By Gregory A. Weiss
Congratulations to Chris Beutler for being elected on May 1 as the mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, in a runoff. Chris, a Democrat and a former Nebraska state senator, eked out the win with 50.6 percent of the votes to 48.9 percent for his opponent.
Looks like we have a new leader in the “Youngest Child” contest. Papa (again) Gary Karshmer and his wife, Jill, “are very happy to announce the arrival of Russell Ian Karshmer, who was born March 11, 2007, all 8 lbs., 4 oz., and 21 inches of him, bless him! Jill and I are thrilled, and we’re feeling truly blessed — and very spoiled, as well, since Russell, bless him again, has literally been sleeping through the night since day 4 for most of his three-plus weeks!”
Jeff Lewis’s new book, Theme Song for an Old Show, just came out in April. “For those who might not be following the saga (I did a reading at the Yale Bookstore during our reunion last June),” writes Jeff, “it’s the third in a quartet of novels that tracks our generation, starting with Yale ’66. This one’s set in the 1980s, in California, in the television world.”
Tom Wilner, who has been representing 16 Kuwaiti citizens who are imprisoned in Guantanamo, drew the ire of the writer of an op-ed piece published in the Wall Street Journal in early March.
The article, which attacked the efforts of the lawyers who are representing Guantanamo prisoners, specifically named Tom and his firm, including the following: “Arguably, it is Mr. Wilner’s aggressive representation, along with the determined efforts of the Kuwait government, that has had the greatest influence in the outcome of all the enemy combatant cases, in the court of law and in the court of public opinion.”
In a subsequent letter to the editor defending Tom and the other Guantanamo lawyers, written by the former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, John Gibbons wrote: “Ms. Burlingame singles out Tom Wilner for particularly vituperative criticism. Tom Wilner is outstanding. He is a strong advocate for the preservation of America’s constitutional principles and the rule of law.”
The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals honored John McGonagle in April with this year’s Meritorious Award. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the society, recognizing a single individual who has made significant and meritorious contributions to the CI profession. John, a competitive-intelligence practitioner with 22 years’ experience, is the managing partner of the Helicon Group, based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The books and articles he has authored over his career make him one of the most prolific authors in the field. After Yale, John received a JD from the University of Michigan, an LLM from George Washington, and an MA from Wharton. He has taught at Kutztown University, Lehigh, and Allentown College (now DeSales University).
A note of condolence to Corky Hawk on the death of his wife, Mary Anne, at their home in Taos, New Mexico, in early April. They first met when Corky was at Yale and she was at Albertus Magnus more than 40 years ago.