From today’s Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.:

A man and a teen from Chenango County are to appear today in Norwich City Court to answer charges they held another teen down and tattooed an obscenity on his forehead.

Norwich City Police said an unidentified 17-year-old boy showed up at their station Friday to file a complaint that two individuals had restrained him at a Norwich residence. He told police the two then used a homemade tattooing instrument to ink him on the forehead with a vulgar phrase.

The teen was treated and released from Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich.

Police would not say what was written on the teen’s head.

Police said Kenneth D. Peer, 23, of South New Berlin and a 17-year-old boy from Earlville were charged with second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and unlawfully dealing with a child Saturday. Police said they were withholding the teenage suspect’s name because he may be eligible for youthful offender status.

The suspects were sent to Chenango County jail on $25,000 bail each.

Unbelievable.

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You know, even a big news story can be covered effectively in a very small item, as, for example, the Philadelphia Inquirer did today in the paper’s “News in Brief” section, the second story of which reads, in full:

GAO says it will probe propaganda complaints: The Government Accountability Office will look into whether the Bush administration violated any federal laws banning the use of public money for publicity or propaganda when it paid columnist Maggie Gallagher to help promote a marriage initiative. In a letter Thursday to Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.) and Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), who had requested the inquiry, the GAO said it would investigate the matter. [Ed.: Links added.]

Then again, the standards by which the Bush administration are judged are pretty damned low anyway.

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If you haven’t voted already, please cast your vote in the poll in the sidebar at right, that soliciting your views on the “presidential election” of 2005, the race shaping up on the hit television series “West Wing” between Alan Alda (Sen. Arnold Vinick) (R-Annoying) against Jimmy Smits (Rep. Matthew Santos) (D-Overrated).

The poll is open and available for the expression of your views until the evening of March 30.

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A bit more about the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s current exhibition, “Dalí,” the subject of several recent posts at The Rittenhouse Review: The Philadelphia Daily News today reports in a Q-and-A by Scott Flander (“It’s Worth It, Don’t Dali”):

Q: Is it hard to get tickets?

A: No, it’s actually very easy. The best way is to buy them online, at www.philamuseum.org. You can click on the day you want to go, and you’ll see which entry times are available (the tickets are for specific times so everyone doesn’t go at once).

You can also call 215-235-SHOW (7469), or buy tickets at the museum. Don’t expect to get same-day tickets at the door, however -- they’re usually gone by early morning on weekdays, and are nearly non-existent on weekends.

Q: Is the exhibit crowded? Is that a problem?

A: Yes, and yes. It takes some of the fun away when you’re competing with a dozen other people to look at a painting.

Q: So I shouldn’t go?

A: No, you definitely should go, it’s still well worth it. […]

Q: Any other hot tips?

A: Of course.

• Tickets are discounted weekday afternoons this month. Check the Web site for more details.

• Usually the museum is closed Mondays, but this coming one, (Easter Monday, March 28), the Dali exhibit is open. […]

• The exhibit’s last day is May 15. Don’t get shut out.

And no, I haven’t seen the Dalí show yet. I’m waiting for my painter cousin, who works in Surrealism, to walk and talk me through the show.

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In poor taste. In very poor taste. Inexplicably poor taste.

I expect so much more than this from Will Bunch of Attytood.

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I got three more “you look likes” just today: Rupert Everett, George Stephanopoulos, and Jeremy Irons.

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Via Ann Bartow and Siva Vaidhyanathan’s Sivacracy.net:

I feel better now.

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The Christian Science Monitor reports on politicians entering the blogosphere in “More Politicians Write Blogs to Bypass Mainstream Media,” by Mark Sappenfield (March 24), from which these pull quotes were culled:

“Bloggers are a force,” quips the blog in an eclectic column that ricochets from San Francisco journalism to German philosophy. “The established order of politics (EOP) and the MSM [mainstream media] face a big challenge from this fearless army.”

This, however, is not the rallying call of some anonymous agitator. This is one of the first blog entries by Jerry Brown, mayor of Oakland[, Calif.]. For a politician who has always teetered on the edge of the counterculture -- known as Mayor Moonbeam -- the leap from establishment figure to cultural insurgent is perhaps not a difficult one. But more politicians are following in his footsteps, looking to the Web as a way to bypass the media and get out their own message -- unvarnished and unedited. […]

Recently, Web logs -- or “blogs” -- have been most notable for their evolving role in “gotcha” journalism. Though most of the estimated 8 million blogs on the Internet are little more than online diaries, a small percentage have a more serious aim, acting as media watchdogs, insider newsletters, or political gadflys. […]

Yet politicians are beginning to see blogs are more than forums for snoops. To some, they are the ultimate cyberspace soapbox. […]

[Mayor Brown’s] blogs [sic, posts] can [sic, may] range from the practical to the existential -- touching on a local curfew for probationers or the imprisonment of a blogger in Iran. . . .”

Not a flawless article, but worth a few minutes of the time of those interested in the subject.

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At long last, a new reader poll!

Please cast your vote in the “presidential election” of 2005, choosing between Alan Alda (Sen. Arnold Vinick) and Jimmy Smits (Rep. Matthew Santos).

Okay, so it’s not a real election, neither the poll nor the election shaping up on the hit television series “West Wing,” but please vote regardless.

The poll, posted in the sidebar at right, is open until the evening of March 30.

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Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer gives you every reason to be afraid, so very afraid (“Santorum’s Return is No. 1 GOP Goal,” by Thomas Fitzgerald):

The Republican Party’s top goal in the 2006 mid-term elections is to keep Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in office, national party chairman Ken Mehlman said [in South Philadelphia] yesterday.

“There is no higher priority for our party,” Mehlman said in an interview. “He’s a man of conviction.” […]

Mehlman’s comments are the latest indication that the expected clash between the two men, still 20 months away, already is the highest-profile Senate race in the nation.

Democratic challengers to Sen. Tweedle Dum (a/k/a Sen. Gets It Wrong Every Time) include Pennsylvania state Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr. and Chuck Pennacchio, professor of history at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts.

Get your checkbooks ready.

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The New York Times reports (“Bishops Fight Death Penalty in New Drive,” by Neela Banerjee):

The country’s Roman Catholic bishops on Monday announced a more prominent effort to bar the death penalty, saying they hoped to build on a continuing shift in public opinion, and among Catholics in particular, against capital punishment.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops staked out a comprehensive position against the death penalty 25 years ago. But Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., said the conference was beginning a campaign for “greater urgency and unity, increased energy and advocacy.”

“We cannot teach killing is wrong by killing,” Cardinal McCarrick said at a news conference here. “We cannot defend life by taking life.”

Already, clergy members who were successful at mobilizing Catholics on other issues, like opposition to abortion, have sounded a call to fight the death penalty. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Colorado, for example, who told voters during the 2004 presidential campaign that abortion was a “foundational” issue, wrote in a recent article in a Catholic newsletter that “we need to end the death penalty now.”

And pro-life, yet pro-capital-punishment Republicans heave a collective sigh of, “What now?!”

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I can’t make it to Drinking Liberally tonight, but I will at least share the weekly anagram included in this week’s invitation from Peter Baker of the Philadelphia “chapter”:

Rep. Tom DeLay ==> Employed rat

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Due to some personal business requiring my immediate and sustained attention, readers should expect light blogging at best during the next week or two.

Until then, enjoy perusing the blogs listed in the sidebar at right -- try a new one or two -- and thanks to all of you for your continued support. It means a great deal to me to know that my efforts are appreciated by several thousands of readers worldwide.

