: Murkowski, a fellow Republican, was a supporter.

DAN BALZ, Washington Post Staff Writer, and HAYNES JOHNSON. author, August 4, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: As one who predicted a year prior that the Republican ticket would be John McCain and Joseph Liebeman, I appreciate learning from you that possibility was closer than I had thought. I know speculating about what could have happened is just about the most inexact science there is, but what do you think might have happened had McCain decided to shake up the election another way: announce he truly is an independent and a maverick and not beholden to Republican Party interests, announce Lieberman is your choice, and those Delegates who didn’t like it, he would prefer they leave. Might that have sold? Or could the convention have blocked a Lieberman nomination? Or would a third party candidate doomed the McCain-Lieberman ticket? What do you think might have happened?
BALZ and JOHNSON: We think you pretty much answered your good questions. As Bill McInturff, McCain’s chief pollster, told the rest of the team, picking Lieberman---or anyone else who was pro-choice, for that matter---risked blowing up the convention, with a floor fight over the VP nomination highly likely. That was the last thing McCain needed at that moment. McCain needed a consolidated base coming out of the convention, with the hope that he could broaden his appeal. He was obviously in a very difficult position, which prompted him to take the Palin gamble.
CZIKOWSKY: We look back and forget that this election was not settled until the end. Here is my question from someone who was following the daily tracking polls: I know most expert track the slight uptick to Obama overtaking McCain to the economy. Yet I track it more directly to right after the Vice Presidential debates. I believe while most Americans were praising Palin for meeting expectations and for being better than they expected, they also thought “no way do I want her anywhere near a chance of becoming President.” Where do you place the moment Obama overcame McCain?
BALZ and JOHNSON: We think It happened just before the Vice Presidential debate. It happened as the economy started to collapse, in mid-September, when President Bush was warned of the possibility of another Great Depression. McCain’s handling of that period---his decision to suspend his campaign, to call for a White House meeting, to say he would take down his ads, to call for a postponement of the first debate---left even some of his followers disenchanted. We think the decision was sealed between the day Lehman Brothers was allowed to go bankrupt through the first debate in Mississippi.
Coincidentally there was Palin’s interview with Katie Couric, which began a downturn slide for her in the estimation of many voters. So her descent added to the problems of the Republican ticket, but the economy we think was more significant in settling the outcome.

DAVID PLOUFFE, former Obama Campaign Manager, November 5, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: At what point (if any) during the campaign did you feel genuine certainty that you would prevail on Election Day?
PLOUFFE: We learned in the primary not to get too far ahead of ourselves. So we did not get giddy. But when we started seeing how early vote was unfolding in states like NC, FL, CO, NV we thought we should be headed to a good night. We don’t have Election Day anymore in Presidential campaigns. We have Election Month due to early voting and you can see for real how you are doing---not based on what polls and pundits have to say.
CZIKOWSKY: Why do you believe the Obama Internet web site and appeal did so much better than the Clinton Internet campaign, or the Internet campaigns of any of the other candidates?
PLOUFFE: I think we had technology at the heart of our campaign, twinned with the grassroots. We built a web site that became a “home” for millions of Americans, and due to great staff work and suggestions from our volunteers who were using the site and MyBO, our social networking site, it improve din functionality, speed, and content over the two years.
We set out to have a site that would rival people’s other digital experiences every day---amazon.com, espn.com, etc/
CZIKOWSKY: I know it is early, but who do you see as possible leading Presidential candidates in 2016?
PLOUFFE: Four years ago, no one thought someone named Barack Obama was even a remote possibility, so I hesitate to predict. But I will enjoy all of the m running the Palin/Beck/Limbaugh obstacle course to get nominated.
CZIKOWSKY: If you could remember back to the days when the Obama campaign was only a phone number with an Iowa area code, what did you feel your chances were in winning the 2008 election? I know political scientists could see the rise of the Millennial voters and the greater use of the Internet, as seen in the Dean campaign, yet even they were seeing this as something in the future, perhaps 2012. I wonder what the sense was in the very first stages of the campaign as to how much you thought you could win in 2008?
PLOUFFE: A very important part of my book---explaining how clearly we understand what big underdogs we were. Our path to victory was exceedingly narrow and one most political observers did not believe in. But we were disciplined about sticking to a win in Iowa or else strategy, out organize our opponents in the later states and focus on a delegate acquisition strategy that made Idaho as important as California.
So we thought we had a chance---a very slim one.
CZIKOWSKY: Let’s say it is August 2008 and the chess board has been turned. You suddenly find yourself managing John McCain’s election. How do you advise John McCain so he can win the election?
PLOUFFE: Well, I guess I would have started by advising against picking Sarah Palin and running the type of negative ads voters thought McCain was above.
But they had a tough hand in some respects, and we certainly made some mistakes.
CZIKOWSKY: Barack Obama insists he was telling the truth back around 2005 when he was insisting he was not going to run for President in 2008. Do you believe this assessment, and if so, what do you think caused Barack Obama to change his mind?
PLOUFFE: Definitely. No plans---I can attest to that since we had to scramble and build a campaign when he decided at the end of 2006 to do so. I think he thought we were at such an important crossroads, needed such big change, and that if particularly on health care and energy we were going to make the progress we needed after decades of inaction, things really needed to be shaken up, and he saw in the fall of 2006 the stirrings of what would become the powerful winds of 2008.

PERRY BACON, JR. Washington Post Staff Writer, November 30, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Has Willie Horton come back to haunt Mike Huckabee? I don’t know what made a Governor responsible for all the actions of ex-felons, but now that the Republican Party has established this as a criteria to be President that anyone a Governor pardons live a crime free life, it is interesting that now it turns around and bites them.
BACON: I do think if Huckabee runs in 2012, this clemency will be a very difficult issue for him. He seems to be hinting he’s not running

ANNE KORNBLUT, Washington Post White House Reporter, January 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Have you considered the polling data that shows that Millenialls are more open to accepting others without regard to race, sex, nationality, etc.? Thus, it seems that in both the private sector and politics there may likely be more level assessments of people based on reasons other than whether they are male or female. This should bring a new dynamic into politics and future Presidential elections.
KORNBLUT: I haven’t seen those numbers, but that doesn’t surprise me. That said, people often say they are open to things in private---but the real test is who they actually vote for when there is a real person on the line. Obama’s election is good evidence you are right.
CZIKOWSKY: Hillary Clinton did win. They just didn’t give her the nomination. She received more votes than any of the other Democratic contenders. It was just the rules were such that Obama was able to win more delegates. Plus, Obama’s name wasn’t on the ballot in a couple of states where Clinton’s victories were negated by the rules. As has been pointed out, if the Democrats had followed the rules the Republicans used, Hillary Clinton would have been the Democratic nominee and possibly President. So, the public has responded: it will vote for a female President. Republicans will vote for a ticket with a female on it. It is just a matter of time before a woman becomes President.
KORNBLUT: Another optimist…if it’s fair to call you that,
CZIKOWSKY: In order to a woman to creak the political glass ceiling, we need more women to enter politics. What I observe, especially as more women than men are entering college and post graduate studies, is that most women are smart enough not to go into politics. The pay overall is relatively low, with the added benefit that the public berates politicians because of their perceived high pay, and the constant scrutiny and criticism of any political act is enough to drive most high achievers into the private sector. How can we motivate high achieving females to be willing to have their lives put into round the clock commentary in return for less pay?
KORNBLUT: This is one reason that top female executives so rarely run. Who needs it?
CZIKOWSKY: How come one seldom sees female reporters running for political office?
KORNBLUT: I did not realize there was a national clamoring for it!

MARK HALPERIN, Time Magazine Editor at Large, January 21, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Do you get the impression that the choice of Sarah Palin was a spontaneous decision? I theorize this is possible because it seems several McCain aides thought McCain was going to choose someone else and then he suddenly announced that he had chosen Palin. The McCain staff seem to have had little advance knowledge to research and prepare that Palin could be the choice.
HALPERIN: You are exactly right. The story in “Game Change” about how much McCain wanted to select Joe Lieberman, how late in the game that game bit was derailed, and how abruptly McCain switched his focus to Pain is one of my favorites in the book. We quote for the first time anyway from a report a lawyer did over a weekend on Palin’s background, as well as the real views of the more senior lawyer who was in charge of the overall vetting process. Part of why Governor Palin was so vulnerable to scrutiny of her background was that the McCain campaign picked her so suddenly without preparing background information that would have allowed campaign spokespeople to give accurate and timely answers about various controversies.
CZIKOWSKY: It is my observation that the Hillary Clinton chose to keep an eye on the big picture and how to keep an image to win Super Tuesday and to win in the November elections, whereas the Barack Obama campaign kept an eye on winning the Delegate races. Clinton looked at the forest while Obama looked at the trees. The Obama strategy was the one that worked. Is this analysis, correct or do you see something different?
HALPERIN: Your analysis is spot on. David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, and the team he built around him, was extraordinarily focused on the Delegate race, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign team was not. In some ways, given the mismatch on this score, it is incredible that Clinton got as close as she did to winning. She felt, with ample justification, that she was ill-served by her campaign team---although it is true that she put the team together and the buck has to, in the end, stop with her.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post PostPolitics Managing Editor, December 10, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Barack Obama versus Mike Gravel. How would you handicap that race?
CILLIZZA: No. Contest.

ALLAN LICHTMAN, American University History Professor, January 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of the primary components of a system that can predict the outcome of Presidential elections?
LICHTMAN: The basic idea behind the system is that the outcome of Presidential elections does not depend upon the campaign, but upon how well the party in power governs the country. If it governs well, it will get four more years in power, if not the challenging party will win. Thus the 13 keys in my system primarily gauge the strength and performance of the party holding the White House. It looks at factors such as midterm elections, third party insurgencies, internal party battles within the incumbent party, the long and short term economy, policy change, social unrest, scandal, and foreign policy victories and defeats. If six or more of the thirteen keys go against the party in power they lose, if not they win. Right not Obama had at most only four keys turned against him, so he is a predicted winner.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, February 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Let’s say Donald Trump decides to run for President. What are some likely scenarios on how that changes the race for the Republican nomination?
CILLIZZA: Scenario 1: He doesn’t have much impact.
Scenario 2: He doesn’t have much impact.
Scenario 3: He doesn’t have much impact.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, February 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Who is the major beneficiary of the less than 1% of voters that were supporting Thune for President?
CILLIZZA: While your (noted) sarcasm about Thune is right---he wasn’t anywhere in national polls about 2012---he had the potential to make a serious run in Iowa.
Given that, I call Tim Pawlenty---former Governor of Minnesota---as the obvious beneficiary of Thune’s no-go decision.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, March 18, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: So when do the Presidential debates begin? I can’t wait to see Mike Gravel tangling with Donald Trump.
PETRI: I know!
I think Donald Trump is the Jimmy McMillan/Rent Is Too Damn High candidate of this primary season! Isn’t this the only time someone has suffered a Comedy Central roast and then would up on the campaign trail? Or at least the only time where the person in question n noted that the Loaf Shaped Thing on his head had only bitten him once in all their together?

