I’m there e very day. I f this was a n issue, it
should’ve been brought to my attention
long before now,” Karem said. “I know
what they say the issue is, but that’s not
the real issue, or they could’ve talked to
me at a ny p oint in time prior to now. As a
matter of record, they never spoke to me
once about it.”
The White House did not respond to a
request for comment. K arem, who is also
a CNN contributor, has frequently criti-
cized the administration and served as a
foil during White House press scrums.
On July 11, he engaged in a volatile
verbal altercation with Salem Radio
Network host Gorka at the White House
social media summit, which was cap-
tured on video.
Karem told The Post he felt the
suspension was a “silly” attempt to
punish him and was not directly related
to the exchange. He noted the White
House told him about the suspension on
Friday afternoon, hours after Trump
fielded several of his questions.
“This White House once again is
arbitrarily enforcing rules with mem-
SEE PLAYBOY ON C4BY MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLERBrian Karem, the chief White House
correspondent for Playboy magazine,
said Friday that his press pass is being
suspended for 30 days in what he called
an “anti-First Amendment move.”
The suspension will begin Monday,
Karem said. In an interview late Friday,
he said the White House told him the
suspension was related to his actions in
the Rose Garden nearly a month ago,
where he sparred with former White
House aide Sebastian Gorka.
The White House wrote that Karem
“failed to abide by basic norms of
decorum and order” on July 11, Karem
said. The letter further suggested that
Karem had been rude to Gorka — “a
guest of the president.”
But Karem told The Washington Post
he thinks the move was retaliation by
the White House for his tough question-
ing of President Trump. He said his
attorney will appeal the suspension
Monday.
“They’re claiming [the reason is]
something that happened 21 days ago.
BY PHILIP KENNICOTTThe eyes of the Hooters owl stare at us, as if through
large goggles, wide open with shock and horror. In front of
the restaurant, men and women in military fatigues, some
with helmets, others dressed more provisionally, hurry
past, bearing a formidable arsenal of weapons and commu-
nications gear. This is what war looks in America, a surreal
juxtaposition of familiar logos and brand names and a now
all-too-familiar display of police response.
You might not even notice the ambulance in the right of
the image because ambulances are now a bit like the
Coca-Cola sign of yesteryear, an obligatory signifier of our
country, i nstantly recognizable and ubiquitous. The ambu-
lances in America will always be full because men with
guns who spend too much time reading drivel on the
Internet will never stop killing us.
For most of our history, wars have involved foreign
SEE KENNICOTT ON C3THE RELIABLE SOURCE
Readers, protesters flock
to ex-governor’s book talk. C2MOVIES
A fast and furious evolution
for a global sensation. C3MUSIC REVIEW
At Capital One Arena, Khalid
lacks a live spark. C8BY ANGELA HAUPTIn ancient Ireland, harpists were
instructed to evoke specific emotions in
their audience — both laughter and
tears, summoned by fingers that danced
across strings. Perhaps Hazel Prior, a
professional harp p layer, was angling for
the same effect in her debut novel, the
melodious, dreamy “Ellie and the Harp-
maker.”
On the day they meet, Dan Hollis, a
harpmaker in Exmoor, England, gives
Ellie Jacobs a harp carved out of cherry
wood, selected to match her cherry-
colored socks. Harp playing is on Ellie’s
list of things she wants to do before
turning 40 in a few y ears, s o Dan decides
his gift is perfectly logical. But Ellie’s
husband disagrees: “What could have
possessed him?” Clive roars, demanding
she return the expensive instrument
immediately. “The guy’s a nutter! Or else
he fancies the pants off you. Either way,
it would be wrong to keep the thing.”
Ah, so this will be a forbidden ro-mance between Ellie and the h arp — and
the eccentric who gave it to her. Ellie’s
assessment of Dan as “startlingly hand-
some” i s revealing, as is the depiction of
her husband as mean and controlling.
But if this sounds like a scandal, it’s not:
“Ellie and the Harpmaker” is an inno-
cent, old-fashioned love story that could
have been plucked from a simpler time.
Ellie, who does her best to please
Clive, attempts to give the harp back.
She returns to Dan’s Harp Barn, a
magical enclave in the England wilds
where he leads a solitary, earnest life.
Dan is bewildered. “I guess giving away
SEE BOOKS ON C5Another White House reporter
has his press pass suspended
CRITIC’S NOTEBOOKA perpetual war is being waged
on U.S. soil — and it’s getting harder
to ignore the obvious signsTOM RUSSO/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
TOP: A makeshift memorial for the victims has taken shape
outside the Walmart in El Paso. ABOVE: A girl joins a vigil
Sunday in Dayton, Ohio, after another mass shooting.KLMNO
Style
MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2019. SECTION C EZ RESadly, we in the news media know just
how to do it.
When a mass shooting happens, even
when it happens twice in a 24-hour period
— even when the death toll soars into the
dozens — we reflexively spring into action.
We describe the horror of what happened,
we profile the shooter, we tell about the
victims’ lives, we get reaction from public
officials.
It’s difficult, gut-wrenching work for those journalists
who are on the scene.
And then there’s the next one. And the next one.
If journalism is supposed to be a positive force in
society — and we know it can be — this is doing no good.
Nothing changes. If anything, the pace of these tragedies
is on the rise, as Saturday’s El Paso massacre, so quickly
followed by the one Sunday near Dayton, Ohio, seemed to
SEE SULLIVAN ON C3MEDIAAn all-too-familiar tragedy
Continual by-the-numbers coverage
of mass shootings doesn’t give real
meaning to these ghastly momentsMargaret
SullivanMARK RALSTON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGESBOOK WORLD‘Ellie and the Harpmaker’
plucks the heartstrings
ELLIE AND THE
HARPMAKER
By Hazel Prior
Berkley. 336 pp.
$26