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Patient Presentation
A 6-month-old male came to clinic for runny nose and coughing for several days. The night before he had post-tussive emesis twice, but continued to breast feed and have good wet diapers.
He had a fever to 102° Fahrenheit.
The past medical history revealed a term infant who had been seen for one ear infection and health maintenance visits.
The social history revealed that another child in his daycare room had been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia.
The review of systems was non-contributory.
The pertinent physical exam showed an alert male with growth parameters at ~90%. Respiratory rate was 30, pulse oximetry was 95% on room air. His capillary refill was brisk. Mucous membranes were moist.
Nose showed copious clear rhinorrhea. Tympanic membranes were dull, with a slightly splayed light reflex but normal mobility. Chest examination showed mild, intermittent intercostal retractions at the lower ribs. He had very mild end-expiratory wheezing at the bases.
The rest of his examination was negative.
The child was given an albuterol nebulizer treatment and monitored. Re-examination showed no intercostal retractions and resolution of the wheezing, but decreased breath sounds at the bases. No crackles were appreciated.
The physician discussed with the parents that although this could be a viral pneumonia, with the patient's age, fever, pneumonia contact, and decreased breath sounds, that he was concerned about a possible bacterial lobar pneumonia. He wanted to obtain a chest radiograph but the father
vehemently refused stating that the radiation risk was too high and that he wanted to just have some antibiotics prescribed. The physician calmly asked him why the father felt this way. The father stated "the radiation will hurt him."The physician tried to find out what other beliefs the father held about radiation, but the father could not give any other specific information as to why he held this belief.
The physician explained about why he wanted to do the test, what the benefits would be, and told the father that the radiation was about the same as if he flew in an airplane 500 miles.
The physician sensed that the parents wanted to talk alone so he left them. A few minutes later the physician returned and the mother said that the chest x-ray could be done.
The father did not speak to the physician for the rest of the visit despite attemps to engage him.
The radiologic evaluation of a chest radiograph showed a right lower lobe bacterial pneumonia.
The diagnosis of right lobar pneumonia was made and the patient was given azithromycin and albuterol. Before leaving the pulse oximeter read 98% on room air. The parents were instructed how to use the albuterol for increased work of breathing as well as signs and symptoms of respiratory distress.
Life is inherently risky and everyday people make decisions that increase and decrease their risks.
But as Ropeik and Gray write, "Risk issues are often emotional. They are contentious. Disagreement is often deep and fierce. This is not surprising, given that how we perceive and respond to risk is, at its core, nothing less than survival. The perception of and response to danger is powerful and fundamental driver of human behavior, thought, and emotion."
It can be very difficult for people to understand the real risks in their everyday life and also the benefits they can have from taking those risks.
People are more afraid of:
- New risks than those that have been around for a while, i.e. newly approved medication versus older medication
- Man-made risks than those of nature, i.e. medical radiation versus tornados
- Risks that are "imposed" upon them, than those they choose, i.e. required new vaccine versus motorcycle riding
- Risks that they feel they cannot control, i.e. flying in airplane that they cannot fly themselves versus driving a car that they can drive
- Risks that do not confer some benefits they want, i.e. would not live in Florida which is hurricane prone if it did not have warm weather and enjoyable water
- Risks that can kill or injure them in terrible ways, i.e. eaten by a shark verus heart attack
- Risks that come from sources that they feel they do not trust, i.e. information about drinking water contaminants from the local government, chemical company or non-profit conservation club
- Risks that they are more aware of then those they are less aware of, i.e. gun violence from school shootings versus daily gun violence
- Risks where the uncertainty is higher than where the uncertainty is lower, i.e. new cancer medication versus standard cancer medication
- Risks to children than to their own lives (for an adult), i.e. powerline radiation next to the child's school than versus next to the workplace
- Risks that could directly affect themselves versus risks that threatens others, i.e. automobile accidents versus sky diving accidents for non-sky divers
Learning Point
Two common concerns parents raise are risks from medical radiation and vaccines.
Medical radiation does have risks but also benefits including improved diagnosis and treatment. The radiation risk depends on many factors including the size of the patient, body part being imaged, and imaging modality.
Some radiation doses are listed below:
- Natural background radiation (sea level) = 300 millirems/year
- Natural background radiation (Denver, Colorado) = 400 millirems/year
- Round trip airplane flight coast to coast = 12 millirem
- Chest radiograph = 2 millirem
- Computed tomography of head, or chest, or abdomen = ~ 300 millirem
Using the roundtrip airplane radiation of 12 millirems and an approximate distance from Los Angeles, CA to New York, NY of 2800 miles, the radiation from flying in a plane is .00428 millirems/mile. If a chest radiograph is 2 millirems, then the number of miles one would have to travel in an airplane to receive an equivalent radiation dose is ~ 500 miles.
A person would also need to have about 150 chest radiographs in a year to equal the background radiation they normally receive.
Vaccines also have risks and benefits. The Centers for Disease Control list the following as serious side effects for various vaccines. The date listed is the most current version of the information from the CDC:
- DTP (Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis, 2001) – Allergic reaction > 1 in 1,000,000 doses, other reported problems include seizures, coma, lower consciousness, permanent brain damage1
- Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis, 2006) – Mild problems reported only, serious side effects being monitored for
- Td (Tetanus and Diphtheria, 1994) – Allergic reaction, pain and muscle wasting in upper arm
- Haemophilus influenza B (1998) – Not applicable, only mild problems reported
- Hepatitis A (2006) – Allergic reaction – Very rare
- Hepatitis B (2001) – Allergic reaction – Very rare
- Human Papilloma virus (2007) – Mild problems reported only, serious side effects being monitored for
- Inactivated influenza virus (2006) – Serious side effects being monitored for 2
- Live, attenuated influenza virus (2006) – Allergic reaction – very rare
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (2003) – Allergic reaction > 1 in 1,000,000 doses, other reported problems deafness, seizures, coma, lower consciousness, permanent brain damage1
- Inactivated polio (2000) – Mild problems reported only, serious side effects being monitored for
- Pneumococcal conjugate (2002) – Mild problems reported only, serious side effects being monitored for
- Rotavirus (2006) – Mild problems reported, serious side effects being monitored for
- Varicella (2007) – Pneumonia – Very rare
1These happen so rarely experts cannot tell whether they are caused by the vaccine or not. If they are, it is extremely rare.
2Swine flu vaccine – Guillian-Barre syndrome is estimated at 1-2 cases/million people vaccinated.
As comparisons, the likelihood of death or harm for a U.S. citizen, per year and per lifetime (based on data from 1999-2003) are given below.
The numbers shown are odds ratios, and therefore are given as one event will occur in that number of people. For example, the one year odds ratio for a hurriane is that one person will die out of 17 million people, but the lifetime odds ratio is that one person will die out of 220,000.
These are statistical averages and are not the exact chances for an individual person which are influenced by many factors including activities and work participated in, where someone lives or drives, etc.
One Year Odds Lifetime Odds Nature Hurricaine 17,000,000 220,000 Flood 11,186,539 144,156 Lightening or Tornado 3,000,000 39,000 Dog bite 19,000,000 240,000 Bear attack (death) 94,000,000 1,200,000 Hornets, wasps and bees 4,406,818 56,789 Shark attack (death) 280,000,000 3,700,000 Crime and Suicide Homicide (all) 18,000 240 Homicide by gun 28,000 360 Suicide 9,200 120 Transportation Motor vehicles 6,700 88 Motorcycling 79,121 1,020 School bus 4,900,000 63,000 Bicycling 381,693 4,919 All-terrain vehicles 1,600,000 21,000 Snowmobile 7,200,000 94,000 Commercial aviation plane 3,100,000 40,000 Recreation Football 59,000,000 770,000 Soccer 840,000,000 11,000,000 Skydiving 9,100,000 120,000 Accidents Drowning (general) 79,121 1,020 Drowning in a bathtub 840,000 11,000 Electrocution from wiring /appliances 300,000 4,000 Fireworks 26,440,910 340,733 Fire and smoke exposure 86,331 1,113 Health Asthma 56,000 730 Cancer 510 7 Diabetes 4,100 53 Heart Disease 300 4 Pregnancy and Childbirth 760,000 99,00 Stroke 1,800 23 Infectious Diseases Hepatitis (all types) 59,000 770 Human papillomavirus 51 Not available Influenza 130,000 1,700 Measles 94,000,000 1,200,000 Meningitis 370,000 3,800 Mumps (cases) 800,000 10,000 Pneumonia 4,300 57 Pertussis 56,000,000 730,000 Varicella (cases) 4,400,000 57,000
Questions for Further Discussion
1. List various forms of natural radiation.
2. What is the risk of death from oral contraceptive pills?
Related Cases
- Disease
- Symptom/Presentation
- Specialty
- Age
To Learn More
To view pediatric review articles on this topic from the past year check PubMed.
Information prescriptions for patients can be found at MedlinePlus for this topic: Radiation Exposure
To view current news articles on this topic check Google News.
To view images related to this topic check Google Images.
Centers for Disease Control. Vaccine Information Statements. Available from the Internet at http://www.immunize.org/vis/ (rev. various- see specific vaccine above, website revised 4/20/07, cited 4/23/07).
