WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said Thursday he is determined to get a credit-card

a! that eiminates the tricky "ine #rint$ sudden rate increases and ate "ees that gi%e miions o"
consumers headaches&
"I trust that those in the industry who want to act responsibly will engage with us in a constructive
fashion, and that we're going to get this done in short order," Obama said, delivering a pointed message
to leading executives of credit-card issuing companies after a closed-door White House meeting
!oth the House and the "enate are pursuing bills to give consumers greater protections as an expansion
of new rules slated to ta#e effect next year Obama said his economic advisers will examine the various
proposals and wor# with $ongress and the industry, but he made clear he wants to sign a bill into law
"%he days of any time, any reason rate hi#es and late fee traps have to end," Obama said
&t issue is how to protect consumers, particularly in a deep recession, while not imposing the #ind of
rules that could ma#e it harder for ban#s to offer credit or put credit out of reach for many borrowers
Industry executives left the White House without tal#ing to reporters
'ater, one of the participants, &merican !an#ers &ssociation president (dward )ingling, said the
executives listened to Obama's concerns and "agreed to wor# with the administration to address them"
In a statement on behalf of the executives, he said consumer protection must be balanced with
"ensuring that credit remains available to consumers and small businesses at a reasonable cost"
%he credit-card executives made the case in the meeting that the sweeping rules already ordered by the
*ederal +eserve, due to ta#e effect next year, address many of the concerns held by the president and
$ongress
"He disagreed with that case and believed that more needed to happen," White House press secretary
+obert ,ibbs said of Obama
"o Obama outlined the principles for any legislation- .rotections so that consumers won't face sudden,
surprising /umps in fees0 re1uirements that companies publish their forms in plainspo#en language,
with no more fine print0 the availability of customer-friendly comparison shopping on credit-card
offers0 and greater enforcement so that violators feel the full weight of the law
%he president made no mention of the responsibility of consumers to #eep themselves from getting
overextended
&s one possibility, Obama said it may help if all credit-card issuers offer a basic, "plain-vanilla" card as
a default option for consumers
%he president also ac#nowledged the importance of credit cards0 almost 23 percent of 4" households
have one
$redit cards often serve as a vital source of li1uidity, both for individuals and small businesses
$redit-card debt has increased by 56 percent in the past 73 years, reaching 89:; billion by <anuary,
according to figures released by the White House %he average outstanding credit card debt for
households that have a credit card was 873,:=9 at the end of 5332, according to $redit$ardcom, an
online mar#etplace designed to lin# consumers and card issuers
%he *ederal +eserve has already ordered new rules, to ta#e effect <uly 5373, that are designed to
enforce a host of new consumer protections
W&"HI>,%O> ? &ttorney ,eneral (ric Holder told $ongress on %hursday he won't play "hide and
see#" with secret memos about harsh interrogations of terror suspects and their effectiveness In
testimony before the House &ppropriations $ommittee, Holder said he's willing to release as much
information as possible about the interrogations
"everal members of the committee pressed him about the <ustice @epartment's release last wee# of four
long-secret legal memos detailing the harsh techni1ues used on some detainees during the !ush
administration
"It is certainly the intention of this administration not to play hide and see#, or not to release certain
things," said Holder "It is not our intention to try to advance a political agenda or to try to hide things
from the &merican people"
+epublicans A including former Bice .resident @ic# $heney A have urged the Obama administration
