I think this has become a big problem for him out on the campaign trail. And his opponents are going to say, ‘How are we supposed to press the arguments about Fannie and Freddie in next fall’s election if our standard-bearer was on their payroll?’

— On today’s Fresh Air, Washington Post national political correspondent Karen Tumulty talks about Newt Gingrich’s business ventures, including an up to $1.8 million dollar consulting fee he received from Freddie Mac.

tetsudau1003:

Toni Silber-Delerive

Pentagon

This week, we covered: military bands, top secret America, Richard Engel, the future of Afghanistan, firefighters at Ground Zero, language, books, Glen Campbell, and jazz covers of Stevie Wonder.

The government said, ‘We’re facing an enemy we don’t understand, we don’t have the tools to deal with it, here’s billions … of dollars and a blank check after that for anybody with a good idea to go and pursue it. Not only does the government find it difficult to get its arms around itself, [but now] it doesn’t’ know what’s inside, it doesn’t know what works, it doesn’t know what doesn’t work. And nobody still, ten years later, is really in charge of those questions.

— On today’s Fresh Air, Washington Post national security reporter Dana Priest joins Terry Gross for a discussion about how the ‘terrorism industrial complex’ created in response to the 9/11 attacks grew to be so big.

Syrian men promise to marry women who were raped - The Washington Post

To reclaim their “honor,” families in Syria have been known to kill raped female members. Even if families allow such women to live, they are not eligible to marry.

“We sat and discussed that we want to change this. We don’t want to change just the regime in Syria, but also this kind of stuff. So we will marry them in front of everyone,” said Ibrahim Kayyis, a 32-year-old baker from Jisr al-Shugour.

lookhigh:

Of the 5,193 public outdoor sculptures of individuals in the United States, only 394, or less than 8 percent, are of women….And none of the 44 national memorials managed by the National Park Service (such as the Lincoln Memorial) specifically focuses on women and their accomplishments….

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington [was] dedicated in 1993 after a nine-year effort to bring it to fruition. But it didn’t happen easily, according to its founder.

“It was incredible how hard we had to work not only to get a sculpture, but one that looked like women,” says Diane Evans, who had been an Army first lieutenant and head nurse in Vietnam and spearheaded the initiative. “We were told by J. Carter Brown, the head of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., that a woman’s statue would upset the delicate balance of tension at the Vietnam Memorial.” (via Washington Post)

(Photo: Jeff Kubina via Flickr)

The Washington Post profiles NPR’s Andy Carvin, who tweets (@acarvin) and curates the news, sometimes sending 1,400 messages a day about the ongoing uprisings in the Middle East.

“I see it as another flavor of journalism,” he says. “So I guess I’m another flavor of journalist.”

Washington Post investigative reporter James Grimaldi, on Arizona’s lax gun laws: “Essentially, there is very little obstacle to purchasing a weapon in the state of Arizona. There are laws that require you, federally, to be at least 21 years old to purchase a handgun. But basically state law permits anyone 21 and older to own a firearm and also, to carry it concealed in the state. That’s different than many other states, many of which have stricter gun laws.”

James Grimaldi, on why 60,000 guns from the United States have been found at Mexican crime scenes in the past four years: “We’re the closest country, it’s easy to get guns, it’s not difficult to cross the borders with the guns when you get them and there’s very little stopping gun runners from doing that.”

One thing to remember in Congress is, in recent years, it’s almost been a fact that Democrats can’t control Congress unless they have a number of conservative, rural Democrats and usually that translates into a strong NRA rating. And so, the White House was concerned just before the midterm elections that something that would rile the base of the NRA would further hurt them in their midterm elections.

— Washington Post reporter James Grimaldi, explaining why Rahm Emanuel stopped President Obama from pursuing greater restrictions on assault weapons in 2010, in an interview on Fresh Air about the growing gun violence in Mexico — and why it’s particularly difficult to track the gun dealers supplying the weapons.

Mexican violence, American guns

As Mexico drug violence runs rampant, U.S. guns tied to crime south of the border. The Washington Post has a nice photo gallery showing how authorities have struggled to keep U.S. retailers’ firearms from falling into the hands of drug cartels.

The NRA’s electoral influence

The National Rifle Association endorsed candidates in about two-thirds of congressional races in the midterm elections. Often, the choice not to endorse was pragmatic — either both candidates had top NRA ratings or both had poor ratings. Of those endorsed, 80 percent won, according to The Washington Post’s analysis. On tomorrow’s Fresh Air, we’ll talk to James Grimaldi, one of reporters who has contributed to the Washington Post series The Hidden Life of Guns. 

In 1942, Washington, D.C.’s U Street neighborhood was a cultural center for the city’s African-American community.  Today, gentrification has pushed many longtime black residents out. Tomorrow, we discuss how black America has changed since the Civil Rights era with Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson. He says black America is now divided into four groups: 1) the abandoned poor 2) the mainstream middle class 3) the wealthy and powerful and 4) immigrants and people of mixed race.