(Note: most current statement date for each vaccine is given above)
Ropeik D, Gray G. Risk A Practical Guide for Decising What's Really Safe and What's Really Dangerous in the World Around You. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 2002.
National Safety Council. What are the odds of dying? Available from the Internet at http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm (rev. 8/2/2006, cited 4/26/2007).
Huda W, Vance A. Patient Radiation Doses from Adult and Pediatric CT. AJR 2007;188:540-546.
ACGME Competencies Highlighted by Case
1. When interacting with patients and their families, the health care professional communicates effectively and demonstrates caring and respectful behaviors.
2. Essential and accurate information about the patients' is gathered.
3. Informed decisions about diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on patient information and preferences, up-to-date scientific evidence, and clinical judgment is made.
4. Patient management plans are developed and carried out.
5. Patients and their families are counseled and educated.
6. Information technology to support patient care decisions and patient education is used.
7. All medical and invasive procedures considered essential for the area of practice are competently performed.
10. An investigatory and analytic thinking approach to the clinical situation is demonstrated.
11. Basic and clinically supportive sciences appropriate to their discipline are known and applied.
13. Information about other populations of patients, especially the larger population from which this patient is drawn, is obtained and used.
17. A therapeutic and ethically sound relationship with patients is created and sustained.
18. Using effective nonverbal, explanatory, questioning, and writing skills, the healthcare professional uses effective listening skills and elicits and provides information.
20. Respect, compassion, and integrity; a responsiveness to the needs of patients and society that supercedes self-interest; accountability to patients, society, and the profession; and a commitment to excellence and on-going professional development are demonstrated.
Donna M. D'Alessandro, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Iowa
June 4, 2007


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Darkness and cold covers North Greenland, Ellesmere Island as well as Nares Strait, the waterway that connects these two inhospitable places. And despite the darkness of the polar night, I can see that three beautiful arches made of ice connect Greenland to Canada. It is possible to walk across water, if the water is frozen. Stuck to land, ice arches or ice bridges shut down ice motion while the ocean under the ice keeps moving. Lets have a peek at how this looked from space yesterday:
The colors above show the temperature that satellite sensors "see" at the surface of the ice. Red is warm, blue is cold, and grey is land, but "warm" here is still below the freezing point of sea water near -2 degrees Celsius, so even the red or "hot" spots are covered by ice. The 300 deep ocean in Nares Strait generally flows from north to south without trouble under the ice, but just behind the fixed arching ice bridges, it sweeps the newly formed thin ice away to the south. The "warm" spots that form to the south of each ice arches have their own stories:
Farthest to the north a massive ice arch spans almost 200 km (150 miles) across. It faces the open Arctic Ocean to the north and it formed a few days before Christmas 4-5 weeks ago. It was still shedding large ice floes from its edge as it tried, and finally succeeded, I think, to find a stable location. Nevertheless, one of its larger pieces of ice moved into Nares Strait on January-3, 2014 where it became stuck on both Greenland and Ellesmere Islands:
The large floe from the edge of the first ice arch becames firmly lodged on both sides of the 30-km wide entrance to Nares Strait on January-4 (not shown), perhaps aided by strong winds from the north with wind speeds exceeding 40 knots (20 m/s). This second northern arch then aided the formation of the third ice arch in the south. All three arches became first visible on January-8:
A subsequent lull and short reversal of the winds brought warm southern air masses into Nares Strait while water and drainage pipes froze at my home in Delaware:
"Warm" here refers to -10 degrees Centigrade (+14 Fahrenheit). Air temperatures in Nares Strait today are -21 degrees Celsius (-5 Fahrenheit) while ocean temperatures under sea ice are near -1.8 degrees Celsius (+29 Fahrenheit). It is these "hot" waters that "shine" through the thinner ice as the satellite senses the amount of heat that the ice surface radiates into space. More details on this one finds elsewhere.
I enjoy these elegantly arching ice bridges across Nares Strait, because they challenge me each year anew to question how sea ice, oceans, air, and land all interact to produce them. Nobody really knows. It is a hard problem to model mathematically and many graduate theses will be written on the subject. A student in our own program, Sigourney Stelma, just presented first results and movies of computer simulations of ice bridges forming. Perhaps I can convince her to post some of them on these pages?
Kozo, T.L. (1991). The hybrid polynya at the northern end of Nares Strait Geophys. Res. Let., 18 (11), 2059-2062 DOI: 10.1029/91GL02574
Kwok, R., Pedersen, L.T., Gudmandsen, P. and Peng, S.S. (2010). Large sea ice outflow into the Nares Strait in 2007 Geophys. Res. Let., 37 (L03502) DOI: 10.1029/2009GL041872
Muenchow, A. and H. Melling. (2008). Ocean current observations from Nares Strait to the west of Greenland: Interannual to tidal variability and forcing J. Mar. Res., 66 (6), 801-833 DOI: 10.1357/002224008788064612

subset: commoncrawl


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Best LOA Programs
I am a huge fan of the best LOA Programs, because I have taken so many of them and benefited so much. Learning self love, abundance, and spirituality is essential to a life filled with happiness.
Here are some of the best LOA programs that I believe will benefit you as well, I hope you will find resonance with many of them. Life is like a smorgasbord, take what you like and leave the rest. I am working on some of my own LOA programs, like ebooks, and will be offering them soon.
Rikka Zimmerman Money Mastery Quiz and Course, Rikka discusses the abundance blocks that may be stopping you from achieving the wealth you'd like, and gives you exercises to raise your frequency around money.
Joe Vitale Wealth 360, You can learn how Joe came from homelessness to learn the frequency of abundance. Joe has many powerful programs, but this one is essential, and it's easy to just "copy" the formula that he gives for everything and practice it for yourself.
Rikka Zimmerman Adventure In Oneness Course. There are a lot of spiritual teachers, but Rikka is a real person, who shows her giddy and silly self, and her information is presented as if you are her very best friend. You will find tremendous value in that gift of her openly loving you, and it shows you how to do it for yourself.
LOA Basics:
Bob Proctor and Mary Morrissey–The 11 Forgotten Laws of the Universe. I LOVE this course! Although the Law of Attraction is the most important law of the universe, these other laws must be in the forefront of your mind to manifest what you want. Bob Proctor has been studying the LOA for over 50 years and is the oldest person teaching about it; I have complete trust in him.
Hayhouse Publishing for both Abraham-Hicks and Dr. Wayne Dyer and the many other authors there. And YouTube has unlimited free videos on any important topic from any of these speakers/teachers.
A great resource for used books is Allbookstores.com, where you can search ALL bookseller sites for best rates.
Everyone has an amazing story to tell, a topic that they MUST write about or help people with, and many people are creating their dreams BY writing doing part time work.
SBI or Site Build It! My own personal opinion that this company has it all for building a website because almost everything you need is included for an oh-so-low yearly or monthly fee. Once you easily learn to DIY, you will never want to pay someone else to design a site for you. You gain the power and potential to create a site and a dream, set them on auto, and go have fun!
These are my personal favorites, although there are many more. I do sometimes get commissions if you make a purchase through my links, so thank you very much for investing in yourself today and trusting me to give you some uplifting and empowering information. I thoroughly plan any link so that you will only receive top quality LOA info, and I do believe all of the programs I link to have guarantees of some sort.


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Workshop Investigations
Hate in America
Aug. 16, 2018
More than 2.4 million crimes, whose victims suspect were motivated by hate, were committed across the United States between 2012 and 2016, according to a News21 analysis of the federal National Crime Victimization Survey. But those numbers are not reflected in the FBI's national hate crime data, which counts only 30,000 hate crimes reported by local police.
May 3, 2018
The number of deadly police shootings of unarmed people has generally declined since 2015 even as the tally of fatal shootings by law enforcement is on pace to hit nearly 1,000 for the fourth year in a row, according to data gathered by The Washington Post. Fatal shootings of unarmed black men — such as the high-profile case in March of Stephon Clark in Sacramento — are among the kinds of killings that have fallen. Criminologists said the downturn in the number of cases and their own analysis of the data indicate that evidence of racial bias by police who shoot and kill unarmed blacks has also declined but not disappeared.
Blackout in Puerto Rico
May 1, 2018
FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the humanitarian and economic crisis in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, examining how the federal response, Wall Street and years of neglect have left the island struggling to survive. The latest program in partnership with the Investigative Reporting Workshop will be broadcast on Tuesday, May 1, with additional stories online.
Trump merchandise
April 12, 2018
The decline of the Trump merchandise empire is another sign of how politics has changed the president's business. Some of his licensing agreements were dissolved before he ran for president, but what about the rest? The Washington Post and the Investigative Reporting Workshop tried to contact all of the remaining companies that Trump had listed as licensing partners on his 2015 financial disclosure forms and found only two companies are still paying to put Trump's name on their products.
Sex Registries
April 4, 2018
Stewart David Smith has been on sex offender registries in Florida and Minnesota as well as the National Sex Offender Registry. After he is released from prison in Iowa, he will have to register within five days on the state's registry. But following him through the courts shows how difficult it can be to put convicted child molesters on these lists.
