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PHOTOS: Dogs Prepare For Prestigious Pooch Parade

2012-02-11T18:42:14Z

NEW YORK (AP) â Standing at attention, or "stacked," as they say in the dog show world, Eira is the picture of wire fox terrier perfection.

A dense, white coat falls off her jaws. She's got alert eyes, a very still tail and plenty of ribbons to prove her pedigree.

And she's primed for America's most prestigious pooch parade, the 136th Westminster Kennel Club event, starting Monday at Madison Square Garden.

Handler Gabriel Rangel hopes so, anyway.

"Oh, she can misbehave," he said last weekend. "She likes to run into my knee, having fun."

She did that and more at Westminster last February â fine behavior when she's at home, playing on the California beaches, but not exactly what the judges want to see when picking a champion.

"It was a bit overwhelming for her. A lot of people around, a lot of things happening," Rangel said. "She'll be more used to it this time."

More than 2,000 of dogdom's finest will come in 185 breeds and varieties, coming from as far as Russia and China. The nearby Empire State Building will signal their arrival, changing its tower lighting from champion New York Giants blue to Westminster purple and gold.

There are prized terriers and poodles, plus an affenpinscher with a monkey face called Banana Joe. And there's a newcomer to the green carpet of the Garden, the xoloitzcuintli â commonly known as a Mexican hairless, pronounce it as "show-low-eats-QUEEN-tlee" and sound like a pro.

On Tuesday night, with a crowd of elite fanciers such as Martha Stewart and everyday fans hollering for their favorites, judge Cindy Vogels will point to her pick as best in show.

Last year, a Scottish deerhound named Hickory earned the esteemed silver bowl. She also got to lead the pre-Westminster parade that recently attracted all that Manhattan attention.

"Oh, it changes your life," exclaimed her owner, Ceil Dove. "You never expect it. There's only one every year, and suddenly they choose you."

"Now, everywhere you go, someone asks, 'Is that her?'" she said.

Hickory's life is a little different these days, too. She took time off from chasing deer and rabbits on the Doves' farm in Flint Hill, Va., to have a litter of nine in October.

By show dog standards, her win was quite an upset. A true underdog, so to speak. This year, there are plenty of top contenders that may join the likes of previous popular winners such as Uno the beagle, Josh the Newfoundland and J.R. the bichon frise.

"Some really great dogs this year," offered David Frei, for more than two decades the expert TV host at Westminster.

Terriers have often ruled this show, with wire foxes winning a record 13 times. The top dog of 2012 could be decided by whether Eira or a smooth fox terrier that goes by Sneak's A Peek wins the group and reaches the best-of-seven final ring.

Eira, whose name sounds like "Ira" and means "snow" in Welsh, recently won the big National Dog Show â the event televised on Thanksgiving. And Rangel's a pro, having guided Sadie the Scottish terrier to the win at Westminster in 2010.

Sneak's A Peek also is a veteran, having won the terrier group at the Garden last year. If he's among the last seven, he's got an excellent chance. Vogels comes from a terrier background and twice in the last two years at regional competitions she picked him for best in show honors.

Along with being familiar with a dog, "the more you know, the more you know what's wrong, too," she said Thursday. "Judging is judging is judging."

Among others in the mix: London, a standard poodle that won the AKC/Eukanuba event, a pert Pekingese that took the Westminster toy group last year and Casablanca's Thrilling Seduction, a black cocker spaniel that was the No. 1 show dog in America this year after making the final ring here last February.

A three-part renovation at the Garden that cut into the backstage benching area caused Westminster to trim this year's entries from the usual 2,500. That shouldn't affect the 3Â½ million TV viewers, not including some pets who like to watch along with their owners.

USA Network and CNBC will share Monday night's coverage when the hound, toy, nonsporting and herding winners will be chosen. USA will televise Tuesday night for the top sporting, working and terriers and best in show.

What fans at home will not see are those wrenching commercials by Pedigree that underlined animal neglect and abuse. Purina is now a Westminster sponsor and will feature more upbeat ads.

What viewers will see are six new breeds to Westminster â the xoloitzcuintli, the Entlebucher mountain dog, the Norwegian lundehund, the American English coonhound, the Finnish lapphund and the Cesky terrier.

"I was looking for a new breed," said Loren Marino, of Manchester, N.J., showing off her Cesky called Katrina. "I'm looking forward to being at Westminster the first time they're eligible."

Jill Andresevic: 'Love, Etc.' Director Opens Up About Love, New York City And Finding Inspiration

2012-02-11T17:17:52Z

Tune in to "Super Soul Sunday" this Sunday, Feb. 12 at 11 a.m. ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network to see "Love Etc."

I made the film "Love Etc." because Jonathan Tisch (my executive producer) inspired me with his vision of New York City and Love.Â My producing Jeffrey Stewart and I put his idea on paper and gave it form, and that is how "Love Etc." came into being.

I was also inspired to make this movie because I am in love with New York City. Unlike any other place I have ever lived in, New York is where I feel most at home. It was the perfect city to "cast" the film, with the visual backdrop of five boroughs, 300 square miles, and 8 million people. If a filmmaker was ever going to examine love "in a Petri dish" so to speak, I cannot imagine a better city to do this in.

I love getting lost in the "everything" of the city, there is always so much to do, so many new places, ideas, and people to absorb. It is the most interesting city in the world to me. I love melting into the anonymity of strangers packed like sardines on a train as I listen to my favorite playlist of the day (my own personal soundtrack to the city). The images I see everyday on the subway always influence me as a filmmaker. In this city, I could shoot a thousand images a day and never get bored.

