“Your work just doesn’t matter at all.” That was how lobbyist Craig Holman lightheartedly described his invitation to speak on a Miller-McCune-sponsored panel looking at how effective lobbying really is in Washington, D.C. The panel, which convened Thursday morning, included academics studying the issue from "30,000 feet" and lobbyists who get their hands dirty every day in the field. The discussion centered on one of the most in-depth political science studies ever conducted on the day-to-day workings of Washington — the prize-winning book Lobbying and Policy Change: Who Wins, Who ... Read More
Desperately Seeking Landmines
March 1, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
On his knees in a field of freshly cropped weeds, protected by a Plexiglas visor and a bulletproof smock, Mohammed Inazario-Mendes digs carefully in sun-baked dirt. He loosens a little with a long-handled steel spoon, then scoops it out with his hands. Then he does it again. Inch by inch, he painstakingly advances a little trench toward the spot a foot away marked with three red sticks. Inazario-Mendes has good reason to work slowly. Just this morning, two landmines were unearthed only yards from where he's digging. His job is to find out if the object that triggered his metal detector — ... Read More
Songs and Ads: Ten Infamous Examples
November 3, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
Related interview: Bethany Klein on pop music and Madison Avenue 1. In January 1984, during the sixth take of an ad that would become infamous, pop superstar Michael Jackson's hair caught fire when a fireworks display malfunctioned, showering him in sparks. Jackson was rushed to a hospital, where he was treated for second degree burns to his head. "He is in discomfort," his plastic surgeon told the press. "It will take a few weeks to determine the hair loss." The ad itself would be remembered for turning the hit song "Billie Jean" into a Pepsi pitch. Watch it here: 2. In 1987, Nike ... Read More
‘One Dream’ Meets ‘I Have a Dream’
August 8, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
Sanding away or genuinely forgetting his rough edges and inconveniences, America each Jan. 17 celebrates the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. Beyond some historic sound bites, iconic images and cultural trivia answers (“Montgomery bus boycott,” Selma, Memphis, “Ebenezer Baptist”), it’s a safe bet that few in America — black, white or other — could intelligently discuss the real man for more than a few minutes before entering terra incognita. With that backdrop, a young American studying in China courtesy of a Fulbright conceived of bringing King to China, first by teaching ... Read More
A Call to Reform Congress
May 6, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
Cyber-seer Lawrence Lessig, a legal professor at Stanford University who's widely known for founding Creative Commons and working to re-mold copyright law for the 21st century, has taken up a new cross — reforming Congress. Much like Creative Commons, a nonprofit that creates a flexible system for individuals to deal with the complex world of copyrighting their own output, Lessig's Change Congress crusade involves taking a "wiki" approach to a wider issue. In this case, the issue is how to flatten the distortions that money creates in the legislative process. The malign effect of money ... Read More