SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
Free For All
“Women of a certain age, making their mark,” Lisa
Birnbach’s Oct. 20 Outlook review of Gail Collins’s “No
Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in
American History,” was interesting and informative. I read the
entire review but could not believe the woman missing from
the list: Harriet Tubman.
Tubman’s exact birth date is uncertain but was around
1822; she was born an enslaved person in Dorchester County,
Md. This was around the same time as Susan B. Anthony, who
was born in 1820.
Tubman escaped slavery and became not only a “conductor”
of the Underground Railroad (nicknamed Moses) freeingslaves, but she was also a Union scout, spy and nurse, cured a
disease and spent three years in military service in the Civil
War. She continued to work for justice for all people and
worked with Anthony to achieve women’s right to vote.
Tubman did not go to college because enslaved people were not
permitted to be educated. She fought to get her pension of $25 a
month for her Union service during the Civil War. A widow’s
pension was awarded to her 34 years later at $20 per month.
Tubman was going to be featured on the $20 bill, but that
was halted by the Trump administration. Tubman was in
action her whole life for the United States and all people.
Donna Westemeyer, WoodbridgeLIBRARY OF CONGRESS/REUTERS
Harriet Tubman is seen in a photograph taken between 1860 and 1870.It was nice, if somewhat bitter-
sweet, to read Steve Buckhantz’s
goodbye to D.C. basketball fans,
and, among other things, his part-
nering with Phil Chenier [“A good-
bye to D.C. basketball fans,”
Sports, Oct. 23]. The photograph
accompanying the article, howev-
er, showed Buckhantz with a dif-
ferent partner, who, though not
mentioned, is Kara Lawson of
West Springfield High School, the
University of Tennessee, the U.S.
women’s basketball team in the
2008 Olympics, and the Women’s
National Basketball Association.
Lawson starred on the basket-
ball court not only as a player but
also as an accomplished sports
announcer before moving on to
become an assistant coach with
the Boston Celtics. She is well
known to basketball fans in the
D.C. area, but it would have been
nice to have mentioned her as
Buckhantz’s partner in the photo.
Alan Beyer, SpringfieldA star worth
naming
Thanks to Dana Milbank for giving such promi-
nence to Latin in his Oct. 20 Sunday Opinion essay,
“The quid pro quo show, now in vivo.” It certainly
helped put the panis et circenses of today’s politics
into perspective.
He might usefully have concluded his column
with the letters we had to put next to solved
mathematical equations: QED — quod erat demon-
strandum — just to prove his point. He could also
have alerted his readers to another critical Latin
insight appropriate for these times: Qui tacet,
consentire videtur.
C. Mark Blackden, AlexandriaJust when I thought Dana Milbank had
reached the pinnacle of success with his clever
columns, he outdid himself with “The quid pro quo
show, now in vivo.”
Keep these marvelous columns coming — they
keep most of us laughing. And, knowledge of Latin
isn’t required!
Devee Schoenberg, BethesdaCogitare et risu
Anne Midgette’s Oct. 23 music review, “Lakota
music gets short shrift in Washington concert meant
to celebrate it,” illustrated a missed opportunity for
the audience and organizers of the concert at the
Washington National Cathedral. Her review per-
tained to the musical events at the cathedral, where
very little time was devoted to the Lakota musicians
and composers who were on-site. Instead, the
majority of time was spent listening to the works of
non-native composers who reflected on, and were
influenced by, native music.
In vivid contrast, the Saturday program of the
Lakota Music Project at the National Museum of the
American Indian devoted its entire 90 minutes to
showcasing performances by the soloists (BryanApika and Emmanuel Black Bear) and the interplay
of their music with the string and wind quartets of
the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Of particu-
lar note were two original compositions by Lakota
teenagers, which expressed their feelings musically.
Because the museum’s presentation focused on
the musicians who were present and eager to discuss
their backgrounds and music, no piece of the
program, including “Amazing Grace,” was dropped.
This closing piece beautifully displayed the musical
interaction between Lakota and non-native music.
Unfortunately, this was a missed opportunity at the
Washington National Cathedral. What better way to
learn about Lakota music than from the source itself.
Miriam and Ira Raskin, BethesdaA missed opportunity
CAMERON WHITMAN
Bryan Akipa performs with the Lakota Music Project at Washington National Cathedral on Oct. 16.While both mentioned that in the photograph of
Oct. 17’s White House meeting, House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was standing and pointing at
President Trump, Molly Roberts concluded that the
photograph’s meaning depends on the politics of the
beholder [“A Rorschach test for America,” Friday
Opinion, Oct. 18], and Maura Judkis, emphasizing
the picture’s symmetry, quoted an art historian who
pointed out its “ambiguity” and “double meaning”
[“Photo of meeting gone wrong turns everyone into
an art historian,” Style, Oct. 18].Neither noted a major characteristic of the photo-
graph’s composition: Pelosi’s head is illumined by
the white light of the alcove containing the bust of
George Washington (on the left) — reflecting the
light surrounding the Benjamin Franklin bust in the
corresponding alcove (on the right). Indeed, Pelosi is
the only person in the photograph whose head is so
anointed. This photograph is not ambiguous at all. It
may be subtle, but it clearly shows who the leader of
the country is.
Donna Lenhoff, WashingtonWhat leadership looks like
WHITE HOUSE/REUTERS
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes her point to President Trump during an Oct. 16 meeting.Regarding Joan Moriarity’s Oct. 20 Outlook essay,
“How role-playing games helped me embrace my
gender”:
It’s wonderful that a game helped the author find
her identity. It would be valuable to have more
honest articles like this about games’ impact on
people. In the large-scale conversation about games
in this country, because of misconceptions and
generalizations, some people attack this art form,
often without ever having picked up a controller or
designed a character. They criticize the medium
without experiencing it. Gamers, to protect what
they cherish, become defensive and aggrandize
games even though the gaming community isn’t
perfect, as demonstrated when the author recount-
ed being ridiculed for unconventional choices.
