News Cut: August 21, 2008 Archive

Live-blogging Midmorning: Time to lower the drinking age?

Posted at 4:36 AM on August 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (73 Comments)

We're live blogging this morning's Midmorning conversation on the suggestion by a group of college presidents to lower the drinking age.

We discussed this on News Cut earlier in the week and I"ll be relaying some of your comments. But we hope you'll join us in this space during today's show and react to what you hear.

I believe this is the first time Jack R. Ohle, the president of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, has spoken publicly on the issue. Other guests include: John McCardell: founder of Choose Responsibility and author of the Amethyst Initiative, which calls for a renewed debate on the legal drinking age. The initiative has been signed by the presidents of 114 colleges; Lynn Goughler: vice chair of public policy for MADD Minnesota; and Tracey Toomey: director of the alcohol epidemiology program at the University of Minnesota.

9:10 a.m. - The point that McCardell is addressing is the idea that a younger drinking age will lead people to learn how to drink responsibly. But here's my question: How does one learn to drink responsibly? Julie in comments notes a daughter at school has learned. How?

9:11 a.m. - Kerri asks a good question: Is this an attempt to address the "discrimination" of being allowed to serve in a war, but not being allowed to drink legally. And if that's the case -- and this is originating from Vermont, after all -- is this more anti-war, or anti binge-drinking in nature. Is this, for example, like the attempt by some in Congress to reintroduce the draft. They didn't want the draft restored, they wanted to end a war.

9:13 a.m. - I just know someone is going to talk about how much smarter Europe is about youth drinking. Is it? The BBC reported last November, "The number of people in their late teens and early 20s being treated for alcohol-related illnesses is growing." What's a growing problem in Europe: Binge drinking.

However, Sweden has reportedly seen a decline in teen drinking since it joined the EU and alcohol became more available in neighboring countries:

For 2007 the statistics suggest that more than 30% of the students claim that they do not drink alcohol. This is up from 20% non-drinking 15 to 16-year-olds in the late 1990s.

9:18 A vet calls. Says his National Guard unit was deployed to Europe and says the big job was trying to prevent drunk driving among servicemembers.

Lynn Goughler of MADD says the debate shouldn't be just lowering the drinking age to 18. When the drinking age was increased to 21, she says, it was the most studied public health question of the day.

McCardell says alcohol-related fatalities are going up, so raising the drinking to 21 didn't work.

Here's the data in Minnesota. This site says the number of alcohol related deaths in Minnesota in 2006 was half of what it was in 1982.

9:26 - Goughler says the debate has to be a recognition we have a drinking problem among teens, now what do we do about it. McCardell says what you don't do is accuse college presidents of breaking the law and bully presidents from taking their names off the letter.

9:29 - Three of the comments just got mentioned on the air. Hoping to continue the discussion here after the show. Meanwhle, Goughler and McCardell are continuing to beat each other up.

9:33 - Jason just posted an interesting comment. The idea of "zero tolerance" for drunk driving.

In Romania, where I spend a lot of time, there is zero tolerance for drinking and driving, and it works. In Romania a person will lose his/her license if they are driving even after only one drink. Here, we allow people to drink until their BAC is up to .08, something most of us can't even measure ourselves. Drinking alcohol is a part of the culture in Romania, yet there is very little drunk driving. Why do I rarely hear MADD address zero tolerance?

Nichole has a perspective on the "if you're young enough to go to war..." argument:

Arguing that 18 year olds should be drinking because they can go to war is like arguing that fifteen-year-olds should be stripping because some of them are having sex.

9:40 a.m. - Jack Ohle of Gustavus joins us now, along with Tracie Toomey: director of the alcohol epidemiology program at the University of Minnesota. She was at the MPR UBS Forum discussion on binge drinking a few months ago.

Ohle says he doesn't neceassarily agree with changing the law, but he does think it's time to have the debate. But he doesn't believe lowering the drinking age will have a positive impact on his campus in St. Peter.

Toomey says they've tried to get college presidents involved in this discussion for years.

