Category: Washington, DC
Former Chief of Staff visits Former Congressman’s American Institutions Class
Photos by Emily Reynolds
President Bill Clinton’s former Chief of Staff,John Podesta, visited former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert’s American Institutions class.
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue at the National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting
Photos by Emily Reynolds
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue speaks at a press conference at the National Governor’s Association winter meeting to discuss the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Connecticut Governor and Vice-Chair M. Jodi Rell at the National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting
Photos by Emily Reynolds
Connecticut Governor and vice-chair M. Jodi Rell meets at the Education, Early Childhood and Workforce Committee with Washington Governor and chairwoman Chris Gregoire during the National Governor’s Association winter meeting.
Maine Governor John Baldacci at the National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting
Photos by Emily Reynolds
Maine Governor John Baldacci spoke to a reporter at the National Governor’s Association winter meeting about what he would bring from the event back to his constituents.
Press Conference for Federal Regulations on Children Safety Features in Cars
Photos by Emily Reynolds
Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and John Sununu (R-NH) and Representatives Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) and Peter King (R-NY) spoke at a press conference in support of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act which calls for federal regulations on safety features in cars to prevent non-traffic accidents involving children. Seven families of children injured or killed in non-traffic accidents also attended and many told their stories.
Military Readiness Enhancement Act Reintroduced
Photos by Emily Reynolds
Congressman Martin T. Meehan (D-MA) re-introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act which would repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy currently in effect. He speaks at a press conference in Washington, D.C. with Republican co-sponsor Christopher Shays (R-CT), and two former Marine Sgts. who are both openly gay.
2007 Congressional Pig Book
Photos by Emily Reynolds
Thomas A. Schatz, president of the non-profit organization Citizens Against Government Waste, announces the release of the 2007 Congressional Pig Book at the Phoenix Park Hotel. Senators John McCain and James DeMint, Congressman Jeff Flake, the CAGW’s mascot Porky, and two live pigs, Winnie and Dudley, also attend.
How Much Do You Know About How Your Kids Play?
GAMING
The Norwalk Hour
Jamie Hammon
Boston University Washington News Service
12-14-06
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 — With more than half of all video game sales made each year during the holiday shopping season, parents are likely to find video games right at the top of their childrens’ wish lists. But a recent study calls into question how effective and involved parents are in ensuring that their children have appropriate gaming habits – not simply the types of games played, but how often.
Though it’s no secret to most parents that gaming technology has allowed innocent and simplistic Pac-Man plots to be replaced by edgier and more realistic content, a report last month found that when it comes to their children’s video game habits, there is much parents do not know.
The 11th Annual Video Game Report Card that the National Institute on Media and the Family issued in November found a major communication breakdown between parents and their kids about video game habits. Parents, the institute said, largely overestimate the effectiveness of their role as video game gatekeepers – a role especially significant in the past year as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all released new gaming consoles, just in time for holiday shopping.
“If there is a simple message we can give to parents it is this – watch what your kids watch, play what your kids play,” said David Walsh, president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, an independent, non-partisan group that researches the effects of mass media on children.
“Every generation of this technology brings us closer to virtual reality,” Walsh said. “And when young people spend hours and hours on interactive technology, literally rehearsing behaviors, we know that has an impact.”
In recent weeks, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has joined Walsh’s group in press conferences to announce the video game report card, to launch a series of public service announcements to educate parents about the video game rating system, and to promote legislation that would further finance research into video games and public health.
Researchers for the report surveyed more than 1,400 fourth- and fifth-grade students and found that parents and their children had some sharply different answers to the same questions. For example, 73 percent of the parents said they used the ratings in making game purchases, but only 30 percent of kids from those same families said the same; 51 percent of the kids said their parents never talked with them about the video games they played, while only 5 percent of their parents said they never talked with their children about their games; and 39 percent of kids said they never have to ask permission before playing video games, while only 10 percent of parents said their children did not have to ask permission.
