4C • Wednesday, December 18, 2013 • Daily Corinthian
Ginsburg: Justices should stay if able to work BY JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press
RESTON, Va. — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Tuesday that Supreme Court justices should work as long as they can and shouldn’t manipulate their retirement so a likeminded president can appoint their successor. Some liberals have recently called on the 80-year-old Ginsburg to retire so that President Barack Obama can choose her replacement. If she stays beyond his term, it would leave open
the possibility that a Republican would name the liberal justice’s successor. But Ginsburg, the oldest justice on the court, cited Justices William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall as two justices appointed by Democratic presidents who left their replacement to Republican successor presidents. Ginsburg said she supposed many people wanted both men to leave when a Democrat was president, but she noted that neither did. Brennan was appointed
by Dwight D. Eisenhower and announced his retirement in 1990 at the age of 84 for health reasons. Marshall retired in 1991 at the age of 82. George H.W. Bush chose David Souter and Clarence Thomas as their respective successors. Ginsburg made the comments during an event hosted by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. She was responding to a question by moderator and former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, who served as so-
licitor general from 2001 to 2004 under President George W. Bush. Olson asked whether justices should time their retirements so that a president of the same party that appointed them could choose their successors. “I think one should stay as long as she can do the job,” Ginsburg said in response. Ginsburg said the “number one” question a justice should ask is “Can you do the job?” “Can you think as well? Can you write with the
same fluency? At my age you take it year by year. I’m OK this year,” she said, to applause. Ginsburg has for years been fending off questions about whether she should leave the court, in part brought on by her health. She had colon cancer in 1999, pancreatic cancer in 2009 and also suffered broken ribs more recently. Still, she has not missed any time on the job. This isn’t the first time Ginsburg has suggested the party of the president
will not influence her decision on when to retire. She told The New York Times in August that “there will be a president after this one, and I’m hopeful that that president will be a fine president.” But, the chorus of people calling on Ginsburg and her 75-year-old liberal colleague Stephen Breyer, to retire has grown louder in recent days and months, with several articles written by liberals advocating retirement while a Democratic president is in office.
Google query peers into society’s mindset Many trains don’t use BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Death, devices and celebrity drove the quest for more information on Google’s search engine this year. Three of the world’s four fastest-rising search requests on Google were triggered by the deaths of famous men. Former South African President Nelson Mandela, who died earlier this month, occupied the top spot, followed by “Fast & Furious” movie star Paul Walker, who died in a Nov. 30 car crash. “Glee” TV series cast member Cory Monteith, who died of a drug overdose in July, ranked fourth in an annual retrospective released Tuesday. The Boston Marathon bombings in April that killed three people ranked sixth. The iPhone 5S, the latest upgrade in Apple’s most popular product line, finished third in Google’s rankings. A rival smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S4, took the eighth spot. PlayStation 4, Sony Corp.’s newest video game console, held the ninth position. The Top 10 was rounded out by the “Harlem Shake,” a song that inspired a procession of amusing dance videos, at No. 5; “royal baby” Prince George, the heir to England’s throne, at No. 7;
and North Korea, whose saber-rattling has become a source of international tension, at No. 10. Google’s review follows annual round-ups compiled during the previous two weeks by its main search rivals — Microsoft Corp.’s Bing, Yahoo Inc. and Ask.com. Although its list usually comes last each year, Google’s breakdown typically provides the greatest insight into the world’s collective mindset because the company’s technology processes about two out of every three search requests made on the Internet. Bing ranks a distant second with 18 percent of the U.S. search market, and even less in most other countries. Yahoo, which relies on Bing’s technology, handles the third most search requests. Because the same inquiries tend to crop up from one year to the next, Google tries to keep its list fresh by focusing on the queries that post the biggest annual gains — a measurement that the Mountain View, Calif., company calls “trending.” Google also is slicing its vast database of search requests into a hodgepodge of other categories spanning 72 countries, up from 55 last year. In the U.S. alone, Google is compiling more than 90 different lists examining the hottest inquiries about