It was fascinating to document the personal and intimate journeys of the five real life stories that I followed for over a year. The close proximity that my subjects allowed me and my crew to have with them, opened a window into worlds I may never have known, and in turn my subjects changed me; perhaps without even knowing it, they shifted something in me at my core. I realized through the process of making the film how much more important life and love are than work. Not to say work is not important, but human connection and connectivity is the ultimate "gold ring," and without that, nothing else has the same content, weight, or meaning in life. This thought reminds me of one of my favorite quotes "we do not remember days... we remember moments." - Cesare Pavese

I was recently asked what inspires me to do my work. I am inspired to make films because I love story. I also happen to love images and the process it takes to capture them, create context and meaning through casting, editorial, shot selection, music choices and the overall design process of creating a film.

In work, I am the happiest when I am on set. Time disappears and at the end of a good shoot day, even though I am exhausted, I feel elated, so full of life from the camaraderie of the crew, and from the creative process of "making something."

There is something magical about starting with a blank piece of paper and ending up with a film, whether it is five minutes or 90 minutes. For me there is nothing better than that when it comes to having a "job" and doing work.

Making the film "Love Etc." was one of the most transformative things I have ever done. I am happy I had the opportunity to document the lives of these five real stories over the course of a year. I hope the film inspires the audience to remember something they may have forgotten about love and relationships. Making the film certainly did that for me.

For more on conscious relationships, click here.

For more programming to nourish your mind, body and spirit tune in to OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network's new "Super Soul Sunday," airing Sundays at 11 a.m. ET/PT and please visit www.oprah.com/supersoulsunday.

Dad Of Subway Bomb Plotter Sentenced To 4 1/2 Years

2012-02-11T16:21:27Z

NEW YORK -- The father of an admitted terrorist was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison Friday after he was convicted of destroying evidence and lying to investigators to cover up his son's plot to attack the New York City subways in 2009 as one of a trio of suicide bombers.

Mohammed Wali Zazi, 56, could have faced up to 40 years, though his attorneys had argued for probation because they said he was simply trying to protect his family and had no idea what his son was up to.

His son, Najibullah Zazi, has admitted that he returned from a trip to Pakistan to his family's Denver-area home to practice concocting homemade bombs using chemicals extracted from common beauty supplies. He then drove to New York City in September 2009 with plans to attack the subway system in a "martyrdom operation" before he learned he was being watched by the FBI and fled back to Colorado. The plot was sanctioned by al-Qaida, but thwarted by authorities.

The elder Zazi was found guilty of conspiracy and obstruction of justice at a trial detailing the unraveling of a working-class family of Afghan-Americans amid chilling allegations of homegrown terror. He clawed his way to a fairly comfortable life in the U.S., hoping to give his children what he didn't experience: A life without struggle.

And he refused to believe, even at his sentencing, that his son was plotting an attack. He gave a long statement in Pashto through an interpreter saying his family was victimized.

"I believe that my son was pressured," he said. "I don't think that he was involved in any wrongdoing. I am sorry. The last three years my family ... went through very difficult times."

He said he feared his wife would not be able to support their children without him, she was ill and the family may have to return to Afghanistan.

"I ask forgiveness from all of you," he said. "I had a trial in here, and the jury convicted me, but the jury did not hear everything."

U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson said he understood why Zazi did what he did. "What wouldn't a parent do for a child?" he asked. But Gleeson said the lies hindered a critical, fast-moving terror investigation, and Zazi needed to be punished.

"When someone is going to bomb the New York City subway system, every lie matters," he said.

Following his trial in July, Zazi, who is a U.S. citizen, admitted that he forged immigration forms on behalf of a nephew who ended up testifying against him. He said he instructed a lawyer to fill out the forms to say the nephew was his son so that he could enter the United States more easily. Gleeson sentenced him to six months on that plea.

The nephew and Zazi's brother-in-law both testified at the trial how the FBI and immigration agents put pressure on the family as soon as the plot unraveled. Both had pleaded guilty and agreed to become government witnesses to stave off stiff prison terms.

When it became clear Najibullah Zazi was a suspect and family members were getting grand jury subpoenas, the cousin said "Uncle Wali" recruited him to get rid of plastic containers of peroxide and other evidence. The family agreed to code name the chemicals "medicine" in case the FBI was eavesdropping, he said. He also claimed his uncle told them not to say anything if they were asked questions.

Najibullah Zazi, who pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges and is awaiting sentencing, faces life in prison.

One of Zazi's former high school classmates also has admitted in a guilty plea that they wanted to avenge U.S. aggression in the Arab world by becoming martyrs. Both could testify against a third former classmate at a trial expected to begin in mid-April.

The elder Zazi's attorney, Deborah Colson, portrayed him as a kind, selfless man whose major weakness was that he put his family before himself. He cared for his 10 brothers and sisters in Afghanistan at a young age, eventually moving to the U.S. and working as a taxi driver for years. His friends and family wrote in to give examples of his kindness, like helping the homeless. One family member was in court for the sentencing, but wouldn't give his name.

He became a U.S. citizen on Oct. 23, 2007, one of the happiest days of his life, she said. "He was never politically minded but he fervently believed in the American dream."

Zazi was ignorant of the plans; Najibullah Zazi told prosecutors that his father didn't understand what his son was doing.

"He never believed that his son would do anything like that," Colson said.

Grammies On The Grammys

2012-02-11T15:44:09Z

Every expert and critic delivers their predictions in the lead-up to Sunday night's Grammy Awards ceremony. But one group of cultural surveyors is consistently and mysteriously left out.

Grandmothers.

After all, the Grammy Award was named for the founder of music's grandmother, Grammy Pearl,* so it only made sense that we go straight to the source. Or sources.

From the Hudson Guild Community Center in Manhattan, New York, we bring you Rosemary, Catherine, Merle, Julia, and Mibs -- five smart, opinionated women with a self-professed love of music. We played them snippets from the nominees for Best Album of the Year and Best Record of the Year and asked them to choose the winner. The results... will astound you.