Stockman and the donors
April 2, 2018
Behind the ongoing federal lawsuit against former Texas Congressman Steve Stockman is a tale of failed business schemes and gun-lobby connections that have not been reported by media covering the breaking news of the trial. Larry Pratt, the gun lobby's "secret weapon," urged businessman Dick Uihlein to spend big against then-Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn, deemed too soft on guns. So the top GOP contributor gave $450K to the candidate.
Shot and killed by police
Jan. 6, 2018
For the third year in a row, police nationwide shot and killed nearly 1,000 people, a grim annual tally that has persisted despite widespread public scrutiny of officers' use of fatal force. And for a third consecutive year, The Post documented more than twice the number of deadly shootings by police that were recorded on average annually by the FBI.
In response to the shooting data compiled by The Post and others, the FBI in 2015 promised to start better information gathering about all police encounters that lead to deaths. This month, the agency said it will launch the new nationwide data collection system.
Still on the force
Dec. 22, 2017
Dozens of officers forced out of the New Orleans department over the past decade for misconduct who were given badges and guns by other departments, according to a Washington Post analysis of state and city employment records, police personnel files and court documents. At a time of increased scrutiny of police nationwide, the ease with which fired or forced out New Orleans officers found work at new departments underscores the broader challenge that law enforcement faces to rid itself of "bad apples."
Fired Officers
Nov. 24, 2017
In another in an occasional series, The Washington Post and IRW explore how police chiefs are often forced to put hundreds of officers fired for misconduct back on the streets. This story looks at Gene Gibbons, who represents officers in job appeals on behalf of police unions across Florida, and who has, over the past eight years, won reinstatement for more than 22 fired officers, often returning them to work over the objections of police chiefs who say they are unfit for duty.
The Kangaroo Hunt
Nov. 21, 2017
Does hunting kangaroos for commercial use make sense? Australia's kangaroo hunt supports a small but controversial industry of meat and leather products. The Investigative Reporting Workshop and National Geographic's Wildlife Watch co-reported and co-produced this special report.
The drug industry's triumph over the DEA
Oct. 19, 2017
Congress weakened the DEA's ability to go after drug distributors, even as opioid-related deaths continue to rise, a Washington Post and "60 Minutes" investigation finds.
The New Americans
Aug. 28, 2017
Though the future of the federal refugee program has been put into question under Trump, last year's influx of new arrivals to San Diego County — the third-highest on record since 1983 — could have a lasting impact on the region's public schools. In this special report, we look at how San Diego is educating its refugee students, including what challenges remain and what it could mean for the future of the county.
Water: how clean, how safe, how much?
Aug. 16, 2017
As many as 63 million people — nearly a fifth of the country — from rural central California to the boroughs of New York City, were exposed to potentially unsafe water more than once during the past decade, according to a News21 investigation of 680,000 water quality and monitoring violations from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Fired Cops
Aug. 3, 2017
Since 2006, the nation's largest police departments have fired at least 1,881 officers for misconduct that betrayed the public's trust, from cheating on overtime to unjustified shootings. But The Washington Post has found that departments have been forced to reinstate more than 450 officers after appeals required by union contracts.
Police shootings
July 1, 2017
Police nationwide shot and killed 492 people in the first six months of this year, a number nearly identical to the count for the same period in each of the prior two years.
Fatal shootings by police in 2017 have so closely tracked last year's numbers that on June 16, the tally was the same. Although the number of unarmed people killed by police dropped slightly, the overall pace for 2017 through Friday was on track to approach 1,000 killed for a third year in row.
Charter schools
May 18, 2017
Two rural Louisiana charter schools — one predominantly white, the other predominantly black — are under legal scrutiny for their role in promoting resegregation in school districts still under decades-old desegregation orders. Critics say the charter schools are draining district funds and making it impossible to achieve integration, while charter advocates argue that families have been failed by the status quo and deserve access to new opportunities. As the Trump administration considers how to make good on a campaign promise to invest $2 billion in school choice, these two schools offer a glimpse at the complexity of the debate ahead.
The Housing Crisis
May 3, 2017
More working Americans are struggling to make rent than at any time since the Great Depression. In "Poverty, Politics and Profit: The Housing Crisis," a new program airing Tuesday, May 9, nationwide on PBS stations, FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the crisis in affordable housing and why so few are getting the help they need.
Truth In Testimony
Jan. 30, 2017
The lack of transparency and full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest among witnesses testifying before Congress can lead to biased agendas and violations of the Truth in Testimony rule. Some nongovernment witnesses received payments for their research or are affiliated with special-interest groups — which they did not disclose — and some outside observers and lawmakers question whether foreign governments are influencing think tanks and research organizations.
School vouchers
Dec. 27, 2016
Five years after the program was established, more than half of Indiana's voucher recipients have never attended Indiana public schools, meaning that taxpayers are now covering private and religious school tuition for children whose parents had previously footed that bill. Many vouchers also are going to wealthier families, those earning up to $90,000 for a household of four.
The voucher program, one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing, serves more than 32,000 children and provides an early glimpse of what education policy could look like in Donald Trump's presidency.
Toy Guns
Dec. 19, 2016
Police across the country say that they are increasingly facing off against people with ultra-real-looking pellet guns, toy weapons and non-functioning replicas. Such encounters have led police to shoot and kill at least 86 people over the past two years, according to a Washington Post database of fatal police shootings nationwide. So far this year police have fatally shot 43 people wielding the guns. In 2015, police also killed 43.
Oct. 18, 2016
When the Republican-controlled Congress approved a landmark program in 2003 to help seniors buy prescription drugs, it slapped on an unusual restriction: The federal government was barred from negotiating cheaper prices for those medicines. Instead, the job of holding down costs was outsourced to the insurance companies delivering the subsidized new coverage, known as Medicare Part D.
The ban on government price bargaining, justified by supporters on free market grounds, has been derided by critics as a giant gift to the drug industry. Democratic lawmakers began introducing bills to free the government to use its vast purchasing power to negotiate better deals, but all of those measures over the last 13 years have failed.
Aug. 26, 2016
D.C. tenants face eviction as "drug nuisances" even when no one is charged with a crime. During the past three years, city officials sent out about 450 nuisance-abatement letters to landlords and property owners, the vast majority aimed at ousting tenants accused of felony gun or drug crimes, including many bona fide drug dealers. But in doing so the District has also ensnared about three dozen people who were charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession or faced no charges at all, a Washington Post review of the letters has found.
Voting Wars
Aug. 20, 2016
With the presidential election less than three months away, millions of Americans will be navigating new requirements for voting — if they can vote at all — as state leaders implement dozens of new restrictions that could make it more difficult to cast a ballot. Since the last presidential election in 2012, politicians in 20 states passed 37 different new voting requirements that they said were needed to prevent voter fraud, a News21 analysis found. More than a third of those changes require voters to show specified government-issued photo IDs at the polls or reduce the number of acceptable IDs required by pre-existing laws. A News21 project.
Making a Case
Aug. 11, 2016
Tennessee Watson takes us on her journey from victim to survivor to reporter, investigating her own story of sexual abuse as a young girl. She documents her decision to report her coach years after the abuse and shows us what happened when a police detective and a prosecutor took on her case.
It's an intensely personal story, but also one that looks at how the system handles cases like hers, and the consequences for victims of sexual abuse everywhere.
Cuba's Media Evolution
Aug. 9, 2016
While it's too soon to tell if a true sea change is in the works, here are seven relatively recent shifts in the Cuban mediasphere. Many of them would have seemed inconceivable just a few years ago and bear watching in the future.
Fatal Force_WP
July 8, 2016
Two years after a white police officer fatally shot a black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, the pace of fatal shootings has risen slightly, while the grim encounters are increasingly being captured on video and stoking outrage. The toll for the first half of the year was nearly 500. The Washington Post has expanded the effort to track every case, and in 2016, culled media reports and filed hundreds of public-records requests to obtain the names and work histories of officers involved in fatal shootings — information that is not tracked by any federal agency.
The New Newsrooms
June 14, 2016
Nonprofit centers for investigative reporting have continued to grow outside of the United States over the past 10 years. The reporters who founded these centers followed the example of their colleagues in the U.S., where this model has thrived for the past two decades.
BankTracker: Analysis
June 9, 2016
The country lost 2,350 banks in the last eight years, but big banks grew bigger and richer, especially those in the top tier. Banks now have more assets, capital, deposits, profits, reserves and fewer losses and troubled assets than they did in 2007. But the Investigative Reporting Workshop's in-depth analysis shows every state was hit hard and lost at least one bank because of the Great Recession, with six states losing more than 100 financial institutions. The impact is still being felt, and some experts remain wary of improving financial data.
The Merger
June 1, 2016
The Pepco-Exelon merger was hotly debated because of concerns over competition, potential rate hikes and questions over commitments to green energy goals from opponents. Advocates for the deal argued Pepco needed a parent company with significant resources to improve the District's aging power grid. Pepco spent large amounts on lobbying and ads in an effort to shape public opinion, outflank opponents and give their shareholders big returns.
Business of Disaster
May 25, 2016
More than three years after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Northeast, thousands of homeowners are still struggling to return home, shortchanged by insurance companies and frustrated by bureaucratic recovery programs. The FRONTLINE-NPR joint investigation into the Sandy recovery reveals an unsustainable disaster response system that's costing taxpayers billions and failing to prepare increasingly vulnerable communities for the storms that lie ahead.
