By John Gramlich, Stateline Staff Writer, Pew Center for the States
The 2010 elections brought a sea of fresh faces to governor’s offices around the country, from Democrat Dan Malloy, who is pushing broad liberal changes in Connecticut, to Republican Nikki Haley, the South Carolina conservative who, at 39, is the youngest state chief executive in the nation. But in three states, 2010 marked a return to the days of old. California, Iowa and Oregon all elected former governors who, between them, had 32 years of gubernatorial experience under their belts even before they settled in for fresh four-year terms in January. With an average age of 67 and most of their political lives behind them, the trio — Jerry Brown in California, Terry Branstad in Iowa and John Kitzhaber in Oregon — represents insider experience and familiarity in a year more commonly associated with barn-storming newcomers like Malloy, Haley and the tea party. Brown, a Democrat who was known as “Governor Moonbeam” because of his lofty and sometimes eccentric policy goals as a two-term California governor in the 1970s and 1980s, is also a former mayor of Oakland, California secretary of state and attorney general, and three-time candidate for president. Branstad, a Republican, served 16 consecutive years in Iowa’s top office, making him one of the longest-serving governors in US history. And Kitzhaber, a former emergency room doctor and two-term Democratic governor, is best-known for promoting a nationally recognized health insurance overhaul in Oregon before reemerging as a gubernatorial candidate in the thick of the national health care debate in 2010. All three upended the conventional wisdom that voters last year were in no mood for insiders. (In two other states, Georgia and Maryland, former governors lost their bids to return to office.) But while Brown, Branstad and Kitzhaber have the advantage of experience and name recognition, their encore appearances on the gubernatorial stage show that government insiders aren’t automatically better at turning campaign promises into policy. All three men, absent from gubernatorial office for at least eight years, are finding that the dynamics around them are substantially different now. Each of them has had to adapt, with varying degrees of success so far. ‘The new reality’ Their new challenges range from the cerebral to the mundane. Kitzhaber has picked up right where he left off, striving to find ways to make health insurance cheaper. In Iowa, Branstad notes that one of the biggest adjustments has been to the everyday practicalities of governing in the 21st century. “Technology is so much different,” he pointed out in a telephone interview with Stateline. “Every cell phone’s a camera.” But it is California that has probably seen the most significant changes in the nearly three decades since Brown last held the job. When he first took office in 1975, Brown was 36 years old, the state enjoyed budget surpluses and the party in power could accomplish its legislative goals without requiring a supermajority. Now 73 and the oldest governor in California history, Brown runs a state where finances are in shambles and where, because of structural changes passed at the ballot box, Democrats cannot pass the budget they want, even though they hold commanding majorities in both legislative chambers. Through Proposition 13, a ballot measure approved during Brown’s first term in 1978, tax increases require a two-thirds majority to be enacted legislatively, and Democrats have been unable to push through their preferred budget because no Republicans have agreed to raise taxes. To Submit, or Not to Submit? That Was the Right Question – But Was It Sexist?by Jo Freeman Sometimes conservatives do the right thing. During the August 11 Republican debate conservative columnist Byron York asked candidate Michele Bachmann: “As president, would you be submissive to your husband?” Bachmann evaded the question, saying that submissive really meant respect, and that both she and her husband respected each other. The audience’s negative reaction wasn’t to her evasion, but to York’s temerity in asking that question. As a feminist, I felt someone needed to ask Michele Bachmann that question and I’m glad that York had the balls to do it. It was not sexist. It was a question about her religious beliefs, and how they would affect her actions if she became President. When someone professes a particular belief — religious or otherwise — it is perfectly legitimate to ask how it would affect their actions if elected to a public office, especially the Presidency. In Bachmann’s case, she had already said that she got a degree in tax law only because her husband wanted her to — implying that it wasn’t because she wanted to. She submitted to her husband’s wishes, as her particular version of Christianity commanded her to do. John F. Kennedy was asked a similar question when he ran for President in 1960, though it was phrased a little less bluntly. At the time many wondered whether his Roman Catholic faith would require him to follow the dictates of his church — not just its values but its hierarchy. If the Pope told him what to do, would he submit? Kennedy responded by giving a major address on the “religious issue” to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12, 1960. He said in no uncertain terms that “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute — where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act.” Bachmann needs to give a similar speech, in which she addresses the “religious issue.” How can she believe, as she told congregants at her church in 2006, that “The Lord says: Be submissive, wives. You are to be submissive to your husbands,” and ask the people of the United States to elect her President? If her husband told her to bomb Iran, or anything else, would she do so? It’s disingenuous to claim that “submissive” is a synonym for respect. While being submissive is a way to show respect, there are many other ways. Bachmann said that she and her husband respect each other, but she didn’t quote the Bible as commanding that husbands should obey their wives. Michele Bachmann is running for President, not Marcus Bachmann. No one should run for office who believes she should “submit” to the dictates of someone who isn’t elected. If Michele Bachmann wants people to take her candidacy seriously, she should give a thorough answer to Byron York’s question. ©2011 Jo Freeman for SeniorWomen.com Credit for Bachmann’s picture at