“This is a wakeup call to parents that it’s time to stop being overly optimistic about how involved you are with your kids’ video game habits, and reengage at a new level,” said Douglas Gentile, developmental psychologist and director of research for the institute.
In previous years the report focused on the gaming industry and retailers, emphasizing their role in keeping M-rated (for mature) video games out of the hands of minors. This year, however, it found that the industry and retailers are, for the most part, upholding their end of the bargain.
Minors whom the institute sent out as secret shoppers were never successful in their attempts to purchase M-rated games from Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart. The institute also found all the new gaming consoles are equipped with parental controls similar in concept to the V-chip used in television.
In addition, the video game industry-sponsored Entertainment Software Rating Board has established a universal rating system for games and has launched a series of public service announcements over 800 radio and TV stations to educate parents and consumers about the ratings. (See accompanying box.)
“This is a lot of good news,” Lieberman said at a press conference announcing the report. “So now it’s time to focus on parents. Learn about the [rating board’s] system, learn about the independent rating systems and use parental controls.”
The rating board is an independent, non-profit body established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association, the trade association which represents video game manufacturers. While rating is not mandatory, virtually all games that U.S. and Canadian retailers sell are rated by the board, and most retailers and console manufacturers will stock and permit only games that carry the rating.
The rating system, identified by a symbol on the front of the game’s box and a content description on the back, consists of “EC” for early childhood, “E” for everyone, “E+10” for everyone 10 or older, “T” for teen, “M” for mature, “AO” for adults only and “RP” for rating pending.
Content descriptions specify what the game contains. An M-rated game’s content description may include alcohol references, blood and gore, profanity, nudity, sexual themes (including depictions of rape) or use of drugs. A game with an E-rating may have “edutainment” as a content description, meaning that educational skills are reinforced by the video game.
So, how are kids getting their hands on M-rated games? In many cases, through independent retailers, where 32 percent of the time the child was able to purchase the game, no questions asked.
“So, OK, the kid’s thwarted at store one, hits two more and he’s got the game,” Gentile said. “If a kid really wants an M-rated game, I promise you that kid’s got it.”
Games receive an M-rating for violence, sexual aggression, profanity or the use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Though violence in video games is nothing new, that violence is now much gorier and more realistic as a result of increased graphics and processing power, and, quite significantly, that violence has moved from the fringe to the mainstream.
The way an aggression researcher defines violence in a game is very specific: when intentional harm is inflicted on a game character. This excludes most sports games, where the goal is to win, and not to harm anyone.
“With the average age of a gamer today being 33, it’s not surprising that there are games created for an older, more mature audience,” ratings board President Patricia Vance said at a press conference in early December. “Even though over half of the games that we rate each year are appropriate for all ages, including young players, about 12 percent are rated mature, which means they are for ages 17 or older.”
Gentile is currently publishing a study looking at how quickly the playing of aggressive video games affects the behavior of third through fifth graders. The results, he said, were shocking.
“Kids who play more violent video games early in the school year actually change to become more aggressive by later in the school year,” he said. “I didn’t think six months was enough time” to see changes in behavior.
Lieberman has co-sponsored a bill that would finance further study of both good and bad impacts of media on children. He said he also plans to introduce legislation to pay for a program that would bring together video game developers and educators to stimulate the development of video games for educational and other purposes, like helping children deal with health problems.
But all agree that the most straightforward solution starts in the home.
It is important that parents not fall prey to the “third person effect,” the tendency to rate oneself more highly than other people, Gentile said. In this case, parents say they believe that media violence affects children in general, but not their child.
“Parents like to say, ‘Well, it doesn’t affect my kid because he knows it’s just a game,’ ” Gentile said. “Well, of course these kids know it’s just a game. That doesn’t inoculate them from the effect.”
Suggestions made to parents in the report were to follow the ratings, use parental controls, put kids on a media diet, set limits and be willing to say no and watch and play what kids are watching and playing. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than one to two hours of total screen time each day, including television, video games, DVDs and other uses of the computer.