*This is a lie. The Grammys were named after the Gramophone.

**Also, potential commenters, it should be noted: the segment is called "Grammies on the Grammys," rather than grannies. Just a little mix-up in video--title land. Additionally, the intro says we will be meeting with six grandmothers. Unfortunately, we lost one grandmother right away to an appointment.

LINSANITY CONTINUES

2012-02-11T03:53:55Z

NEW YORK — Jeremy Lin keeps getting better. Better even than Kobe Bryant on Friday night.

Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85.

Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Lin led the Knicks to their fourth straight win, tying their longest streak of the season. His two free throws with 52 seconds left and some booming "MVP! MVP!" chants stopped the Lakers' final rally and allowed the undrafted Harvard product to pass Carmelo Anthony for the highest-scoring game by a Knicks player this season.

Iman Shumpert added 12 points for the Knicks, who are still without Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. But they have Lin, the point guard that two other teams gave up on in December and didn't get his chance in New York until three other players couldn't do the job.

Bryant finished with 34 points, but he got off to a horrendous start and finished only 11 of 29 from the field. Pau Gasol had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but All-Star Andrew Bynum was only 1 of 8 for three points with 13 rebounds as the Lakers' nine-game winning streak against the Knicks was snapped.

Five of those wins had come at Madison Square Garden, where fans used to roar for Bryant.

They've got a new favorite now, and who could have ever predicted it'd be Lin?

The most surprising story in the NBA came back into the game with 9:25 left after the Knicks' lead had been trimmed to three. Shumpert hit a jumper and blew by Bryant for a dunk before Lin knocked down a jumper to push the lead to 76-69 with about 8 minutes left.

The lead was still eight before Lin nailed a long jumper, then was wide open after an offensive rebound for a 3-pointer from the wing, making it 84-71 as fans stood and screamed throughout the Lakers' timeout.

Lin followed his 28-point, eight-assist outing Monday in his first career start by scoring 23 points and handing out 10 assists Wednesday against Washington, becoming the first player since LeBron James in 2003 and just the sixth since 1970 to have at least 20 points and eight assists in his first two starts, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Knicks.

He became an instant star in New York just as fans were ready to check out basketball after the Giants' Super Bowl run was over, and just when it appeared the Knicks might fall too far behind in the standings to salvage the season.

Some Lin shirts were scattered throughout Madison Square Garden – though Spike Lee was still wearing Landry Fields' No. 2 in his courtside seat. Ratings on MSG network are up since Lin joined the lineup, and the NBA said some of its Asian TV partners have added Knicks games to their broadcast schedules so fans can see the league's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

Already drawing comparisons to Tim Tebow for his impact on teammates and the way he speaks of his faith afterward, the hype around him will only grow now after beating one of the league's marquee franchises in his first nationally televised game.

A night after needing overtime to win at Boston, the Lakers had nothing to start the game, and Lin quickly jumped on them. He started 4 of 5 as the Knicks raced to a 13-4 lead, and it grew to 19-8 as Los Angeles missed 12 of its first 13 shots.

Lin's four field goals in the first quarter matched the Lakers' total in 18 attempts (22 percent).

The Lakers cut a 14-point deficit to five late in the half before Lin put the Knicks back in control. He had a turnaround jumper then spun around to leave Derek Fisher behind on his way to a layup, pushing it to 47-38 with 2:44 remaining. It was 49-41 at halftime.

Bryant started 1 of 11 before hitting five of his next six shots. The record holder at the current arena with 61 points, he also grabbed 10 rebounds but got going far too late.

Notes: The Knicks had two points taken off the board in the third quarter when the referees ruled a foul earlier in the period on Metta World Peace shouldn't have counted against the Lakers' team foul total, so the Knicks shouldn't have been in the bonus and shot free throws yet on a later foul. ... Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said Anthony told him he was feeling better and walking without pain. The All-Star forward is expected to be re-evaluated Sunday, but D'Antoni said he doubted Anthony would play Tuesday at Toronto. The Knicks said Anthony was expected to miss a week or two after he was hurt Monday. ... Stoudemire, whose brother died in Florida on Monday, is expected to rejoin the team at practice Monday. ... Fisher made his 400th consecutive start. He has played in 522 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. ... Celebrities on hand included actor Ben Stiller, wrestler and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Giants Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, Hakeem Nicks and Antrel Rolle.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

LIVE: Knicks vs Lakers

2012-02-10T23:58:49Z

Who has had more fun this week: Jeremy Lin or the rest of us?

On the one hand, it seems fairly obvious that the Knicks' point guard has enjoyed his breakout performances versus the Nets, Jazz and Wizards and that he has felt validated by all of the attention that he has been receiving after drawing scant interest as he finished his high school career in Palo Atlo and then his collegiate career at Harvard.

But, on the other hand, the rest of us have had Linsanity.. Lincredible.. Lindestructible.. The Linside Job.. All He Does Is Lin.. and so very many, many more tweets and headlines to enjoy and dream up.

Fulfilling one's lifelong ambition or having your Twitter timeline lighting up like the night sky on Lindependence Day?

I would have called this a draw. But then I saw the NMA TV animated account of Lin's rise. Certainly that video tilts the scales in favor of the rest of us. Seemingly everyone except for Kobe Bryant has been swept up by this Linspirational story.

On Friday, Kobe and the Lakers visit the Garden to put the Knicks' Linning streak to its sternest test. Will Lin be able to keep it up? Or will the Lakers expose this Knicks squad that will be playing without Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony?

FOLLOW HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE GAME. TWEET TO @HUFFPOSTSPORTS TO JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION:

Marian Wright Edelman: Still Hungry in America

2012-02-10T23:55:19Z

“There were some times where, you know, we wouldn't have that much food, and I would tell my mom, ‘I'm not hungry, don't worry about it,’ and I lost a lot of weight. I remember I used to be a size five, and I went from a size five to a size zero,” a New York high school senior said in December.