everything from finances to pop culture. A handful of the rankings are based on the total number of requests entered into Google’s search engine, instead of breaking them down by the variance from last year. Google’s pecking order of the most-searched people in the U.S. consists exclusively of singers, with the exception of realityTV show star Kim Kardashian, who is engaged to be married to one of her peers on the list, hiphop artist Kanye West (she ranks No. 3, while he came in at No. 10). The top spot is held by Miley Cyrus, who also was No. 1 in Yahoo’s search rankings for this year (Kardashian ranked second on Yahoo’s list). Cyrus, Kardashian and Justin Bieber were the only three people to appear in each of the most-searched lists from Google, Bing and Yahoo. The lists of most-searched people on Google and Bing shared the most in common, with six stars appearing in both categories. Beside Cyrus, Kardashian and Bieber, the other three to make the cut on both Google and Bing were Beyonce Knowles (No. 1 on Bing, No. 5 on Google); Rihanna (No. 3 on Bing, No. 6 on Google); and Taylor Swift (No. 4 on Bing, No. 7 on Google). The Web surfers who
use Bing evidently have quite different tastes in television from those who search on Google. Only two series, “Big Bang Theory” and “Big Brother” appeared in each of the two rivals rankings’ of the year’s most-searched TV shows. “Big Bang Theory” ranked first on Bing’s list, a distinction held by “Breaking Bad” in Google’s rankings. The two search engines couldn’t agree on the most popular morning news show either, with NBC’s “Today Show “ making it on Bing’s list of most frequent TV requests and ABC’s “Good Morning America” securing a spot on Google’s list. Google was on its own list of trending stocks this year, ranking No. 4. That’s not a big surprise, given the company’s market value has surged by about 50 percent so far this year, its biggest gain on Wall Street since 2008. That was still not enough to surpass Google rival Facebook Inc. on the list of trendiest stocks. Facebook’s shares have more than doubled so far this year. After Facebook came electric car maker Tesla Motors, whose stock has more than quadrupled this year, and online messaging service Twitter Inc., whose stock has more than doubled since its Wall Street debut last month.
Tax cut thwarts plans for school storm shelters BY SEAN MURPHY Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — After a huge tornado ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs this spring and demolished two elementary schools, killing seven children, a longtime legislator thought the time was ripe for the state to act on a well-known problem. Although Oklahoma averages more than 50 tornadoes a year, and sometimes gets more than 100, about 60 percent of public schools have no shelters. Cashstrapped districts can’t afford to build them. Rep. Joe Dorman, who represents the small farming town of Rush Springs, proposed a bond issue, taking advantage of the state’s rebounding economy and revenue from a business tax that was already on the books. But the response to his proposal has made clear that there’s something more ominous than tornadoes these days in one of the nation’s most conservative states: taxes and borrowing. The idea has been
snubbed by Oklahoma’s political leadership, including Gov. Mary Fallin, triggering a debate over the current push by some GOP-controlled states to cut taxes to improve their business climate instead of using available revenue for longstanding problems. “It would be nice if every kid in Oklahoma had a safe room to go to,” said Bill Pingleton, the superintendent in the rural town of Tushka, where the school and much of the town were destroyed by a tornado in 2011. But top officials said the schools shouldn’t expect state help for shelters. “Just adding on a new tax burden on Oklahomans is not the answer,” said Republican State Superintendent Janet Barresi, Oklahoma’s highest ranking education official. Republican leaders want to eliminate the franchise tax, a $1.25 levy on every $1,000 a corporation invests in Oklahoma, to help fund the shelter plan. The tax, which has existed since 1963,
generates about $40 million annually, but was recently suspended. Since 2010, the Republicancontrolled Legislature has cut the personal income tax and several taxes on businesses as part of an aggressive fiscal agenda. Supporters of the shelter proposal, including teachers and families of children killed in the suburban Moore tornado, are trying to collect 155,000 signatures to put the question on the 2014 ballot. Organizers said they were about 40,000 signatures short by Monday’s deadline, but have asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court for additional time. Oklahoma is dead center in the Great Plains corridor known as tornado alley. Every spring when twister season arrives, school children follow a familiar ritual of filing to interior hallways, gymnasiums or — in the more affluent districts — reinforced shelters for state-mandated storm drills. At the new Ronald Reagan Elementary School in Norman, a fast-growing
college town in one of the wealthiest counties, every fourth classroom has been outfitted as a shelter with steel-reinforced concrete walls, no windows and a solid steel door. Parents say the rooms ease their fears. “I love the idea of having safe rooms in the schools. I wish all schools were like that,” said parent Alicia McBane, 35. Since the rebuff, supporters of the shelter initiative, organized as Take Shelter Oklahoma, have become embroiled in a dispute with Republican Attorney General Scott Pruitt and the State Chamber over Pruitt’s use of wording in the ballot initiative that emphasizes the funding mechanism. Some fear the issue is becoming hopelessly entangled in politics. “When people are holding press conferences in front of the attorney general’s office attacking the state chamber, we have gone far afield from the issue of our children’s safety,” said Republican Sen. David Holt of Oklahoma City.