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Herewith continues a recent Rittenhouse Review series about the most recent votes of Pennsylvania’s twin -- and I mean that -- embarrassments in the upper chamber of the U.S. Capitol, collecting data from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sunday issue, “Area Votes in Congress,” from which these votes, by Sen. Gets It Wrong Every Time (R-Pa.) and Sen. Gets It Wrong Almost Every Time (R-Pa.), were culled:

Arctic drilling. Senators rejected, 51-49, a plan by Democrats requiring a higher hurdle for the Senate to approve drilling for oil and natural gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This vote, which took place during debate on the federal budget (S. Con. Res. 18), will allow drilling approval on a simple majority vote; in previous years, supporters needed 60 votes to authorize drilling. A yes vote was to make it more difficult to approve drilling in the Arctic wildlife refuge.

Voting no: Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) and Arlen Specter (R., Pa.).

Federal budget. The Senate adopted, 51-49, a budget (S. Con. Res. 18) that sets spending and tax policies through fiscal 2010. For 2006, the plan projects $2.6 trillion in spending and $362 billion in red ink. The issue is now in a House-Senate conference. A yes vote was to adopt the budget.

Voting yes: Santorum and Specter.

Medicaid. Senators blocked, 52-48, a proposal in SCR 18 (above) to slow Medicaid spending growth by $15 billion over five years. The vote instead set up a commission to study Medicaid costs. A yes vote opposed cuts in Medicaid.

Voting yes: Specter.

Voting no: Santorum.

Amtrak. Senators refused, 52-46, to preserve Amtrak in its present form in the federal budget (SCR 18, above). The vote left intact a plan by President Bush to scale Amtrak back to its few profitable routes and allow the rest of the system to wither. A yes vote was to preserve Amtrak in its present form.

Voting yes: Specter.

Voting no: Santorum.

This is sad. So very, very sad.

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The New York Times reports, in what must be one of the paper of record’s longest-ever headlines, “Rumsfeld Faults Turkey for Barring Use of Its Land in `03 to Open Northern Front in Iraq,” by Thom Shanker (March 21):

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Sunday used the second anniversary of the American-led invasion of Iraq to answer the most tenacious criticism of the war effort -- that the Pentagon did not commit sufficient troops to the major offensive or to stability efforts after Baghdad fell.

The fault, Mr. Rumsfeld contended in two appearances on television talk shows, rested with Turkey, a NATO ally, which would not give permission for the Fourth Infantry Division to cross its territory and open a northern front at the start of the war in March 2003.

“Given the level of the insurgency today, two years later, clearly, if we had been able to get the Fourth Infantry Division in from the north through Turkey, more of the Iraqi Saddam Hussein Baathist regime would have been captured or killed,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

This is sad. So very, very sad.

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The other day a perfect stranger, or at least a total stranger, told me I look like Hugh Laurie.

I admit I had to look that one up.

And that’s just the latest addition to a growing list that includes, among other comparisons, Robert Downey Jr., Lou Reed, and Pat Riley.

I think each suggestion, on its own, is misguided, if only because all are older than I, and not nearly as good-looking (just half stike me as even mildly complimentary), but perhaps a composite picture created from the images of these four men might prove interesting. Is there anyone out there who might be able to create the look?

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It appears failed Hewlett-Packard Co. executive Carleton S. Fiorina will remain on the unemployment line, that after President Screws Loose passed over her six of one and named half dozen of the other, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, as the U.S. nominee to head the World Bank.

Paul Blustein and Peter Baker report in the Washington Post (“Wolfowitz Picked for World Bank,” March 17):

The announcement was an aggressive move to put the administration’s stamp on the World Bank, the largest source of aid to developing countries, by installing at the bank’s helm a leading advocate of the U.S. campaign to spur democracy in the Middle East. But it risked a new rift with countries critical of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, especially since it came so soon after Bush’s nomination of John R. Bolton, another prominent hawk, as ambassador to the United Nations.

The nomination shocked many among the bank’s 10,000-member staff and in many capitals abroad, especially in Europe. When Wolfowitz’s name surfaced a couple of weeks ago as a possible nominee, many diplomats and bank insiders dismissed his prospects as remote. Although the United States traditionally gets to choose the World Bank chief, there was speculation that a Wolfowitz candidacy could be torpedoed by the board of the bank, a 184-nation institution that has always operated by consensus.

Meanwhile, we’re now supposed to believe Wolfowitz has a heart (see “Tsunami Tour Said to Spur Wolfowitz Move,” by Bradley Graham, the Washington Post, March 17):

[C]lose associates revealed yesterday [that Wolfowitz] started thinking seriously about leaving [the Pentagon] two months ago, spurred by a January tour of the devastation in Southeast Asia caused by the tsunami. The scenes of death and destruction that he viewed in Indonesia and Sri Lanka played on Wolfowitz’s long interest in Third World issues of poverty and peace, according to this account, and got him looking at what new career move he could make to help in this area.

In a prepared statement Wolfowitz said: “Nothing is more gratifying than being able to help people in need -- as I experienced once again when I witnessed the tsunami relief operations in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. It is also a critical part of making the world a better place for all of us.”

Amazing. The man goes about Washington with his own violins.

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If you’re a knitter, or you’re aware of how therapeutic knitting can be, please take a few moments to read “New Knitters are Learning Perseverance and Patience,” by Lucia Herndon, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 16, an essay about the columnist’s recent visit to Interim House, a residential substance-abuse treatment center in this city’s Germantown neighborhood, from which these quotes, were, um, pulled:

Like knitters everywhere, we talked about current projects, our troubles, and our successes with them. [...]

There’s no real budget for the yarn handicrafts at Interim. Executive director Kathy Wellbank has been paying for yarn out of her own pocket. [Social worker Kathy] Duffy has been making needles by pencil-sharpening wooden dowels. [Ed.: !] Trouble is, there are not caps at the opposite end, so sometimes the ladies wind up knitting right off the needles. Sometimes the polishing of the point isn’t the best, so yarn snags instead of gliding along.

The Interim House needle supply made me -- owner of at least five of each size of needle in plastic, metal and wood -- want to cry. Partly out of frustration that they have to put up with these needles and partly out of guilt: My bag that day had at least 20 pairs tucked away. Short and long, circular and double-pointed -- I never met a needle I didn’t like.

The topic of the day was Martha Stewart’s release from prison and the poncho she wore. The cry went up from the room: “Let’s make ponchos!”

“Easy enough,” I said. “Just two big rectangles sewn together and fringed,” I said. “Really, very easy.”

Easy enough if you happen to have 800 yards of chunky wool and size 11 needles.

And, believe it or not, not everyone does.

Herndon’s column concludes with this message: “For information about Interim House, call 215-849-4606. Or visit online at www.phmc.org and click on affiliates.” [Doing so takes one to this page.]

It’s too late at night just now for me to call Interim House to get details about sending these women needles, yarns, and patterns, but I can’t imagine they wouldn’t gratefully accept your offerings. And since most of the knitters I know, including one in particular, a knitter I’ve known for some 40 years, are surrounded by an abundance of supplies -- most related to worthy projects not pursued, due to no fault of the knitter, I’m sure -- might I suggest those engaged in this noble endeavor hobby share a bit of their wealth?

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As published in yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer:

Disclaimer needed

If you’re going to quote comments from readers of Little Green Footballs (in the Verbatim column in Currents in the March 13 issue), you should also clearly identify them as such, to avoid confusion with the editorial viewpoint of LGF itself. [Ed.: Link added.]

There is a disclaimer at the top of every page of comments that reads:

“Comments are open and unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Little Green Footballs. Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their views by Little Green Footballs.”

The disclaimer is there for the same reason you have a similar disclaimer on your Inquirer discussion boards.