the Time 100 dinner: David Shankbone, Wikimedia Magical Jewelry on Display: A Nubian conch shell amulet, Egyptian Pectoral and a Hathor-headed crystal pendantAn exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts includes pieces worn by Mary Todd Lincoln, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and Coco Chanel As the saying goes, “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” — at least in modern times —but as the exhibition Jewels, Gems, and Treasures: Ancient to Modern illustrates, ornaments made of ivory, shell, and rock crystal were prized in antiquity, while jewelry made of diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and pearls became fashionable in later years. Through November 25, 2012, this exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, highlights some 75 objects representing the rich variety of jewels, gems, and treasures that have been valued over the course of four millennia. Drawn from the MFA’s collection and select loans, these range from a 24th-century BC Nubian conch shell amulet, to Mary Todd Lincoln’s 19th-century diamond and gold suite, to a 20th-century platinum, diamond, ruby, and sapphire Flag brooch honoring the sacrifices of the Doughboys in World War I. Jewels, Gems, and Treasures is the inaugural exhibition in the MFA’s new Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation Gallery. The gallery — one of only a few at US museums solely dedicated to jewelry — features works from the Museum’s outstanding collection of approximately 11,000 ornaments. The exhibition explains the significance of jewelry, which can be functional (pins, clasps, buckles, combs, and barrettes); protective (talismans endowed with healing or magical properties); and ornamental, making the wearer feel beautiful, loved, and remembered. Beyond functionality and adornment, jewelry can also establish one’s status and role in society. Rare gems and precious metals, made into fabulous designs by renowned craftsmen, have often served as symbols of wealth and power. This is especially evident in a section of the show where jewelry worn by celebrities is on view, including fashion designer Coco Chanel’s enameled cuff bracelets accented with jeweled Maltese crosses (Verdura, New York, first half of 20th century) and socialite Betsey Cushing Whitney’s gold and diamond “American Indian” Tiara (Verdura, New York, about 1955), which she wore to her presentation to Queen Elizabeth II in 1956 as the wife of the US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. The significance of precious materials in jewelry in the 20th century is explored in the exhibition, where several modern adornments from the MFA’s Daphne Farago Collection examine jewelry’s traditional roles in society. Among them are a 1985 brooch of iron, pyrite, and diamond rough by Falko Marx and a 1993 ring by Dutch jeweler Liesbeth Fit entitled Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. “Jewelry is a powerful cultural signifier, and the materials used in its fabrication vary considerably. This exhibition examines both traditional and unusual substances used to create some of the world’s most extraordinary adornments,” said Yvonne Markowitz, the MFA’s Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry, whose position is the first endowed curatorship dedicated to the study of jewelry in a US museum. Jewels, Gems, and Treasures begins with a look at jewelry made of organic materials — substances readily available and easy to work with, such as ivory, shell, wood, and coral. These range from a pair of ivory cuff bracelets from Early Kerma culture in modern Sudan (2400–2050 BC) to more sophisticated creations made possible through the advancement of tools. Examples include a gold, silver, carnelian and glass Egyptian Pectoral (1783–1550 BC) and a Nubian gold and rock crystal Hathor-headed crystal pendant (743–712 BC) recovered from the burial of a queen of King Piye, the great Kushite ruler who conquered Egypt in the eighth century BC. John Muir’s A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf and the A Walk in the Wild Exhibit“I Had long been looking from the wildwoods and gardens of the Northern States to those of So begins the first chapter of John Muir’s A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey is a new exhibit at the Oakland Museum of Art, continuing until January 22, 2011. John Muir’s experience in the Golden State led to his becoming a founding figure of the environmentalist movement. In this provocative new exhibition, OMCA celebrates the legendary naturalist’s life, work, and legacy in California and beyond. Told through OMCA’s collections of art, history, and natural science, as well as interactive digital technology and extensive loans ― Muir’s journals, manuscripts, original drawings and plant collections ― the exhibition pays tribute to the “Father of the National Parks,” whose legacy continues to inspire environmental stewardship in California today. Through interactive, multisensory displays, A Walk in the Wild invites visitors to explore the vast natural environment of California and experience the sights, sounds, and smells that Muir encountered during his explorations. Through four main themes of wonder, adventure, discovery, and action, the exhibition brings the radical preservationist’s legacy to life, and connects it to contemporary activists of environmental study, conservation, and exploration working today in California. Through video and interactive technology, visitors will be able to meet these Modern Day Muirs and learn about their work and motivations. The featured Modern Day Muirs include: Shelton Johnson, Yosemite National Park ranger; John Wehausen, wildlife biologist; Dune Lankard, Alaska environmental activist and fisherman; Rick Deutsch, Half Dome hiker and author; Jean Krejca, cave explorer; Greg Stock, Yosemite National Park geologist; Steve Sillett, redwood canopy researcher; Tori Seher, Yosemite National Park bear biologist and Alcatraz bird biologist; and Kemba Shakur, tree planter for Oakland Relief. “This incredible exhibition explores the abundance of California’s natural treasures through the lens of John Muir — the radical environmentalist who adopted this state as his own,” says OMCA Executive Director Lori Fogarty. “This is a fitting story for OMCA to tell as it utilizes our multidisciplinary collection focus and reinforces our dedication to telling the many stories of California. With its interactive approach, A Walk in the Wild provides