In 1967, as a young civil rights lawyer in Mississippi, I was asked to testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Employment, Manpower, and Poverty in Washington about how the anti-poverty program in Mississippi was working. The Head Start program was under attack by the powerful Mississippi segregationist delegation because it was operated by church, civil rights, and Black community groups after the state turned it down. After defending the Head Start program, I told the committee I had become increasingly concerned about the growing hunger in the Mississippi Delta. The convergence of efforts to register Black citizens to vote, Black parents’ challenges to segregated schools, the development of chemical weed killers and farm mechanization, and recent passage of a minimum wage law covering agriculture workers on large farms had resulted in many Black sharecroppers being pushed off their near feudal plantations which no longer needed their cheap labor. Many displaced sharecroppers were illiterate and had no skills. Free federal food commodities like cheese, powdered milk, flour, and peanut butter were all that stood between them and starvation. I invited the Senators to come to Mississippi and hear directly from local people about the positive impact the anti-poverty program was making. They did.

I testified again with local community leaders in their subsequent hearing in Jackson -- again sharing the desperate plight of hungry people and urged the Senators to visit the Mississippi Delta with me to experience for themselves the hungry poor in our very rich nation, to visit the shacks and look into the deadened eyes of hungry children with bloated bellies -- a level of hunger many people did not believe could exist in America. “They are starving and someone has to help them,” I said.

Senator Robert Kennedy responded as did Senator Joseph Clark and Republican Senator George Murphy. So in April 1967 they visited homes in Cleveland, Mississippi, asking respectfully of each dweller what they had had for breakfast, lunch, or dinner the night before. Robert Kennedy opened their empty ice boxes and cupboards after asking permission. I watched him hover, visibly moved, on a dirt floor in a dirty dark shack out of television-camera range over a listless baby with bloated belly from whom he tried in vain to get a response. He lightly touched the cheeks, shoulders, and hands of the children clad in ragged clothes outside who responded to his question “What did you have for breakfast?” saying “We haven’t had breakfast yet,” although it was nearly noon. And he tried to offer words of encouragement to their hopeless mothers.

He kept his word to try to help Mississippi's hungry children and went immediately to see Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman the next day and urged him to get some food down there and to eliminate any charges for food stamps for people who had no income. Robert Kennedy's pushing, passion, and visibility helped set in motion a chain of events including a 60 Minutes documentary on “Hunger in America” that led to reforms. But change was slow and incremental. Secretary Freeman did not believe there were people in Mississippi with no income who could not afford to pay $2 for food stamps and sent his own staff back with Peter Edelman, Robert Kennedy’s legislative assistant, to retrace the Senators’ trip. A series of reports in ensuing months funded by the Field Foundation and visits by doctors, including Robert Coles, to examine poor children in Mississippi and other southern states documented that hunger was widespread not just in Mississippi but throughout the south and elsewhere in America.

But as more months passed without enough federal response, I complained in frustration during a visit with Senator Kennedy in Washington. When I told him I was stopping in Atlanta to see Dr. King, he urged me to tell Dr. King to bring the poor people to Washington to make hunger and poverty visible since the country’s attention had turned to the Vietnam War and put poverty and hunger on the back burner. Dr. King responded positively and immediately, and began planning for the campaign. After Dr. King’s assassination, the Poor People’s Campaign was carried on by his staff and I moved to Washington to help as Counsel and federal policy liaison. It was a watershed coming together of White, Black, Native American, and Latino poor seeking jobs and adequate income and an end to hunger.

Many have pronounced it a failure, but I differ and believe it made hunger a national issue and set into motion a number of positive steps that led to major expansions of the federal food safety net programs so many depend on today. After Robert Kennedy’s assassination, the bipartisan McGovern committee continued hearings around the country, a range of hunger activists kept pushing the Nixon administration and Congress to improve the nutrition safety net, and President Nixon appointed a task force headed by Pat Moynihan, his Domestic Policy Advisor, which affirmed hunger was a major problem. President Nixon gave a speech saying hunger had no place in our rich land. A prod towards these steps was a second quiet Poor People’s Campaign delegation, which came to Washington in 1969 and met with President Nixon and his Cabinet in the White House. In that meeting, Rev. Ralph Abernathy and other leaders urged action to end hunger and President Nixon kept responding by saying he was seeking peace in Vietnam. A contentious press conference followed and a series of Congressional visits criticizing the President’s weak response helped catalyze a series of steps including a White House conference on nutrition and incremental expansions of child and family nutrition programs that made a huge difference for millions until they came under attack from Reagan administration budget assaults and attempts to eliminate a range of federal safety net programs.

Today, crucial programs like food stamps, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program, and school lunch, breakfast and summer feeding programs continue working to combat child and family hunger. Their implementation could be significantly improved but in the current recession, they have proved to be indispensable lifelines for the millions of jobless families with no cash income in our rich nation -- about six million or 1 in 50 Americans, the New York Times reported in 2010 -- for whom food stamps are the only defense against the wolves of hunger. Last year more Americans relied on food stamps to eat than at any time since the program began in 1939 -- 46 million. Yet once again some voices are starting to wonder whether we really need robust anti-hunger programs in America, and whether there are really so many children out there who might otherwise go hungry. A recent skeptical Wall Street Journal article was titled “The Myth of Starving Americans.”