PAUL LIGHT, New York University Public Service Professor, April 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I observe that Michelle Bachman has among the highest positive ratings among Republicans (yet high disapproval among Democrats, making her a very divisive national figure) and she is fund raising well How might she use a shutdown (of the Federal government) to her advantage towards obtaining the Republican nomination for President?
LIGHT: Used to live in Minnesota; Can’t believe she’s gotten such national visibility from a state that produced Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. She’s not Presidential timber per se, but look at the money flowing in. Not sure how she’s going to use it, but suspect the money will go to a Bachman PAC to support Tea Party candidates next year.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Politics Managing Editor, April 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I should think the Trump showing is mostly name recognition. Does anyone know what Trump stands for, other than firing people on TV, wearing some kind of hopefully dead or drugged animal on his head, and being one who wonders where Obama was born?
CILLIZZA: No.
The strength of Trump at the moment is two fold:
1. He has total name recognition and is a celebrity.
2. He is viewed as someone taking the fight to President Obama.
Now the fight he has decided to pick---on President Obama’s birth certificate---is a ridiculous one that suggests he is not really serious about the race.
And, as several consultants pointed out to me when I wrote the piece, Trump’s best day in the race (and I don’t think he is running ) would be his first one.
CZIKOWSKY: I find it interesting that people mention Rand Paul as a possible Presidential candidate. Although I doubt this will happen, it would be interested if both Rand and Ron ran for President. I don’t believe we have ever had a father and a son running against each other for President. This could make for interesting dynamics.
CILLIZZA: Percentages of Pauls running for Prez in 2010:
Ron 65.
Rand 35.

FRANK BAILEY, former Palin Campaign Administrator, May 24, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When speaking in normal conversation, does Sarah Palin talk with “you betcha”s and “wee wee the liberals” and other great catch phrases? Did we see the natural Sarah Palin on the stump and on TV, or was some of that a political act?
BAILEY: A lot of “Palin Speak” is canned phrases she senses will fire up a crowd.
CZIKOWSKY: If you were to run into Sarah Palin walking down the street, would you two stop and have a friendly chat? How do you think Sarah Palin is reacting to your book, and do you expect to hear from her again?
BAILEY: I do not hate Palin. I guess I hope that she could bring herself to read “Blind Allegiance” herself and OWN the reality of who she became. It is sad, in a way, someone with IMMENSE potential, much of it wasted on fame and chasing the limelight.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, June 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: A problem with our current Presidential nomination system is the candidates have to be “all Democrat” or “all Republican”. It is hard to find a candidate who is fiscally conservative like a Republican but socially liberal like a Democrat, and vice versa. I would also think Republicans would be wises to find a candidate who may appeal to some dissident Democrats and independents. Which Republican candidates are furthest away from their litmus tests, how might they do in the November elections, and what chances does such a candidate have in gaining the nomination?
CILIZZA: Check out what Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said this a.m. at the Faith and Freedom Conference in DC. Paraphrasing: Mo one candidate is going to agree with you all of the time.
That’s Barbour’s way of saying that the party has to nominate someone who can win not simply someone who agrees with them on every issue.
Whether the rank and file within the GOP agree remains to be seen.
CZIKOWSKY: Political historians will state Romney should be the Republican nominee. Republicans have tended to go with a tested, known candidate. Goldwater was runner up to Nixon, Reagan was runner up to Ford, Bush was runner up to Reagan, Dole was runner up to Bush. May it be time for Republicans to break out of this historic comfort level, especially with a well financed front runner?
CILIZZA: History does suggest that. But history is an imperfect guide---as we saw in 2008.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, June 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Which Presidential candidate from the past offered a chicken in every pot, and which Presidential candidate can offer a chicken pizza in every home?
MILBANK: The Herminator is up to 15 percent in Iowa! Tied for second place with that lady who wore the Star of David to Ellis Island.

PHILIP RUCKER, Washington Post National Reporter, June 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Would it be fair for me to assess that the Republican field essentially has a pack mentality, in that there is, overall, little divergence amongst the candidates on their major issues? Who do you see as being the most from the pack, Ron Paul? Jon Huntsman? Is being apart from the pack going to help or hurt in 2010?
RUCKER: That’s mostly true on the major issues. Most of the candidates are for changing the tax code, repealing Obama’s health care law, peeling back some of the Federal regulations instituted by the Obama Administration, cutting government spending, etc. But there are some differences on more minor issues, and certainly there are differences if you look back to the candidates’ past records. Remember, Mitt Romney once supported abortion rights, something he now opposes, as do the other Republican candidates.
The candidate who breaks out the most probably would be Ron Paul, because of his libertarian leanings, but the same was true when he ran in 2008.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washingotn Post Managing Editor, June 24, 2011
CZIKOWSKY:This may be three decades into the future, but when Patrick Murphy is President of the United States, remember you read it here first.
CILLIZZA: Interesting! Murphy goes #1.
CZIKOWSKY: Wait, since when does being out of office mean you are no longer politically relevant? Why, look at Newt Gingrich and…oh, never mind.
CILLIZZA: ZING!
Worst Week in Washington 2011 winners:
Anthony Weiner: 3 (straight)
Newt Gingrich: 2
Talk about a club you don’t want to be a member of.
CZIKOWSKY: Sometimes retiring back to Hawaii might seem nice. If Barack Obama announces he has decided one term is enough, then the Democrats will turn to…will turn…ahh, who would they turn to?
CILLIZZA: BIDEN!

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, July 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Why is Thad McCotter running, and what does he actually expect to gain from this experience of running for President in a crowded field?
CILLIZZA: I do not know.
My guess is he a.) believes that there is a point of view not represented in the current field and/or b.) thinks running for President will elevate his profile, which it probably will slightly.

E.J. DIONNE, JR., Washington Post columnist, July 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What I find interesting about the Republican Party is they have sheltered themselves into being the party of both economic conservatives and social policy conservatives, and even there they are demanding stricter and stricter adherence to both forms of conservatism. Even Rick Perry is affiliating with social conservatives that John McCain shunned. I do not know what the future holds, yet the Republican Party Presidential candidates all appear to be setting themselves up for the nomination but not on the November election. Nixon used to say to run to the right in primaries and then to the center in the general election. I don’t see too many Republicans who could capably pull off running in the center, do you?
DIONNE: Perhaps Huntsman could, and Romney will try if he gets the chance. Again, we’ll see. Thanks for writing.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, August 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I heard Roseanne Barr announced her candidacy for President. How little will this impact this race?
CILLIZZA: Still trying to wrap my mind around the huge shockwaves this announcement will send through the political process.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, August 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is the Ames Poll, and what is Rick Santorum hoping for: to finish in the top eight?
MILBANK: The Ames Poll is a delightful event when about 1,000 people get together and elect the next President, based on which candidate serves the best food in his tent.
An exception is Rick Santorum, who could fly in Kobe beef and would still merit an asterisk.

THOMAS HOLDBROOK, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Government Department Chair, August 10, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are President Obama’s ratings in Wisconsin? What are his reelection prospects in Wisconsin?
HOLBROOK: Wisconsin is a very middle-of-the-road state, so I suspect Obama is going about as well here as he is nationwide. Although Wisconsin went pretty heavily for Obama in 2008, I would expect the race to be somewhat tighter here in 2012, primarily because I think it will be tighter nationwide. However, it is too early to say much about how things will turn out in 2012.

DAN BALZ, Washington Post National Political Reporter, August 17, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How does a guy, Rick Perry, go from saying, as he does in his book, that Governor of Texas is what he wanted in life, and that maybe Texas should consider succeeding from the nation, to saying he now wants to be our President?
BALZ: He saw an opening and took it. When a group of reporters talked to him last November about this, he said essentially he could envision no circumstances under which he would not serve out his current term as Governor. But this Republican race has been a lot different than everyone thought. His wife Anita also played a role, we are told, by urging him to get out of his comfort zone and think about running.

CHRIS CILIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor,September 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Huntsman stated he will win in New Hampshire. Did he mean he will win at least one town, or did he mean more than one town?
CILIZZA: Zing!
Look, what should Huntsman say? “I am probably not going to win?”
I mean, this is just politics. He’s nowhere in the state right now but he has to believe---and say publicly---that he is moving in the right direction. Otherwise, why should anyone jump on board.
I still haven’t seen much evidence that suggest Huntsman can make good on his pledge though. Firing your New Hampshire campaign manager a month after your national campaign manager left is, um, not a good thing.
CZIKOWSKY: How can we elect a Governor of a state to be our President when his state obviously underfunds high school football and forces school district teams to merge?
CILIZZA: I have seriously weighed asking Perry where he comes down on the East Dillon versus West Dillon question.
I fear he would have no idea what I was talking about and I would be chastised for blowing my big moment with him.
CZIKOWSKY: How much did Eugene McCarthy spend on his campaign in the 1968 New Hampshire Primary? Then, let me ask this: if someone were to announce they were going to spend that much in New Hampshire, how seriously would you take such a candidate today?
CILIZZA: 1. Very little.
2. No.
3. Times change.
4.
EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Associate Editor, September 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are there pro-business Republicans who are being frightened off by the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party who now may feel more comfortable reelection Obama than with such candidates as Perry, Paul, Bachman, Palin, Santorum, and Cain?
ROBINSON: Anecdotally, I can tell you that there are plenty of Republicans---including former officeholders---who are frightened by the evolution of the party and who would never vote for one of the candidates you named. But they are not driving the train, at this point.