an exciting primer to what visitors can expect with the reopening of our transformed Gallery of California Natural Sciences in June 2012.” Simulation activities featured throughout the exhibition allow visitors to travel alongside Muir during his many explorations. From the ability to enter a giant hollow Sequoia tree in Yosemite, and see and smell the burnt embers of the forest burning around you to testing your skills at glacier and crevasse leaping in Alaska to following Muir’s trek from Yosemite to Mount Whitney on Google Earth to the ability to take a simulated photograph of yourself mountaineering, A Walk in the Wild offers many opportunities to learn about Muir’s legacy and bring out the John Muir in you. CultureWatch Review — In Defense of WomenIn This IssueReviewer Jill Norgren writes: In this season of television re-runs, devotees of Law and Order or The Good Wife would do well to turn off the tube, and sit down with Gertner’s book, In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate. They might pull an all-nighter BooksIN DEFENSE OF WOMEN: MEMOIRS OF AN UNREPENTANT ADVOCATE By Nancy Gertner, ©2011 Published by Beacon Press; Hardcover: 298 pp; Kindle e-book Reviewed by Jill Norgren What are we meant to think of a federal district court judge who, at her 1994 swearing in ceremony, tells the following story: “It was June 1971. I was graduating from Yale Law School, well on my way to a prestigious position with the Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. My mother and I were having a huge fight — the kind of fights only mothers and daughters can have. Shrieking at each other in the small kitchen of our apartment in Flushing, Queens; you could have heard us up and down the stairs of the building. My mother wanted me to take the Triborough Bridge toll taker’s test — just in case!“ Memoirs relate journeys. Nancy Gertner, the author of this fascinating and highly readable biography of a law career, started life on New York City’s lower East Side. At the turn of the twentieth century, her grandparents had emigrated from eastern Europe. She was the second daughter of Sadie and Moishe Gertner. The family lived in a tenement until Nancy was seven. Moishe abandoned college in his first semester to support his family in the linoleum business. Old World in his views about women, he told Sadie, his bride, that he would not hear of her holding a job. Moishe eventually claimed a place for his family in the lower middle class but Sadie saw the world as a precarious place. No fool, she could see that in courtrooms, legislatures, law firms, even the fantasy world of movies and Perry Mason television, virtually all lawyers were men. Yale or no Yale, clerkship or no clerkship, in her mind Nancy was asking for disaster in planning a legal career. Now a toll taker’s position … secure government work… Fortunately, for Gertner’s clients, law students, and colleagues as well as the men and women who have come before her in federal court, Sadie lost that fight. Her daughter has become one of our most respected and successful attorneys specializing in women’s rights law, and criminal litigation. In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate chronicles Gertner’s most important cases before she accepted appointment to the federal bench. She tells the stories of her clients, many of them women, and the methods of her advocacy. These accounts of criminal and civil trials are so well told in deliciously readable prose that they almost claim the status of yarns. But they are not yarns; they are cases carefully chosen from a twenty-year courtroom career to teach us about the serious issues, often of gender, faced by Gertner and her clients. Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to InnovationNote: Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics™ conferences nurture girls’ interest in science and math courses to encourage them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. Learn more about EYH » What follows is the Executive Summary of a new Department of Commerce Report: Our science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce is crucial to America’s innovative capacity and global competitiveness. Yet women are vastly underrepresented in STEM jobs and among STEM degree holders despite making up nearly half of the US workforce and half of the college-educated workforce. That leaves an untapped opportunity to expand STEM employment in the United States, even as there is wide agreement that the nation must do more to improve its competitiveness. Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the US economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. This has been the case throughout the past decade, even as college educated women have increased their share of the overall workforce. Women with STEM jobs earned 33 percent more than comparable women in non-STEM jobs — considerably higher than the STEM premium for men. As a result, the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-STEM jobs. Women hold a disproportionately low share of STEM undergraduate degrees, particularly in engineering. Women with a STEM degree are less likely than their male counterparts to work in a STEM occupation; they are more likely to work in education or healthcare. There are many possible factors contributing to the discrepancy of women and men in STEM jobs, including: a lack of female role models, gender stereotyping, and less family-friendly flexibility in the STEM fields. Regardless of the causes, the findings of this report provide evidence of a need to encourage and support women in STEM. The acronym STEM is fairly specific in nature — referring to science, technology, engineering and math — however, there is no standard definition for what constitutes a STEM job. Science, technology, engineering and math positions consistently make the lists of STEM occupations, but there is less agreement about whether to include other positions such as educators, managers, technicians, healthcare professionals and social scientists. In this report, the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) defines STEM jobs to include professional and technical support occupations in the fields of computer science and mathematics, engineering, and life and physical sciences. Three management occupations are also included because of their clear ties to STEM. Driving Miss Daisy: Providing Alternative Transportation Services for Seniors
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