The safety net has indeed made it harder to find starving children with bloated bellies like those Senator Kennedy met in Mississippi in 1967 -- thank God. But the quiet pangs of hunger and the documented signs of chronic malnutrition are still here, from rural Mississippi to inner cities to middle class suburbs where families have fallen on hard times. Hungry boys and girls are not imaginary figures like the fictional Dick and Jane but very real children like Jane Soliternik, a New York City high school senior and the recent recipient of a Children’s Defense Fund’s Beat the Odds® scholarship award. Jane has overcome many odds in her young life, including cardiac surgery, her father’s death, and poverty -- especially after her widowed mother was laid off from her job as a medical assistant during the Great Recession and couldn’t find another job for more than two years. When unemployment benefits were exhausted, Jane and her mother lived on the Social Security payments Jane received following the death of her father. Jane was already facing multiple challenges, and then hunger was added to the list: “There were some times where, you know, we wouldn't have that much food, and I would tell my mom, ‘I'm not hungry, don't worry about it,’ and I lost a lot of weight. I remember I used to be a size five, and I went from a size five to a size zero. So, you know, I try to not eat too much. I try to eat in school. They give me free lunch in school.”

This makes Jane just 1 of 14 million children who participate in free or reduced price school lunch programs during the year and are often “at nutritional risk” and go hungry when those meals aren’t provided. Without this vital safety net, we might return to the scenes Senator Kennedy witnessed. Hunger in America is real and widespread and pretending hungry children do not exist or that families should be ashamed of their needs is shameful. Unemployed parents unable to find a job when jobs are scarce should not be blamed for their inability to put food on the table. Robert Kennedy always understood that in addressing the hunger emergency the real culprit was poverty, and lack of jobs, wages, training, and education to provide hope for restless youths trapped into failure and jail rather than given opportunities. The same is true now. Until we solve that crisis, we will still have jobless parents, poor families, and hungry children in America. For now, when more than 16 million American children, one of every four children, are not sure where the next meal will come from, we have urgent work to do.

The Food Research and Action Council (FRAC) did release one small piece of good news in January: a new poll showing American voters overwhelmingly oppose cutting food stamp assistance as a way to reduce government spending. “What this poll tells us is that, despite rhetoric and false claims about the program, Americans across the country see food stamps as a program that works and that is making a real difference for people,” said FRAC President Jim Weill. “American voters won’t tolerate hunger in our midst, and across party lines they support this valuable program.” You and I need to make sure our leaders hear this message loudly and clearly.

Militant Hair And Makeup At Jason Wu

2012-02-10T22:40:00Z

The Inspiration: The Ming Dynasty meets 1940s Hollywood

Beauty at Jason Wu Fall 2012 show. Photo: Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images

Hair: Kerastase Paris stylist Odile Gilbert created a warrior ponytail that channeled "Tomb Raider's" Lara Croft. She prepped the models' hair with Fibre Architecte to smooth ends and boost shine. She then flat-ironed before gathering into a sleek, high ponytail. Extensions were added and the ends bluntly cut. For a surprising twist, she wrapped electrical tape around the holder. Gilbert finished with a blast of Double Force Controle Ultime Hairspray.

Makeup: "Jason Wu's fall collection is very rich and opulent so he wanted to reflect that in the face," said MAC Cosmetics lead artist Diane Kendal. Inspired by the collection's military touches, Kendal drew on a very defined eye using an emerald shadow that extended out in a shape she described as "Hollywood." Blush shades in Sculpt and Tenderling were applied to give cheeks a warm glow. Kendal slicked on black liner closely to the lids and then applied mascara. Brows were filled in heavily, while the lips were left bare.

Nails: OPI manicurists carried out Wu's vision for an opaque nude effect by painting on Santan-tonio (a creamy mocha), followed by a clear top coat.

Rob Perks: House Transportation Bill Would Worsen Traffic

2012-02-10T22:12:52Z

House Republicans have an opportunity to pass transportation legislation that would help create new jobs, fix our roads and bridges, and improve our commutes. What have they decided to do instead? Load up their version of a transportation bill (HR. 7) with an ideological wish list that will prevent Congress from passing a measure that could provide real transportation improvements.

Unfortunately, House Republican leaders are doing exactly what they promised they wouldn’t do. In their “Pledge to America,” after taking control of the House of Representatives, the GOP promised it would not package unpopular legislation with must-pass bills. They promised they would take up major legislation one piece at a time, and not sneak in politically motivated provisions. They’ve done the exact opposite with the transportation bill.

Among many reasons, NRDC strongly opposes the legislation because it is a blatant bait-and-switch to boost drilling off our shores and even in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But another big problem with this partisan "poison pill" bill is that it essentially declares war on public transportation.

Everyone should be alarmed that the House transportation bill threatens to derail dedicated funding for mass transit throughout the United States. Currently, roughly 3 cents of every 18 cents collected from the federal tax on a gallon of gasoline goes to fund light rail, subways and buses in cities and towns all across the country. Since President Reagan created this cost-share arrangement in 1982, approximately $1 out of every $5 in federal funding has gone to transit, with the rest spent on highways. House Republicans are now seeking to undo the Reagan legacy by restricting gas tax revenues to highways and leaving transit projects to compete for shrinking general funds.

Less Transit, More Traffic

Make no mistake: It is a really bad idea to slash transit funding, not just for riders who rely on that system but for drivers too. After all, less money for transit means fewer alternatives to travel than by car. So the House bill perversely promotes congestion on our roads and highways. Washington Post political satirist Tom Toles captured this problem perfectly in his cartoon today.

In her blog "Seven Fatal Flaws in the House Highway Bill," Donna Cooper noted increased congestion as a big problem:

Increased access to affordable and reliable mass transit is a certain way to deal with congestion. Millions of Americans already spend the equivalent of a week of work or more a year sitting in traffic.[1] Frustration with gridlock is a raging bipartisan complaint. The late Paul Weyrich, a central player in the forming of the Heritage Foundation and the American Legislative Exchange Council, said in 2009, “Conservatives are just as tired as everybody else of sitting stuck in traffic.”[2]

Yet this bill terminates the Reagan legacy of using a small portion of gas tax revenues to pay for mass transit. To assuage the pro-transit outrage, the bill cynically establishes a separate four-year fund for transit improvements. But that measure has been widely attacked by business leaders, mayors, and others who looked behind the curtain and found out that the special transit fund is far too small and worse yet dependent on imaginary annual appropriations of federal general-fund dollars. It’s a farce to think that general-fund dollars will be allocated for transit when the federal deficit is the Republicans’ favorite cudgel.