Fatal Force
April 1, 2016
Of the 990 people shot and killed by police last year, the names of officers in 210 of those cases were not released, according to a Washington Post investigation. Experts say there is little consensus among departments on whether officers' names should be made public.
Probable Cause
March 5, 2016
The language of warrants gives police officers broad leeway to search for drugs and guns in areas saturated by them and to seize phones, computers and personal records. But what happens when they search the wrong house? A Washington Post analysis found officers sometimes acted on incorrect or outdated address information, subjecting people to the fright of their lives.
Uneven Justice
Oct. 27, 2015
Society is loath to convict cops who kill, so civil court is often the best place for victims' families to get results. But there, some get millions, and some get nothing.
Living Loud
Oct. 13, 2015
The murder of Farkhunda Malikzada, a religious scholar, in March was another example of how dangerous it is to be an Afghan woman who participates in political and social arenas. But despite the risks, including constant threats and violence, many women are living untraditional lives openly.
Coal Trial
Sept. 30, 2015
The long-awaited prosecution of Massey's former CEO, Don Blankenship, begins Oct. 1 with jury selection. He is charged with conspiracy to violate mine safety standards and mislead government inspectors before the explosion, and with lying to securities regulators about Massey's safety practices and policies after the disaster.
"We've never seen anybody charged of any consequence," said former federal mine safety chief Davitt McAteer, who led an independent investigation of Upper Big Branch mine. "That alone is just a very dramatic shift."
Lily Pads
Aug. 25, 2015
Even though the U.S. military has fewer bases than it did at the end of the Cold War, it has increasingly inserted itself into new corners of the globe with the help of small, often secretive "lily pad" bases; today, there are bases in around 80 countries and U.S. territories — roughly twice as many as in 1989.
The Trouble With Chicken
May 12, 2015
FRONTLINE investigates the spread of dangerous pathogens in our poultry — and why the food-safety system isn't stopping the threat.
Assault on Justice
May 9, 2015
People can be arrested, charged and convicted for assaulting a police officer in the District of Columbia even when no physical violence occurs. We analyzed almost 2,000 court cases from 2012-2014 and found about 90 percent of those charged with assaulting a police officer were black and nearly two-thirds of people arrested for assaulting an officer weren't charged with any other crimes. Some defense attorneys see troubling indicators in these numbers, alleging that the law is being used as a tactic to cover up police abuse and civil-rights violations.
Shaken Science
March 21, 2015
In a year-long study, The Washington Post used court records and news media accounts to track the dispositions of about 1,800 cases nationwide since 2001 that reportedly involved shaking, finding some of the heaviest concentrations in counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nebraska. The study for the first time identified about 200 cases in 47 states that ended when charges were dropped or dismissed, defendants were found not guilty or convictions were overturned.
Dashed Dreams
Jan. 25, 2015
This three-part series looks at the plight of the black middle class, particularly in Maryland's Prince George's County, the nation's highest-income majority-black county.
Although African Americans have made once-unthinkable political and social gains since the civil rights era, the severe and continuing damage wrought by the downturn — an entire generation of wealth was wiped out — has raised a vexing question: Why don't black middle-class families enjoy the same level of economic security as their white counterparts?
USAID's Watchdog
Oct. 23, 2014
The inspector general's office removed many critical findings and had increasingly become a defender of the agency under the acting inspector general, employees said. The USAID inspector general is responsible for ensuring that the billions of dollars the agency devotes to foreign assistance programs each year are spent wisely. The agency hires nongovernmental organizations and private contractors to carry out its projects, which include improving medical facilities, stabilizing economies and rebuilding war-wrecked nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
Dollars and Deals
Oct. 14, 2014
WAMU and the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University examined more than a thousand contracts — worth an estimated $10 billion — that went to the D.C. Council for approval from January 2007 to January 2014.
From simple grass-cutting jobs to complicated D.C. Lottery services worth tens of millions of dollars, Council members have the final say over lucrative contracts. WAMU and the Workshop identified more than $5 million in political contributions from more than 300 firms with Council-approved contracts from 2005 to 2014. Roughly half of the contractors' campaign cash was donated to lawmakers within a year of their contracts getting approved. The money was a crucial source of fundraising as well: Roughly one-fifth of Council members' campaign contributions analyzed by WAMU came from firms seeking their approval for city contracts.
Contributions were often made months and weeks ahead of when the contracts were voted on; in some cases, the campaign checks were dated the same day a firm's lucrative contract was sent to the Council for approval.
The Trouble with Antibiotics
Oct. 8, 2014
FRONTLINE investigates whether the widespread use of antibiotics in food animals is fueling the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance in people. Also in this new one-hour program airing next week: An exclusive interview with the family of a young man who died in a nightmare bacteria outbreak at the National Institutes of Health.
Stop and Seize
Sept. 8, 2014
The federal government and private police trainers have been encouraging officers to target cash on the nation's highways since 9/11. To examine the scope of asset forfeiture since the terror attacks, The Washington Post analyzed a database of hundreds of thousands of seizure records at the Justice Department, reviewed hundreds of federal court cases, obtained internal records from training firms and interviewed scores of police officers, prosecutors and motorists. The Posts found tens of thousands of cash seizures totaling more than $2.5 billion from people who were not charged with a crime.
Gun Wars
Aug. 17, 2014
The federal government's National Instant Criminal Background Check System fails to keep guns from the mentally ill. The White House describes the background check system, also known as NICS, as its "most important tool" to stopping gun crime. But more than a decade of data from the FBI and public health research reveals broad failings of the system, which has cost at least $650 million to maintain, a News21 investigation found.
June 30, 2014
Non-disclosure agreements at some nonprofits and defense contractors contain restrictions that prevent employees from reporting fraud, even to the government, which appears to violate the federal whistleblower law.
If Truth Be Told
May 30, 2014
The proliferation of new technologies may compromise the integrity of the newsgathering business, as web-crawling machines analyze large numbers of vast datasets and human decision-making gives way to automated algorithms that spit out "investigative" reports; at the same time, however, such technological developments offer journalists the sort of possibilities that may dramatically enhance their storytelling capabilities.
District's bus drivers rack up violations
May 25, 2014
Traffic cameras in the District have caught city school bus drivers speeding and running red lights hundreds of times in recent years, and — unlike most drivers in Washington — they haven't had to pay the tickets, according to city records. Officials haven't had policies in place to discipline offenders, who are transporting children with disabilities throughout the city and, in some cases, as far away as Annapolis. There were 830 school bus crashes between May 2010 and May 2013, with about one in every nine leading to injuries, crash reports show. Most accidents were minor, but at least 40 children were hospitalized.
Humanitarian Aid
May 4, 2014
The story of International Relief and Development reflects the course of America's ambitions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which started with great enthusiasm and consumed tremendous resources, only to see many hopes go awry. Nation-building projects aimed at supplanting insurgents and securing the peace that looked promising on paper in Washington proved to be difficult to execute in dangerous and unpredictable war zones.
In Baghdad and Kabul, companies such as IRD were left to manage hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of taxpayer-funded programs with little meaningful oversight from USAID, according to interviews with government auditors and former IRD employees familiar with the projects.
Years of Living Dangerously
April 14, 2014
"Years of Living Dangerously," a new documentary series that explores how climate change is altering people's lives across the globe, has begun airing on Showtime. Each story features a Hollywood star or respected journalist as a correspondent. Workshop Senior Producer Margaret Ebrahim spent 15 months crisscrossing the country to report the impact of climate change, focusing on stories about the production of natural gas and also on renewable energy. The Workshop's site features additional stories, videos and an interactive drought graphic as well as program information.
Bank Tracker: 2013 profits hit new level
March 7, 2014
The nation's banks have recovered strongly from the financial crisis, and the results for 2013 provide even more evidence: Profits for the year hit $154.7 billion, according to reports filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That's the highest level ever. And only 24 banks failed last year, the fewest since 2007.
Revolving doors
Dec. 11, 2013
In the "reverse revolving door," key players outside of government, often in heavily regulated industries, leave their high-paying corporate lobbying jobs for the public sector, where they take staff jobs on Senate and House committees. But can someone shift his or her outlook from protecting business interests to protecting the nation's interest?
Bank Tracker
Dec. 10, 2013
Solid loan growth and continued low interest rates have helped the nation's 6,600 credit unions rebuild from the 2008-09 financial crisis, according to new data from the National Credit Union Administration.
But there might be storm clouds on the horizon. NCUA Chair Debbie Matz warned recently that the prospect of higher interest rates could cut into credit union profits.
Economic impact ripples
Dec. 4, 2013
Lawyers often see the criminal and civil courts as two separate entities, but for people caught up in the legal system, the problems often bleed from one arena into the other. Having a bad lawyer, or an overwhelmed one, can result in a felony conviction rather than a misdemeanor, or a plea deal rather than a trial. Those missed opportunities can have economic and social ripple effects that last beyond any prison sentence.
Bank Tracker: Five-Year Review
Oct. 29, 2013
By most accounts TARP achieved its primary purpose: To help bring about stability in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But the program has been called is "one of the most hated, misunderstood and effective policies in modern economic history."
Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria
Oct. 21, 2013
"Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria," a FRONTLINE program co-produced with the Investigative Reporting Workshop, looks at whether the age of antibiotics is coming to an end. From a young girl thrust onto life support in Arizona to an uncontrollable outbreak at one of the nation's most prestigious hospitals, FRONTLINE investigates the alarming rise of a deadly type of bacteria that our modern antibiotics can't stop. You can watch the full video, learn more about the global spread of superbugs and read about the making of the film.
What Went Wrong: The Betrayal of the American Dream
Oct. 17, 2013
Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele's 2012 book, "The Betrayal of the American Dream," chronicles how four decades of public policy shaped America's ongoing economic crisis. The New York Times bestseller, researched in part by Workshop staffers, will be released in paperback Oct. 22. The paperback edition includes the authors' new afterword, which takes a critical look at economic recovery in the United States and its impact on the middle class.
BankTracker: Smaller banks rebound more slowly
Sept. 13, 2013
The latest data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. shows that the nation's banks continue to recover from the financial crisis, reporting stronger earnings and increasing loan volume.
But an analysis by the Investigative Reporting Workshop shows that for the vast majority of banks — those with less than $1 billion in assets — profits are harder to come by as they continue to try to work their way through a disproportionate amount of troubled loans and foreclosed property.
Obama's Drones
Aug. 2, 2013
Within the world of money and politics, Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon stands out. Not only is he the top recipient of contributions from manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles, but he is also Capitol Hill's most vocal supporter of the industry and has close ties with lobbyists and contractors. And if McKeon has his way, drones will soon populate the skies over this country.
Courts redefining crime and punishment
July 30, 2013
There is growing recognition that the current system of impossible caseloads, over-criminalized rule books and overflowing prisons is incredibly expensive, unsustainable — and avoidable. Legislatures and advocates are exploring how to shift some acts from criminal offenses to ticket-able ones. Organizers are teaming up with public defenders, bringing people power where money is short. And lawyers are trying to address the issues that led people into the justice system in the first place.
Nanotechnology: Harmful or Benign?
July 24, 2013
Although questions abound about the impact of nanoparticles on the environment and the human body, such particles have ushered in breakthroughs in medicine, agriculture and electronics, fueling a huge industry. Nanomaterials are now either produced or used by many of the nation's largest businesses in toys, textiles, sunscreens, computer screens and tennis rackets. The industries say don't regulate us, but the EPA continues to study the issue.
The Koch Club
July 1, 2013
Koch foundations gave more than $41 million to 89 nonprofits from 2007-2011, part of a wide effort at funding organizations with public policy, education and political interests that align with those of Koch Industries, run by Charles and David Koch. The Investigative Reporting Workshop examined Internal Revenue Service documents for a closer look at Koch giving, which also includes millions to the arts, medicine and colleges across the country, as well as continued support of a "No Climate Tax Pledge."
The Hole
March 24, 2013
On any given day, there are about 300 immigrants in solitary confinement in some of the most populous detention centers overseen by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Conditions vary, but according to interviews with detainees and lawyers, segregated detainees are routinely kept alone for 22 to 23 hours a day in windowless, 6-by-13 cells. These immigrants are civil, not criminal, detainees, but new data obtained by the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Investigative Reporting Workshop show how punitive immigration enforcement has become. Trauma experts say the psychological impact may be more acute for detainees as many of them are victims of human trafficking or domestic violence or have survived persecution in their countries of origin.
BankTracker: Reshaped banking industry emerges from crisis
March 18, 2013
The banking industry has emerged shaken but in some senses thriving. Last year was the second most profitable ever for the nation's banks, according to reports filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., but it is unmistakably true that the industry is fundamentally different today than it was five years ago.
Dec. 26, 2012
Workers at Momentive Performance Materials have what thousands of unemployed Americans want most: jobs that pay a decent wage. And not just any jobs, union jobs, in manufacturing. But in the years since a private equity firm took over the chemical company, workers have seen contract fights, safety problems and slashed wages. This is the new face of stability in the American workplace.
Toxic Influence
Dec. 21, 2012
A landmark Environmental Protection Agency report concluding that children exposed to toxic substances can develop learning disabilities, asthma and other health problems has been sidetracked indefinitely amid fierce opposition from the chemical industry. Public health officials view it as a source of one-stop shopping for the best information on what children and women of childbearing age are exposed to, how much of it remains in their bodies and what the health effects might be.
BankTracker: More money, fewer banks
Dec. 20, 2012
The nation's banks turned in another strong performance in the third quarter, continuing the steady recovery from the financial crisis that gripped the nation four years ago, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Big Sky, Big Money
Oct. 29, 2012
"Big Sky, Big Money," which airs Oct. 30 on PBS FRONTLINE, chronicles how boxes of records turned over to Montana authorities show that a top person from Western Tradition Partnership interacted with candidates and helped shape their election efforts, possibly violating laws that bar coordination between campaigns and outside groups. The documentary and a series of stories on campaign finance examine how things have changed in Montana — and across the country — since the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United two years ago.
The Digital Campaign
Oct. 26, 2012
If candidates can make political messages feel like personal conversations, then they may win more votes. So they are turning more and more to Big Data to find out about individual voters before they go knocking on doors. Here's a look at how both Republicans and the Democrats are analyzing voters — and then tailoring their pitches.
Oct. 24, 2012
If the Congress and the White House can't find a way to avoid tax increases and large budget cuts -- the so-called "fiscal cliff" -- state budgets also could take a big hit.
Wasted Places: America's Brownfields
Sept. 19, 2012
Hundreds of thousands of former industrial and commercial sites around the nation can't be redeveloped without extensive environmental cleanup. But the Investigative News Network finds that a federal program designed to help get rid of toxic chemicals and other pollutants is plagued by a shortage of funds and bureaucratic problems.
BankTracker: Lending, profits growing
Sept. 11, 2012
The nation's banks continued to recover in the second quarter, as the volume of troubled assets on their books dropped to the lowest level in three years, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Banks earned $34.5 billion, below the $35.3 billion reported for the first quarter of this year but above the $28.8 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2011.
See how your bank is doing by searching for a bank or a credit union.
Passing Thoreau
Sept. 4, 2012
After a string of suicides two years ago, money and additional resources poured into tiny Thoreau, N.M., where economies, cultures and destinies bump into each other, where a Navajo teen can lose hope and a sense of identity. The crisis is no more, but the town still sits on a ragged edge.
Who can vote?
Aug. 30, 2012
News21 students from around the nation investigate claims of voter fraud and attempts to require voters to identify themselves at polling places.
Restoring the American Dream
Aug. 19, 2012
What will it take to fix the nation's economic problems? Co-authors Barlett and Steele offer solutions, including limiting subsidized imports and insisting that foreign nations lower their barriers to U.S. goods.
End of Retirement
Aug. 12, 2012
Pensions were once an integral part of the American dream, a pledge by corporations to their employees: For your decades of work, you can count on retirement benefits. Not everyone had a pension, but from the 1950s to the 1980s, the number of workers who did rose steadily — until 1985. Since then, more and more companies have walked away from pensions. Before today's workers reach retirement age, decisions by Congress favoring moneyed interests will drive millions of older Americans — most of them women — into poverty and push millions more to the brink.
Toxic Taps
Aug. 8, 2012
Millions of Americans may be drinking water that is contaminated with dangerous doses of lead. The Environmental Protection Agency knows it; state governments know it; local utilities know it. The only people who usually don't know it are those who are actually drinking the toxic water.
The problem stems from a common practice in which water utilities replace sections of deteriorating lead service lines rather than the entire lines, commonly known as partial pipe replacements. It is a course of action that can do more harm than good.
Phantom Jobs
Aug. 4, 2012
America essentially invented outsourcing, but few outside the corporate world realized how rapidly it would devastate employment across the middle class, as imports quickly overwhelmed exports, and workers in industry after industry were sacrificed on the altar of unrestricted free trade.
Assault on the Middle Class
July 29, 2012
"The Betrayal of the American Dream" is the story of how people in power have put in place policies that have enriched themselves while cutting the ground out from underneath America's greatest asset — its middle class. In this, the first of three excerpts from their new book, Don Barlett and Jim Steele show how 40 years of public policy and Wall Street practices have hurt working Americans.
Economic Indicators
June 19, 2012
The economic story of the past 40 years — wage stagnation, increased poverty rates, rising consumer debt — stands in sharp contrast to earlier periods in American history, when an expanding economy brought broader prosperity and created a large and dynamic middle class. The charts show the complexity of the economic picture.
Re-manufacturing America
June 14, 2012
A new study of manufacturing employment by the Investigative Reporting Workshop shows that factory jobs declined by nearly half since the peak in 1979, when there were 21 million manufacturing workers. But we also found that manufacturing employment grew in some states west of the Mississippi. And communities such as York, Pa., still see manufacturing as integral.
Investigating Power
April 25, 2012
Since 1950, independent journalists have fearlessly reported abuses of power, such as the anti-Communist demagoguery of Sen. Joseph McCarthy; the institutionalized racism and injustice in the South; and the gross misrepresentations and civilian atrocities committed by the U.S. government during the Vietnam War. Our new website, investigatingpower.org, highlights historical moments in the reporting of those landmark stories through video interviews, timelines and biographies of key journalists.