ALEXANDRA PETRI, ComPost Writer, October 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Dear Governor Whitman: Look at Michelle Bachman, and then Rick Perry, and probably the same will go for Sarah Palin. People like you better when you are a potential candidate, above the fray. Yet, once you become a candidate, you no longer are the potential new thing and people will move on to someone else totally new, like Mitt Romney. If you want to stay popular, don’t run. If you want to get dirty and have to debate people like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, come on in.
PETRI: Hey, what’s wrong with debating Newt Gingrich? He’s like the field’s slightly drunken uncle! He’s the only one at the debates who appears to be having anything even faintly resembling a good time/
And if no one shows up to debate Santorum, he’ll keep slowly creeping to the center of the podia, and then Dan Savage will have to take drastic measures I haven’t even heard of.
But the logic is right. It’s all well until you get it home and see how it sits with the furniture. Currently, the ideal candidate for Republicans is Schrodlinger’s Cat.

GLENN KESSLER, Washington Post Diplomatic Correspondent, October 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Are there non-partisan economic analyses of Cain’s taxation proposals and of which categories of people would likely pay less taxes and pay more in taxes?
KESSLER: Yes, the Tax Policy Center, a well respected, nonpartisan organization, this week did a full analysis.
They found that the 999 plan would raise about the same amount of revenue, but that the lower 84 percent of taxpayers would pay more in taxes and the upper 16 percent would generally see huge tax cuts.

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, October 20, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What was it that Herman Cain said about homosexuality?I am gathering Cain is not seeking the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans?
MILBANK: He said it is a sin and a personal choice, but that’s nowhere near Man-on-Dog Santorum.

AMY ARGETSINGER, Washington Post Columnist, October 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: When I grow up, I want to puff on a cigarette just like Herman Cain’s campaign manager. Did you see the video? Is Mark Block now a celebrity? Maybe he’ll get his own reality show. Of course, I would love to see a commercial where someone says “I am paid to work for this candidate. If I wasn’t paid, I wouldn’t trust this candidate one bit.”
ARGETSINGER: The smoking and cheesy music and the sinister slow-burn smile of Herman Cain only camouflage the true weirdness of this ad. It stars his campaign manager? Who looks about as fresh-faced and as charming as you’d expect from a campaign manager? You’re supposed to hide those guys?

MONICA HESSE, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: If the Cain ad, by saying nothing negative about Cain, goes viral because we are all talking about it, then it has reached its goal.
HESSE: It is true. The ad itself is rather innocuous. If it were not for the cigarette none of us would be talking about it. The cigarette was something new and different. I wonder if the same effect could have been achieved if the man had whipped out a long blue balloon and restively turned it into a giraffe. “Now there’s something you don’t see in a campaign ad every day.”

AARON BLAKE, Washington Post National Politics Reporter, October 31, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have any feel for the timing of these accusations? Would they have arisen even if Cain had not gained so much in the polls, or would they have remained quiet if Cain was not such a public figure?
BLAKE: There is a lot more scrutiny if you’re the front runner. I doubt we would have seen this story if he was still under 10 percent.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, November 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What impact does Pennsylvania State Senator Stewart Greenleaf’s entry into the Republican race for President make? Little or none?
CILLIZZA: None.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washing Post Associate Editor, November 1, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: In my opinion, when I listen and read what the Republican candidates have to say, the only ones who sound “reasonable are Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney. Huntsman, though, is so reasonable the Republican voters appear to not like him and Romney seems to make his reasonableness flexible enough to appeal to the non-reasonable faction of the Republican Party. I am try to figure out, but why are Republican voters so enamored with candidates who say things that are basically deal breakers for the rest of America?
ROBINSON: You’re got me. Romney at least recognizes this dynamic. He’s trying to leave the door open so he can scurry back to the side of reason once he gets the nomination. His problem is that he has to win the nomination first, and that’s not at all guaranteed.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, November 11, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: It’s three in the morning and the telephone rings in the White House. There is an international crisis. Would you prefer a President who’ won’t remember more than two things about the crisis or one who will order out pizza? I can see the commercial now.
CILLIZZA: And that is why Mitt Romney is the frontrunner in this race.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, December 2, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Who was it that said that Rubio could not be picked because the nation won’t elect anyone with a vowel at the end of the candidate’s last name? Let’s look historically and see how accurate this is, working backwards: Obama.
CILLIZZA: And, Cillizza. I can only assume I will be elected President by acclamation sometime around 3030.
CZIKOWSKY: Which candidate appeals most to liberal Republicans? I figured it would not be hard to get answered as it should not take the press long to interview both of them.
CILLIZZA: 1. Jon Huntsman
` 2. Mitt Romney
4,598. Michele Bachman

MELINDA HENNEBERGER, Washington Post Political Writer, December 5, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: We have had Presidents with seriously ill family members. Abe Lincoln managed to preside during great personal family challenges. I should believe that most people are able to work and handle family pressures. Indeed, a President or someone with the financial resources should have more advantages than most Americans have.
HENNEBERGER: That’s true. Elizabeth Edwards often cited Lincoln and said her husband would be a better President because he’d faced true hardship, including the death of their son Wade.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, December 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: There is a poll showing Obama leading both Gingrich and Romney in South Carolina. If the Republicans have to fight to win South Carolina, is that a possible sign they may have some electoral difficulties in 2012?
CILLIZZA: Polls are a snapshot in time. If Obama wins is SC, I would fall down dead.
CZIKOWSKY: Of course college students are going to like Ron Paul. They admire that he is a former Economics Professor who has scholarly insights into economic and political issues, he supports legalizing marijuana, young people admire his willingness to tackle strong economic institutions such as the Federal Reserve, he supports legalizing marijuana, his courageous questioning of foreign wars and international policies, and he supports legalizing marijuana.
CILLIZZA: You are courting the ire of Ron Paul supporters. Having been on the receiving end of that ire, it is not a pleasant experience…

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, January 4, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: If Santorum fails to be the anti-Romney, who is left? Ron Paul? After that, there is no anti-Romney left. I could be wrong, but I think conservatives may finally unite on Romney as the “anti-Romney”, swallow their pride, and go with Romney.
CILLIZZA: Yup. I think that is a commonly-held belief within the party. Let’s see if it actually happens.

AMY GARDNER, Washington Post Reporter, January 10, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: One thing I will say in Newt Gingrich’s favor is he loves animals. I have long ago observed to be suspicious of anyone who hates animals. Newt Gingrich wanted to have a zoo built in his hometown as a child. He loves animals, and I give the nice Newt credit there. Of course, I am not certain how he compares his love of animals for his love for divorcing spouses and people in safety net programs, but he does love animals.
GARDNER: Hi there—thanks for the comment. I completely agree---there’s a really fun photo gallery on Newt’s campaign page of him with all manners of exotic animals. He also has a list of favorite zoos. You can also imagine him as a kid being taken to the zoo by his parents. He is truly passionate about the subject, and it offers a very human and sympathetic side to him.

JENNIFER RUBIN, Washington Post Right Turn blogger, January 11, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe the greater scrutiny of Rick Santorum’s record may diminish his support, or do you believe it will not harm him at all?
RUBIN: Great question. The conservative purists will regard any vote on earmarks or spending as heresy. But in fact he has a very solid record on national security, taxes, regulations, and of course, social issues. The bigger challenge for his is a personal one---how to project a Presidential image and explain his agenda succinctly.
CZIKOWSKY: It is true that Gingrich and Perry have made shabby finishes. Yet I am wondering if the anti-Romney vote may be slowly going to Romney, in recognition that even Santorum is not doing well? None of Romney’s challengers appear to be standing will in the polls.
RUBIN: You raise a good point if we look only at New Hampshire. But Santorum does have an opening in a state better suited to him, with many evangelical voters and fewer independents. He’s going to have to reconstruct the same coalition that got him a tie in Iowa.
CZIKOWSKY: Is there any “regional” support in South Carolina for Gingrich given that he is from neighboring Georgia?
RUBIN: Good question. You would think so, but Gingrich doesn’t necessarily come across as a “Southern” candidate. He proved less than attractive to evangelicals in Iowa.

ELLEN FITZPATRICK, University of New Hampshire History Professor, January 11, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: What role does campaign spending play in New Hampshire, and has this changed over the decades? Have there been many candidates (perhaps Eugene McCarthy?) who may not have spent much money yet connected with New Hampshire voters? Does a large spending advantage create a large advantage in the New Hampshire Primary?
FITZPATRICK: Campaign spending grows in importance everywhere, in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney spent heavily here. I think having cash on hand certainly helps. Especially with television advertising. It is an advantage for sure.
CZIKOWSKY: Does having the primary in New Hampshire help showcase local politicians? I do note the Sununu family has done well in White House appointments. What other New Hampshire politicians have probably benefitted from the extra exposure given to New Hampshire politics?
FITZPATRICK: Excellent question. It does indeed. The young Senator Ayotte has gotten a lot of mileage out of the primary. She came out for Romney and had a chance to showcase her concerns about issues that touch the state directly. Very bullish, for instance, on Federal military spending with an eye on the Portsmouth Shipyard.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, Washington Post Managing Editor, January 20, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: While Iowa did not officially include the results from eight precincts, are there any unofficial results floating around as to what happened in any or all of these eight precincts?
CILLIZZA: I saw one analysis that said the eight precincts would have enlarged Santorum’s winning margin. But who knows?
CZIKOWSKY: What does it tell about our system of choosing a President that the state with the most focus as a caucus state in unable to tell us who had the leading vote tally on caucus day? Maybe it is telling us this whole system is archaic and needs updating. Just a suggestion.
CILLIZZA: Not Iowa’s greatest moment. Couple that with the fact that the winner of the Ames Straw Poll finished sixth in the Iowa caucuses and Iowa’s got some explaining to do.
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t know if you saw “Up All Night” last night, yet those who did will understand this question: Is it an appropriate open marriage for a husband to watch “Friday Night Lights” with another woman?
CILLIZZA: Mrs. Fix watched it and brought it up. It’s SO true. It’s like emotional cheating.
CZIKOWSKY: I just want it noted this won’t be the first time a Georgian used a scorch earth policy against a Massachusettsian invading South Carolina.
CILLIZZA: HA!

AARON BLAKE, Washington Post National Politics Reporter, January 27, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: Who is going to challenge the “winner take all” allocations at the Republican Convention, and how likely is the convention going to reallocate those Delegates?
BLAKE: Other states may challenge it as a way of trying to punish Florida for moving up its primary. The RNC says it can’t punish Florida twice, so it can go winner take all, but this is up to the Rules Committee.

