Holly Petraeus: “Husband Really Wasn’t at My Dinner Table”

by JD - 

Holly Petraeus in WNPR studios. Photo by Chion Wolf

One of the ugliest outcomes of the David Petraeus sex scandal is the impact on his wife of 37 years, Holly. We read in reports that she is “furious” about his revelation of an affair between her husband and biographer Paula Broadwell. Well, that seems obvious. The scandal has also shed more light on how admired Holly Petraeus is for her work on behalf of military families. 

She was in Connecticut to talk about that work last September, and she appeared on Where We Live.  Her lecture was sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Connecticut who arranged the visit to our studio. We spent most of our interview talking about her job with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, helping to advise veterans on their financial lives – both while in the military, and after they’ve left.   “What I really want to accomplish is to see service members not get into the bad deals that can set them back for years,” she said.

It was only at the end of the conversation that I asked about her famous husband, who had led military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and had just started his new job as head of the CIA.  I didn’t ask her to talk about him, but instead whether their dinner table conversations ever informed each others’ work. Her answer was uncomfortably blunt:

“Frankly my husband wasn’t really at my dinner table much of the last ten years,” she told me.

I nervously laughed at her response, a reaction to what I saw as deadpan humor. Listening back, that laughter sounds cruel and uncomfortable, but an honest reaction to a surprisingly terse answer.  I followed up.  I asked Mrs. Petraeus whether the voices she heard from troops dealing with financial troubles could resonate through her to her husband, the highest of military commanders. And, whether the insight he had gained over 37 years in the Army might help her do her job, too.

“Let’s just say we talk, yes. And I think that he would certainly be the first to say that he’s very happy that I’ve turned this into something that I feel I can work on, to advocate for our service members,” she said.

We left it at that.

According to timelines of the scandal, the same month Holly Petraeus was visiting Connecticut, her husband was settling into his new job in DC. And inviting Paula Broadwell to his office.

Returning Vets Project Comes to Where We Live, CCSU

WNPR’s Coming Home Project: Live at CCSU

Wednesday, March 14, 7pm, Torp Theater, Davidson Hall, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain

Central Connecticut State University and WNPR present a comprehensive panel discussion with veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars about their service and the difficult transition home.

With the Iraq War ended and withdrawal from Afghanistan imminent, the United States is seeing a flood of veterans coming home from war. Many are returning with physical, mental and emotional wounds that take time to heal and are little understood by the civilian population. And these vets are coming home to a nation still in economic trouble, where jobs are tough to come by. As part of a yearlong reporting project, WNPR is talking to Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans about their stories of deployment, conflict, return and re-integration.

In collaboration with Central Connecticut State University, this forum will bring together veterans from across the state to talk about their experiences, what is being done to help veterans in the state, and what more still needs to be done. This program will be recorded for broadcast on WNPR’s Where We Live.

John Dankosky is Robert C. Vance Endowed Chair in Journalism and Mass Communication, News Director of WNPR and host of Where We Live. He is the lead organizer for this event, along with Lucy Nalpathanchil – Correspondent and Host at WNPR and lead reporter on the Coming Home Project and Michael Zacchea, a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps who served in Iraq.  Zacchea has received numerous military awards including the Bronze Star Medal for Valor (with gold star in lieu of 2nd award), and a Purple Heart. He now works at The University of Connecticut as part of their Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities.  The program will include two panel discussions with groups of accomplished returning veterans who advocate for other military personnel.

Directions to CCSU

Facebook Page for Event – please sign up

 

Veterans, Homeless In The News

Mark Herbort, photo by Chion Wolf

by John Dankosky – On Monday’s Where We Live, we’ll revisit a conversation about the problem of homeless veterans in Connecticut and nationwide.   The federal government has made it a priority to find homes for all vets, but homelessness isn’t the only problem they face.  Mental illness, substance abuse, and the stigma that come with them can make it hard for veterans of any age to seek and find help.

I recommend Jamie Tarabay’s story from NPR’s Morning Edition about a rise in suicides among troops – it includes this shocking fact:

Nearly as many American troops at home and abroad have committed suicide this year as have been killed in combat in Afghanistan. Alarmed at the growing rate of soldiers taking their own lives, the Army has begun investigating its mental health and suicide prevention programs.

Meanwhile, some mildly good news from HUD about the overall numbers of homeless in America.  Monica Polanco reports in the Courant:

The number of homeless people across the country declined by 5 percent in 2009, while the number of homeless families rose by 7 percent, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The better numbers are attributed to an increase in permanent supportive housing.

Elizabeth Warren is Everyone’s Hero

by John Dankosky – It was all swooning and kudos in the newsroom today, as we featured Harvard professor, TARP Oversight chair, and media star Elizabeth Warren.  We got her talking about the financial services reform bill, set to be taken up by the Senate when it returns to session next week.

Among other things, it calls for the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency within the Federal Reserve – an idea Warren (almost completely) supports.  She told Where We Live that an agency like this would streamline a system that currently has seven different bureaucracies that deal with consumer financial protection.

“This is an agency that says something very straightforward:  people ought to be able to read and understand their credit agreements.  No more 30-page credit card agreements that are loaded with fine print.  No more stacks and stacks of mortgage documents that no one reads and no one understands.  No more hidden kickbacks on car loans.  It needs to be out there, it needs to be in clear language, it needs to be short and readable.”