to release other, still-secret documents detailing what intelligence was gained from the controversial
interrogation techni1ues
"I thin# you have an obligation to release the rest of the memos," said +ep *ran# Wolf, +-Ba
Holder said he wasn't sure exactly which memos $heney is referring to, because he hasn't seen them
%he attorney general suggested such classified documents may exist at other agencies
"I'm the attorney general and I don't control many of the memos you might be tal#ing about," said
Holder
When the Obama administration released the memos last wee#, the president declared no $I&
operatives who followed the memos' instructions would be prosecuted %he administration has not
offered the same assurances to the memo authors or the !ush officials who oversaw the program
$ongressional @emocrats have expressed a strong desire to conduct their own investigation of those
officials
&t %hursday's hearing, members of both parties as#ed Holder if he plans to see# charges against those
officials
"I will not permit the criminaliCation of policy differences However, it is my responsibility as attorney
general to enforce the law It is my duty to enforce the law If I see evidence of wrongdoing I will
pursue it to the full extent of the law," Holder said
Officials are still awaiting the results of an internal <ustice @epartment investigation into the actions of
the memo-writers
@&''&" D&.EA@uring a timeout early in the third 1uarter, %im @uncan , %ony .ar#er and the
rest of the "an &ntonio "purs starters headed to the bench
%hey never returned
Humiliated since the opening tip, coach ,regg .opovich decided ,ame ; of a first-round series against
the @allas Faveric#s was a lost cause
Instead of hurting the "purs with hard foulsAli#e Favs center (ric# @ampier threatened to doA
@allas slapped around "an &ntonio with tight defense, the return of @ir# >owitC#i Gs shooting touch
and the energy of their home crowd, producing an 22-:= victory %hursday night and a 5-7 lead in their
first-round series
HIt was great,I >owitC#i said HWe all fought for each otherI
@ampier drew the scrutiny of the league office for saying he would pop .ar#er on his first drive of this
game @ampier never even collided with .ar#er, although he did swat away a shot during a frenCied
first-half defensive performance by the Faveric#s
Series at a Gance
vs.
"eries tied 7-7
7 Game '( at "&"
)A* '+,, "&" 9= - *inal
+ecap J !ox "core
5 Game -( at "&"
@&' 2K, SAS '+, - *inal
+ecap J !ox "core
; Game .( at @&'
"&" :=, )A* // - *inal
+ecap J !ox "core
K Game 0( at @&'
"at, &pr 56 - K-33 pm (@%
%B- %>%
6 Game ,( at "&"
%ue, &pr 52 - 9-;3 pm (@%
%B- %>%
: Game 1( at @&'
*ri, Fay 37 - %!&
= Game 2( at "&"
"un, Fay 3; - %!&
"eries !rea#down
@allas limited "an &ntonio to ;3 points by the brea#, then went ahead :5-;: with =-K5 left in the third
1uarter %hatGs when .opovich essentially gave up, opting to let his top players rest up for ,ame K on
"aturday
HI didnGt see where we were going to get bac# in that one,I .opovich said
%he "pursG bac#ups werenGt much better, resulting in their fewest points ever in a playoff game %he
numbers were so uglyAthings li#e ma#ing only ;75 percent of their shots, and missing 76 of 7= ;-
pointersAthat .opovich playfully shoved aside the box score at the start of his postgame news
conference
HHave some mercy will yaLI .opovich said, laughing HItGs bad enough I had to watch this >ow youGre
going to ma#e me loo# at the stat sheetLI
%he Faveric#s allowed their fewest points in a playoff game while improving to 7:-7 at home since
the &ll-"tar brea# and =-7 in games following 53-point losses
>ow @allas will have to show it can handle success &fter winning the opener, the Favs came out flat
in ,ame 5, getting trounced about as soundly as they did the trouncing this game
H%he challenge is to maintain same #ind of edge heading into "aturday,I @allas coach +ic# $arlisle
said HItGs a good effort and an important victory for us, but itGs only one stepI
>owitC#i missed his first shot, then hit his next five He finished with 53 points and seven rebounds,
then also too# a seat for good once @allasG lead reached ;3 <osh Howard had 7= points and eight