Connected: Rural, poor areas lag in broadband
March 23, 2012
The digital divide is more about economics than access, with people in poor states, particularly in the South, lagging behind the rest of the nation when it comes to broadband subscribership, according to an Investigative Reporting Workshop analysis of federal data. See where your state and city rank using our interactive maps and tables, and read about programs that offer potential solutions set to take effect later this year.
BankTracker: 2011 best in 5 years
March 8, 2012
The nation's banks and credit unions had their best year since 2006, as a slowly recovering economy led to modest loan growth and lower levels of nonperforming loans.
Commercial banks made $119.5 billion in net income in 2011, the most since 2006, when they earned $145.2 billion. Credit unions earned $6.4 billion, the most ever.
Uneven dream
March 6, 2012
The economic crisis has shifted the nation's focus to job creation but within the African-American community, a 40-year crisis of economic insecurity and dreams deferred exists with solutions that are just as unclear.
Lost in Detention
Feb. 2, 2012
The government has agreed to launch an investigation into sexual abuse at immigration detention centers. At the same time, the adminstration is weighing whether it will include immigrant detainees in regulations on prison-rape prevention, which are set to go into effect early this year.
American Dream
Jan. 26, 2012
Many still hope to attain the American Dream, whether the term means economic success, opportunity or freedom. But a group of Baltimore-area residents said some of their dreams have had to change or even be put on hold in these uncertain times.
Elder care: Labor fights heat up
Jan. 25, 2012
Elder care and home health care are rare bright spots in the American economy, adding jobs at a steady clip. But as the workforce grows, so, too, fights focus on unionization, wages and benefits.
Memories of another era
Dec. 24, 2011
Some call this moment the Great Recession. As the hardship has lingered, others have begun calling it the Little Depression. But equating the hard times of the 1930s with the hard times of today is mostly overblown rhetoric. Or is it?
BankTracker: Loans to small businesses down
Dec. 16, 2011
Loans to businesses of $1 million or less have been shrinking consistently since June 2008 and are now at their lowest point in 10 years. Read this story and more in our ongoing series. And see how your bank is doing by searching for a bank or a credit union.
A second look: The new Journalism Ecosystem
Nov. 30, 2011
The recent momentum of the new nonprofit journalism phenomenon is continuing despite the difficult U.S. economy, according to an analysis by the Investigative Reporting Workshop iLab. Most of the funding for these new journalistic nonprofits comes from philanthropic foundations and individuals. A year after publishing our initial "new journalism ecosystem" story, searchable database and national map, we have revisited each of the original 60 nonprofit news publishers profiled, and we have included 15 additional journalistic nonprofits, most of them recently created organizations.
As Apple grew, American workers left behind
Nov. 19, 2011
Apple is one of America's greatest success stories, built on innovative products and the marketing acumen of a legendary founder. But it also is emblematic of another, darker reality: Almost all its manufacturing is done overseas, and left in the wake of Apple's shifting of work to China are thousands of American workers.
Lost in Detention
Nov. 18, 2011
Today there are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. How we deal with this situation as a nation, founded by undocumented immigrants, is complex. The Investigative Reporting Workshop thought this territory was perfect for our brand of in-depth reporting and storytelling. We teamed with FRONTLINE to produce a new documentary, and have continued to update our coverage.
Redefining poverty
Nov. 7, 2011
Taking into account numerous supplemental measures, new poverty data paint a more complex and nuanced picture of who is struggling. The upshot: More seniors and fewer children are considered poor than in the "official" measure.
American Steal
Oct. 15, 2011
With millions of Americans unemployed, the reconstruction of the San Francisco Bay Bridge is well-timed to create much-needed jobs. And it has. Only the jobs are in China. Will the outsourcing of this $12 billion project deliver a death blow to the American steel industry?
Promise of green jobs falls short for many
Oct. 11, 2011
Training for green industries doesn't necessarily result in job offers, particularly for those hoping to break into entry-level positions such as wind techs, despite the administration's push. Casey McDonald and his fiancee, Jade Mooneyhan, don't need to see statistics to know that the political promises do not always equal economic reality.
Unemployment by the numbers
Oct. 10, 2011
New numbers give a fuller picture of the unemployed, and how particularly difficult it has been for young people, people of color and women to find work.
Voices of the unemployed
Sept. 19, 2011
Those looking for work and those who counsel them talk about their stress and frustration with the employment picture in this economy. In this package, you'll see video interviews from a recent job fair and learn more about programs that are trying to help those who have been looking for jobs for months.
Jobs don't mean end of struggle for working poor
Sept. 14, 2011
From the president to Congress to nearly every neighborhood in America, the focus today is on job creation. But for millions of Americans, just having a job doesn't mean prosperity or anything like it.
Foreclosures: Housing counselors under siege
Aug. 5, 2011
Funding for housing counselors has been cut and more cuts to assistance programs for those who need help with foreclosures or even first-time home purchases take effect in October.
Crisis in the courts: Legal aid reeling from proposed budget cuts
July 12, 2011
Legal assistance for the poor will take a huge hit under a proposal just released by the House Appropriations Committee, which aims to slash funding for Legal Services Corporation by $104 million, rewinding the program's budget back to 1999 levels.
Culture, income, location affect broadband adoption in Washington region
July 7, 2011
Our study of the Washington metro area shows that the "digital divide" is less about access to broadband and more about affordability. The analysis shows that broadband adoption is greater in the close-in suburbs than in areas farthest from the belway, though there are some exceptions.
Lost Jobs: Why fixing the trade deficit matters most
June 18, 2011
Congress is wrought up over the wrong deficit. The real deficit issue that has been out of control for 35 years is the trade deficit, which has blocked the creation of new jobs, triggered pay cuts for those who still have jobs and generally lowered the standard of living for many.
What Went Wrong: Taxes
April 20, 2011
One of the more egregious falsehoods being peddled by the corporate tax cutters is that companies doing business in the United States are taxed at an exorbitant rate. Not so. While the United States has one of the highest statutory rates on the books at 35 percent, the only fair way to measure what companies actually pay is their effective rate after deductions, credits and assorted writeoffs. By that yardstick, companies in the United States consistently pay taxes at rates lower than corporations in Japan and many nations in Europe.
Flying Cheaper
April 19, 2011
Sixteen US Airways pilots and flight attendants have filed a lawsuit against ST Aerospace Mobile, alleging the contract maintenance company conducted improper maintenance that led to employee illnesses. ST Mobile was one of the focuses of Flying Cheaper, a PBS FRONTLINE and Investigative Reporting Workshop co-production that looked at airline maintenance issues. The program was re-broadcast on April 19 and can be seen here.
Crisis in civil courts
Feb. 14, 2011
Poor people have fewer legal resources than ever despite battling foreclosures and seeking bankruptcy protection in tight economic times. Traditionally, people with little money could turn to the Legal Services Corporation, the federally mandated nonprofit that supports free legal-aid programs. But over the past few years, a perfect storm of conservative pushback, stagnant budgets and recessionary demand for legal services has left those who can least afford it fending for themselves.
Feb. 3, 2011
The movement of guns from the United States into Mexico actually begins in Europe, with a gun supplier in Romania that sells to a company in Vermont. We examine how AK47s are remade and resold and can now be traced to crime in Mexico. This is an ongoing report in a new partnership between the Investigative Reporting Workshop, PBS FRONTLINE, the Center for Public Integrity, the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism and InSight, a website co-sponsored by American University's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies.
The Comcast-NBC merger: What it means for Internet TV
Jan. 4, 2011
Those in the know say you don't need a television to watch TV anymore. All you need is an Internet connection and a screen.
Missed last night's episode of 30 Rock? No worries. Log on to Hulu and watch it on your laptop. Once you've done that, it's just a small step to drop your cable or satellite subscription and save a bunch of money, right?
Not so fast. Watching your fill of free TV online isn't so easy, especially if you want to see this week's episode of Glee at the same time as your cable-connected friends or view special events like the Super Bowl.
Blown Away: Tracking stimulus grants for renewable energy
Dec. 9, 2010
Top Democratic fundraisers and lobbyists with links to the White House are behind a proposed wind farm in Texas that stands to get $450 million in stimulus money, even though a Chinese company would operate the farm and its turbines would be built in China.
The Coal Truth
Nov. 23, 2010
No U.S. coal company had a worse safety violation and fatality record than Massey Energy Co., even before an explosion at its Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia killed 29 on April 5, according to an analysis by the Investigative Reporting Workshop.
The X-ray factor
Sept. 29, 2010
At a time when Americans are exposed to more medical radiation than ever, the patchwork regulation of technicians who perform imaging exams may be putting patients at risk. There is no national minimum standard for technicians' training or competency or for the inspection of the medical X-ray machines they operate.
May 21, 2010
The Workshop and the D.C. Open Government Coalition analyze the District's shortcomings in complying with FOIA. See the audits by agency or by category.
Flying Cheap
Feb. 9, 2010
The crash of Continental 3407 a year ago just outside Buffalo has cast new light on the increasing importance of regional airlines and their relationships with their bigger and better-known major partners. FRONTLINE and the Investigative Reporting Workshop explore those relationships in "Flying Cheap." See major crashes, or air traffic and crashes by airport or by airline.