9:46 a.m. - An 18 year old, Ross, calls to say if the only role alcohol has is in a "binge drinking role," then it will be used to binge drink.

9:52 a.m. - Ohle says he's "excited" that we're having the debate and says he's "surprised" that more college presidents haven't signed the letter calling for the debate. Kerri points out that he's also one of the few college presidents who would talk to us about the subject. Ohle says he's seen high-risk drinking going up on college campuses, even as general consumption of alcohol goes down. He says the discussion should be held openly.

9:56 a.m. - I'm reminded that in Wisconsin, underage people can get served in a restaurant if they're with their parents. Wisconsin is among the leaders in binge drinking. Is there a connection? Do Wisconsin parents provide a more responsible approach to drinking, and -- if so -- why doesn't it show up in the statistics? BTW, here's an article from the Journal Sentinel of Milwaukee a couple of years ago looking back on the effect of a higher drinking age.

Final comment come from Bill by e-mail:

I have been often troubled with the eighteen year olds going off to war. Brain studies show that they are not mature enough to make a live and death decision like that. I am also discouraged by the small voter turn out of young voters.
So, I suggest the subject for debate be raising the age for voting and military service to twenty-one. That should send a clear message that kids are not old enough to die in service or become stinking drunk.

Let's keep chatting in the comments section!

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The world by scooter

Posted at 12:32 PM on August 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Energy, Surveys and trivia

It's not that I don't love my job; I do. But I always marvel at the folks who undertake great expeditions without a care, apparently, for having to make a living at it. The various journeys to Antarctica and the North Pole from Minnesota explorers are a couple of examples.

Now there's a third. Two guys are going to spend time riding a scooter from Minnesota to New York City-- and back again. Why? To demonstrate the power of the scooter in the era of high-priced gasoline.

Says the 'expedition's' Web site:

2007, Dustin Saunders moved to Minnesota to seek new opportunities. Once he settled in, the love for his scooter he left in Utah was too much to bear. Dustin then traveled with his friends to Utah to pick it up, and drive the scooter back to Minnesota.

Scooter Quest was originally meant for family and friends to check to see how progress was going as the crew made it back from Utah, to Minnesota. Now, in 2008, Sean, Dustin, and Michael will take their scooters and venture across parts of the United States on an epic adventure of traveling, exploration and fun. The adventure begins on August 23rd, 2008 from Minneapolis, MN ending in New York, NY with checkpoints in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia along the way.

Check out their Web site and their plans to stay connected during their journey. They leave in a couple of days.

(h/t: Laura Yuen)

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Campus sustainability

Posted at 2:49 PM on August 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Surveys and trivia

The "press release" folder in my INBOX reveals the "campus sustainability report card" today from the National Wildlife Federation.

This comprehensive study by National Wildlife Federation and Princeton Survey Research Associates International reviews trends and new developments in environmental performance and sustainability at 1,068 institutions. It recognizes colleges and universities for exemplary efforts and awards academic letter grades (A through D) for collective, national performance on environmental literacy, energy, water, transportation, landscaping, waste reduction and more. The report analyzes collective trends in the areas of management, operations, and academics.

But enough about them, what about us? We're Minnesotans, afterall, and we love surveys that show our superiority.

University of Minnesota Morris
Augsburg
Bemidji State
Carleton
College of St. Benedict
Dakota County Technical
Gustavus Adolphus
Northland Community and Technical
St. Cloud State
St. Olaf
Winona State

.. were all listed in the "exemplary" category.

Individual states didn't get rated but the Midwest got a "B" for setting goals (the Midwest was lowest rated), B- for staffing environmental programs (middle of the pack), C- in orienting students, C in integrating environmental topics into academics, B- in professional development (highest of all regions), A in water efficiency upgrades (everyone got an "A"), B+ in energy efficiency, D in use of solar, wind, and biomass, A in recycling, C in transportation management, and B in landscaping.

Find the full report here.

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Unity will need to be more than a word in Denver

Posted at 5:03 PM on August 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, The political conventions

The Minnesota DFL today released the names of guest speakers for its morning breakfast/caucus meetings/pep rallies during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. There are no big starpower names (in Boston, perhaps, Garrison Keillor and Rob Reiner spoke), but there is room for reading the leaves.