rebounds, and @ampier had two points, nine rebounds and three bloc#s
<< !area had 7; points and seven assists in his first career playoff start and <ason Midd had six
assists and eight rebounds MiddGs only points came on a ;-pointer that was immediately followed by
.opovichGs give-up move
H%his is how we have to play as far as tempo goes,I Favs guard <ason %erry said H@efensively, we
were there with great energyI
.ar#er was "an &ntonioGs leading scorer with /ust 75 pointsAdown from ;2 the previous game He
made only five of 7K shots, with as many turnovers DthreeE as assists @uncan had four points on 5-of-9
shooting, with as many fouls DtwoE as rebounds

"an &ntonio "purs forward FattN
&. - &pr 5;, 77-K6 pm (@%
HWe have to play with a lot more energy,I .ar#er said H%hatGs itI
*eeding off a crowd of 53,K97 that was chanting H'etGs go FavsOI long before tipoff, @allas pestered
"an &ntonio into missing its first five shots %hey also turned the first four into 1uic# bas#ets, spar#ing
fans to scream even louder *ol#s really went bon#ers when @ampier bloc#ed .ar#erGs shot and !area
followed with a ;-pointer, putting @allas up by 75 after only : minutes
H(verybody was in attac# mode after we got stops,I >owitC#i said HWe didnGt have to grind it all out
all the timeI
%he "purs couldnGt hardly do anything right
%hey often too# shots late in the shot cloc#, and those rarely went in %hey had six passes stolenAsome
were so off the mar# they seemed intentionally thrown to the Faveric#sAand had five shots bloc#ed
If not for a buCCer-beater by ,eorge Hill , "an &ntonio wouldGve matched its worst half in a playoff
game
H%his was an awful game,I @uncan said HHopefully IGll come out here D"aturdayE and be a leaderI
Notes
"an &ntonioGs previous playoff low was =3 against .hoenix in 5333, a series @uncan missed with a
#nee in/ury N @allasG previous low-allowed was =:, done twice N >owitC#i was 3-for-7 on ;s,
#eeping him without one this series He needs four to pass Fichael *inley for the franchise
postseason lead0 itGs the most significant mar# he doesnGt already own
HO4"%O> D&.EA%he Houston +oc#ets thin# they have two of the >!&Gs top 7-on-7 defenders in
"hane !attier and +on &rtest %hey #now theyGll have to do a better /ob after neither could handle
!randon +oy in ,ame 5
.ortlandGs star guard scored K5 points to lead the %rail !laCers to a 73=-73; victory %uesday night that
evened their first-round playoff series at 7-7 %he +oc#ets had a 93-minute film session followed by a
two-hour practice on %hursday, undoubtedly wor#ing on better ways to control +oy, the >!&Gs 73th
leading scorer
,ame ; is *riday in Houston
&rtest, in his 73th season, said +oy was the first player to score more than K3 points on him He made
76 of 5= shots, many of them layups, and went 73-for-75 from the free-throw line
HIGve /ust got to man up and #eep him from getting to the bas#et,I &rtest said HItGs not about being
physical, itGs about /ust playing hard, /ust ad/ustingI
+oy scored 57 on 73-for-5; shooting in ,ame 7, but was no factor as the +oc#ets /umped out to a big
early lead and never trailed in a 732-27 victory In ,ame 5, !attier said +oy not only beat the players
who guarded him, but found crac#s in HoustonGs overall team defense

HItGs not /ust on one guy,I !attier said H& really good player li#e !randon +oy, you really have to have
a full team committal and it seemed li#e we lost trac# of him a little bitI
Houston also struggled with .ortland forward 'aFarcus &ldridge , who scored 5= points with 75
rebounds in ,ame 5 +oy said he felt li#e he carried the scoring load alone in the series opener, but got
plenty of support in the second game
H(verybody came aggressive,I +oy said HWe had our guards ta#ing shots that they normally ta#e and
'aFarcus did a great /ob of dominating the paint, not only scoring, but rebounding the bas#etball ItGs
what we neededI
&t %hursdayGs practice, Houston also wor#ed on delivering the ball to leading scorer )ao Fing , who
scored 5K in ,ame 7, then too# only six shots and scored 77 in ,ame 5
Opponents had success late in the season putting a defender in front of )ao and sending a second