“My generation are immigrants to the modern media world – our children are natives,” Lieberman said. “But we need to work together across generational lines to do everything that we can do so modern technology presents a positive experience for our children individually and for our culture as a whole.”
2006 Buying Guide for Parents
The 11th Annual Video Game Report Card that the National Institute on Media and the Family issued last month lists the ratings assigned by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for a variety of videogames (M is for mature, E is for everyone and E 10+ is for 20 and older):
| Games to Avoid for your Children and Teens | Ratings |
| Gangs of London | M |
| The Sopranos | M |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | M |
| Reservoir Dogs | M |
| Mortal Kombat: Unchained | M |
| Scarface: The World is Yours | M |
| The Godfather: Mob Wars | M |
| Saints Row | M |
| Dead Rising | M |
| Just Cause | M |
| Recommended Games for Children and Teens | Ratings |
| LEGO Star Wars II – The Original Trilogy | E 10+ |
| Mario Hoops 3 on 3 | E |
| Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz | E |
| Roboblitz | E 10+ |
| Madden Football ’07 | E |
| LocoRoco | E |
| Dance Factory | E |
| Brain Age | E |
| Nancy Drew: Danger by Design | E |
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: The March of the Minis | E |
Lieberman Urges Extension of Office for Iraq Watchdog
SIGIR
The Norwalk Hour
Jamie Hammon
Boston University Washington News Service
11-14-06
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 —The Senate Tuesday voted to extend the life of the watchdog for the billions of taxpayer dollars spent in Iraq.
Without that vote, the office of Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction would expire next Oct. 1.
The Senate action came only hours after Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and a bipartisan group of Senators called for approval of a bill to extend the term of the agency.
With the extension, the office would continue to operate through late 2008.
“The special inspector general must be allowed to continue his aggressive work on behalf of our country and our taxpayers as long as their money, our money, is being spent in Iraq,” Lieberman said at a press conference.
Initiated as an amendment to the 2003 Defense Authorization Bill, the office was created to oversee the billions of dollars being spent on Iraq reconstruction. The new bill proposes that the office continue to exist until 10 months after 80 percent of the Iraq reconstruction money has been expended.
Lieberman and other Senate co-sponsors said they never saw the version of the bill Congress approved before the elections that included the early-termination provision.
“I don’t believe that the leaders of the committee on the Senate side or their staffs knew it was in there, and I think we can determine it was put in by House staff – but anyway, it’s pretty clear that this shouldn’t have been in there,” Lieberman said.
Lieberman called Stuart Bowen, who heads the special office, an “extraordinarily able and appropriately aggressive individual.”
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), who co-sponsored the bill, agreed.
“I have to give the Bush Administration credit – they appointed an excellent person, and they stood behind Stuart Bowen, who has issued report after report and been diligent in coming back to me and Sen. [Susan] Collins (R-ME), and is showing the work of this program,” he said.
Lieberman said that Bowen and his team have found evidence of enormous amounts of waste and fraud in U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq. The office has reported that the U.S. government can not account for nearly $9 billion distributed to the Iraqi government and that the U.S. government lost track of thousands of nine-millimeter pistols, as well as hundreds of assault riffles and other weapons distributed to Iraqi authorities.
It also reported that defense contractor “Halliburton wasted $75 million on a failed pipeline project, after ignoring consultants’ advice that the project should be further studied before their work on it began,” Lieberman said.
“I will add that the oversight efforts by other agencies have quite frankly been inadequate,” he said.
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A Marine Comes Home, Just in Time For Veteran’s Day
VETERANS DAY
The Norwalk Hour
Jamie Hammon
Boston University Washington News Service
11-09-06
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 –Lance Corporal Jimmy Louis heard a shot ring out, saw a muzzle flash and sparks hit his jacket, and felt shrapnel hit his face.
When he looked down, he realized he’d been shot.
The young Marine had been caught off guard while cordoning off a portion of a street in Fallujah, Iraq. Distracted by an old man who was causing raucous with some members of Louis’ unit, his chest had become the target for the sniper positioned two buildings away.
