Washington Whispers
FEMA Hideaway Dims the Lights
FEMA's Mount Weather, 75 miles from Washington on the Loudoun-Clarke County border in Northern Virginia, has always tried to be a secretive place. But any hope of staying dark was shattered on 9/11 when the mountain facility opened its deep bunkers to top U.S. officials, reportedly including Vice President Cheney, as a safe haven from terrorists. And ever since, it has often kept security--and construction--lights on at night, leading to neighbors' complaints about light pollution. Now Rep. Frank Wolf tells us that he's done something about it. "We've asked them to shut off the lights," he says. Wolf says the facility at night "looked like a stadium up there." FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker says Mount Weather is proud of its "good-neighbor policy." Just like Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which cuts usage at night, FEMA is doing its best to "accommodate sleeping patterns of the nearby community" by dimming and redirecting lights.
They 'Google It' Even in Iraq
It's perhaps no surprise that the military is as addicted to Googling and blogging as the rest of the country. And Kenneth Krieg, under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, says it's prime time to look into that. "Googling and blogging are making their way into military operations at all levels," he writes in a memo. "But the full implications of this revolution are as yet unknown." A military blogger on www.blackfive.net offered advice: "Maybe they should call Al Gore, since he invented the Internet."
Something to Party About at Fox News
Fox News Sunday, the public-affairs show hosted by Chris Wallace, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a star-studded party in Georgetown and potentially a major coup. Dozens of media bigs, from Pentagon boss Donald Rumsfeld to 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace (Chris's daddy) and Fox boss Rupert Murdoch will show up Wednesday at trendy Cafe Milano. But it may be the appearance of Tony Snow, the original host (from 1996 to 2003), that gets the spotlight if he is tagged this week as the next White House spokesman.
41's Plane, Minus His Parachute
If former President George H. W. Bush has his way, he'll be the new Tickle Me Elmo this Christmas. We hear that 21st Century Toys plans to sell a model of the World War II Avenger plane Bush parachuted from during a bombing attack on Japanese targets on Chichi Jima. Bush's office in Houston is helping. His only demand: that the project be historically accurate, though we don't think it will include a model of his parachute and life raft.
With Thomas Omestad, Anna Mulrine and Suzi Parker
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