The inevitable result of this bill will be more Americans stuck in their cars, higher cost for American businesses that will pay truckers even more to sit in traffic, and higher fares for transit- and rail-reliant commuters.

A book I read recently -- Moving Minds: Conservatives and Public Transportation -- reinforces why transit is a non-partisan solution, not a partisan problem:

If transit suddenly ceased operating in any large American city, commuting would become almost impossible. Rush-hour traffic is already horrendous, to the point where in places like Los Angeles and Washington...the rush hour itself has become rush many-hours, even "permanent rush hour." In urban areas, there isn't any place to put more higways...If all the people now on trains, subways, light rail lines and buses suddenly joined the rush-hour drive, getting to work might take as much time as the job itself.

Consider this: every rail car has the potential to remove up to 125 passengers from our roadways (and every bus full of passengers removes 40 cars from traffic). Therefore, the more people who have access to trains -- as well as buses, carpool lanes, bike baths and walkable communities -- the less they have to hit the roads in their cars to get where they want to go. But aside from traffic reduction, there are several other societal benefits of transit:

More transit means more jobs: Spending on transit makes economic sense because every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $6 in economic returns. In fact, over 300,000 jobs and $30.8 billion in economic activity is supported through transportation spending in the recent congressional appropriations bill -- including some 6,200 jobs in Virginia.
More transit makes us more secure: Giving people the freedom to travel other than by automobile is good for national security because less driving helps lessen America's dependence on oil. On average each person riding transit rather than driving alone in a car saves 200 gallons of gasoline a year. It's worth noting that the House bill, by boosting oil drilling, would only feed our nation's fossil fuel addiction.
More transit means less pollution: Simply put, reducing the distance and frequency people may be forced to drive reduces dirty, harmful, unhealthy tailpipe exhaust that pollutes the air and cook the planet. Federally mandated vehicle-pollution controls help, but more cars on the road idling on congested roadways will drive up pollution and make it harder for all us to breath clean air.

NRDC is joined by environmental advocates, transportation experts, fiscal conservatives and even right-wing think tanks in calling on Congress to kill this bill for a variety of reasons. The threat to federal transit funding is a major concern of NRDC and many others who are fighting the bill. Feel free to visit our website to learn more about the bill and to take action. You can also make your voice heard by dialing 1-877-573-7693 and urging your representative to vote NO on HR.7.

This post was first published on NRDC's Switchboard blog.

Brooklyn Flea: Who's on First? The Flea vs. Fashion Week's Runway

2012-02-10T22:00:49Z

By Marion Hart

The schedule for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which began yesterday and runs through Feb. 16, is jampacked with runway shows, parties, and events. But given Catherine Malandrino's recent Flea visit (not to mention Maggie Gyllenhaal, Padma Lakshmi, Ethan Hawke, and Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend making the rounds), don't be surprised if a few fashionistas steal away this weekend to see what's showing at Skylight One Hanson. And those who do will probably like what they see since many of the vintage looks offered at the Flea last weekend looked remarkably similar to those shown on the Spring 2012 Fashion Week runways last fall.

Peplums, which flounced down the catwalks of Jason Wu and Vera Wang among others, are in stock -- both from the '80s, when Thierry Mugler worked them into suits and dresses, and in their 1940s incarnations as the hip-grazing ruffled appendage to many a fitted jacket. And since it's hard to have one without the other, Flea vendors also brought to market the pencil skirts -- done up in leather by Versace and Miuccia Prada for their spring shows -- that usually go underneath.

Mad Men, which returns for its fifth season March 25, put the pencil skirt back on Flea shoppers' radar a few years ago, and vendors always keep a few in stock, mainly around Halloween when the search for Betty Draper costumes heats up. But since then, interest in the hip- and thigh-hugging skirt has grown. And that raises an interesting question: How does a vintage staple cross over from dress-up item onto store racks and onto people's backs?

Pop-culture phenoms help. But thanks also goes to designers who look to the past and markets like the Flea where flourishes like the peplum -- which had an earlier heyday in the 1800s as the topper for the bustle -- live to see another runway. It takes real vision to endow an old standard, like, say, a '50s cashmere sweater with have-to-have relevance for a new season. Valentino's Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli pulled that off beautifully by reimagining dowry lace as cotton canvas in some of their spring 2012 looks.

But as my grandmother, whose silk dressing gown I still wear, used to say, "Don't gild the lily" -- a caution I recalled upon noting the parallels between spring 2012 runway trends and what's on sale at the Flea now. The good news: vintage lovers wondering what to wear in the upcoming warmer months have a ton of choice: Shop the designer collections that reference the past or go for the real thing that inspired them. May the best dress win!

Alan Brown: The Courage of Private Romeo

2012-02-10T21:46:00Z

My new film, Private Romeo, which opens today in New York, is a contemporary, all-male adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, retaining Shakespeare's original Elizabethan language, but set in a high school military academy.

We cast the film in the late spring of 2010, and shot it that summer, when the battle over repealing DADT, the military's ban on gays serving openly, was still raging, and when mainstream media coverage of the "epidemic" of gay bullying in schools and teen suicides was at its peak.

Filmmaking (particularly of the low-budget, indie variety) is always an emotionally roiling experience. For a brief time, a "family" is formed. Fiction and reality collide and overlap, as do actors and their roles. And by the time I'm in the editing room, a leitmotif -- not for the film, but for the making of it -- always becomes apparent. On Private Romeo, that leitmotif would be "courage."