Louis returned to his Norwalk home on October 25, healthy and walking tall at 6’4”. In his bags were the mementos of his eight-month term of service in Iraq: the bullet pierced jacket and body armor that had saved his life, and the shrapnel that had cut his face.
“To walk around and not answer to anybody, not to wonder if you’re going to live or die the next day – anything remotely civilized is what you miss,” Louis said.
He became a Marine on June 1, 2003, just a few months after the United States invaded Iraq, when he joined Charlie Company 1st Battalion 25th Marines Regiment. He told only his immediate family of his enrollment, and it wasn’t until the young recruit went off to boot camp that his friends realized the warm and polite “Jim Lou,” as they called him, would probably be deployed to Iraq.
“I was not happy about it,” said Chris Sacco, a friend of Louis’ since high school. “He’s like a brother to me, and I know everything that’s going on in Iraq. I was like, ‘dude – no.’”
Louis has returned just in time to be one of the millions of veterans honored internationally this weekend at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I, known in the United States as Veteran’s Day.
With a theme of “Honor Our Veterans – Support Our Troops,” Norwalk’s Veteran’s Day activities will kick off at 9:30 a.m., with a concert at the Norwalk Concert Hall at City Hall. Ceremonies will begin at 10:30 with keynote speaker Mort Walker.
As is tradition around the world, a moment of silence will be observed at 11 a.m.; a time to reflect, with appreciation, pride, love and sadness, the sacrifices made by service men and women everywhere.
“They had their mixed emotions,” Louis said of his family’s reaction to the news that he would be sent to Iraq. They asked him questions like: Why are you going? Is it your choice? Is there a way you can get out of it?
“I was scared, really scared,” said Janine Andre, Louis’ mother. “I didn’t think he was going to go so soon.”
But Louis, a 2001 graduate of Brien McMahon High School, said he knew what he was getting into, that he desired the challenge, and wanted a “kick in the butt.”
Louis’ time in Fallujah was a “rollercoaster.” He experienced the chaos and terror on the streets of Fallujah, saw close friends die, and had his own close encounter with death on July 26.
Louis owes his life to the body armor all Marines are required to wear. The additional body armor was recently issued to the Marines, and though many complain that it is cumbersome – Louis estimated the plate and jacket totaled a combined 50 pounds – it is clearly effective.
“He showed me the bulletproof jacket he was wearing, and the hole that was there, it was – oh man – it was so deep it went down to the last layer of the steel plate and the Teflon underneath that,” said Sacco. “So thank God for that. Definitely thank God for that.”
The bullet was armor-piercing, Louis recalled.
“It went all the way down to the last sheet of metal,” he said. “I still came out with a cut about a centimeter away from my heart.”
Louis suffered only extensive bruising on his chest and about a week and a half in recovery. But the shot that would have otherwise killed him caused Louis more psychological than physical damage.
“My life flashed before my eyes,” Louis said. “I thought, ‘You’re alive – do you really want to keep doing this?’”
He did keep doing it, for another three months, but he had to avoid thinking about the things back home that he missed, or else he would lose concentration.
While there, he enjoyed hanging out with the other members of his unit, many of whom will now be lifelong friends. They listened to music, watched bootlegged American movies and television shows with Iraqi subtitles, and played basketball.
Louis also continued with a pastime he has enjoyed since kindergarten – art. He kept up a sketchbook while overseas, often sketching the members of his platoon, and plans on pursuing his artistic inclinations to graphic design by enrolling at Southern Connecticut University in the spring.
“He is warm, friendly, willing to take risks in his artwork,” said John Tate, who was Louis’ art teacher from kindergarten through high school.
Louis arrived back in Hartford with his unit on October 25.
“It was the most anticipated day of everyone’s life in the whole unit,” Louis said. “While we were going down the stairs we saw mobs of people – everyone cheering, yelling, screaming. The guys started to tear up, and some couldn’t even go out they were so nervous.”
“We stood in formation and then our [commanding officer] said, ‘Your tour in Iraq is over. You’re done.’”
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