We'll be hearing the word "unity" next week, but in interviewing delegates and others across the state for the last two weeks, it's more show than substance at the moment and it remains a major challenge for a party with a history of internal turf wars.

Hillary Clinton won the big states that the Democrats will need to win in November, but -- especially with it becoming obvious she's not in the whisper/leaks for vice president on the ticket -- some Clintonians think the Obama forces could do more to reach out to them (and, no, none of them wants to be identified.... yet).

That apparently is not going to happen -- at least in public -- at the Minnesota delegation meetings. Of the 27 speakers given slots, only five endorsed Hillary Clinton during the primaries.

If there is to be a significant effort to win the Clintonians support (it's not their vote that's important, it's their ability to organize, raise money, and turn out the vote), it'll come next Tuesday when three Clintonians will speak: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who was a national co-chair for Clinton, Mayor David Cicilline of Providence, and State Sen. Tarryl Clark are all scheduled.

Another Clinton supporter, Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, will speak to the delegates on Thursday, along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

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Melody's Olympics - Living in Beijing

Posted at 6:25 PM on August 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Sports

MPR's Melody Ng is in Beijing on vacation and has been providing us a street-level view of life during the Olympics. Here is her latest dispatch.

8-21-08 Fulicheng (our apartment complex). Everyone agrees that the middle class in China is growing markedly. You can't miss it here in Beijing. Teens in supposedly mod hairdos and outfits text message and canoodle over fries and Big Macs at McDonalds and KFC. Kids zip around on these sleek, small-wheeled bicycles that can fold up to be carried onto the subway or up the elevator. Our local five-story mall has eight jewelry stores on the first floor, Starbucks (where a Frappuccino Venti costs 34 RMB, ~$5), Häagen-Dazs, a Merrell store, Quicksilver and Lenscrafters. Its lobby doubles as a showroom for Chrysler and Skoda. Hop into one of the vehicles to see what you'll look like behind the wheel; take the Jeep home for 450,000 RMB (~$66K).

Women stroll the grounds of our apartment complex trailing small fluffy dogs: American Eskimos, Pomeranians, Pekinese and miniature Schnauzers. Yesterday, I watched an elderly woman directing four skinny men pushing an upright piano on a wheeled platform across a large intersection, down the sidewalk, and across a couple other intersections into our complex.

We're staying in a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment on the 22nd floor of a large, high-rise apartment complex named Fulicheng, complete with private gardens and water features. Our apartment isn't anything special by U.S. standards, but it's by far the fanciest place I've ever lived in China. And the grounds of our complex really are impressive. Rent here is upwards of 6000 RMB/month (nearly $900). Pay extra for a membership at the exclusive, on-site gym and pool with floor-to-ceiling windows. I'd say this place is upper middle class.

Our first apartment, the one I described earlier in our trip, is probably more middle middle class. But then again, I'd say my former students, some of whom were college professors, who lived husband, wife and young child in a single room with unfinished cement floors, cooked on a two-burner gas range in a dark hallway, and shared a common bathroom with everyone else of the same gender on their floor were middle class, too. That, though, may have been true only in the old China of 15 years ago. Today, people who live in those conditions might no longer fall into the middle class.

Chinese people call regular people "lao bai xin," literally, "old hundred surnames." These are the common folk. The term used to mean anyone who wasn't a government leader or official. But now, its meaning may more be people who aren't middle class yet - the migrant construction workers, dumpling wrappers, street sweepers, ticket collectors, waiters, fruit sellers, and security guards - people we encounter every day and rarely think to converse with even though we benefit greatly from their labor. Many people have shared with MPR News their stories of feeling left behind, of the middle class no longer being financially stable.

Although Chinese people didn't have much in the past, I never had the sense that most were discontent with or anxious about their financial situations - perhaps because everyone (in the cities, anyway) made about the same amount. Today, I'd still say the middle class here seems to see themselves as doing well, or at least OK. They have a little disposable income. They can afford tickets to the Olympics (and are able to navigate the Internet well enough to have entered the ticket lottery).