It's not for nothing that Shakespeare refers to his own drama as the story "of Juliet and her Romeo." Romeo, from my perspective, was just a moody, horny, and impulsive teenage boy who behaved as teenage boys have since the beginning of time. Juliet may have been just as self-absorbed and rash, but she can take your breath away, with all the risks she took. To defy her father's marriage wishes, and to sneak Romeo into her father's house for sex, was unfathomably courageous for a girl in that society.

Making a low-budget, indie film also takes courage -- for all involved. It's physically and mentally exhausting, and the pay is low to nonexistent. In the case of Private Romeo, I also was asking eight young, male actors to commit emotionally to exploring gay identity and sexual love onscreen at a formative time in all their professional careers. Yet, from the moment my cast came together for rehearsals, I was touched by the courage of their convictions.

All in their 20s, a few just out of school, their sexual politics seemed completely divorced from their individual sexual identities, and career aspirations. As their director, I could speak with them at length about their characters' motivations and objectives, and how to adapt the contemporary circumstances to Shakespeare's language. But as a gay man a generation removed from theirs, I couldn't teach them how to inhabit teenage characters that had the courage to act on their sexual and romantic convictions. Nor how to play the friends of those characters who were less (or not at all) bothered by the "coming out" of their cadet friends than by how this unexpected revelation and romance affected the group.

I didn't have to. Straight and gay, and from very diverse geographic, economic, and religious backgrounds, they all saw gay civil rights and full equality as a no-brainer. I was constantly moved by their physical ease with one another, both onscreen and off, and their own insistence that we tell "our" story -- of two young military cadets in love -- in a responsible manner. They instinctively understood that as actors, they had a powerful opportunity to make a difference, to have an impact, through their work. And they almost desperately wanted to seize that opportunity.

My friend John and I have been meeting for lunch regularly for decades now. John is a composer in his mid-80s, so our conversations are frequently about politics and art, and, sometimes, about our unique responsibility and opportunity as artists. "Tend to your own garden first" is always his advice when we're both feeling particularly politically impotent. What he means is that we, as artists, do effect change.

In the midst of this Republic primary season, with candidates once again trying to turn gay civil rights into a cultural wedge issue, and flinging around hurtful, vitriolic rhetoric, I am once again conscious of tending to my garden.

The unquestioning courage of my actors -- and of a lot of young artists I encounter in New York -- can be deceiving. Their apparent ease with their and others' sexuality can lead one to assume that it wasn't hard-won, to forget that the "It Gets Better" video campaign (which some of Private Romeo's actors took part in) and the Trevor Project arose out of a real, desperate need.

The truth is, when I hear their individual coming-out stories, they're sadly not much different from my own a generation ago. What's different, of course, is that when I was a teenage boy grappling with my sexuality, there was no Internet, no television shows or films to turn to for solace and hope. While I don't consciously make agitprop, I do feel, with each film I make, more and more committed to telling stories and creating characters onscreen that will give courage to LGBT youth. And ironically, on each of those films (I just finished shooting another one), it's the actors who inspire me and give me more courage. I'm very, very proud of Private Romeo, of how we tell Shakespeare's story, and of how we portray young gay love on the screen. But most of all, I'm proud of my actors.

Westminster Dog Show's 'New Direction' Axes Pet Adoption Ads

2012-02-10T21:32:00Z

NEW YORK -- Pet lovers won't have to look away anymore when those heart-wrenching TV ads appear during the Westminster dog show – the ones with the pitiful little faces peering out from behind those rusted bars of a cage and wondering "how I ended up in here."

Happy dogs will rule the air waves this year, thanks to a new sponsor for America's most prestigious dog competition and a decision to air ads that shift the focus away from sad-eyed animals in need of adoption.

"The feedback we got from our primary audience was that they were seeing commercials that made them want to turn the channel," Westminster spokesman and longtime TV host David Frei said Thursday.

Nestle Purina PetCare is the new sponsor for America's most prestigious dog competition that begins Monday at Madison Square Garden, replacing Pedigree after 24 years. The switch will bring a shift in the tone of the television commercials that drew nearly as much attention as who won best in show.

Gone will be the haunting music and woeful pictures of dogs with pleading eyes wasting away at the pound, hoping to be adopted. Instead, Purina's main spots will feature dogs running on the beach, catching a Frisbee, frolicking in the snow and riding a surfboard.

Frei said he thought the Pedigree commercials took the wrong approach, backed by viewers who either muted the spots or flipped the channel and didn't turn back.

"Show me an ad with a dog with a smile. Don't try to shame me," he said. "We told them that and they ignored us."

He added: "Our show is a celebration of dogs. We're not promoting purebreds at the expense of non-purebreds. We celebrate all dogs," he said. "When we're seeing puppies behind bars, it takes away from that. Not just because it's sad, but it's not our message."

More than 2,000 purebred champion dogs are entered in the 136th Westminster Kennel Club show, with the winner to be chosen Tuesday night. Each evening at the Garden, an announcement is read over the public-address system encouraging people to visit shelters and adopt a pet.

The commercials air on USA Network and CNBC, which share coverage of the event. About 3.4 million viewers watched last year when a Scottish deerhound called Hickory won.

Pedigree was "surprised and disappointed" when it was dropped by Westminster, senior brand manager Lisa Campbell said.

Campbell said Westminster had made it clear in recent years "that we had become too focused on adoptions." She acknowledged that the ads struck a nerve and said there are other ways to encourage pet adoption.

She was certain, though, that the ads were effective. Campbell said shelters around the country had thanked Pedigree for raising the plight of homeless dogs. She said 4 million dogs get put in shelters each year and only half make it out. Among those who found a home was Sweet Pea, the pug mix she regularly takes to work with her.