THEDA SKOCPOL, Harvard University Government and Sociology Professor, February 6, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I believe Romney is becoming the “anti-Romney”. I believe conservatives are looking for an alternative to Romney, and they are not finding it in any of Romney’s challengers. I believe eventually many conservative voters will determine that Romney is conservative enough. I note that Romney won a majority of Tea Party members in a CNN poll in Nevada. Do you see Tea Party members generally moving their support towards Romney nationwide?
SKOCPOL: Yes, conservatives are gradually moving Romney’s way, and that may accelerate. Tea Partiers and other GOP conservatives want above all to beat Obama. As Romney focuses more and more on challenging the President, that may help him with some conservatives, as does constant reiteration of hard-line right promises.

BRAD HIRSCHFIELD, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership President, February 16, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: I find it interesting that Romney is far outspending Santorum, to little avail. Romney has the finances and the organization, but he needs to give voters a reason to vote for him other than he is electable. Voters with a passion on conservative issues are leaning to one of the other candidates. What I find interesting is the negative advertising keeps knocking down each leading candidate other than Romney. It would be interesting if Romney is nominated primarily because he is the least objectionable candidate: that and he is the most “electable”.
HIRSCHFIELD: I think we are witnessing a struggle for the heart---dare I say soul, of the Republican Party. The struggle is between ideological puritans and pragmatic politicians. It’s a bit ironic in that this was the issue Democrats had for years. Like them, Republicans must choose between being ideologically pure and actually winning and governing form the slightly right of center place where most American have been for a long time.
I will close with one observation: Can anyone point to a time when ideologically puritans served their country, or even their own community, very well for a sustained period of time?
CZIKOWSKY: I believe Santorum has not turned off support from all women. While it has been stated that the vast majority of even Catholic women use birth control that he finds “harmful”, I am sure there are a few voters in the minority who will still vote for him. Of course, as Adlai Stevenson observed before, that won’t be enough for a majority.
HIRSCHFIELD: There is no such thing as “all women”, as your observation shows you appreciate. There will be those who support him because of his positions on these issues, and the best response I know is to remind these people that just as they rightly expect to be respected for their views, even by those who disagree with them, only those candidates who show the same respect for people with whom they disagree, are worthy of support.
It’s like they said in colonial times: either we hang together or we shall hang separately.

PSYCHOLOGY

CARIN RUBINSTEIN, psychologist, December 17, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: As more women than men are in college, does this likely mean that more women will fall into feeling superior because they may likely be earning more and having more successful careers than their husbands?
RUBINSTEIN: That’s a really good point. I think you may be correct, which is very depressing, since two in three marriages already include a superior wife…
CZIKOWSKY: A woman has to work twice as hard to get half the recognition. Surely that has to be hard on the nerves?
RUBINSTEIN: That may be true, but life isn’t fair, and never was. The problem is we tend to bring this belief----you have to work twice as hard, etc.---into our marriages. Which usually ends up exploding in our faces. Unlike life, marriage should be fair!

STEVEN WARD, “Tough Love” TV show host, February 16, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: May I please offer one bit of advice I have observed. I have had wonderful dates, yet when I see my date treat the restaurant staff rudely, I have learned that is a person with problem that will later emerge. My advice is simple: treat people with respect. Is treating others rudely during a date a bad idea?
WARD: Ha ha, very estute. Yes, treating others rudely during a date is a bad idea!

SAMANTHA BRETT, author, December 15, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is a man whisperer? We men don’t pay attention if you speak loudly, especially when sports are on TV.
BRETT: A Man Whisperer is a woman who uses her feminine communication with her man to get him to respond to her request…all the while making him seem like it was his idea all along! The best is that Man Whispering eliminates the #1 thing that men complain about which is…nagging. (Which is why men love it so much.) Man Whispering teaches women how to phrase their requests in such a way that it’s a win-win situation for both partners. Things get done, relationships become smoother, and the divide between the sexes becomes a thing of the past.

JAMES NORTON and ERNESTO GLUECKSMANN, Professional Pickup Owners, February 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How does a guy who does not have the confidence to ask a woman out get the confidence to admit that to another and sign up for your class?
GLUECKSMANN: This is a great question and it’s one of the toughest issues that we work to resolve. We understand that it can seem “unmanly” to admit that you need some help on the art of being “manly”. Therefore, we offer one-on-one sessions for both men and women if they do not want to participate in a group session. We recognize that people who sign up for our instruction have already taken a big step forward and are ready to learn what we have to teach.
NORTON: Also, to a degree, you have to admit you are at a certain point in your life and you want to get better.

CHERLY TAN, writer, February 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How did you feel mentally during your period without work? Did you find any depression or hopelessness (or near hopelessness) and how did you react to whatever feelings you had?
TAN: When I first walked into that room with our Human Resources person and saw the stack of crisp envelopers on the table outlining all our severance packages, I mostly felt numb. It’s a hard feeling to process---you feel rejection, failure, and all sorts of emotions that may not even be based in reality. And then panic sets in. I was lucky, however, that I had already been wishing I had the time to travel to Singapore to spend time learning how to cook, so in the short time that it took me to walk back to my dies after my fashion bureau had been laid off, I already realized what I wanted to do next. And that did give me hope.
I was fortunate but I know that getting laid off is never easy----my key advice is to not panic. People make terrible decisions when they panic. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to have that high school guidance counselor moment with yourself—really ask yourself, were you happy doing what you were doing here? Do you want another job doing the same? What do you really want to do with your life? And then, don’t wait! Figure out a path that can take you there. Being laid off can actually be a very liberating thing---think of it as a second chance.

BONNIE KLEM, Montgomery County Hoarding Task Force Member, October 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: One person’s collecting is another person’s hoarding. What is the line between collecting and hoarding?
KLEM: This is a wonderful questions and one asked most frequently and appropriately. When items prevent spaces from being used for their intended purpose (beds, tables, microwaves, chairs, bathtubs) or endanger the safety of the house and the health of the people within the house (clutter near furnaces, clutter affecting the structure of the house and the utilities, rotting discarded food), there is a problem that warrants attention. It is important to realize that the person has to be willing to accept some type of help.

PEPPER SCHWARTZ, University of Washington Sociology Professor, February 14, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: In general, without knowing the situation, I would suggest accepting the grand gesture with all sincerity. Maybe the giver knew in advance that gift would exceed the other, and perhaps the person wants to feel special for making a grand gesture. I would recommend reciprocating appropriately at a future time if one believes one should do something in return.
SCHWARTZ: I think that’s a good answer. By all means receive well---and the person will feel good. I just worry about people feeling “out classed”---so it’s nice when things are emotionally equal---and sometimes people confuse that with the size of the gift. Also, if it’s a dating couple and one person gives this huge gift signifying how much entranced they are---and the other gives a smaller gift because they are less invested in the relationship (at least at that time) the difference in the gift may bring up deeper issues that you might not want to have on Valentine’s Day…but I do like the idea of reciprocating big time later if you do feel that it is emotionally appropriate for the way you feel…
RAHIEL TESFAMARIAM, Urban Crisp Editorial Director, March 1, 2012
CZIKOWSKY: It has been claimed that 80% of hair products are purchased by Black women. Why is this?
TESFAMARIAM: Black women deeply care about being perceived as attractive and hair---outside of one’s face---is the first thing you see. It matters because we want to be seen as beautiful. It is ouf course important for us to place great emphasis on internal beauty. We do not invest equally via money is our psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being at times. That is very problematic. A lot of Black women need to take that $200+ from their weave budget and invest it in therapy!
RACIAL RELATIONS

ANNETTE GORDON-REED, Pulitzer Prize winning author, September 23, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on the proposition that some racial divisions occur over the difficulty that the races have on understanding how each other thinks about race? People whose skins are black and brown are often confronted on matters in terms of their race and think of race frequently. People whose skins are white are not confronted with racial matters and do not think about race as much by comparison, and thus often do not understand when race is brought into a matter. Greater racial understanding may occur if all better realize what the others are feeling and thinking.
GORDON-REED: Well, I think you are exactly right. Race tends to loom much larger in the lives of blacks and brown in American than it does for whites, who currently represent the largest racial group. One could imagine how the situation may be reversed in a place, say, like South Africa, where the situation is reversed. It takes work to try to see the world through the eyes of others. With all the other things we have to do in the world, doing that maybe low on the list.

ELOISE SPOONER, wife of farmer assisted by Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod, July 22, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What do you most want the public to know about the situation that has brought you into national news attention?
SPOONER: Shirley helped us when we really needed her and when we listened to the tape we felt we really wanted to help her. It started Tuesday morning. Our son came up here and said mother, turn on the TV at CNN, your friend Shirley is on and we did and we listened and we knew instantly that it was us they were talking about.
So we listened and me and Roger looked at each other and we said to each other that she helped us when we erally needed help and we were gonna try help her.
And then my son, he called CNN and told them that we were the couple they were talking about and if they wanted to talk to us he gave them our telephone number.
Roger had two loads to haul so after all that he said he had to go on out and then our telephone started ringing and ringing and ringing.
We get this little paper from Atlanta, the Market Bulletin, and it had a little note in there that said if you were having trouble and about to lose your farm that they had a toll-free number. So I decided to call and the man on the phone told us to go to this lawyer in Cairo and we did and he knew the woman who was in charge of the FHA.

JOHN LOGAN, Brown University Sociology Professor, October 31, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Another part of the decline of the all-white neighborhood that I have noted is the decline in people being “all white”. I do not know the statistical data, yet I see the young people are being the generation that most accepts interracial dating and marriage. Like our President of the United States, the people themselves who are children of “white” people are now more apt to be mixed race. Do you know what the data shows on this?
LOGAN: I’m sure many people have some sort of mixed ancestry than are aware of it. Up to now the share of Americans who report more than one race to the Census Bureau is very limited, and largely it is people who are Native American plus another race, or people who list their race as “Hispanic” or “Latino” and also white or black. I noticed the number of black-white combinations jumped a bit between 2000 and 2010.
More interesting to me is research that looks into people’s family composition. A very large and rapidly growing share of
Americans have a spouse, step-brother, adopted sister, brother-in-law or cousin who has a very different racial or ethnic backgrounds than they. Families are becoming very mixed. In the long run this is likely to change many people’s attitudes about diversity.

RELIGION

SHMULEY BOTEACH, Rabbi spiritual advisor, October 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I don’t want you to break any confidences, but what do you believe Michael Jackson would have wanted the world to know about his feelings on spirituality?
BOTEACH: The most beautiful part of this book is Michael’s depth when it comes to spirituality. He was a devout Jehovah’s Witness who regularly knocked on people’s doors to persuade them to believe in G-d, as he describes in the book (“The Michael Jackson Tapes”). Michael believed that G-d was absolutely essential in people’s lives and he and I talked about religion and spirituality constantly.