What about the new lao bai xin? If the middle class is growing, then the working class must be shrinking. Are they feeling left behind? They've already endured generations of "eating bitter" ("chi ku" - a common Chinese expression for dealing with difficulties, or sucking it up). How much longer?

8-21-08 Outside the Worker's Stadium (football - i.e., soccer - venue): So much for cracking down on scalpers. I hope the police are as easy on those one hundred plus scalpers they arrested in that big bust earlier this week as they are on scalpers outside the soccer stadium this evening. As we walk the long block past Worker's Stadium on our way to dinner, we pass numerous fans heading to their seats, as well as dozens of men who are trying to sell tickets - and not so subtly either.

Some walk around fanning themselves with groups of six or seven tickets. Others stand with tickets peeking out of their shirt pockets. Many call out to passersby: "Want tickets?" or their selling prices. I hear people haggling over prices, and watch a group of students move from scalper to scalper seeking out the best deal. What astonishes me, though, is that two police cars and several officers are standing by the entrance to the stadium, within 50 feet of many of these transactions, and they are completely ignoring them.

A Taiwanese-American friend who joins us for dinner isn't surprised. She says that when she went over to the beach volleyball venue a couple days ago to try to pick up some scalped tickets, a police officer actually gave her advice to buy tickets not for that day's competition, but for the next day's. Overhearing the conversation, the college student Olympic volunteers standing nearby laughed at his helpfulness. My friend's really cute, and she speaks Chinese fluently, but honestly.

8-22-08 Bummed. Yes, the I.O.C ought to investigate thoroughly the allegations that gold medal Chinese gymnast He Kexin may be only 14 and not 16 as her passport, she, and Chinese officials have claimed. No, she and her team don't deserve their gold medals, no matter how good their performances, if they broke the rules of the Games. But I am so deeply saddened by the news of additional evidence that He and other Chinese gymnasts may be underage, because I don't want "China cheats!" to be what people outside China take away from this year's Games.

A few days ago, I asked my Chinese friend Alan what people are saying about other accusations of ... let's call it dishonesty - for example, the lip synching little girl at the opening ceremonies. Now my friend is an honest guy. But his attitude, and that of other Chinese people he's heard discussing this issue, is that China wanted to put on a good show, to make the opening ceremonies as perfect as they could be. So is it really a big deal that they substituted a prettier little girl for one who has a lovely voice but isn't as attractive?

Personally, I don't understand how any little girl could be so unattractive that she wouldn't be deemed fit for the big show, but Alan's point is that China wants the world to see it at its best. That's true of the government, who we can and should criticize for all the bad decisions they've made and continue to make (though we should also recognize the reforms they're trying to make). But it's just as true, if not more so, for the Chinese people.

Before I even walked on Chinese soil, I knew that Chinese people are proud of their country, particularly its rich history and culture. After all, I grew up with Chinese parents, who even though they left this country as young children and never intended to return here, were constantly mindful of their heritage, reminding me daily that I was Chinese, and therefore had to behave in a certain way that honored the standards of my ancestors. My childhood was full of "Chinese children do this" and "Chinese children don't do that."

In the fall of 1993, when I was teaching at the N.W. Institute of Political Science and Law in Xi'an, the I.O.C. chose Sydney for the 2000 Olympics. I'm not sure I was even aware that a host city was about to be named, but my students all came to class the next day tired (because they had stayed up late into the night waiting for the decision), and despondent (because they so desperately wanted the Olympics to come to China). It was on that morning that I realized how important these Games were for to regular Chinese people - even if they're an 18-hr train ride away and even if they likely wouldn't have the opportunity to see an event in person. And it was on that day that I decided that should China ever win their bid to host, that I wanted to be here to share in the experience.

