Watercooler Stories

GENNIFER FLOWERS GETS NEW LIFE IN COURT

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has thrown out a lower court ruling, and given Gennifer Flowers the go-ahead to press libel and conspiracy lawsuits in connection with her long-ago affair with Bill Clinton.

A judge in Las Vegas had previously ruled that Flowers had waited too long to file suit against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Clinton aides James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. The appeals court ruling gives new life to Flowers' case -- and freshens up the Clinton sex scandals as a topic for national conversation.

Flowers became a household name in 1992, when she told a tabloid paper about her affair with Clinton. At the time, he was the governor of Arkansas and a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Clintons went on "60 Minutes" and denied the charge, but Flowers held a news conference and played tapes of phone calls between her and Bill Clinton.

Flowers later filed suit against Hillary Clinton, Carville and Stephanopoulos in 1999, accusing them of conspiracy and defamation, and charging that Hillary Clinton orchestrated break-ins at Flowers' home.

The 9th Circuit affirmed the dismissal of some of Flowers' claims, saying that they were barred by the statute of limitations, but ruled that the conspiracy claim and statements Carville made in a 1998 TV show could be grounds for a suit.

PRESIDENT BARTLET TRAILING IN POLLS

U.S. President Jed Bartlet has been reelected, but he seems to be losing public support in the early days of his new term.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that ratings are tumbling for "The West Wing."

Bartlet beat an inarticulate southern governor in a debate the week before he won reelection, and some folks are apparently reading between the lines to see a resemblance between the (real) current president and the fictional one on NBC's Emmy-winning White House drama -- and suggesting that the show is driving away conservative viewers.

A Los Angeles radio talk show host has been haranguing "The West Wing" for being out-of-step politically, and assuring listeners that's the reason why ratings are down 20 percent from the same weeks in 2001.

The explanation is probably not so simple.

Times TV writer Brian Lowry speculated that "The West Wing" may be losing younger viewers to younger viewers more interested in "Temptation Island" on Fox or "The Bachelor" on ABC. Still, Lowry said the question of how politics affect "The West Wing's" fortunes "merits consideration."

A lot has changed since the show premiered in 1999 -- two years before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Citing data provided by Simmons Market Research Bureau, Lowry reported that people who identify themselves as "very conservative" have always been less likely to watch the show -- but the gap grew during the most recent survey period from May 2001 to May 2002.

"West Wing" viewers were more likely than the average viewer to identify themselves as "somewhat conservative." They were also more likely to describe themselves as "somewhat liberal" or "very liberal."

"West Wing" viewers also tend to be older and richer than the average TV audience -- attributes usually associated with Republicans. But as one research analyst told the Times -- people might listen to Rush Limbaugh because they like his politics, but in prime time, most folks simply want to be entertained.

Lowry's conclusion: "The West Wing's" creator-producer Aaron Sorkin might be driving viewers away because the show has displayed a tendency to lecture viewers "with greater frequency since the 2000 election controversy and Sept. 11."

SAN DIEGO PROSECUTOR MAKES HISTORY

Elections officials in San Diego have concluded that a state judge has defeated the incumbent district attorney -- clearing the way for Bonnie Dumanis to become the first openly gay prosecutor elected in the United States, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The campaign was marked by charges of anti-Semitism, mental instability and sex discrimination -- but Dumanis' sexual orientation never came up. Dumanis beat District Attorney Paul Pfingst by about 3,500 votes out of 570,000 in San Diego, which remains one of the most conservative regions in California -- so conservative that voters there went for the Republican candidate for governor, Bill Simon, over the incumbent Democrat Gray Davis by more than 11 percentage points.

Pfingst gained a national reputation this year when he prosecuted David Westerfield for the murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

DANGEROUS TOYS?

Dr. Phillip L. Kaufman -- the Chicago-are optometrist who has been issuing a list of potentially dangerous toys for the past 25 years -- says retailers are doing something a little different this year, lowering the ages for which those toys are considered appropriate.

Kaufman pointed out the example of an airplane with an electric powered motor and a sharp propeller.

"In the past it would have been classified for an 8-year-old," he said. "This toy is designated for a 5-year-old. Additionally many toy manufacturers claim their products are safe or soft when in fact they are hard or fly with enough force that moving parts striking an eye could cause significant destruction to the eye. The safe or soft classification doesn't seem to apply to the eye."

Kaufman's list for 2002 includes Hot Wheels Sling Shotz Blaster (for ages 8 and up), N.R.G. Paintball (8 and up), and Nerf Air Tech 1000 (6 and up).

He also singled out Pacific Playthings' Home Depot 10 Piece Tool Set (8 and up), which has tools made of solid steel and some sharp points; and Dream Dazzlers' Swing N'Style Beauty Center (5 and up), which contains tools that cannot be sterilized after being used to apply eye shadow, and could cause irritation to younger eyelids.

Kaufman said more than 35,000 people were treated at hospital emergency rooms, doctors' offices and ambulatory surgery centers last year for toy-related injuries -- the majority of them children under 15.