SINEAD O’CONNOR, musician, March 26, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I loved the headline recently when the Pope condemned Irish priest abuse, as if abuse in other countries is okay. Obviously, that is not what he meant. Yet, do you see some signs that the Catholic Church may eventually be ready to admit there have been systematic cases of abuse and that they failed for a long time to deal with these cases?
O’CONNOR: Quite horribly…in Germany this week EXTREMELY manipulatively, Vatican/German hierarchy stated “The Church is being persecuted as the Nazis persecuted the Jews”. How horrific a statement is that? To all of us…and more to those who studied the history of anti-Semitism…ffor which the Vatican has had a vast amount of culpability throughout history.
CZIKOWSKY: Priests and nuns are mostly devoted people who serve their communities. Yet, the respect we give people in these positions is also an attraction to some people with certain inclinations to abuse these positions. Isn’t it time we better scrutinize people who deal with our children?
O’CONNOR: Something I want to say…when John Paul 2 was ill and dying…the man had every last drop of blood metaphorically squeezed from him by those around him. I remember him in the window overlooking Peters Square, after his trachea operation…he put his hand to his throat as if there was a problem with the tube…and what came to his aid? Not a person…but a long stick…which poked his tube back into place and so they continued milking him. What kind of people would not have put an arm around him? Or what kind of people would not let him rest like any old gentleman?

NAOMI RILEY, author, June 7, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Is there data on what the interreligious marriage rates are among students at or who have graduated from religious colleges? I wonder how rare or common it is.
RILEY: I haven’t seen any but I suspect it’s fairly uncommon. For two reasons. These are broad generalizations but…
First, people who attend religious colleges tend to be more religious on the whole and less likely to consider marriage outside the faith. Second, a lot of religious college students tend to marry young, or even marry someone they went to college with.

JOHN L. ESPOSITO, Georgetown University Religion and International Affairs Professor, August 20, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I am wondering how many Muslims are lowering their opinions of Americans when they see anti-Muslim sentiments expressed by some Americans?
ESPOSITO: Excellent observation. How did blatant racism affect may Black people? How did the discrimination against ethnic Catholics, Irish, Italians like myself, make us feel re: how other of our fellow citizens view us
As an American citizen and prominent professional Muslim who loves our country and who has advised our government said to me, “We are all being blamed for the attacks of 9/11 and expected to assume a collective guilt and know our place.”

EDWARD CURTIS, Indiana University-Purdue University Liberal Arts Millennium Chair, August 31, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What is the earliest history of Muslims in America? When did the first Muslims come to America, where did they settle, and what brought them to America?
CURTIS: Thanks for your question. The first significant population of Muslims to arrive on American shores were from West Africa. They came as slaves. A minority of scholars believe that some Muslim explorers and sailors arrived before Columbus; the majority of scholars believe that they very first Muslims to set foot in the Americas either came with Columbus or other European explorers and merchant ships.

CHRISTINA WELLS, University of Missouri Law School Professor, October 1, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Would you support a law requiring protestors against any religious ceremony should be kept a set distance away from the religious ceremony?
WELLS: I think I would have to know how that law is worded.
If the law actually said “protestors who express views against a religious ceremony” must stay a certain distance away, it would almost certainly be unconstitutional because it only regulates speakers with a certain viewpoint---i.e., anti-religion---and that goes against everything the Court believe re: the First Amendment.
But if the law said “any protestor must stay X feet” from a religious ceremony then it could be constitutional so long as the distance isn’t too far and the purpose of the law is to prevent disruption. That law is neutral since it doesn’t regular a particular viewpoint and it’s purpose is to ensure that an event is able to occur undisrupted.
One can quibble with whether it’s better to single out religious ceremonies for protection than other things, but the Supreme Court has certainly upheld statues protecting activities from disruption by protests.

SHMULEY BOTEAACH, Rabbi, February 14, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What is your opinion of inter-religious marriages where the parents decide to expose the children to both of their religions and then the child decide?
BOTEAACH: I believe a child has to raised in one religious tradition. Giving them a smorgasbord and telling them to decide doesn’t work. People need to be grounded in an identity and raised with a strong sense of who they are.

ELIZABETH TENETY, On Faith Editor, and BILL McCARVEY, writer, April 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have to admit I was amused to see the Agnostics with a table recruiting members. I understand where agnostics come from, but is it me, or shouldn’t it be hard to recruit people with a message “we don’t know, we don’t care”?
TENETY: You may want to take a look at some of the work of Greg Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University. Epstein is proof that there is spirituality beyond religion, perhaps even beyond belief in God. One example of this is his work to get campus secularists / humanists / atheists / agnostics to unite around the values that they find ‘sacred’---care for other humans, practicing secular meditation, ‘celebrating science and critical inquiry’.
McCARVEY: Interesting…I’m not sure I believe in agnostics though, I need proof…
;0)
That’s a joke btw…

DAVID SEHAT, Georgia State University History Assistant Professor, April 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Would you please tell us a little more about your book (“The Myth of American Religious Freedom”), what it covers, and what some of your major conclusions are?
SEHAT: Thanks for this question. I argue in the book that both liberals and conservatives have the history wrong. Instead of a history of freedom, the American past had multiple limits on religious freedom that came from Protestant Christian control over law. I argue that the mid-twentieth century Court began to enact the separation of church and state to do away with this heritage of official discrimination. But as they did so, they claimed (falsely) that they were only trying to maintain the freedom of the past. Meanwhile, religious conservatives mobilized to continue their control over law. Both sides claimed to be the heirs of a past of freedom.
My main point in the book is that we must have a correct historical foundation, before we can have a meaningful debate about the proper role of religion in public life.
CZIKOWSKY: You mentioned the blue laws. They derived from religious intentions. Repealing them was met with opposition from people who saw it an offense to religion. From this, is it correct to assume that numerous laws that do not mention religion were in fact religious based?
SEHAT: Yes, I think so. In my interpretation, even after states stopped paying churches, Protestant Christians exerted significant control over law. They claimed that religion provided the morals to be enforced in law. And the religion was often Protestant Christianity.
So there were many laws that did not mention religion but that enforced a religious and moral point of view. These moral laws made up what I call in my book “a moral establishment” that allowed Protestant Christians to maintain power over others.

HERB SILVERMAN, College of Charleston Mathematics Distinguished Professor, May 4, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I learned something from a religious scholar that I mentioned to a newspaper columnist who an article on this and confirmed this was a scholar at Catholic University: there is no evidence that Jesus existed. Despite meticulous records kept by the Romans, the trial and existence of Jesus is mostly missing. Someone found a record that shows someone named Jesus physically existed, but some argue that many of the Biblical stories attributed to him may have been a compilation of stories that previously were attributed to others. As the religious scholars all noted, what binds those of faith is exactly that: fait. One has to have faith in their beliefs in Christianity and in God. Since religion is about faith, shouldn’t those of faith understand that those without faith, people who demand evidence and hard facts, are not going to accept something on faith. Why can’t the faithful embrace their faith and not be so concerned about those who demand more than faith? I believe if people would just accept each other for who they are regardless, this would be a much nicer world.
How often was the South Carolina law prohibiting atheists from holding public law enforced? Even if it never was, I am shocked by it because I believe our concept of religious freedom includes those who choose not to have religion.
SILVERMAN: It was enforced against those who were open atheists. It couldn’t be enforced against the many atheists who remained in the closet. Even if the law were never enforced, the assumption was that atheists were too immoral to hold public office,

LISA MILLER, New Yorker Magazine Contributing Editor, July 28, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Isn’t it safe to understand that no one can really be a Christian terrorist, because Christianity is about peace? May I then suggest we understand that Islamic terrorists are not really Islamic, because Islam is about peace?
MILLER: Well, for a good counterargument, let me recommend Sam Harris’s book “The End of Faith”. I don’t agree with everything In it, but it’s a brilliant book and it makes a good case for violence inherent in most Western religious texts.

JOANNA BROOKS, author, August 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I was in Utah attending a lecture on Utah history when the professor made the statement that polygamy existed more than we think. TO be honest, I hadn’t thought much about it before, so I am not certain what that meant. Your myth breaker indicates that polygamy is rare. So, let me ask: could someone give a general estimate as to how much it does exist?
BROOKS: A good general estimate I’ve heard is that there are about 40,000-50,000 polygamists who are ultraorthodox Mormon splinter groups. This does not include polygamists of other religious backgrounds in the U.S.

JOHARI ABDUL-MALIK, Imaa and Dar Al-Hijray Islamic Center Community Outreach Director, September 19, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are examples of what you have heard from fellow Muslims to any changes in how they have been treated since 2001? How much of a difference has there been? How often do they find themselves in a situation where someone has said or done something offensive or hurtful?
ABDUL-MALIK: The overall experience has actually been positive. However, the negative experiences have been structural (Homeland Security, etc.) but I expect that those things will change with time. I am a very positive person and I expect things to continue to only get better.

RUNNING

JIM HAGE, Marine Corps Marathon Two Time Champion, October 22, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: I have heard lots of debate on this, so I would please appreciate your advice: what types of exercises do you believe are best in preparing for marathon running?
HAGE: I’ve been running for several decades now, and I’ve heard lots of stud about cross-training, yoga, stretching, etc. Based on my experience, the best exercise for running Is running. That approach does tend to make us one-dimensional (physically and mentally), but if you want to race, run.

RUSSIA

JEFFREY MANKOFF, Council on Foreign Relations Adjunct Fellow for Russia Studies, April 1, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Does the situation in Georgia present any complications in the current negotiations between the U.S. and Russia? Also, has the Obama Administration made any changes in the official policies towards the situations in Georgia?
MANKOFF: For now it looks like Moscow and Washington will agree to disagree about Georgia. The U.S. will not recognize the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and maintains that Georgia will eventually join NATO. The Obama Administration has de-emphasized Georgia in its relationship with Russia and warned the Georgians that Washington cannot protect them from Moscow. So even though Obama remains committed to the idea of Georgian NATO membership, it is not something the U.S. is going to pursue in the near future.