Everyday Chinese people have given so much of their time and efforts to these Games - all those seniors in their white volunteer jerseys who are sitting out on the sidewalk all day long on what seems to be every block of the city, ready to answer questions and be of service, all those eager students in their blue volunteer jerseys who are finally putting their years of language training to good use, all those other hundred of thousands or millions (I've never been very good at estimating) of people who aren't recognized or repaid in any way for their contributions, but upon whose work the Games have been built and continue to run. These Chinese citizens are so proud that the Olympics are in China right now. And none of these wrongdoings, crimes, failings - or whatever you want to call the sins of the Chinese government - is their faults.

On the second day of competitions, my friend Alan was taking a bus up to the Olympic tennis venue to watch the first round of the women's doubles. Because he speaks English and is super thoughtful, he stopped to help an American family that was confused about which way to go. The signage was poor, and even the bus driver wasn't sure where they should get off, because it was early on in the Games, and (according to Alan) things weren't well organized. He watched the woman lose her patience as more and more Chinese people tried to cram onto the bus, as is common here. She started yelling at them in English that there was no more room and they needed to back off. He continued to try to get this family to where they wanted to go even as the woman was addressing his as "tennis guy" and saying if she had known what it'd be like here she never would have come to Beijing. He did this not only because he's terrific, but also because he wants the world to experience the best of his country.

Alan's wife, Li Jian, a journalist here in Beijing, said last week that she hopes people will understand that China's not going to be able to do the Olympics perfectly, that they'll make mistakes because this is their first time doing something like this. She asks us for patience as they learn. Lying about the age of your athletes so they can compete (if true) would be much more than a "mistake." But I echo Li Jian's sentiments. I hope people will remember so much more of the Beijing Olympics. And I hope everyday Chinese people will say good-bye to the Games on Sunday with their joy and pride intact.

8-22-08 One more thought on Chinese athletes. This may be highly unpatriotic, but although I love the U.S., I almost always root for athletes from communist/socialist countries at the Olympics. Our athletes seem to mostly have well-rounded lives, and something to look forward to beyond their sport. Think Shawn Johnson who's going back to Des Moines with a gold medal and three silvers. She hangs out with friends, attends dances at her public high school, tries to limit her training to 25 hours per week, and gets straight A's. Unless something goes horribly awry, she'll do great when she gives up gymnastics. Not so for Chinese athletes.

According to a 22 July story from NPR, an estimated 80 percent of China's retired athletes are destitute, ill/injured, or unemployed, reports a publication of China's Physical Education and Sport Committee. I'm not exactly surprised. I met a coach of the Chinese weight lifting team back in Beijing years ago. He steadied me on a crowded public bus when my heavy hiking backpack knocked me off balance as the bus sped up. He then helped me off at my stop, and carried my backpack for me a ways down the road as we talked. My Mandarin was pretty bad, but he was patient, and we communicated enough to for me to find out that he had competed in the 1984 Olympics in L.A., and was now coaching. He had a job, and he didn't look poor or injured. But later, I received a letter from him, and - just thinking about his letter now almost makes me tear up. I wish I knew where he is now - his handwriting looked like mine (nearly illiterate, me). It was big and blocky, like a kid's. It was clear that he had received little schooling. China's athletes deserve better. Maybe this gymnastics investigation will help.

Update Fri 6:45 a.m. - A few days ago, Melody promised to send pictures of her trip to the beach volleyball venue that a friend took. We waited anxiously. One arrived today. It was of the men's competition. They dress normally. Not that it matters, of course.

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Free wireless during the RNC? Maybe.

Posted at 6:18 PM on August 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Tech, The political conventions

While St. Paulites were scurrying about trying to make sure the national media got the name of the city right when they mentioned the Republican National Convention, Minneapolis was doing its own thing, and you have to show a little love to that other city across the river.

On Friday, city officials will announce a plan to provide free wireless Internet for residents and visitors during the convention. But it might not be quite as fabulous as it sounds, freebie lovers.

Mayor R.T. Rybak, Lee Brenner, MySpace's executive producer of political programming and director of IMPACT, and Joe Caldwell from USI Wireless announce plans to offer the City of Minneapolis free use of the citywide wireless network to connect visitors and residents to the Internet during the Republican National Convention, according to a news release.

The release says there'll be MySpace kiosks in downtown Minneapolis. And a (as in "one") free access day.

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