Charles Johnson

Los Angeles

The writer is executive editor of littlegreenfootballs.com

Okay, one comment: The difference is that the Inquirer’s disclaimer actually means what it says.

And dare we ask? Is even Johnson now embarrassed by one of his readers?

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Just a few poorly chosen crossword-puzzle clues culled from various sources during the past 24 hours:

This org. has a lot of pull
Three letters

Rubber hub
Five letters

Rep.’s opponent
Three letters

Actually, the clues themselves aren’t bad; the clues viewed in conjunction with the correct answers have me scratching my head.

Feel free to post your suggested responses in the comments section below.

[Post-publication addendum (March 16): Additional hints. First answer: __ D __; second answer: __ K R __ N; and third answer: __ __ M.]

[Note: This post previously was published in slightly different form at TRR: The Lighter Side of Rittenhouse.]

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Clothes? Check. Computer? Check. Television? Check. Stereo? Check. DVD player? Check. Cell phone? Check. Fido? . . . Fido?

I think Stephens College (Obscure fact: Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, Class of 1946.), among other institutions, is on to something.

Elizabeth Armstrong Moore reports in Tuesday’s Christian Science Monitor (“Animal Dorm”):

After several students and new president Wendy Libby -- who is rarely seen without her black lab Abby -- discussed the emotional advantages of having pets at school, Stephens College, a small all-female liberal arts school in Columbia, Mo., kicked off 2004-05 with a newly designated eight-room “pet floor” in Pruny Hall, becoming one of only a few colleges in the nation to allow pets in dorm rooms.

According to Moore, pets also are permitted at the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.; and the State University of New York College of Technology at Canton, Canton, N.Y.

This is neither a simple, nor an uncontroversial, proposition, as Moore reports. Both critics and supporters raising such issues as cleanliness, noise, cruelty, and, most important, the need for college students to develop a strong sense of independence as they move -- seemingly at a snail’s pace these days -- toward adulthood.

Nonetheless, I think it’s a concept worth examining further, and you know who agrees with me about that.

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March 12: “Sarbanes to Retire From Senate,” by Spencer S. Hsu and John Wagner, the Washington Post:

Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, the studious liberal who became Maryland’s longest-serving senator and who acted as quiet counsel to Democratic leaders through times of impeachment and scandal, announced yesterday that he will not run for reelection when his fifth term ends in January 2007.

March 14: “Mfume Announces 2006 Senate Bid,” by John Wagner, the Washington Post:

Kweisi Mfume, a former Maryland congressman and national NAACP president, today became the first Democrat to make official his bid to succeed Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.).

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Who’s the worse abuser of credit cards? Card users headed toward bankruptcy or the card issuers themselves?

Jeff Gelles, “Consumer Watch” columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, raises the question in “Teens Talk Fads, Fashions, Credit”:

Virtually every college student now carries a credit card, which partly reflects how essential the cards have become to everyday life. But not all their effects are benign.

Three-quarters of 18- to 24-year-olds carry balances from month to month, at interest rates than can range up to 30 percent, according to a recent study by Demos, a public-policy research group. [Link added.]

Then there’s this stunning statistic: That same group spent nearly 30 cents of every dollar it earned in 2001 on servicing debt, twice the average in 1992. Sure, college costs deserve some of the blame. But so do credit-card companies, whose 2004 profits topped $30 billion.

Congress is on the verge of giving those same companies a gift: a long-sought overhaul of the federal bankruptcy law, which will make it harder to erase Visa and MasterCard debt if financial disaster strikes. […]

Last year, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) proposed a simple protection for borrowers under 21. To get a credit card, they'd need one of three things: a cosigner, evidence of income, or proof of having completed a financial-education class.

What happened? The credit-card companies fought it.

They want somebody to pay a price for their overly aggressive marketing to teenagers.

Just not them.

Joe Biden, please call your office.

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Don’t miss Tom Tomorrow’s latest edition of “This Modern World,” available at Salon.com (subscription or day pass required).

Also at Salon.com: Eric Boehlert pans Ari Fleischer’s Taking Heat: The President, the Press, and My Years in the White House in “Ari Fleischer: Still Saying Nothing After All These Years.”

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Susan and Amanda Hallums, ex-wife and daughter, respectively of neglected hostage Roy Hallums, haven’t forgotten about the man the Bush administration would prefer we not speak about.

Bartholomew Sullivan reports in the March 11 Memphis Commercial Appeal (“Ex-wife of Hostage Stays on Message for Hallums”):

As the president arrived in Memphis Thursday night, Susan Hallums, the former wife of Roy Hallums, who was taken hostage Nov. 1 in Baghdad, said she’d be disappointed if Bush doesn’t call her daughter, Amanda, while he’s in town.

“That’s the least he could do,” she said.

Amanda Hallums, a 25-year-old cosmetologist, said Thursday that the ordeal has been “a roller coaster emotionally,” but hoped the President could help her dad.

Her much more outspoken mother, Susan, 52, a native of Memphis now living in Southern California, said she wants the president to acknowledge the emotional turmoil her family is going through as it awaits word on the private contractor’s fate.

“It just feels like he’s been forgotten,” she said.

In response, White House spokesman Taylor S. Gross, traveling with the president, read a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hallums family. We are aware of the situation. Any time there is an American held hostage, it is a high priority for the U.S. government.”

Hallums worked for a Saudi Arabian company supplying food to the Iraqi army and was at its compound when armed kidnappers grabbed him. They also abducted Filipino Robert Tarongoy, 31, as well as four others who have since been released. […]

Negotiations for Tarongoy’s release are ongoing, and Susan Hallums said she is hopeful both men will be released together.

“Thoughts . . . prayers . . . aware.” That’s “high priority”?

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It’s truly something to read the weekly feature in Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, “Area Votes in Congress,” and learn how poorly represented are Pennsylvanians in the U.S. Senate by Republicans Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum.

Here’s this week’s run down:

Bankruptcy. Senators passed, 74-25, and sent to the House a bill (S 256) making it difficult for those with means to use bankruptcy to shirk their debt. Under the bill, most debtors making more than the median income for their state would be required to file under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code, which entails substantial payment of unsecured debt, rather than Chapter 7, which requires little or no repayment. A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Santorum and Specter.

Minimum wage. Senators defeated, 49-46, a Democratic amendment to S 256, above, that would have raised the minimum hourly wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over 26 months. A yes vote backed the minimum-wage increase.

Voting no: Santorum.

Not voting: Specter.

Alternate wage plan. Senators rejected, 61-38, a Republican plan to raise the minimum hourly wage from $5.15 to $6.25 over 18 months, while reducing the number of businesses required to pay it. A yes vote backed the GOP wage amendment.

Voting yes: Santorum and Specter.

Alimony, child support. Senators rejected, 58-41, a proposal to provide special protection in S 256, above, for debtors whose financial predicament results from failure to receive alimony and/or child support. A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting no: Santorum and Specter.

Credit card fees. Senators refused, 61-38, to prevent credit-card issuers from continuing to charge late-payment fees to consumers who enter credit counseling and adopt a plan for debt payment. The vote occurred during debate on S 256, above. A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting no: Santorum and Specter.

Conflicts of interest. Senators defeated, 55-44, an effort to retain a ban now in the law to keep investment banks from both underwriting a company's securities and then getting involved in bankruptcy proceedings if the company goes under. A yes vote was to retain the ban as part of S 256, above.

Voting yes: Specter.

Voting no: Santorum.

I suppose the senators’ differing positions on that last measure reveals there is a dime’s worth of difference between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.