DAVID HOFFMAN, Washington Post Contributing Editor, September 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: There was some sentiment within the U.S. that the real power of Star Wars was that it would force the unstable Soviet economy to overspend in response to Star Wars and that its own economy would collapse. Did Gorbachev recognize these economic consequences and how did these financial concerns motivate his actions?
HOFFMAN: Gorbachev was acutely aware of the economic problems, and it was central to all he did. He wanted to change the system in hopes of saving it. In the end he could not. But the part that we often misunderstand is the impact of Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. Sure, the Soviet leaders were puzzled by it, and threatened. But I reveal in the book (“The Dead Hand”) that they did not respond by building their own. Some of the ambitious designers and builders wanted to do so, so they gave Gorbachev a huge proposal in 1985. But he did not do it, and that was his contribution. His own physicists told him it was not likely to work any time soon. So Gorbachev tried to find another way to respond to Reagan.
In the end, the Soviet system bankrupted itself. Reagan’s “Star Wars” gave them a fright, but they were done in by the rot of a teetering, failed and imploding system, not by Reagan’s dream.
And I think we have to realize that at the same time he was doing that, Gorbachev was fighting internally to slow the arms race from within. He pushed hard against his own military and establishment.

PHILIP PAN, Washington post Foreign Service, March 29, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: The reports state that the two suicide bombers in these Moscow bombings were female. I presume it is too early to know much about them, but what do you know about the use of female suicide bombers in general and do their motivations and actions appear similar to those of male bombers, or are there differences?
PAN: Yes, there was a period in the first part of the past decade in which several attacks were attributed to female suicide bombers. Some were identified as widows of Chechen guerillas, and they came to be known in Russia as the “black widows”.

SECURITY

NEIL STRAUSS, author, March 11, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Assuming my survival plan during a terrorist strike will not including having Jenna Jamison in my shelter with a CD player and the entire collection of Motley Crew albums, which I suspect you would agree would be a good plan if it could be developed, what are the most essential things you recommend people have that most people forget to have on hand?
STRAUSS: Haha, nice. I’d say…a can opener.
Seriously, people stock up on canned goods and forget one. Here’s something else people don’t think about: they store food, water, fuel for warmth, and other survival supplies. But then they don’t think about things that aren’t so glamorous…like going to the bathroom, staying clean/sanitary, even washing dishes.

SOCCER

KEVIN PAYNE, D.C. United President, February 18, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Does or will the Maryland Stadium Authority have the resources to build the new stadium? It seems in general that construction loans in general face unforeseen futures.
PAYNE: The State of Maryland and the Stadium Authority have a very strong credit rating and issuing bonds should not be a problem.

DAVID MARINO-NACHISON, Washington Post Editor, March 8, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you expect a low scoring defensive game (in Barcelona versus Arsenal), or do you think it more likely will be an offensive shoot out?
MARINO-NACHISON: My guess is Barcelona would like to try to open the floodgates in front of the home crowd.
I did a quick look back at some stats this morning. This season, in Barcelona, they’ve won by almost three goals on average. To me, that’s an astounding number---and it would put them past Arsenal.
When they lose, they lose by about a goal and a half on average. But that’s not an option for them today…
(Arsenal’s numbers aren’t that bad either. Their average margin of victory is closer to 2.5; their average loss margin is about 1.2).

ALI KRIEGER, U.S. National Soccer Team Player, July 22, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What were some of the emotions you felt going through these last few games? It must have been an emotional roller coaster, or was it?
KRIEGER: You took the words right out of my mouth. It was an emotional roller coaster. I think I am more mentally and emotionally drained than physically drained from that experience. But I would do it all over if I could.

TAXES

GROVER NORQUIST, Americans for Tax Reform President, April 15, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you oppose the ability of Pennsylvania to tax Marceullus Shale, thus continuing that Pennsylvania is the only state that does not tax this asset?
NORQUIST: If you drill for shale oil in Pennsylvania, you pay social security taxes on all your employees. You pay property taxes on land. You pay corporate income taxes on your earnings. You and your employees pay social security and income taxes. Just what isn’t taxed in this process?
CZIKOWSKY: Do you object to a state compact that would collect Internet sales taxes? The sales taxes are technically legally owed to the states. Should states be allowed to collect these taxes from Internet sellers?
NORQUIST: Yes.
Debatable.
No.

LEONARD BURMAN, Syracuse University Public Affairs Professor, September 12, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Capital taxes involves double taxation Do you believe there is a fairer way to tax capital gains?
BURMAN: There is double taxation to the extent that corporate income has already been taxed. However, lots of corporations manage to avoid much of their corporate tax and many capital gains are on assets other than corporate stock. The best way to deal with this would be to “integrate” the corporate and individual income taxes. Basically, shareholders would pay tax on income as it accrues, rather than when they sell an asset. Alternatively, they could get a tax credit for the taxes already paid by companies.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Columnist, October 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Whatever your opinions and politics are, I always find it ironic when people who are middle class or low income support candidates who support flat taxes. TO me it should be obvious that any removal of progressivity in taxes, which happens in flat taxes, means that the poor and middle incomes will pay more in taxes, and the rich will payless. A flat tax may have some merits, but equity is not one of them.
ROBINSON: The thing is, when middle class voters look at what a flat tax would mean form them, as individuals and families---no mortgage interest deduction, etc.---they add up the numbers and change their opinions. I suspect that’s why we don’t have a flat tax now.

TECHNOLOGY

ROBIN MURPHY, Texas A&M Computer Science and Engineering Professor, May 25, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How much does a rescue robot cost? Is that any hope that, as demand for them increases, the price will decrease? I was surprised to learn how few there are. Rescue operations are time sensitive and it strikes me that we need more positioned across the country (and the world).
MURPHY: The rule of thumb is that small ground robots cost in increments of $50,00. We have some shoe-box sized robots (Inuktun, American Standard) that run just over $50K. We borrow a caterpillar robot from the Japanese that is valued at $100K. Our larger HazMat bot is $150K.
Small aerial vehicles (bigger versions of those Parrot Drones you sell int mall run $50-100K.
Marine vehicles, having to be really and truly waterproof, and really specialized sonars, run in the hundreds of thousands.
We at CRASAR strongly believe that every search and rescue team should have a portfolio of land, sea, and air robots to use---because time is critical. One hour is the timeframe for major life saving, responders need to understand a massive situation and its nuances within 24 hours, and most of the life saving and rapid recovery work is done in the first 72 hours. Often we get called in too late to make a difference….
CZIKOWKSY: Do you work with underwater robots? I have been fascinated by the research they are finding, especially those that can reach depths that humans can’t sustain. I know this is not the topic of this discussion, but if you are familiar with this research, I would appreciate learning any updates you may know of. The oceans are the least explored part of Earth.
MURPHY: Actually this is of tremendous relevance! The real “win” in the Japan tsunami search and recovery is marine vehicles, particularly remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) ---small, agile versions of the ones used in the BP Oil Spill. We took four of them to Japan and assisted there, working in collaboration with the International Rescue System Institute who lined up requests from different townships.
Think of all the bridges, ports, pipelines that are underwater! And this missing 10,000 people. Probably underwater. And all in shall debris filled areas that the Japanese Coast Guard can’t deploy manual divers. ROV and AUVs are incredible tools---we’ve been pushing for them in response and recovery since Hurricane Wilma!

TENNIS

PATRICK McENROE, U.S. Davis Cup Captain, August 7, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How is your tennis game these days? Do you get to play much?
McENROE: Between my three girls under three and a half and my job with the USTA and tennis TV commentating I don’t have as much time to play as I’d like. But I still think I could beat most of you following this.
CZIKOWSKY: What is up with Nadal? When is he expected to return?
McENROE: He’s in Montreat, so he has already been practicing for the big event up in Canada this week. And we’re all hopeful he will be able to come back as strong as ever, he’s great for tennis.
The fact that he wasn’t able to defend his Wimbledon title was such a tremendous disappointment. Most of all to him, I’m sure.
CZIKOWSKY: I was a big fan of yours when you were on Imus. Why did you leave the show? Did you get along with Don Imus and Charles McCord, and was all that banter friendly or were there some vicious undertones behind it.
McENROE: No, I had a great time on Imus. They’re a great crew. And all of that banter is done in jest and good fun. I only left because I had too many other things to do.
CZIKOWSKY: When a tennis player loses his temper during a match, is it usually part of a planned strategy to put the opponent off balance and to shake up the referees so they pay closer attention to their calls? Or, is it usually just that the player is upset?
McENROE: I would say 99 percent of the time the player is just upset. I think it’s very rare that someone would consciously---I’m going to get upset now to rattle my opponent.

PAM SHRIVER, former tennis pro, September 3, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Which of the Williams sisters appears more impressive at present?
SHRIVER: Serena for sure. Last night she was dominant and kept her unforced errors low. She did everything well, and that’s a big statement for her to make in the second round; other Serena in her first week is not at her best.
Even though Venus managed the knee well early, to have an injury like that in the opening night, and to try and manage them throughout the night in a grand slam is a tough thing.
CZIKOWSKY: Looking back at your career, what might you have done differently that you would advise others to note?
SHRIVER: A couple of things. I think I would have worked on my conditioning more, including footwork. I’m 6’1” and I duck footed, so I was really slow.
I also would have been more open to some technique changes. I kind of had one way of doing things. Even though I played beside Navritilova who was constantly turning over new leafs, I can’t say I was good at that.
But I think I capitalized on what strengths I had.
CZIKOWSKY: If you were coaching someone playing against Venus Williams, what advice would you give?
SHRIVER: Attack the second serve every time! Make her feel the pressure. Pick on the forehand side, serve into the body, keep your racquet in tight and ride out storms. Ride out her streaks.
She might be playing great one minute, but you have to keep her on the court. Just keep fighting!

TERRORISM

CHARLES CANNON, Synchronicity Foundation leader and terrorism survivor, August 24, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: If you were to set in a room with the terrorists, what would you want to say to them, and what would you hope they would say to you?
CANNON: I would say nothing until we each experience the same stillness. Out of that stillness…that ground of being…would come the appropriate conversation.

SUDARSAN RAGHAVAN, Washington Post Foreign Service, December 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: How certain are we that the recent attempts by Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab to start a fire was not the work of a lone attacker? Hasn’t it been the al Qaeda method to send multiple, often four, attackers at the same time in the expectation that three in four tend to be stopped beforehand? If this was an al Qaeda attack, where were the other attackers? Were they stopped? Or, does this signal that al Qaeda is changing its tactics?
RAGHAVAN: You’ve asked the $100 million question. At Qaeda and its progeny have had a long history of finding weaknesses in security measures---and then finding new tactics to stage surprise attacks. They used an explosives-laden speedboat to bomb the USS Cole os 2000; militants masquerading as journalists killed Ahmed Shah Masood, the Afghan rebel leader. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Al Qaeda sent one person to bomb an airline. Of course, at this moment, we don’t know for certain whether Abdulmutallab has links to Al Qaeda. That’s what investigators on three continents are trying to figure out as we speak.

