The White House Catches Nats Fever
Afghan Foes Grow In Numbers, Hits
As the killings of Americans creep upward in Afghanistan, we're hearing that the attacks are coming more frequently and from larger gangs. Where in the past the enemy attackers were huddled in small groups, Special Forces tells us that the killer bands are growing to over 100, a sign they are gaining support.
Air America to Land On Tom DeLay
Imagine some of these titles leaping from bookstore shelves in the years to come: Hammer Time, a memoir about House Majority Leader Tom DeLay 's stint in prison and his conversion to Islam, and Liberals Are to Be Hunted Down and Killed, by conservative vixen Ann Coulter . Silly? Yes. Crude? You bet, but what would you expect from a satirical bestseller list in 2020 as dreamed up by Sam Seder and Stephen Sherrill of lefty radio Air America's Majority Report ? It's in their forthcoming book, which has a title lifted from a crude military acronym for "f[ouled] up beyond all recognition." They title it F.U.B.A.R.: America's Right-Wing Nightmare and How You Can Wake Up From It.
The New Hill Look: Wireless Clip-ons
Has anybody else noticed all the Madonna look-alikes on Capitol Hill? No, not the bra she wore on the Blond Ambition tour; it's the headset look she made so famous. Thanks to new wireless technology, the combination earpieces and microphones are showing up on the ears of chattering lawmakers. "This is the greatest invention," Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. told us. "I used to be tethered to a cord," but the new gizmos "work even 25 feet away from my cellphone." Another fan is Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California, who likes that it hides under her shoulder-length hair. "You don't even see it," she cheers. "It's great for girls."
Who Had the First Presidential Car?
The famous Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles has offered us a bit of unusual trivia: All presidents from George Washington to Teddy Roosevelt had to pay for their own vehicles. Granted, that meant horses and buggies back then, but it wasn't until 1909 that William Howard Taft won an appropriation for $12,000 to hire a chauffeur and buy four cars--a White Steamer, two Pierce-Arrows, and a Baker Electric. Other tidbits from Petersen's upcoming exhibit of cars that presidents, popes, and potentates drove: FDR liked Fords, and the first "Popemobile" was Paul VI 's, a Toyota painted white to signify the important passenger.
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With Linda Robinson and Richard J. Newman
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