In addition to those cherished nicknames, why not let’s start calling Sen. Santorum and Sen. Specter Senator Gets It Wrong Every Time and Senator Gets It Wrong Almost Every Time.

And I again express my outrage at the strident and thoughtless single-issue interest groups who helped to foster the return of Sen. Specter to the chamber. Things could have been so much better for everyone.

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The Associated Press reports Ukraine has taken steps to follow through with its commitment, first expressed last month, to join the Coalition of the Withdrawing (“Ukraine Withdraws First of 1,650 Troops,” by Rawya Rageh as carried in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer):

Ukraine withdrew 150 troops from Iraq yesterday, beginning a gradual pullout, as Shiite and Kurdish politicians refined plans to form a coalition government that officials said included an agreement not to turn the country into an Islamic state.

The Ukrainian army company that was based near Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, left Iraq and was expected to return home by Tuesday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

Earlier this month, President Viktor Yushchenko and top defense officials ordered a phased withdrawal of Ukraine’s 1,650-strong contingent from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Ukraine has lost 17 soldiers in Iraq, and the deployment is deeply unpopular among people in the former Soviet republic.

Who’s next?

Who’s left?

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About the only thing I gained from watching a few minutes of "Power Girls," MTV's slavish paean to the vapidness that was, is, and forever will be Lizzie Grubman, is that the nutsy, ugly ex-con works in offices that can only be described, and I'm frankly shocked to be using this term, as shocked as I was to see Grubman's evirons, as a dump.

Spartan Surroundings are an Acquired Taste

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In an important article, "Many Missteps Tied to Delay in Armor for Troops in Iraq," by Michael Moss, published in the New York Times on March 7, the nation's paper of record took note of the abysmal failure of the Department of Defense and the armed services to supply American troops, particularly members of the Reserves and National Guard, with sufficient and appropriate vehicular and body armor.

Hmm . . . Sounds familiar, doesn't it? I'm sure it does to Rittenhouse readers who kept up with this site's harping and carping on behalf of the 427th Transportation Co., based in nearby Norristown, Pa.

I say, Welcome to the issue, my friends on West 43rd Street.

And in a brief item in today's Philadelphia Daily News "Senator's Gripe: Pentagon Not Reimbursing for Armor," we read:

The Defense Department hasn't developed a plan to reimburse soldiers for equipment they've bought to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan despite requirements in a law passed last year, a senator says.

In a letter yesterday to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., asked details on the Pentagon's progress on the reimbursement program and questioned why it was not done yet.

"It's pretty outrageous when you have all their rhetoric about how much we care about our people in uniform," Dodd said.

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke said Rumsfeld will respond to Dodd's letter after he has reviewed it. She had no comment on the progress of reimbursement regulations.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I am compelled to reveal that I have a dog in this hunt, as they say. At least sort of.

While reading that the Department of Defense "hasn't developed a plan to reimburse soldiers for equipment they've bought," I can't help but ask whether there exists a plan to reimburse civilians like myself who facilitated the shipment from the U.S. to the Iraqi war arena of "surplus" armor from retired domestic peace officers?

And, more important, are there any plans to reimburse those very men and women who sent their own protection to soldiers overseas based on the pleas I made on behalf of the 427th?

I'm just asking is all.

Looks like it's time to start working the phones again, readers.

[See also "Plan to Reimburse Private Costs for Combat Gear Falls Behind," by John Files, the New York Times, March 10.]

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Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Italy: Right-Wing Media Baron), the Bush administration's barboncino favorito, says he's not so sure his "friends" in the White House, State Department, and Pentagon are telling him the truth about the murder of Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari.

Maria Sanminiatelli of the Associated Press reports (by way of today's Philadelphia Inquirer, "Berlusconi Disputes U.S. on Death"):

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday disputed the U.S. version of events leading to the killing of an Italian intelligence agent by American troops in Baghdad, saying the man had notified the proper authorities that he was on his way to the airport after winning the release of a hostage. [...]

Berlusconi told Italian lawmakers yesterday that the car carrying intelligence agent Nicola Calipari and the freed hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, had been traveling at a slow speed and stopped immediately when a light was flashed.

Berlusconi said Calipari had notified an Italian liaison officer, waiting at the Baghdad airport along with a U.S. officer, that they were on their way.

Berlusconi's wariness sounds promising, but ever the Bush bambino dei bambini, the Rupert Murdoch of the Italian-speaking world, added, "I'm sure that in a very short time every aspect of this will be clarified."

Given public opinion in Italy, that's either a misguided hope or a feeble prayer, or both.

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My bulldog Mildred currently eats from a feedbag the packaging of which reads, in part: "A premium[,] dry dog[-]food formula for older, inactive, or overweight dogs."

"Could you fill the bowl more quietly please?"

"Or"?

What? No two out of three? No three out of three?

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Guilty as sin, and truly personifying sin: Philadelphia teenagers Domenic Coia, 19, Nicholas Coia, 18, and Edward Batzig Jr., 18, all three found guilty by a jury yesterday of first-degree murder, joining Justina Morley, 17, who earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of third-degree murder.

The convictions and plea relate to the incomprehensibly brutal death last year of Jason Sweeney, then 16, of the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The convicted killers' motive: $500, representing Sweeney's first-ever payday from working with his father, Paul Sweeney, as a carpenter.

The immediate aftermath of their sick spree: After killing Sweeney, the four teenagers, Batzig, Coia, Coia, and Morley, in their own words, shared a "group hug" and "partied beyond redemption," and, according to prosecutor Jude Conroy, as quoted in the Philadelphia Daily News, "They split up [Sweeney]'s $500 salary among them, buying items ranging from heroin to deodorant."

Because, well, I don't know, using heroin causes body odor?

Read more in today's Philadelphia Inquirer: "Three Teenagers Convicted in Fishtown Murder," by Jacqueline Soteropoulos. And from today's Philadelphia Daily News: "Three Guilty of Killing Jason Sweeney," by Theresa Conroy and George Miller.

If you're not familiar with this horrific case, you may read recent reports from the Inquirer and the Daily News by accessing the papers' recent articles here.

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My fellow bloggers:

If you use Blogger.com and are having trouble posting to your site, try working with Netscape Navigator, particularly the service's latest version, instead of Miscrosoft Internet Explorer.

I've been having considerable success relying upon this strategy during the last hour.

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Recently I received an e-mail from the author of one of the 34 books featured in the "Buy Yourself Some Books" section in the sidebar at right.

I accidentally deleted the message before reading it and have lost access to its contents.

If you, the author, whose last name begins with a letter that appears in the alphabet a bit, and maybe just before, the letter "h," are reading this, and you recall having sent me e-mail, would you be kind enough to resend your message?

Thank you very much.

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The more I read about the business that should be referred to as mega-industrial-farming-and-food-creation, the closer I inch toward vegetarianism. (For background, see "These Are New Rules? It's Enough to Make You Turn Vegetarian," The Rittenhouse Review, January 31, 2004.)

The latest prompt comes from "The Unkindest Cut," by Nicolette Hahn Niman, on the March 7 op-ed page of the New York Times, from which have been culled the following pull quotes:

A few months ago, I toured a Wisconsin dairy and witnessed something unsettling. . . . As I walked through the place with the farmer's wife, I noticed that the cows' tails had been cut off and I asked her why. "Well, it's just easier to milk them without their tails," she explained[.] [...]

A cow without a tail, you see, is a sad sight. [...] And I have often observed just how useful tails are to cattle. At certain times of year, cows' tails are in constant motion, flicking away flies and other insects that gather on their backs. Other than predators, which most farm animals don't have to worry about very much, flies are the bane of a cow's existence. And confinement dairies, which often have dense fly populations, are places where cows are especially in need of their tails.