I didn’t need to be their playmate all the time and I certainly didn’t feel guilty about it,” he said, noting that he worked from home during much of their upbringing and his wife homeschooled. At 62, now a grandfather, he found himself
looking back on those times during a family gathering at Thanksgiving. He was in a park far from home and was the only adult in the group to accompany a pack of young relatives on the slides. Eight other grownups stood on the perim-
eter and watched, he said. “Now that my kids are grown, I don’t regret my choices to let them amuse themselves,” Lee said. “Those were formative, imaginative times for them. But sometimes I wish I had played with them more.”
PLAY CONTINUED FROM 1C
for not taking the time to play with them,” Zeledon said. Patrick Lee, in the central Missouri city of Ashland, raised four daughters and fostered two sons. “I played some, but
available auto brakes
hasn’t yet calculated the cost of installing the safeNEW YORK — After a ty equipment. Accidents involving enspeeding Metro-North Railroad commuter train gineers rounding curves barreled into a curve and too quickly aren’t comderailed in New York City mon, but they can be caton Dec. 1, safety advo- astrophic. Last July, 79 people cates said similar deadly accidents might soon be died in Spain when a pasavoided. Railroads across senger train hit a curve at the country are preparing 121 mph. The Spanish rail to deploy high-tech con- system had sophisticated trol systems that will let automatic braking syscomputers automatically tems, similar to the new slow trains that are mov- “positive train control” ing too fast or headed for systems being deployed in the U.S., but the equipa collision. Yet there is already low- ment hadn’t yet been intech equipment, widely stalled on that section of available since the Great track. In 2005, a passenger Depression, that could have prevented the crash, train hit a building in and every Metro-North Amagasaki, Japan, when an engineer took a curve train already has it. For many years, the too fast. That wreck killed trains have been outfitted 107 people. The train was also equipped with control syswith an autotems that will matic braking sound an alarm system, but it if an engineer hadn’t yet been exceeds a desigset up to check nated speed or speeds in the blows through spot where the a red light, then crash happened. robotically slam Speed enon the brakes forcement sysif the driver tems on U.S. doesn’t respond. passenger trains Historically, vary widely. though, the sysGenerally, system has been tems that do used on Metrohave automatic North mainly to keep trains from Michael Gillis braking are set up to make sure colliding, not to Metra spokesman engineers don’t enforce speed accidentally limits on curves, overtake trains hills or bridges. That meant that no operating in front of them alarm sounded when or speed through crossengineer William Rock- overs where trains shift efeller failed to slow as he from one set of rails to approached a tight curve another. On Chicago’s Metra in the Bronx. Federal investigators said the train system, just a few lines was moving at 82 mph, have equipment that will well above the curve’s 30 automatically stop a train mph speed limit. Four moving faster than a sigpeople died in the wreck. nal allows. Like MetroRockefeller said he be- North’s system, though, came dazed or nodded at those protections are set the controls, according to up to make sure drivers federal investigators, his pay attention to signal lawyer and a union offi- lights, not enforce speed limits on open track. cial. “It is the engineer’s job A week after the derailment, Metro-North ad- to know his territory and justed its signaling system know the proper speeds so trains approaching the along his route,” said Mebend too fast will trigger tra spokesman Michael the alarm and automatic Gillis. Some passenger rail braking system. Similar upgrades are lines lack automatic planned over the next brakes entirely, even to few months to enforce enforce stop signals. There was no autospeed limits at eight other curves and bridges in matic braking in place Metro-North’s 384-mile on a Metrolink train that ran a red light and system. The relatively quick fix struck a freight train in for the deadly section of Chatsworth, Calif., in track raises a question: 2008. That crash, which killed Why wasn’t it done soon25 people, prompted er? The simplest answer Congress to order big rail seems to be that on most systems to install positive U.S. rail systems, engi- train control. Those sysneers have been seen as tems monitor the location capable of handling rou- of every moving train and tine speed adjustments provide automatic, emeron curves and bridges gency breaking anywhere. Many railroads have without mechanical backindicated they expect to up. “We operated trains for have trouble meeting the 30 years and 11 months 2015 installation deadwithout a fatality,” said line. Some railways have Marjorie Anders, a reported difficulties acspokeswoman for the quiring technical compoMetropolitan Transpor- nents or radio bandwidth tation Authority, which required to operate the oversees Metro-North system. Railroads also have unoperations. She added, though, that since the ac- til 2017 to install alarms cident, the agency was re- designed to keep engithinking its safety opera- neers awake. Right now, tions from top to bottom. some trains have those Anders said the MTA alerts. Others don’t. BY DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press
“It is the engineer’s job to know his territory and know the proper speeds along his route.”