HARRY HUMPHRIES, Global Studies Group Counterterrorism Expert, December 28, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: As a counterterrorism expert, do you believe Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was more apt a solo operation or do you believe he was sent by al Qaeda? I ask because I thought it was the al Qaeda norm to send multiple attackers, knowing that most will be captured or fail. If this was al Qaeda, where were the other attackers, or does this indicate a change in how the operate?
HUMPHRIES: AQ operates under the rules of Asymmetrics. They constantly change tactics to focus on our system’s weaknesses. Probes are often used to test the system. This was a probe and QA definitely supported it. Explosive system was consistent with other AQ events. We can expect more to follow as they continue to explore methods of getting explosives on target.

BRUCE HOFFMAN, Georgetown University Security Studies Professor, January 11, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I recall reading how al Qaeda used to send multiple attempts at terror as they realized that some would not get through. I now read they have changed this tactic, How much of Al Qaeda’s tactics fit traditional pattern and, since they seem to be able to change due to circumstances, how quick are they to change their past patterns?
HOFFMAN: It is a reflection of the pressure that al Qaeda is under attack that we have not seen the multiple attacks on no 9/11. However, the 7/7/05 London bombing involved multiple bombers and the 2006 airline plot similarly involved simultaneous explosions. Simultaneity is one of al Qaeda’s most important metrics. I believe this is still the case. However, hopefully, it is a measure of our success against the group (e.g., the intensified drone attacks) that it is less able to commit those types of multiple attacks for now. But I wouldn’t necessarily count on that lasting forever.

JOHN YOO, Former Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General, March 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts that the United States, as the world’s largest military power, needs to set an example on how to handle capture suspected combatants and terrorists? If we violate common moral standards, don’t we both put our own captured military and government personnel at risk as well as losing some international respect?
YOO: The United States of course wants to follow the highest standards of conduct with regard to enemy combatants who follow the rules of war. It should and does follow the Geneva Conventions scrupulously when fighting the armed forces of other nations that have signed the Geneva Conventions or follow their principles. But whether these same rules should apply to al Qaeda does not follow the Geneva Conventions, and it operates by violating the core principle of the laws of war---that the harm of war be limited, as much as possible, to combatants and to protect innocent civilians. Al Qaeda attacks purely civilian targets by surprise while disguised as civilians. Why should the United States, which has every interest in enforcing the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions, give the same high protections to al Qaeda operatives who violated the laws of war as we do to those who follow the law (i.e., the combatants of other nations). American policy shows that we will enforce the law when it applies, and that we will not give its benefits to those who are not entitled to them and do not deserve them.
It is an important question whether by doing so, we would put our own troops under threat when they are captured. That is a policy question, not a legal one of interpreting the Conventions and the laws of war. Even though the Geneva Conventions, in my view, do not protect al Qaeda operatives, policymakers could still give them those benefits as a matter of choice. But that course would assume that in a future war, say against a China or Russia, our soldiers would be abused because of the way that the United States treated al Qaeda operatives in a wholly different war. I find that hard to believe. I think a China or Russia will care about how their soldiers are treated by us.

EVAN F. KOHLMANN, Flashpoint Partners Terrorism Consultant, May 3, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: I understand the Taliban group that claimed credit for the bomb (found in Times Square) has little credibility. What about this bomb and the evidence so far makes it seem likely this is not a part of Taliban or al Qaeda terror attempt?
KOHLMANN: The incendiary device in question here was cobbled together from ordinary items you can buy at regular stores. For lack of a better analogy, it’s almost like a glorified Molotov cocktail. There was no fabrication of an explosive, there was no sophistical wiring, there was no remote detonator, etc. In other words, you probably wouldn’t need to attend a terror training camp ---- or have any real knowledge of bomb-making---to put a device like this together. The presumption, fair or not, is that if Al Qaida or the Taliban were to actually assign someone to carry out a “jaw breaking” attack inside the U.S., they would be at least skilled enough to understand how to put together a remote detonator. We will have to see whether that presumption holds true.

GARY ACKERMAN, Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, May 4, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Had the airplane taken off with the suspect on board, I presume the air carrier would have cooperated with authorities. Do we have a legal right to order an airplane to return once it has left American airspace? Also, if the plane had landed in Dubai, wouldn’t the authorities there have detained the suspect?
ACKERMAN: Interesting questions, and I assume that as long as the place was still in US airspace, it could have been “escorted” back. Even outside of US airspace, there are precedents for US taking action (the plane carrying the perps from the Achille Lauro was diverted by US planes to Italy). For the legalities under international conventions, you would have to ask a lawyer.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post Associate Editor, May 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: It is interesting to note that the raid of bin Laden’s compound also yielded some information. We do not yet know what information was obtained, and presumably much of it we will not know (at least for sometime), yet may we be cautiously optimistic that seizing the records of the leader will yield information about where and who the followers are? We can hope.
ROBINSON: We’re getting mixed signals here. There are reports that “significant” information was collected. We also know bin Laden too great pains to avoid being a target of electronic surveillance---no phone line, for example. Apparently he communicated solely by courier. But maybe he was convinced that the compound was safe.

PETER BERGEN, New America Foundation National Security Studies Director, May 9, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: How much of al Qaeda’s energies are given towards the United States compared to other countries?
BERGEN: Al Qaeda in Iraq killed thousands in Iraq. Al Qaeda also killed 52 in London on 7/7/2005. But the US remains the Main Enemy for al Qaeda.

GARRETT GRAFF, The Washingtonian Editor in Chief, May 13, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: What are the limits that the FBI has on investigation international terrorism? What are the difficulties of coordinating investigations with the CIA?
GRAFF: The risk of the FBI on the international scene began in the 1990s---actually partly as a result of the cutback in the CIA’s operation and budget as part of the “peace dividend” after the end of the Cold War---but it really accelerated under Director Mueller. Today the FBI has grown into what I think is the first global police---it operates in about 80 countries overseas and has a large presence in places like Afghanistan and Iraq/
The Bureau argues it has to expand overseas because it’s so easy to cross borders that many domestic threats begin overseas. When the CIA and FBI were originally delineated in 1947---the differences were easy to recognize: A spy was either in East Germany or a bank robber was in Kansas City. Today spies overseas reach into the U.S., just as a U.S. bank can be robbed by someone in Romania.
Internationally, one of the interesting things is that the FBI sometimes is able to establish better working relationships with the host government than the CIA. Since the FBI is there in a law enforcement capacity---it’s not engaged in espionage---its agents serve openly and work, in theory, cooperatively with the host country on problems of mutual concern. Many countries are much happier to see the FBI arrive than the CIA.
CZIKOWSKY: What do the CIA and State Department think of FBI agents being in 80 different countries? Do they coordinate well and what tensions might there be?
GRAFF: Historically there’s been tremendous tension between the FBI,. CIA, and State Department on some of these overseas deployments. Some ambassadors have really chafed at the FBI’s operations on their turf, particularly during the investigation of the USS Cole bombing in 2000. Other times, though, ambassadors see the FBI as a great tool of goodwill, helping local police solve crime and do investigations they could never tackle themselves.
The coordination between the CIA and the FBI has gotten a lot better since 9/11, although there are still pockets of difficulty, and I think part of that evolution is the recognition that there’s so much work to be done these days that there’s enough to go around. The CIA and the FBI also have different roles: For instance, the CIA;s main international counterterrorism tool has evolved to be the drones and Hellfire missiles, while the FBI is focused on arresting suspect to bring them back to stand trial.
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of the most surprising things you came across during your research?
GRAFF: Beyond the sheer scale, scope, and ambition of the FBI’s international work, which was my original reason for wanting to write this book, one of the most surprising things I came across in my research for “The Threat Matrix” was the work that the FB has done on IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The majority of the FBI Laboratory, in Quantico, Virginia, has been given over in recent years to studying IEDs from those war zones. Resources that once were focused on solving domestic crimes, helping local and state law enforcement, and so on, were redirected in a major way to helping U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan combat the scourge of IEDs. While it’s certainly noble and important work, that meant up to 75 percent of the FBI Lab’s time was being spent on stuff it didn’t traditionally do. That’s a huge change and one that I don’t think most people knew had happened at all.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the future role of the FBI is the continuing War on Terror?
GRAFF: Since 9/11, the U.S. government has responded to terrorism through a variety of channels---from intelligence to law enforcement to political to diplomatic to military. The FBI still is the primary domestic security agency, so much of its work is focused on preventing attacks on the homeland. The FBI has had remarkable success (some skill, some luck) in breaking up dozens of plots within the US. Since 9/11---including some very serious ones like Najibullah Zazi’s plan in 2009 to attack the New York subways. Today the FBI is very focused on so-called “lone wolves” or “homegrown radicals”, that is would-be terrorists who embark on their attacks without much guidance or training from terror groups. They’re also very concerned about groups like AQAP, LeT, or TTP, who increasingly appear focused on executing U.S. attacks. Beyond Islamic extremists, though, there’s an ever-present threat of domestic terror groups like the white supremacists who tried to bomb the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade in Spokane in January.