But lest you think of the dairy farmer's wife as some misguided villain, it's important to point out that she's just following the trends of her trade. The Wisconsin dairy farm I visited is in fact becoming the norm. Although the Department of Agriculture does not keep official records on the practice, animal protection advocates say that cutting off most or all of animals' tails -- known as "tail docking" -- is now commonplace in the livestock and dairy industries.

The reasons given in the dairy business are convenience in milking and disease prevention. But there is little proof that tail docking, which is generally done without anesthetic, reduces disease -- and there's plenty of evidence that it makes a cow's life unpleasant. [...]

Tail docking is also commonplace in the hog industry. [...] Like a dairy cow, a pig uses its tail not only to shoo away insects but also to communicate. [...]

The pork industry's rationale for tail docking is that pigs bite each other's tails and that the tails can then become infected. When pigs' tails are cut off, the stubs stay intensely sore and so, the theory goes, the bite will cause so much pain that the bitee will move away from the biter. [...]

Now, part of this is true: tail biting is common in pig herds in confinement buildings. But isn't the tail biting a direct result of how they're being reared -- in metal buildings with concrete floors, giving pigs nothing to occupy their active minds? In nature, pigs spend most of their days rooting around in the dirt, exploring and grazing. Stuck inside, bored pigs often bite one anothers' tails -- one of the many "vices" or abnormal behaviors that occur when pigs are raised in confinement.

However, the real question is not why tail biting occurs in modern hog buildings but whether cutting off the tails of pigs raised in confinement reduces it. So far, the research is not encouraging. [...] Given the suffering it causes animals and its dubious benefits, tail docking should be stopped. [...]

My father didn't raise pigs on his farm, and while I can profess no particular affection for his herd of cows, sweet as many of them were, I saw enough flies on his "free-ranging" cattle -- their such status predating for nearly two decades the vogueishness of that very phrase -- to recognize that this practice is not only cruel, but just plain stupid.

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In addition to "Dali" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Aida" from the Opera Company of Philadelphia (since concluded), and "Treasures Revealed" at the American Philosophical Society, all discussed here previously, The Rittenhouse Review today draws readers' attention to another hot cultural ticket, "The Silver Garden," like "Dali" on display at the Philadelphia Museum.

Donna Williams Vance writes in today's Philadelphia Daily News, "Focus is on Flora at Art Museum":

Through July 17, works by masters like Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan, Imogen Cunningham, Paul Strand, Josef Sudek, Edward Steichen[,] and Brett Weston will be on view for all to see this amazing collection of images where flowers and plants are the subjects. Joining those artists' pieces are works by internationally known photographers Tom Baril and Maria Martinez-Canas, as well as Philadelphia-area artists Andrea Baldeck and Roger Matsumoto, whose work is shown at PMA for the first time.

The artists have created a broad landscape for visitors to peruse, say curators, taking spectators to gardens and fields across the world. The approaches to photographing flowers and plants are varied and intriguing, showing some of the developmental similarities between gardening and photography.

"Both offer delayed gratification, in that the results of creative toil is usually deferred and sometimes unexpected," says curator Katherine Ware. "In the darkroom tray, a photographic image blossoms forth from the interaction of silver and chemicals as astonishingly as a bud issues from a bare twig in springtime and as magically as a stem emerges from a small, hard seed in the soil."

See you there. At some point, I suppose.

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It's (not so suddenly) all over for the 150-year-old Woman's Medical Hopsital, located in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Daily News today reports ( "Women's [sic] Medical Closing," by Joseph H. Daughen):

Women's [sic] Medical Hospital, the first institution in the world created to train females as physicians, is shutting down after a long, and losing, struggle to stay afloat financially.

Where once it had more than 1,000 workers tending to the needs of 365 patients, at the end the hospital had fewer than 500 employees, only 38 patients, and was losing millions.

Did anyone running the hospital, or any reporters covering this story, ever perform the simple staff-patient ratio calculations begged by the latter paragraph quoted above?

Okay, I'll do it, though they said there would be no math:

1,000 employees / 365 patients = 2.7 employees per patient.

500 employees / 38 patients = 13.2 employees per patient.

Now, I'm not a healthcare economist, but clearly something was out of whack here: either too large a staff or too small a patient base, the latter due, one would assume, from inadequate marketing or, dare I suggest it, pitiable marketing of the hospital, despite its location in a section of Philadelphia badly in need of emergency- and acute-care services, on behalf of its owner Tenet Healthcare Corp., which already has deleted the facility from the list of healthcare centers the company operates in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports ( "Historic East Falls hospital to close," by Josh Goldstein):

Woman's Medical will be the 14th hospital in the Philadelphia region to close since 1994. Its demise slams the door -- at least for now -- on an institution that had a 150-year history as a training ground for women doctors who attended the medical school once based there.

The hospital traces its roots to the formation of Female Medical College 155 years ago by Quakers as the nation's first medical school for women. The institution has been declining for years, as some services have been eliminated and the hospital has been unable to attract enough paying patients.

Ah, I see, "paying patients," because, you know, nobody pays for Medicare and Medicaid patients at U.S. hospitals.

(Note: A sidebar to the Inquirer article cited above, published online beneath the main report, provides an excellent history of the hospital.)

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Maybe there is a high-fiving neoconservative "intellectual," warmonging blogger, or "axis of evil"-obsessed big-media pundit who can explain what, exactly, in this report from Lebanon -- "Hezbollah ready to act if Syria leaves Lebanon," by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, the Philadelphia Inquirer, March 10 -- is the good news:

If Syrian forces leave Lebanon in the face of growing international and Lebanese pressure, the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah appears ready to fill the military and political vacuum.

Hezbollah is entrenched in this Bekaa Valley hamlet about six miles east of the Syrian border and across much of eastern and southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah's green-and-yellow flags flutter along the streets of Baalbek. Taped to nearly every shop window and plastered across intervening concrete walls is the face of its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

Syria, whose forces have dominated Lebanon for the last three decades, is closely aligned with Nasrallah's movement and apparently has readied it to take Syria's place as Lebanon's dominant power, according to some analysts.

"The Syrians are trying to leave behind a system they can control. A pillar of that will be Hezbollah," said Michael Young, the opinion editor of Lebanon's English-language newspaper Daily Star.

I know it's a stretch, but I'm asking anyway.

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I’m pleasantly surprised to see several of my favorite bloggers appearing in recent issues of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Lisa English of Ruminate This yesterday was one of two writers included in the Inquirer op-ed page’s weekly “Blog Cabin” feature.

And on the front page of the daily magazine section of today’s Inquirer, in “Come and Get It: Pair Hand Out Free Art,” by Eils Lotozo, we read about the Zero.1 Percent For Art Commission, a project of Philadelphia artists, writers, and activists Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof, publishers of the Art Blog.

[Post-publication addendum: The Inquirer reports Fallon and Rosof's next giveaway will be tomorrow, Friday, March 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at 17th and Market Streets, Philadelphia.]

[Post-publican addendum: Roberta and Libby have cancelled tomorrow's expected appearance in Center City due to concerns about the weather. See "Rain Delay," at the Art Blog for additional details.]

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From the first item in “Goings on About Town” in the March 14 issue of the New Yorker, “In Good Hans” (p. 18, name bolding and link added):

For those who got their introduction to the world of Hans Christian Andersen via Danny Kaye, Leon Botstein’s bicentennial concert with the American Symphony Orchestra offers a chance to continue the arm’s-length relationship, but in a darker key.

Botstein has been with the A.S.O. for 200 years?