Nuclear Energy's Lobbying Push
Jan. 24, 2010
With the help of some new-found friends and a $600 million lobbying effort, the nuclear energy industry is on the brink of getting federal financial support to build reactors to generate elecricity. Already, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is swamped by a tsunami of applications, even though old issues such as safety and waste disposal still haven't been solved.
Electronic Medical Records Market Fueled by Stimulus
Nov. 5, 2009
The government's $45 billion plan to jump-start a national shift to electronic medical records has touched off a gold rush among scores of technology firms – even as many experts question whether the benefits of the products are being oversold.
The DeParle Portfolio
July 2, 2009
Nancy Ann DeParle, who heads the White House Office on Health Reform, served as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records reviewed by the Investigative Reporting Workshop.
DeParle, who ran the Medicare program in the last years of the Clinton administration made more than $6.6 million in directors' fees and stock transactions between 2001 and March of this year, Securities and Exchange Commission filings revealed.
Thyroid cancer report
May 4, 2009
Thyroid cancer is the fastest increasing type of cancer in the nation, and medical researchers don't know why. The increase comes as the rates for most cancers have been declining.


text:
In America, we don't persecute political opponents
The second presidential debate — bloody, muddy and raucous — was just enough to save Donald Trump's campaign from extinction, but not enough to restore his chances of winning, barring an act of God (a medical calamity) or of Putin (a cosmically incriminating WikiLeak).
That Trump crashed because of a sex-talk tape is odd. It should have been a surprise to no one. His views on women have been on open display for years. And he'd offered a dazzling array of other reasons for disqualification: habitual mendacity, pathological narcissism, profound ignorance and an astonishing dearth of basic human empathy.
To which list Trump added in the second debate, and it had nothing to do with sex. It was his threat, if elected, to put Hillary Clinton in jail.
After appointing a special prosecutor, of course. The niceties must be observed. First, a fair trial, then a proper hanging. The day after the debate at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump responded to chants of "lock her up," with "lock her up is right." Two days later, he told a rally in Lakeland, Florida, "she has to go to jail."
Such incendiary talk is an affront to elementary democratic decency and a breach of the boundaries of American political discourse. In democracies, the electoral process is a subtle and elaborate substitute for combat, the age-old way of settling struggles for power. But that sublimation only works if there is mutual agreement to accept both the legitimacy of the result (which Trump keeps undermining with charges that the very process is "rigged") and the boundaries of the contest.
The prize for the winner is temporary accession to limited political power, not the satisfaction of vendettas. Vladimir Putin, Hugo Chavez and a cavalcade of two-bit caudillos lock up their opponents. American leaders don't.
One doesn't even talk like this. It takes decades, centuries, to develop ingrained norms of political restraint and self-control. But they can be undone in short order by a demagogue feeding a vengeful populism.
This is not to say that the investigation into the Clinton emails was not itself compromised by politics. FBI director James Comey's recommendation not to pursue charges was both troubling and puzzling. And Barack Obama very improperly tilted the scales by interjecting, while the investigation was still underway, that Clinton's emails had not endangered national security.
But the answer is not to start a new process whose outcome is preordained. Conservatives have relentlessly, and correctly, criticized this administration for abusing its power and suborning the civil administration (e.g., the IRS). Is the Republican response to do the same?
Wasn't presidential overreach one of the major charges against Obama by the anti-establishment GOP candidates? Wasn't the animating spirit of the entire tea party movement the restoration of constitutional limits and restraints?
In America, we don't persecute political opponents. Which is why we retroactively honor Gerald Ford for his pardon of Richard Nixon, for which, at the time, Ford was widely reviled. It ultimately cost him the presidency. Nixon might well have been convicted. But Ford understood that jailing a president for actions carried out in the context of his official duties would threaten the very civil nature of democratic governance.
What makes Trump's promise to lock her up all the more alarming is that it's not an isolated incident. This is not the first time he's insinuated using the powers of the presidency against political enemies. He has threatened Amazon's Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, for using the newspaper "as a tool for political power against me and other people. … We can't let him get away with it."
With exercising free political speech?
Trump has gone after others with equal subtlety. "I hear," he tweeted, "the Rickets [sic] family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!"
He also promises to "open up" libel laws to permit easier prosecution of those who attack him unfairly. Has he ever conceded any attack on him to be fair?
This election is not just about placing the nuclear codes in Trump's hands. It's also about handing him the instruments of civilian coercion, such as the IRS, the FBI, the FCC, the SEC. Think of what he could do to enforce the "fairness" he demands. Imagine giving over the vast power of the modern state to a man who says in advance that he will punish his critics and jail his opponent.
Charles Krauthammer's email address is email@example.com.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post Writers Group


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The Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich
What are historians doing when "doing history"? If asked, few of us would say that we "chronicle" the past. Not that there is anything wrong with chronicling. This is certainly part of the historical craft, but if I had to wager, I'd bet most of us would use different verbs: analyze, interpret, and revise would top the list. Put differently, if we were forced to become football announcers, we would shun the position of play-by-play. We would all want to be color commentators. As much as we respect the Al Michaelses and Bob Costases of the world, we would want to be John Madden.
John Madden
Madden lets others chronicle the game. He is there to give the viewer his cogent analysis, to link the events on the field to other games, the locker room, the ocean of football statistics. The paradox of analysis is that it leads to infinitely greater shades of difference. The deeper the comparison, the more events seem unique and incomparable. Tears in his eyes, the Patriots fan wants to place Tom Brady on Mt Olympus for breaking every passing record since Odysseus threw a stick in the eye of Cyclops, but the clear-eyed color commentator says "Not so fast. The game has changed. Quarterbacks throw more now than they used to. Plus, hitting a giant in the eye with a stick is not technically a pass."
Odysseus with stick
Brady with football
So, too, the historian, who is on his game when showing how complicated the past is, suddenly gets gun-shy when making broad comparisons or generalizations. There are good reasons for the post-modern reluctance to do this, but let's admit it, it's also unsatisfying. As Peter Galison pointed out in the most recent issue of Isis (see Will Thomas's post on this at Ether Wave Propaganda), there is a tension between the rigorous need for being true to the small event, the "micro-history," and the drama of the big picture, the sweeping generalization, and the magisterial narrative.
Is there still a place for generalizations in history? Can one be sweeping and rigorous at the same time? Can we take off our post-modern shoes for a few hours and sink our toes into the soft muck of the "big picture" without messing up the house? I don't know. Let's try. I spend most of my time writing about complexity, specifically, how complicated explorers are and how they reflect the unique conditions of their cultural moment. This is a relatively easy point to argue. Explorers were (and are) a diverse bunch. There were the erudite explorers such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin, military explorers such as James Cook and John Fremont, journalist-explorers such as Henry Morton Stanley and Walter Wellman, and the explorers who "go native" such as Charles Hall.
Still, I was wondering if there was something to this idea of an "explorer type." This is certainly not a new idea. The literature of exploration and adventure is filled with talk of explorers exhibiting common personality traits (usually including some mixture of restlessness, curiosity, tolerance for danger and discomfort, etc). This doesn't hold a lot of water for me, since I feel that these traits are often tacked on to the people who go out exploring ex post facto. "Well if he lost his toes to frost-bite, he must have been brave." But what if we looked at the "explorer-type" as a cultural category rather than as a personality profile? Are there people who represent a kind of explorer figure across different professions or disciplines?
I few days ago I was reading Bones of Contention by Roger Lewin. In it Lewin describes the role of Louis Leakey within the field of paleoanthropology:
Although Leakey had highly respectable credentials — a degree in anthropology from Cambridge University, England and a fellowship in one of its most reverend colleges — he was more explorer than scientist. He loved to be out in the field, discovering new sites and returning to established ones…and he was irked by the conservative ways of the scientific establishment. He never held an academic post, and indeed became scornful of bookish armchair scholars… Perhaps this distance from academia freed him of the normal establishment constraints, for his claims were often a source of consternation among his colleagues in universities. When he said to Richard [his son] that day in September, "They won't believe you," he was pointedly echoing his own experience, and vicariously relishing the prospect of a fight.
Louis Leakey, bad boy of British paleoanthropology
As I read this, I thought how similar it sounded to explorers such as Robert Peary, who put together his expeditions with private funds, and enjoyed a self-defined distance from the academic community. He would collaborate with the academy, but he never hitched his wagon to their horse. He found independent routes to money and power, just like Leakey did. What about Carl Sagan? Beloved by the public for his popularization of Cosmos, Sagan was sniffed at within his own field. Or Roy Chapman Andrews who led expeditions into Mongolia on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History, became a celebrated public figure, but was always something of an outsider to the Academy. Or William Beebe who scraped together funds from different sources to organize deep-sea expeditions in his bathysphere?
I don't know how much meat is on this particular bone, but I thought I'd give it a gnaw. It certainly makes a better meal than saying "it's complicated."