RICHARD BLOOM, U.S. Government Intelligence Operations Manager, July 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: There is a big difference between al-Qaeda collapsing and anti-American terrorism collapsing. Are there any sizable groups emerging in place of al-Qaeda that might pick up where they left off? Or does it appear that anti-American sentiment is such that most anti-American groups are not likely to believe that terrorism against America is the method to use?
BLOOM: No, it is not. Terrorism has been present and often effective throughout history. Only technologies differ; the psychologies do not. Also, the very issue of groups and organizations becomes less important as technologies enable individuals.
CZIKOWSKY: What drives the bulk of terrorist attacks? If in a few years there are few to no American troops in Islam majority countries, and if hope is reached and there is peace between Israel and the Palestinians, will terrorist groups begin fading away, or might this make a militant view more reactionary?
BLOOM: Terrorist historically has been an effective tool of power for a myriad of reasons. Handling so-called Islamic-oriented issues successfully will not mitigate the threat or use of terrorism for the U.S. or other political entities.
CZIKOWSKY: What is your opinion of the 1% chance opinion that was prevalent during the Cheney years: that if there is a 1% chance that there would be a massive terrorist attack, that it should be essentially treated as a certain attack. Do we even have the resources to combat every theoretical and actual 1% chance of attack?
BLOOM: Any political entity has a finite amount of material resources to address any problem or issue. The same applies to terrorism. The answer to this question lies in risk assessment, which would be derived from the probability of an attack coupled with the expected consequences from such an attack. Counter-terrorists may disagree respectfully about which risks merit various amounts of and types of resources.
CZIKOWSKY: What are the major sources of funds for terrorists?
BLOOM: I believe they include private individuals, certain social service / aid organization, and some special services agencies of governments. However, because terrorism is ultimately about generating a psychological impact, with ingenuity comes a lesser need for any significant financial support.
CZIKOWSKY: Is the recent terrorist attack (in Norway by Anders Behring Brevik), along with Timothy McVeigh, indication we need to be spending more efforts prevetnting home group and small group and even individual terrorists?
BLOOM: Good question. Regardless of political dialogue and posturing among U.S. political leaders, I believe that antiterrorist and counterterrorist risks are being collected on and that planning to deter, identify, and neutralize such risks is ongoing. Going more from a threat to vulnerability perspective to a risk perspective that covers both is becoming more and more an appropriate standard problem.
CZIKOWSKY: While the abilities of terrorists to strike appear to improve over time, what about the abilities to track and prevent terrorist attacks? Do you believe we are keeping pace, improving, or falling behind in our abilities to monitor and stop terrorist attacks?
BLOOM: I believe, unfortunately, that this is a never-ending process with the various sides (terrorists, antiterrorists, counter-terrorists) making great strides and then losing the momentum only to gain it back. In general, I believe that terrorists have the advantage in that materially failed attacks may be psychologically successful…as may apprehensions before an attack and that there seem to be political expectations that counter-terrorists must always be successful or there’ll be “hell” to pay politically…

TRANSPORTATION

DOUG FEAVER, former Washington Post Aviation Reporter, June 2, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: Why did it take so long to locate a missing plane? I realize that radar doesn’t work below a certain altitude and that it is hard to spot something in the ocean. But, still, in this age of global position tracking, isn’t there some faster way to better find missing planes? If not, what is needed to create a faster tracking system?
FEAVER: I think the big story to come out is exactly on your point. Why are we still following airplanes across the ocean with World War II radio technology? As somebody said on NPR this morning, one would think with satellite technology that airline navigation would use it. We’re still using ground-based radar for the U.S. air space system instead of the GPS that can tell me how to get to my driveway.

LEE GUTKIND, Kilimanjaro bicycle traveler, September 21, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: What were your experiences previously on bicycling such steep inclines and how long did it take to get to where you are now?
GUTKIND: I am embarrassed to say, but we had limited biking experience. We were in good shape; we’re runners, have done marathons. But we weren’t bikers. The iBike guy, David Mozer, said that we seemed fit enough. The web site describes the trip as “moderate” in toughness. I gotta say, all of the other folks on the trip were quite taken aback by how hard it was---and they were experienced bkiers. I think I would not recommend it to novice bikers unless they have good bikes and time to train and train.

CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT, Washington Post Travel Section Flight Crew, February 8, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Every time I travel a certain airline---one whose handling with the public made national news---I always seem to return with another weird story. One thing that gets me is, for the second time, I have had the door shut on me as I race for a connecting flight. The attendant sees me but she continues to shut the door. The “helpful” person at customer service explained to me that they are required to do this under company policy in order to have the flight listed as an “on time departure”. So, the company is more willing to inconvenience customers for hours just for the benefit of some industry statistic? We have gone from “the customer is always right” to “we don’t care about our customers, only our image”. Well, I am one customer who has learned to fly another airline, so see how that affects your industry statistics.
ELLIOTT: That’s not as weird a story as you might think. Airlines are fixated on their meaningless “on time” numbers (meaningless, because they pad their schedules so that even if they are stuck in traffic, they’re on time). And the notion that the customer is always right” is an antiquated as a regulated airline industry. You know, you’ve just given me a good idea for a column…

PETULA DVORAK, Washington Post Columnist, August 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: Putting aside all the emotional issues (over the arrest of flight attendant Stephen Slater), what were the physical dangers involved in activating an emergency chute How much damage and delay does that do to an airplane and could unaware personnel on the ground potentially been harmed if the chute has hit them?
DVORAK: Folks on the ground could’ve been smacked by that emergency cute (sorry Mr. Baggage Handler, I’m having a temper tantrum,). I believe it’s going to cost the airline a pretty penny (oops, looks like no more free soda) to fix the chute. CBS reported about $25,000. I’m sure that the jet was out of service for quite a while. Sorry passengers waiting to fly.

JACKIE JETER, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 President, June 21, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Do you see a day when the Metro can operate at a profit, and, if so, what will it take to make the Metro operate without subsidies? (Incidentally, I favor subsidies and believe more people should ride an expanded Metro. Yet I am not certain if it can operate without subsidies, or am I wrong?
JETER: Public transportation should be for the public and we will never be able to afford good transportation without it. Everything must be on the table concerning how we get our money, making it profitable.
CZIKOWSKY: What do you say to people who believe transit worker salaries are too high?
JETER: Their salaries commensurate with their skills and they provide a valuable service to the public, like police and fireman.

BARBARA RICHARDSON, Metro Assistant General Manager, September 6, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Will you be selling t-shirts with the new Metro map? It not only would be good publicity, tourist may buy them, and it may help remind wearers where they are going.
RICHARDSON: Yes. Curious what you think the right price would be…?
CZIKOWSKY: If it were up to me, the t-shirts would be free for anyone riding the Metro. Yet, since I doubt that would get approved, I would keep it inexpensive so you would sell more and publicize the new map more, Does $10 per shirt sound good?

DANA MILBANK, Washington Post Columnist, December 16, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Surely you aren’t driving while typing. Which reminds me, what is your position on texting while driving?
MILBANK: I am in a vehicle that is moving, but I am in the passenger seat. We just got off at Connecticut Avenue and are making a right on Jones Bridge. I am very opposed to texting while driving and I know it is wrong even when I am doing it. Actually, I think a case can be made that texting is wrong under any circumstance.

TRAVEL

JENNE JOHNSON, Washington Post Writer, March 3, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Why don’t college students go to Lake Erie for spring break? Don’t college students like ice fishing?
JOHNSON: hahaha…Why DON’T they go to Lake Erie!?
In case anyone is interested, they have a vacation guide. Apparently, “you’ll find it all on Lake Erie”.

VETERINARIAN MEDICINE

ERNIE WARD, veterinarian, April 13, 2010
CZIKOWSKY: As we tend to think of our dogs more and more as part of the family and that they should eat people food along with us. I presume they are getting the same fatty foods we people eat. Is it safe to presume that dogs begging at the table were healthier back when our diets were healthier?
WARD: I think that’s a safe assumption. We are eating junk food and so are our pets.
CZIKOWSKY: The problem of overweight dogs also resembles the problem of overweight people. One design problem that has been noted, in our trend in moving to suburbs and exurbia, is that we no longer walk as we did when we lived in cities or rural areas. We drive more to get to places. May new developments don’t even have sidewalks, which forces more driving. We need to take our dogs out walking more, for the health of both.
WARD: Amen, brother!
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of the worse foods that people eat that should never be shared with dogs? I hear heard chocolate is one. I presume that is true? What other foods should not be shared?
WARD: Chocolate, onions, grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, etc. In (his book) “Chow Hounds”. I go into great detail on the foods that are harmful and the many foods that are myths.
CZIKOWSKY: Is it true that dogs will basically eat as much as they can? I remember being told they would eat until they explode. Since I have not seen any exploding dogs, what is their sense of when to stop eating?
WARD: Well, there was that one 1954 case in East Siberia…
Most dogs eat until they are full and tend not to overeat. The reasons that dogs overeat are largely due to changes in dog food formulation, hence the term “Kibble Crack” I use in “Chow Hounds”. I go into great detail on how pet food companies have added sugar and fat to trick a dog’s normal appetite.
CZIKOWSKY: Similar to how one should never see how an “all beef” hot dog is made, how bad are the “all meat” foods for dogs? Are we really talking about hoofs and mouths and organs and less meats, or are some really meat and no filler?
WARD: Some brands are worse than others. It really is horrible how 99% of the meat, poultry, and pork is raised in this country.
CZIKOWSKY: My friend likes to carry her little dog around in her purse. Is there anything I could get for the dog to exercise while in the purse? You know, like a little wheel for him to run in?
WARD: I recently patented the “pocket treadmill”. I would be glad to sell you a prototype.

KRISI ERWIN, veterinarian, September 26, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: I have been fascinated by acupuncture ever since a neighbor spent years seeking treatment as a stroke, It was acupuncture surgery in China that restored much of his functions. How common is acupuncture for animals? What types of surgeries are done with acupuncture?
ERWIN: Thanks so much for a great question! Acupuncture is becoming increasingly more common for animals and can help many conditions, including arthritis, disc disease, and sprains. It can also be very helpful for conditioning athletes as well. I am a little confused about the term “acupuncture surgery”, however. Pets do not need to be sedated or anesthetized for acupuncture treatments and most seem to really enjoy it.

VIETNAM

GORDON M. GOLDSTEIN, author, October 19, 2009
CZIKOWSKY: President Johnson is often quoted as fearing he was trapped between a war he felt he had to fight and the realization that he did not know how to win the war. How did key Johnson advisors believe they could win the war, or were they similarly at a loss?
GOLDSTEIN: : While this may be a simplification, the following generalization, none the less, captures something critical about decision-making in the Johnson White House. In the summer of 1956 President Johnson’s War Council was overwhelmingly fixated on not losing in Vietnam. There was insufficient discussion and debate about what it would take to “win”.
CZIKOWSKY: I recall Ho Chi Minh looked towards American for assistance? What do you think likely outcomes could have been had the United States recognized Ho Chi Minh?
GOLDSTEIN: It is correct that in 1945 Ho Chi Minh formally sought diplomatic recognition and aid from the U.S. The record indicates that possibility never was seriously considered in Washington.

WEATHER

BRADLEY SMALL, National Science Foundation Physician and Dynamic Meteorology Program Director, April 27, 2011
CZIKOWSKY: Is there any connection between the jet stream and the location of tornados?
SMALL: Yes, absolutely. The core of the strongest jet stream wind shear (the tendency of winds to turn and increase with height). What’s more, these winders are to some degree carried earthward (in intense downdrafts) and appear to play an important role in focusing rotation on a broad scale (the “menoscyclone” that may be 10 or more miles across) into a tornado-sized vortex.. Google “rear flank downdraft” if you want to know more about this process.