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Catchy commercials, aren’t they? Those seemingly promising TV ads grabbing the attention of lonelyhearts everywhere?

I’m talking about eHarmony.com, the online dating “service” sponsored, managed, and promoted by cultist “Christian” Neil Clark Warren.

Okay, so I permanently swore off long-term relationships five years ago, but, what the heck, Warren’s on-air pitch is so soothing, so reassuring, I couldn’t help but take a look, particularly since Warren’s TV commercials offer an intriguing 29-point personality profile -- “A 40-dollar value”! -- free of charge. If nothing else, perhaps I might learn a little bit more about that mess walking around with the name James M. Capozzola.

Try it for yourself, just as I did.

Here we go!

For your “free, no obligation” eHarmony personality profile, begin here, Your Free Personality Profile.

Next, click on the button, “Start Now,” as I did.

Of course, you must register to begin, but it appears to be a simple process.

Simply enter your given name in the first empty box that appears, that which asks for “First Name.”

“J - i - m”

So far, so good.

The next empty box is preceded by the prompt, “I’m a . . . Please select . . . :”

The choices are: “Man seeking a woman” and “Woman seeking a man.”

Hmm. Is that it? Just those two options?

Nobody told me this little quiz would be so difficult so soon.

I searched repeatedly for alternate answers to this prompt, but found none.

It appears I’m not good enough for eHarmony, or just plain unworthy, not unlike my not being good enough -- not acceptable -- assuming I were ever to find a “life partner,” for lack of a better word, for the crazy heterosexist people who run the “Sandals” resorts, where, last I checked, no homo guests, even the perpetually coupled, need apply attempt to make a reservation.

Why, I ask, do so many broadcasters, network and cable, national and local, so eagerly line their pockets with the advertising dollars of so blatantly discriminatory enterprises as eHarmony and Sandals, and why do I feel like I’m the only person who cares?

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In today’s New York Times, we read in “On EBay, E-Mail Phishers Find a Well-Stocked Pond,” by Ian Austen:

Donald Jay Alofs got a call last fall at home asking if he had recently bought several thousand dollars worth of electronics. Mr. Alofs had not, and he had a good reason for not being on a spending spree: he was in the hospital at the time.

Things got worse for Mr. Alofs, a coin collector and dealer who buys and sells on eBay. His inbox was soon filled with e-mail messages from irate buyers: someone had used his eBay account to sell about $780,000 worth of coins -- about five times the online business Mr. Alofs had done over several years -- and many of the coins offered for sale never existed.

Adding insult to injury, fees for hosting photos for the fraudulent auctions had been financed with $300 from Mr. Alofs’s account with PayPal, eBay's online payment service.

The source of the trouble, he believes, was that his eBay and PayPal accounts were hijacked through what is known as phishing, a type of online fraud that collects victims’ account passwords and other information, after he responded to an e-mail that appeared to come from a legitimate business.

I can relate. I can relate to Alofs’s predicament because the exact same thing has happened to me. Twice. Twice within the last three months.

Because of the “phishing” to which the Times’s article about Austen refers, my checking account, which currently should carry an available balance in the (incredibly unimpressive) low three figures, i.e, about 300 dollars, currently “shows,” or in the prevailing position of my bank, which shall remain nameless, “demonstrates,” me to be overdrawn by more than $3,000.

As a result, I cannot access or use my account in any way.

I cannot deposit funds into my account nor can I withdraw funds through any conceivable means whatsoever.

I cannot open a new account at my current bank, and have been advised that most other depositaries, at least those who might contact the “current” location of my scanty funds, will view my application therefor with considerable hestitancy.

And I no longer can accept or receive donations from Rittenhouse readers through a PayPal “tip box,” the means of donation by which many bloggers earn or supplement their income.

And if you think my bank, let alone PayPal, makes it easy to resolve such situation, think again.

I am a man without a checking account, and in this economy, that makes me no man at all.

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Attention, Philadelphians: There is a new book club forming in this city, one that will be known, to start at least, as the Rittenhouse Readers Group (RRG).

The RRG expects to establish and finalize its membership, first selection, and rules and regulations within the next 30 days.

Additional details about the group, which will include no more than 16, and no fewer than eight, members, and which will meet no fewer than six, and no more than ten, times annually, will be forthcoming at this site shortly.

Preliminary inquiries may be directed to James M. Capozzola, the editor and publisher of this weblog, and the chairman and director of the RRG, at this address.

Application materials will be available in approximately one week.

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I recently posted a new link under the heading “Latest Cause/Conviction” in the sidebar at right, a space previously occupied by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Parkinson Foundation, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, to a loose but highly worthy organization here in Philadelphia known as Mothers United Through Tragedy.

I did so without providing the proper context, all of which may be found and read in the March 8 issue of the Philadelphia Weekly, in an extraordinary article by the incredibly gifted Steve Volk, “Life After Death.”

If you don’t cry when you read Volk’s piece about the inestimable and indominable Shirley Boggs, well, there’s just something wrong with you.

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Have you ever noticed how easy it is to be considered “amusing,” “funny,” “humorous,” and even “hilarious,” in conservative circles?

As direct evidence I offer such “esteemed” luminaries as Meghan Cox Gurdon, Tom Wolfe, Christopher Buckley, P.J. O’Rourke, Peggy Noonan (Unintential humor notwithstanding.), Ben Stein, and Dennis Miller, a list to which we’re now, according to one Hart Seeley -- Never heard of him? Join the club. The club that hopes Seeley’s joking. -- to add Vice President Dick Cheney.

Seeley, writing on the op-ed page of today’s New York Times in “But Seriously, My Fellow Americans . . .,” offers nearly two dozen examples of Mr. Lynne Cheney’s allegedly vast repetoire of knee-slapping mirth, including these:

I bring good wishes to all of you from the seat of power[:] Crawford, Texas. (Laughter and applause.) - Aug. 29, 2002

I’ve been looking forward to this event. It’s a special event. We’re all here, obviously, for one very particular reason. And I’m sure you paid more than I did to get in. (Laughter.) - July 15, 2003

I just like to remind everybody what you say is being recorded. (Laughter.) - Sept. 29, 2004

Lynne and I have a Republican marriage. We got married because Dwight Eisenhower got elected president of the United States. (Applause.) - Sept. 17, 2004

She’s known me since I was 14 years old, but she wouldn’t go out with me until I was 17. (Laughter.) I’m not sure whether that was her choice, or her father’s choice. (Laughter.) - Oct. 20, 2004

Now, Lynne was pretty impressive when she was 14 years old, too. (Laughter.) - July 30, 2004

I’m going to get in a lot of trouble here if I’m not careful. (Laughter.) - May 21, 2004

I haven’t had this much fun since we beat John Kerry. (Applause.) - Dec. 1, 2004

I was the congressman from Wyoming for 10 years. Wyoming only had one congressman. (Laughter.) It was a small delegation. But it was quality. (Laughter and applause.) - Dec. 1, 2004

And, yes, there are a few of us old white guys in blue suits hanging around, too. (Laughter.) - July 26, 2004

This is a good crowd. I may take you home with me. (Laughter.) - May 24, 2004

I suppose if you shell out $2,500 for a chicken breast, you’re just dying for an excuse to laugh, no matter how small, but this is ridiculous.

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The following item from the Associated Press in the “News in Brief” feature of today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, “Two Calif. Colleges End Spain Program Over Iraq Pullout,” caught my eye (fourth post; links added):

Two Southern California community colleges have ended their study-abroad program in Spain, citing the country’s troop withdrawal from Iraq. Trustees of the South Orange County Community College District, comprising Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College, voted 5-2 last week to cancel the 14-year-old summer program. “Spain has abandoned our fighting men and women,” said trustee Tom Fuentes, a former head of the Republican Party in Orange County. “I see no reason to send students of our colleges to Spain at this moment.”