"Westminster has been a great platform for us," she said. "We were able to tap into a dog-loving audience."

Melissa Martellotti, spokeswoman for parent company Mars Petcare US, said Pedigree had contributed $7 million to the pet adoption cause since 2006.

Frei said Westminster has input into the commercials Purina will show during its multiyear deal as a sponsor. He said Westminster had the same understanding with Pedigree, "but things that ended up on the air were not what we were led to believe."

Purina had long maintained a presence at Westminster and became a partner last June. Candy Caciolo, the company's portfolio director of specialty, breeder and pet acquisition, arrived in New York on Thursday, minus her two standard poodles, Peaches and Anne.

The companies and show officials declined to say how much Purina or Pedigree paid to secure advertising rights.

Caciolo said next week's ads had been in development for quite a while. While Purina was aware of the reaction Pedigree's commercials elicited over the years, "it wasn't really an issue for us," she said.

Purina's ads are based on a theme: Inside every good dog is a great dog. Its main 60-second spot shows lots of wagging tails – there are therapy dogs, rescue dogs, guide dogs, show dogs, household pets and a playful pooch greeting a serviceman.

Said Caciolo: "We're unleashing a new direction."

LISTEN: New 'Smash' Episode 2 Songs

2012-02-10T21:07:22Z

Debuting after "The Voice" (which itself was riding high from a post-Super Bowl timeslot the previous night), NBC's new musical show, "Smash," debuted to solid ratings with 11.5 million viewers tuning in to see fabulous performances by Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty, plus starring roles by such strong actresses as Debra Messing and Anjelica Huston.

Dr. H. Woody Brock: American Gridlock: Why the Right and Left Are Both Wrong -- and What Can Be Done About It

2012-02-10T21:03:23Z

Pessimism is ubiquitous throughout the western world as the pressing issues of massive debt, high unemployment and anemic economic growth divide the populace into warring political camps. Right- and left-wing ideologues talk past each other, with neither side admitting the other has any good ideas. The time has come to silence this left versus right shouting match -- this dialogue of the deaf -- once and for all. Impossible? No.

In my new book, American Gridlock: Why the Right and Left Are Both Wrong, I outline ways to bridge the divide, illuminating a clear path out of our economic quagmire. Using rigorous deductive logic, I identify win-win solutions to many of those seemingly insoluble political problems.

There are five challenges critical to the nation's future: preventing a lost decade with permanently high levels of unemployment, sparing the nation long-run bankruptcy from exploding health care costs, preventing future perfect financial storms, standing up to "thugocracies" that take unfair advantage of us (China and its trade policies), and addressing the vital issues of distributive justice, or fair shares of wealth and income.

Most importantly, in the book, I demonstrate how deductive logic (as opposed to ideologically driven data-analysis) can transform the way we think about these problems and lead us to new and different solutions that cross the ideological divide. Drawing on new theories such as game theory and the economics of uncertainty, which are based upon deductive logic, I reveal fresh ideas for tackling issues central to the 2012 presidential election and to the nation's long-term future:

Demonstrating that the concept of government "deficit" is highly problematic since it blinds us to the distinction between a good deficit and a bad deficit -- where a deficit is good if it results from borrowing dedicated to productive investment rather than to unproductive spending

Deriving the need for a U.S. marshall plan dedicated to very high levels of profitable infrastructure spending as the solution to today's lost decade of high unemployment

Drawing upon a logical extension of the law of supply and demand to demonstrate how the health care spending crisis can be completely resolved by letting supply increase at a faster rate than demand

Utilizing the theory of bargaining inaugurated by the Beautiful Mind mathematician John F. Nash Jr. to help us avoid being repeatedly duped in our negotiations with China

Making use of a completely new theory of market risk recently developed at Stanford University to demonstrate why dramatically limiting leverage is the key reform to preventing future Perfect Financial Storms, whereas hoping to banish greed amounts to whistling "Dixie"

Deducted from first principles a solution to the contentious issue of fair shares of the economic pie, a solution that integrates the two fundamental norms of "to each according to his contribution" and "to each according to his need"

Ultimately, my goal with American Gridlock is to cut through the stale biases of the right and left, advance new ways of thinking, and provide creative solutions to problems that threaten American society.

'Magic/Bird' Set To Tip Off On Broadway This Spring

2012-02-10T20:42:29Z

Last year it was announced that two of the NBA's all-time greats, Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson will be the subject of the upcoming play aptly titled, "Magic/Bird."

Based on the parallel careers of sport's most memorable rivalries, the Fran Kirmser, Tony Ponturo, and Eric Simonson-produced theater piece is set to begin rehearsals on February 20 followed by preview performances on March 21.

For Johnson, recreating his on court competitiveness for the Broadway stage was a no-brainer after viewing the production trio's previous stage production, "Lombardi," which chronicled Hall of Fame football coach, Vince Lombardi. "They did a wonderful job," Johnson said during a recent interview with Playbill. "They portrayed him in an incredible light, but also [showed us] the things that were going on in his life that we didn't know were going on."

"That's when I decided, 'Okay. Go ahead. Let's do it.' And, Larry [Bird], as well. So, two boys from the Midwest playing basketball, who would have ever dreamt that we would be on Broadway with a play about our lives? And then it's great to have the NBA as one of our partners, as well, so everybody is working together to make sure it comes off right."

As for any concerns about what may appear in the play, the former Los Angeles Lakers guard has no qualms about his life being portrayed on stage.

"If you looked at the HBO documentary ['Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals'], you know, they touched on everything. My life is already out there, so whatever they wanted to cover and it made sense...I was fine with it."

'Magic/Bird' is scheduled to debut on April 11 at Broadway's Longacre Theatre.

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