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Fall is around the corner, my friends. The beginnings of fallish things are happening from the wonderful cooler temperatures and crisp mornings to the not-so-wonderful appearance of Christmas decorations ALREADY. I'm not one to start up the Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving and I'm not one to drink a pumpkin spiced latte until it can actually do its job of warming me up because I'm cold from natural causes (as in, I didn't sit in my car with my AC on full blast to get the same effect. That's cheating AND rushing the perfect moment, which I feel, should come about authentically.) My friend Libby is rolling her eyes at me because she LOVES rushing fall and pretending it's cold outside. In fact, she already had a pumpkin spiced latte! 🙂 I'm fine with seasonal enthusiasts. Honestly – whatever makes you happy! But as for me and my household, we won't decorate for Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. 🙂
Another thing that makes me happy is starting to think about fall dinners. I love the braising and stewing and the simmering of heavy, warm spices on the stove. One meal that gets me to thinking about the warmth of the winter is this simple and yet divine dish: roasted chicken on top of potatoes. We made this recipe a loooong time ago by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. His recipe was so delicious, we've done it a few dozen times since and have varied and simplified and it's always delicious and always perfect. I never mess this recipe up and it's always so amazingly delicious. And let's not ignore why: the potatoes are cooked in schmaltz. You'd also be delicious if you were roasted in chicken fat.
I also love this recipe because it is one of those dishes that everyone can agree on. Add a salad or some braised greens and you've got yourself a complete meal!
Potatoes Taste Better Than the Chicken*
1 whole chicken, about 3 lbs
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
coarsely ground salt and pepper
butter to coat the pan and chicken
1 head of garlic, sliced in half
sprigs of thyme, rosemary, whatever you have
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a large cast iron skillet and place the cut potatoes in a single layer. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Pat your chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Rub with butter and then stick the halved garlic head into the chicken cavity and add whatever herbs you like. Place the chicken on one of its sides on top of the potatoes.
Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken onto its other side and roast another 20. Then, turn the chicken breast-side up and continue roasting until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer says at least 165F, about 15-20 minutes more. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes and carve on top of the potatoes and serve them along with the chicken. Beautiful.
*adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichten


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Smart Football has moved!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The case for Tim Tebow going pro and foregoing his senior season
First, I have no idea what kind of pro player Tebow will make. He's obviously one of the best and most accomplished college players in recent history. But what would he gain exactly by coming back, comparing to what he might gain (or lose) by leaving early?
By coming back he could win the Heisman (he has one), a National Championship (he has two), or he could just "enjoy the college experience." Though I imagine if Tebow says that he'll have something different in mind than Matt Leinart did when he offered that reason. (Leinart took a single music class his senior year, but presumably kept an otherwise busy schedule.) Tebow also might be able to improve his draft stock by improving his footwork and decision-making skills.
But why not just work on those things in the pros? It's unlikely that Tebow would be able to suddenly vault into being a first or even second rounder next year, particularly since Florida is not exactly going to change the gameplan. And if he wants to work on things like his footwork, reads, and learning the contours of an NFL offense, why not do it in the NFL? Many of the current starting quarterbacks all had significant apprentice time on a roster, and I think we all expect Tebow to work rather diligently at improving once he is there. And he does have some physical tools. I mean, he could hire some quarterback gurus and tutors for the offseason (he would be doing that anyway), but once in the NFL he would be able to work for a couple of years on nothing but the things that might make him a successful NFL QB.
Another factor is his mediocre draft grade. Although at first blush this seems like a disadvantage, my guess is that that whoever actually does draft him will do so because they see potential in him. They probably too will know a thing or two about developing quarterbacks. (Maybe Urban's good buddy Bill Belichick will take a flyer on the kid? Worked for Matt Cassel.) So he might land in a great situation where he'd be able to work on his game and develop.
The biggest possible disadvantage I'd see for Tebow is that, if he is only projected to be a fourth through sixth rounder this year, by leaving he might lose an opportunity to leap into the second or third round next year where he'd make significantly more money. But something tells me that is not the sort of thing driving him. And in any event, that's a speculative reason; his draft grade could also remain the same.
Finally, one factor plays a part with Tebow that normally wouldn't with other quarterbacks, but often does with runningbacks: hits and shelf life. NFL runningbacks have a limited shelf-life, before their skills and ability quickly diminish. The common wisdom is that this is a factor of the hits and punishment their bodies take. Tebow, unlike most future pro quarterbacks, takes many hits like a runningback; indeed, he often delivers them. It's a crude measure, but compare the total carries by Tebow to Texas Tech's quarterback, Graham Harrell, over the last two seasons. (In college "carries" includes sacks.) In 2007 and 2008, Harrell had 79 total "carries." Tebow? 386. Adding another 200 carries, sacks, and other hits might just start to wear on his body. And we all know NFL guys will be trying to hit him hard and often when he gets there, so body preservation might be reason alone.
So there it is. I'd bet that he comes back, but it's worth considering some reasons why he might not. The biggest is to get in the right situation with the right coaches. I mean, this afternoon we have Jake Delhomme playing against Kurt Warner, two guys who made their careers by beginning as backups and developing once they were in the league (or in the Arena league or NFL Europe). Leinart? He's on the bench.
Update: Well, Tebow is coming back.
7 comments:
- Tim said...
One important factor: Scot Loeffler.
Loeffler has been hired by Urban Meyer as the Gators' quarterbacks coach, and his track record (Tom Brady's senior year, John Navarre's ridiculous improvement from a high school defensive end to an NFL draft pick, Chad Henne) of getting quarterbacks into the league is certainly a drawing factor.
Tebow and his family loved Loeffler when he was at Michigan during Tim's recruiting process, but Florida had much more to offer at the time than did Michigan. Loeffler was one great piece of a package, and though Florida may not have had a QB coach the Tebows respected as much, the total package in Gainesville was too much to pass up. I'd be surprised if Loeffler's hiring by Urban Meyer wasn't, in part, a way to keep Tebow in school for one more year (of course, he's also a damn good coach in his own right).
One important thing about Loeffler is that he is a strict pro-style coach. In fact, he has made some not-so-complimentary comments about the spread in the past. Perhaps Loeffler is a one-year fix for Florida to A) Keep Tebow in the college one more year, and B) Prepare Tebow for the NFL.
It may be something of a wild theory, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't a little something to it.
I'm be shocked if someone didn't use at worst a third round pick on him. He is nothing if not a consummate professional, and loves to prove his doubters wrong.
- Doc said...
And Kurt Warner beat the Panthers on a simple Levels play to Fitzgerald the entire first half.
The most important qualities needed for success as an NFL QB:
1. Passing accuracy.
2. Ability to read coverage, keys, progressions, etc. to determine where to throw.
3. Decision-making under pressure.
4. Strong arm.
5. Running ability.
6. Physique (Height, weight, strength, etc.)
This is why Chad Pennington is a better QB than Vince Young or Michael Vick, even when Chad's arm is hurt.
Tebow will succeed in the NFL to the extent he is accurate enough and smart enough. He has far more than sufficient arm strength. He's tough and he's a leader which are nice pluses.
My curiousity is how much of his passing success at Florida is due to the dominant athletes he has on offense. Can he consistently squeeze in the tight throws when his receivers are not wide open?
You must not have seen the SEC championship game this year. Tebow made several throws in the second half that cannot be described as anything but perfect.
As an Alabama fan, I'm not too thrilled about what he did, so you can rest assured that I'm not exaggerating.
- Jon E said...
Tebow could go pro in an early round simply based on the consistent failure of the NFL to produce good draft decisions. Thus this is a relatively silly topic unless one first addresses a proven method of selecting future NFL in the draft that points to Tebow as viable NFL talent.
I think Leinart stayed because he knew he wasn't good enough and Tebow stayed because he knows he would take bigger hits on his way to developing as a pro passer.
On this topic I find myself agreeing with Mel Kiper of ESPN (crazy, I know). Tebow will be a successful tight end or H-back, but NFL QB still does not suit someone of his skillset (see Vince Young and Michael Vick). Though it may in the near future with the popularity, but marginal success of "Wildcat" sets.
But look for Tebow's usefullness and shelf life to be cut considerably when the top 3% of all college players line up across from him in the NFL.
The hype (yes, that's what it is) surrounding Tebow and his "accomplishments" flys in the face of smart football.
He won a Heisman as the best college football player when there was no one to compare to the situations he was put in. Looking at his accomplishments, you have to look at situations and weigh them appropriately. Florida effectively plays with a one man advantage in their offense.
I'm not saying that it is unfair or bad football, it simply does not translate to a standardized measure of performance- chalk it up as another reason why college football is a beauty pageant that lies outside the realm of "smart" football in many ways- not by the action on the field, but by the oranganization within which it operates.
An aside- Last year was Tebow's year and they did not play for the title. This year, Florida won the championship (debatable- see perfect Utah) on the legs of Percy Harvin.
Scot Loeffler ...
Don't fool yourselves, UM did not hire this guy so he could tinker with his offense. If you remember correctly, the first few games of this year looked like they were trying to do that to Tim and it killed us. UM will not do that again.
This coach will help him with footwork and decision making, but Tebow is a very accurate QB with Good strength. He makes good decisions and he is a great leader. Some one like Bill Bilichick will snap him up and use him the right way, He may use him out of shotgun forever or he may be like all the other Gator qb's in the NFL and be a solid backup. Nothing wrong with that.
What if though he is the one guy that can do what Mike Vick or Vince Young could never do and run that type of offense well? Kordell Stewart did an okay job if recall.
Doesn't matter now. I can tell you that Tebow will be handled with kid gloves this year and he will work closely with Meyer to keep focus on the spread.