God forbid a few Orange County kids, whom the odds favor are Republicans, just might travel to Spain and engage in meaningful debate about American foreign policy. Or maybe conservatives just can’t handle themselves in such freewheeling discussions. Fuentes, after all, seems to have a problem in that very regard.

[Post-publication addendum: See also “Spain Off College’s [sic] Student Itinerary,” by Marla Jo Fisher, the Orange County Register, March 5, and “Colleges End Study-in-Spain Program,” by Sara Lin, the Los Angeles Times, March 6.]

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Signe Wilkinson, editorial cartoonist at the Philadelphia Daily News, is more than a little off base today, offering readers a cartoon that suggests the potential -- and at this point still hypothetical -- U.S. Senate race between incumbent Rick Santorum (R) and Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robert Casey (D) is nothing more than a referendum on abortion.

Wilkinson is capable of far better work than this. I look forward to the return of her more astute and perspicacious side.

As a resident of Pennsylvania who watched in dismay last fall as the candidacy of former Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D), a staunch pro-choice advocate, was sacrificed on the altar of abortion rights so that we might “enjoy” six more years of the sickly Sen. Arlen Specter (R), may I dare to suggest that the campaign for full reproductive rights lies largely, and best, in the hands of the very many interest groups promoting that worthy agenda and not within the Democratic Party itself?

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The regular “Metropolitan Diary” in today’s New York Times includes the following entry:

Dear Diary:

The puppets in “Avenue Q” brought back many precious memories, including this one, which I’ve long wanted to share:

It was 16 years ago and my daughter, Emily Cooperman, age 2½, was an avid “Sesame Street” fan. Seated on the floor in front of the television, she spent a blissful hour watching her favorite show. When it ended, she continued to face the screen as a disembodied voice announced, “`Sesame Street’ has been brought to you by Playorena, sponsors of gymnastics programs throughout the tristate area.”

Emily turned to me, blue eyes brimming with tears. “Oh, Mommy, that’s so sad!”

Confused, I asked her, “What’s sad, Em?”

“They threw out the tristate area.”

Marsha Weinstein

Adorable! Just precious! The darndest things kids say! But . . . what?

Does any reader know wherein lies the implied precociousness of the quip sent up by Emily Cooperman Weinstein, or is it Emily Weinstein Cooperman? (I only ask because Marsha herself thinks it’s important. And does anyone really believe this is the first time Ms. Weinstein has shared this story during that last 16 years?)

I’m just not hearing it.

[Post-publication addendum (March 8): Reader M.G. writes: “I can’t get blogger to take a comment, so I’m emailing you: The little girl heard ‘threw out’ instead of ‘thoughout.’ It’s still not very funny.” And to that Rittenhouse responded and responds: “Oh. I see. That’s not even ‘not very funny,’ it’s not funny at all. And Mrs. Weinstein waited 16 years to tell that story?”]

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The Washington Post’s resident schlub, Howard Kurtz, today provides readers with an update of the recent scuffle between crank law professor and self-styled liberal Susan Estrich and Los Angeles Times editorial-page editor Michael Kinsley in “L.A. Woman (vs. LAT Man).” Kurtz writes:

Estrich says that she never intended for the correspondence to become public and that “it’s not personal” against Kinsley[.]

Kurtz apparently let that contention slide, but let’s put it into perspective, together recalling this audacity on Estrich’s part, made in reference to Kinsley and his daily life with Parkinson’s disease (See “Introductions All Around,” The Rittenhouse Review, February 21):

[P]eople are beginning to think that your illness may have affected your brain, your judgment, and your ability to do this job.

If that’s not personal, I don’t know what is.

Kurtz’s column makes no reference to Estrich apologizing for this slimey remark, but we’re dealing with the ultimate toady and thus it’s safe to conclude Kurtz didn’t even think to ask.

[Post-publication addendum (March 13): According to a March 11 article in the Los Angeles Times, "A Very Public Opinion Exchange," by James Rainey: "Estrich, 52, apologized for raising the issue of Kinsley's health, saying she was only trying to 'warn an old friend what was being said about him around town.' She said that misstep should not be a distraction from her larger cause."]

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Catch Jim Morin, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist at the Miami Herald, on the prayerful Robert Novak and the great liberal media, in Sunday’s paper.

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The latest in this ongoing series of posts:

President Bush has chosen Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, a longtime critic of the United Nations and a hard-liner on arms control, to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, according to government officials.

(See: “Bush to Nominate Bolton as U.N. Ambassador,” by Fred Barbash, the Washington Post, March 7.)

[Post-publication addendum: See also “Bush Picks Critic of U.N. to Serve as Ambassador to It,” by Brian Knowlton, the International Herald Tribune, as carried by the New York Times.]

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The Associated Press reports (as carried in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer (“Schwarzenegger Would Ban Junk Food in Calif. Schools”):

At the bodybuilding event in Columbus, Ohio, named for him, Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said yesterday that he wanted to ban all sales of junk food in his state’s schools and fill vending machines with fresh fruits, vegetables and milk. His comments came during a question-and-answer session with fans, when he was asked how he planned to combat youth obesity.

No word on whether candy bars will be replaced by injectable steroids, the “juice” that made Gov. Schwarzenegger the man he is today.

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Just as they do in the pages of its New York counterpart, the letters to the editor of the Philadelphia Daily News provide the opportunity every Monday through Saturday for readers to enjoy a little idiocy with their morning coffee. Submissions range from public officials responding to the paper’s reporting to thoughtful counsel from concerned citizens living in a city badly in need of new idea to idiotic and bigoted rants from the uneducated masses.

For an example correspondence from the last category, see in today’s Daily News a letter from Anne Mendenhall, Willow Grove, Pa.:

Why is it that people don’t eat meat during Lent?

Is this such a sacrifice? Jesus gave up his life and died on a cross, yet people who follow a religious tradition feel they are being challenged by not eating roast beef? But they can eat fish, which I consider a treat!

What makes not eating red meat but eating a lobster a sacrifice?

A real sacrifice would be to show some true faith by dedicating your religious beliefs not only on the holidays, but throughout the entire year.

Ms. Mendenhall would have done herself -- and Daily News -- readers a favor by investing the time spent scribbling this ignorant rant by performing a little research, perhaps just a simple Google search, that not only would have answered her sniggering inquiry but led her to understand that Lenten sacrifice is intended, in part and among much else, to remind observers of their obligations to God, themselves, and each other every day of the year.

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Now that publishing executive Martha Stewart is out of federal prison, having served her sentence and been thoroughly punished for what came to be called obstruction of justice, I know I feel much safer in my person and property.

Some notes from the leading newspapers:

“Out of Prison, Martha Stewart May Now Face A Tougher Trial,” by Ben White and Frank Ahrens, the Washington Post. Pull quotes:

“[T]here are questions about how Stewart will work with the company’s strong new chief executive, Susan M. Lyne, a widely respected former ABC entertainment head who is moving to put her own mark on the company. This week, the company’s publisher and executive vice president, Suzanne Sobel, said she was quitting to pursue “new challenges.”

When Stewart officially returns to work, she will take the title of “founder.” While she could technically reassume the chief executive job, legal experts say she is unlikely to do so because she still faces a Securities and Exchange Commission civil suit that seeks to bar her for life from serving as a director at a public company and limit her ability to serve as an officer. The SEC case is suspended until Stewart completes the appeal of her criminal conviction.