But – and here’s the big but – Warren has long supported more independent oversight than what Dodd’s bill proposes.

“Senator Dodd has said ‘Let’s put it in the Fed to try to get something that’s bi-partisan and okay with the Republicans, but let’s give it lots of teeth to try to make it functionally independent.’  So, you’re right when you say I’m a little bit caught between here.  I like an independent agency.  But ultimately, if it does have the tools to be functionally independent, then I think what Senator Dodd has done will turn out to be okay.”

The American Bankers Association has said it opposes Dodd’s bill, and is lobbying hard against it.  They say this kind of financial reform will jeopardize the soundness of banks.

Read Warren’s Politico piece, “Banking on Hypocricy.” And, take a look (below) at this piece by the New York Times, highlighting her big-time media impact:

As Tuition Loophole Closes, More Questions About State Policy

by John Dankosky - Thanks to CTNewsJunkie’s Christine Stuart for drawing my attention to reports by The Day of New London about a loophole that “gives cadets who did not make it at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy the same tuition breaks at state colleges and universities as certain U.S. military veterans.”  What breaks? Free in-state tuition, meant for those who served honorably on active duty during wartime.

It seems, from the report by The Day’s Jennifer Grogan that lawmakers are working to “correct this situation without any further unintended consequences.” (The words of Rep. Ted Graziani, House chairman of the General Assembly’s Select Committee on Veterans Affairs)

Here’s what Grogan writes has been allowed to happen:

Cadets who drop out of the academy, or in some cases are expelled, after at least 90 days can qualify for this wartime benefit as long as they received an honorable discharge and are living in Connecticut.

Obviously, this is pretty unfair to the veterans this benefit was meant for, and the thousands of in-state college students working hard to pay the bills.

It seems now that everyone involved is working toward closing this loophole, but it took a robust investigation by The Day to bring it into the light.

It’s remarkable then, that while unqualified residents have been gaming the system to get free tuition from Connecticut taxpayers, we’re still no closer to a tuition break for the children of people living in Connecticut illegally.

I understand that our program on that subject raised many concerns about fairness, parental responsibility and “ability to pay” for college (just read the many thoughtful, dissenting comments), but all these kids are asking for is the chance to pay tuition at the same “in-state” rate as their peers.

They’re not asking for a free ride, by any stretch.  They’re just asking for a level field to play on.  While this has been a topic of debate for years at the Capitol, I don’t think it will be high on anyone’s priority list in a tough budget session.

But, good for state lawmakers who are trying to close a loophole that favors “faux veterans” over hard-working residents of the state, legal or otherwise.

Click here to listen to our conversation on Where We Live with the children of illegal immigrants

Monday’s Where We Live: Congressman Jim Himes on Afghanistan, Health Care

Jim Himes in Afghanistan - Photo courtesy Ridgefield Patch/Office of Jim Himes

by John Dankosky – Monday morning, Where We Live is on the road – back in the cozy studios of WVOF “The Beast” at Fairfield University.  We’re welcoming back freshman Congressman Jim Himes, fresh off a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan.  Since returning, he’s been on a “town-hall” tour, which finds him listening to a wide range of concerns and criticisms. Judging from the various accounts I’ve read about these meetings, I have a few observations:

1.  Himes is hearing from many liberal, progressive voices, who want him to reject President Obama’s planned buildup and begin to withdraw troops now.  According to an account in the Connecticut Post, Himes told an angry Stamford resident “I’m not an expert on the tribes of Afghanistan,” but he does seem to genuinely want to listen to residents’ views on the war.  He also clearly hasn’t made up his own mind on the issue.

2.  While looking for information about Himes’ views since returning, I was struck at just how much this story has been covered by local bloggers and small papers, and how little it’s been covered by the region’s bigger papers.  The intense interest that I’m seeing here is starting to look an awful lot like the grass-roots anger over Iraq about four years ago.  I’m hearing from people who don’t trust that Afghans will ever be able to take control of their country and that the cost is escalating beyond our ability to pay.  It all sounds so familiar.

3.  No matter how much we might want to focus on the war, we will also have to spend time talking about health care reform.  Himes has faced heat on this issue, too – especially from so-called “tea party” activists.

I’ve already heard from some people with their questions for Himes – add yours in the comments below, email wherewelive@wnpr.org or call us at 860-275-7266.  Or, if you’re on or near Fairfield’s campus, you can join us live.  We’ll have chairs set up to watch, “through the glass.”  It’s kinda like our version of the Today Show set at 30 Rock.

Military Contractors: A Disposable Army?

by John Dankosky – As disturbing as our conversation last week was about the “outsourcing of American power,” this series from ProPublica’s T. Christian Miller is even more chilling.

Graphic courtesy Pro Publica

“Disposable Army “uncovers the flip side of the U.S. decision to rely on hired hands to fight its wars, showing the toll on contractors, physically, mentally and financially.  ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times spent 18 months working on the story.

In the latest installment, translators from Titan Corp. in San Diego faced dangerous conditions on the ground (see graphic to the left) only to return to this:

Insurers have delayed or denied claims for disability payments and death benefits, citing a lack of police reports or other documentary evidence that interpreters’ injuries or deaths were related to their work for the military.

The series also features moving stories about translators, who’ve been seriously injured in battle.

As important as Allison Stanger’s book about the growth of outsourcing is, these stories put a human face on the issue.  Very worth reading, and listening to:  There’s more on today’s Fresh Air at noon on WNPR.