defender in from behind to #eep the ball away from him %he !laCers wor#ed that strategy well with
&ldridge, <oel .rCybilla and ,reg Oden on %uesday, holding )ao to one shot in the fourth 1uarter
%he +oc#ets say the necessary ad/ustment is simple
HWhen the first pass to )ao is not there, we canGt panic,I said reserve guard Bon Wafer , who scored
57 points in ,ame 5 HWeGve /ust got to move the ball and #eep moving it I donGt feel li#e theyGre that
good defensively We have to exploit themI
Houston coach +ic# &delman wasnGt saying how heGd ma#e up for the loss of =-foot-5 center @i#embe
Futombo , who ruptured a 1uadriceps tendon in his left #nee after getting tangled with Oden in ,ame
5 Futombo, who will have surgery on Fonday, played 72 valuable minutes bac#ing up )ao in ,ame
7, grabbing nine rebounds and bloc#ing two shots
%he +oc#ets have no other =-footers on the roster and the next tallest reserves are :-9 $arl 'andry
and :-9 !rian $oo# $huc# Hayes is a capable bac#up forward, but heGs only :-:
HIGm not going to tell you how weGre going to do it,I &delman said HIn some ways, I donGt even #now
@i#embe, against this team, we felt he was going to be a real #ey guy for us, not only on Oden, but he
was also a very #ey guy at the rim When you lose him, we suddenly go from =-7 to :-= ItGs a totally
different scenarioI
%he !laCers arrived in Houston on %hursday afternoon and had a short practice at the %oyota $enter in
the evening &ldridge, a @allas native, missed the wor#out to attend to a family matter, the team said
$oach >ate FcFillan said &ldridge would re/oin the team later %hursday night
%he +oc#ets won both meetings in Houston during the regular season, including a 735-22 victory on
&pril 6A.ortlandGs only loss in its last 77 games before the playoffs
%he !laCers have lost 73 of their last 77 games in Houston, but nearly rallied from 7= points down to
win here on *eb 5K %he +oc#ets went :-for-: from the free-throw line in the final 57 seconds of that
one to win 92-9K
!ut the young !laCers, in the playoffs for the first time since 533;, have restored confidence after their
,ame 5 performance
H(verythingGs going to carry over to the games in Houston,I &ldridge said H>ow we #now what we
have to doI
.lay !allO A "ign up for )ahooO "ports *antasy !aseball '39 today
I have a confession I love stationery @ave "nowden calls it the stationery gene and IGm sure itGs firmly
embedded in my @>& "o IGve been en/oying pea#ing into >oteboo#ism which seems to be all things
stationery and I marvelled at a recent post on the worldGs thinnest pen, the 4niball "igno !it 372 mm
gel pen ,reat for writing on rice I believe %here must be a way to use one in my next pro/ect
!ac# in <uly we decided that the &necdote team needed to grow and we PadvertisedG via the blog and
using word of mouth We received many applications and met a whole bunch of fabulous and
interesting people during the interview process that we will be #eeping in touch with %o everyone who
applied ? than#s
Fost importantly, we are pleased to announce that +obyn $iuro will be /oining us in mid-October
+obyn was a real stand-out candidate Her diverse career includes teaching, system testing and senior
H+ roles for several companies &cademic achievements include a Fasters of (ducation and a
Fasters of MF Fost importantly of course, we love her and her attitude to life and wor#O We loo#
forward to introducing her to you +obyn faces a bit of an uphill battle in bringing some gender balance
to &necdote though --E
"teven <ohnson writes an essay in the New York Tsimes pondering the future of writing with the
availability of tools li#e @(BO>%hin# It helps you locate those ideas you managed to type into your
computer and then promptly forgot by feeding the system a sentence of two, such as a paragraph from
the new boo# you are writing "teven tells us about the interesting new trains of though which have
emerged using this approach
If navigating complexity re1uires us to detect new and emerging patterns, tools which alert us to new
connections and provide new perspectives will be valuable aids &s <ohnson suggests, we are
beginning to see our multiple intelligences augmented by a silicon one