The SEC would not view a quick reemergence as chief executive warmly, said a source familiar with the agency's views who spoke on the condition of anonymity because settlement talks are underway. Such a move could undermine a possible deal that would allow Stewart to ultimately return to a top executive job and a board seat in a number of years.

“Stewart Returns Home After Five Months in Federal Prison,” by Stephanie Rosenbloom, the New York Times. Pull quote: “‘It feels great,’ she said of being back home, according to an Associated Press account. Talking briefly about food, she allowed that while in prison she had missed ‘the idea of cappuccino’ more than the beverage itself.”

“Martha is now a free woman,” by Suzette Parmley and Miriam Hill, the Philadelphia Inquirer. Pull quote: “[P]rison may have been her smartest career move yet. Stewart appears more popular than ever. She graced the cover of Newsweek this week. Kmart Holding Corp.’s pending merger with Sears, Roebuck & Co. means her line of furniture and kitchenware will be sold in twice as many stores. She is once again a billionaire, as the value of her shares in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia rose $688 million over her time in jail, or $32.8 million per week.”

“Time Well Spent,” by Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle. Lead paragraph: “Not since 1939, when Al Capone was released from a seven-year incarceration, has the American public been as fascinated by the end of a jail sentence.”

And finally, “Martha’s Big Break (Out),” the Philadelphia Daily News, by April Lisante. Misguided reporting:

But almost from the moment Stewart voluntarily agreed to start her prison term last September, the public outcry to “Save Martha” kicked into full gear (www.savemartha.com), and the wheels of her public-relations machine were churning.

“I must reclaim my good life and I must return to my good works” she told reporters at a news conference in September, announcing she’d voluntarily hit the clink immediately and be out in time to sow her flower garden.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia stock shot up that day from just over 10 cents to more than $11. [Emphasis added.]

If Ms. Lisante or her editors can show me a stock-price chart showing the company’s shares ever traded for 10 cents I’ll eat my Martha Stewart Everyday bedding. All of it.

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Today two readers and good friends, A.F. and H.F. of Daylesford, Victoria (Australia), celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.

Heartfelt congratulations to A. and H. and their, uh, progeny, Kelly.

It’s funny, or maybe it’s not, to think that I own several pairs of pants that predate the F.s’ marriage.

And I can still wear them.

How many 40-year-old men can say that?

(And yes, my siblings, I’m talking about, among other sets of trousers, the infamous “duck pants,” purchased at Mincer’s, West Main Street, Charlottesville, Va., back when Mincer’s ran a nice store.)

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Incredibly, the New York Times today reports, in “Ex-Chief of Hewlett Seen as Candidate to Head World Bank,” by Elizabeth Becker:

Carleton S. Fiorina, who lost her job as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard last month, has emerged as a strong candidate to become the next president of the World Bank, according to an official in the Bush administration.

Paul D. Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, is also under serious consideration, according to the official, who did not want to be identified because discussion about the candidates was continuing.

Fiorina or Wolfowitz? Six of one, half dozen of the other, as they say. Except Ms. Fiorina didn’t exactly kill anyone during her wretched tenure at H-P. Not that I’ve heard so far, anyway.

(See also “Is It April 1st Already?” at Sadly, No!)

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Please visit these new blogs, new-to-me blogs, and renamed blogs, and, if you will, mourn with me a lost blog.

Recent Additions:

The All Spin Zone, by Philadelphian and friend Richard Cranium -- and I’m not making that up -- et al., and, like me, a nominee for not one but two 2004 Koufax Awards.

The eponymous Liberal Avenger.

Mouse Words, by Amanda Marcotte, winner of the 2004 Koufax Award for Best New Blog. (Not to be confused with Mousemusings, written by Cyndy, who may or may not have a last name, who earned a spot on the Rittenhouse blogroll a long time ago.)

Noblesse Oblog, by Philadelphians (One or both?) and friends (Both, I hope.), Eligere and Chaumont.

Something Requisitely Witty & Urbane, by Dylan Biles, which may or may not be a real name.

Yaletown, by friend Justin Oppelaar, whose smart, charming, and expecting wife is a former Philadelphian, and who both currently are, apparently, enjoying living in the ultimate blue state: Canada.

Renamed Blogs:

Throwing Things, by Philadelphian and friend Adam Bonin et al., is now A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago. Campaign Extra, by Philadelphian and friend Will Bunch, is now Attytood.

Missed -- as in no longer, not as in overlooked -- Blogs:

May I just say here that I really miss Ann Salisbury’s Two Tears in a Bucket?

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Katherine Q. Seelye, writing in Monday’s New York Times, in “Softening the Clinking Sounds of Money,” hints, just hints, that the editors and publishers of Money might, just might, be now, just now, starting to realize that women control the pursestrings of the average American household, even if they’re not the primary subscribers to the sorry financial fare offered on the typical newsstand.

Seelye writes:

Money magazine, a warhorse in the Time Inc. stable since 1972, is reinventing itself. With the April issue, the magazine will be transformed from a get-rich investment guide aimed largely at men to a family-friendly helpmate that the editors hope will also appeal to women, younger readers and a broader base of advertisers.

Time Inc., the magazine publishing division of Time Warner, has poured $8.5 million into the reintroduction, with much of that going to an elaborate promotional campaign early next month. As part of that campaign, the April issue will be sent electronically to 1.1 million affluent households that subscribe to other Time Inc. publications with the hope of getting them to subscribe to Money.

Ann S. Moore, chairman and chief executive officer of Time Inc., said that Money had become too narrowly focused. “Money needed to be freshened and redirected,” she said. “It got a little too financial.”

And it had been developing a downscale reputation. In 2002, John Huey, the editorial director of Time Inc., said that before he changed the editors at Money in 1998, the magazine was “down market” and “trailer park.”

No! Really? Downscale? Junk? Worthless? No kidding! Anyone who read Money magazine in the 1990s, or who worked for a competing financial title, or an affiliate of a competing financial title, or who saw the book’s demographics -- and I include myself in all four categories -- knew that, that very thing.

What the hell took you guys -- And I mean that, guys, and I’m talking about the New York Times here as well, Ms. Seelye’s contribution to the debate notwithstanding -- so damned long?

Mr. Huey purportedly saw, or claims now to have seen, serious problems at Money in 1998, seven years ago.

I ask, What sort of compensation did Mr. Huey and the guys “earn” from shareholders in the meantime?

[Post-publication addendum: On women and pursestrings, see also “The Dumbest Column . . . Ever!,” by Jim McLaughlin, at A Skeptical Blog. One guess which New York Times pundit wrote “the dumbest column ever.” No, not Mr. Friedman. No, not Mr. Safire; he’s gone. Look, you only get one chance here. There you go.]

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Peter Baker, co-host with Will Weltman of Drinking Liberally, Philadelphia, an intelligent and fun group gathering tonight, Tuesday (as they do every Tuesday), February 1, beginning at 6:00 p.m., at Ten Stone, 21st and South Streets, Philadelphia, writes anagrammatically to remind us:

Richard Santorum = “Anarchism or turd.” [“Rick Santorum” will pull in a few more visitors arriving from internet search engines, and so there it is.]

Mr. Baker had a great anagram last week as well, but I forgot to write it down. If he resends, I’ll be sure to post it.

For what it’s worth, fan club stuff and all, I attended Drinking Liberally last week. I cannot make any promises regarding this evening’s gathering, but I’ll try. Who’s buying?

Have fun anyway. I mean, have fun without me if need be.

[Post-publication addendum: Peter Baker writes to tell me the anagram embedded in last week’s e-mail to members of Drinking Liberally, Philadelphia, was “James Guckert = ‘Scumgate Jerk.’”]

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