In effect, we have a false binary — a polarization of
games. I believe games can be a force for good; the
experiences of the author show just one example of
the myriad ways in which they can be beneficial. No
matter how dogmatic this conversation becomes, it’s
necessary to have a calm, civil national discussion to
establish a more accurate, nuanced picture of
games.
Vagul Mahadevan, CentrevilleThe good in gaming
A woman for all ages
The Oct. 18 front-page article “Mulvaney: Aid
withheld to press Ukraine” quoted acting White
House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney as making this
extraordinary and explosive assertion: “ ‘Let me ask
you this: If we wanted to cover this up, would we
have called the Department of Justice almost im-
mediately and have them look at the transcript of the
tape, which we did, by the way?’ Mulvaney said.”
I can’t believe The Post just walked past that
unexploded bombshell revelation and buried the
fact in Paragraph 19 that Mulvaney freely admitted
that THERE ARE TAPES. What else is on the tapes?
Have the tapes been destroyed? So many questions.
Peter Vos, Rockville
Just review the tapes. Wait, what?
The Oct. 20 front-page article “Inside Biden’s
brawling efforts to reform Ukraine” made a not-
so-small mistake by characterizing Ukraine as “the
small but strategically important former Soviet
republic.”
Even though its population has dipped 18 percent
since the 1989 Soviet breakup, Ukraine is by far the
most populated of the 15 former Soviet republics. In
terms of landmass, it is the second-largest country in
all of Europe. What European country is larger than
Ukraine? Only France. Further, of the 15 former
Soviet republics, only Kazakhstan is larger in land-
mass yet possesses less than half Ukraine’s popula-
tion. I would appreciate a paper with The Post’s
stature to get its demography and geography correct.
Fred W. Apelquist III, Oak Hill
Thanks for finally spelling the capital of
Ukraine “Kyiv” [“Mulvaney emerges as a key facilita-
tor of Ukraine push,” news, Oct. 17]. Its government
announced weeks ago that this is the preferred
transliteration of the name in Ukrainian, rather than
the “Kiev” used from the Russian language by the
Soviet regime.
Cathleen Burgess, Keswick, Va.
Get Ukraine right
I’ll take it as an encouraging sign that only about
30 Republican House members chose to participate
in the impeachment hearings shenanigans reported
in the Oct. 24 front-page article “Republicans storm
impeachment hearing room.” However, I think it
would be worthwhile for all of those who participat-
ed to be named for posterity, rather than just the
select few mentioned. The historical record for these
unprecedented times demands nothing less.
Jim Speicher, Jefferson
Get them in, and on, the record
The description of a triple shooting in Burke in
“Standoff in Fairfax leaves three dead” [Metro,
Oct. 23] gave limited information about the location.
Burke is one of many sprawling suburban areas
without incorporated boundaries. Historically, news-
papers and media outlets report the street name and
block number where a crime occurred. The Post’s
account of this tragedy lacked all specificity, referenc-
ing only “a brick home in Burke.”
C. Greg Carroll, Springfield
An unspecific tragedy
It is widely acknowledged that the young genera-
tion thrives on immediate gratification. This seems
to be complemented by the forgoing of the future
tense.
For example, the secondary headline on the
Oct. 19 Metro article “Bye-bye, Bei Bei” read “Four
years after birth at National Zoo, panda is moving to
China next month.” How about “will move to China
next month”?
Martha Lewis, Bethesda
Bei Bei is leaving the building
Though the “Mark Trail” comic strip often has
accurate artwork and good conservation messages
regarding wildlife, it is way off the map regarding
wildlife geography.
In the Oct. 19 strip, while riding on elephants in
Nepal, Trail and his associates, in search of the Yeti,
are surprised by a flock of vampire bats. One
character notes how his “social media followers are
going to love this.”
I think his social media followers will instead
shout, “Holy erratum, Batman.” Vampire bats are
found only in the Americas. (False vampire bats are
found in Asia, but they are not the blood-sucking
species that Trail and his associates mistakenly
identify.) Apparently, Trail’s friend is a bit batty on
his bat knowledge, but it’s no wonder since he’s
looking for the mythical abominable snowman. Or
maybe he just needs some good binoculars.
Frank Kohn, Fairfax
Just plain batty
The Oct. 19 World Digest included an Associated
Press article headlined “Subway is suspended over
student protests.” The article included this state-
ment: “a 4 percent increase in subway fares from
about $1 to $1 and 16 cents.” Clearly, “about $1” to
$1.16 is about 16 percent, four times the stated
“4 percent.” This reinforced my opinion that The Post
needs to pass any story involving even the tiniest bit
of math by someone who knows mathematics.
Kenneth Nellis, WashingtonA photograph with the Oct. 19 Economy &
Business Digest depicted a shipyard worker on a
ladder in Bangladesh, but the caption was about the
number of online workers in the country. What did
the picture have to do with the caption?
Ted Houghton, Charlton, Mass.We plead nolo contendere
JAMES ALLEN/NORTH AMERICA SYNDICATEMARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POSTBei Bei at the National Zoo.
BENOIT TESSIER/REUTERS
People test out a game at a trade fair for video
games in Paris on Oct. 29.NED DISHMAN/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Kara Lawson and Steve
Buckhantz on Jan. 17. Letters can be sent to [email protected].
Submissions must be exclusive to The Post and should
include the writer’s address and day and evening
telephone numbers.