Fri.
Change my location 
High-flying VIPs
 Washington Capitals' Team Captain Chris Clark talks to Dr. Deborah Gist, State Superintendent of Education for DC, upon his return Wednesday from a 45 minute VIP flight in Blue Angels 7, an FA-18 Hornet, as part of this weekend's Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base. Gist got to fly immediately after Clark's return. (Photo by Greg Whitesell/Examiner) “They told me they don’t eject on Wednesdays, so we’re all set,” joked Washington Capitals right winger Chris Clark, before being strapped into a Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet for a flight at Andrews Air Force Base Wednesday. Clark and D.C. State Superintendent of Education Deborah Gist were the lucky VIPs who each got to ride along in the plane’s rear seat on Wednesday as part of the base’s publicity push for its annual air show this weekend. During the 45-minute flights, Lt. Frank Weisser piloted the aircraft through some of its high-performance moves, including a simulated aircraft carrier launch at takeoff (32,000 pounds of thrust, thank you), a 500-foot-per-second climb for seven seconds just after takeoff, speeds just shy of supersonic, and a tight turn to simulate the final approach to a carrier, which would have them pulling 7.5 Gs. But first, some debriefing. During the 7.5G-maneuver, crew chief Austin Armstrong warned Clark, “take a deep breath, flex your legs, hold these handles up here and keep your upper body loose. If you do that correctly, it won’t allow you to black out and go into G lock.” Oh. “I hope he looks good” when he gets back, “and not green,” said Gist, who insisted she wasn’t nervous to go up next. So how’d Clark do? “He did awesome,” Weisser said. “We did test him. We did everything the airplane could do.” “It was the coolest thing I’ve done,” said a sweaty Clark. “I was definitely claustrophobic at the beginning, but we just kept talking.” For Clark, the process started months ago. “We invite these people to ‘nominate themselves’ and get a physical,” said Lt. Col. Catherine Reardon, the chief of public affairs for the 316th Wing at Andrews. A big supporter of the military, Clark jumped at the chance. Reardon said they had initially asked D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee as well, but she had scheduling issues (or maybe she’s chicken?). So how did our people compare to other VIPs, Lt. Weisser? “You guys have some solid athletes here in D.C.,” he said, adding that everyone reacts differently. “I’ve had professional football players say they just want to cruise around, and I’ve had 65-year-old mothers of five say, ‘I wanna pull some Gs!’” |
Subscribe
0
Comments:
Link
Save the 'sweetie'
|
At a campaign stop Wednesday at a Chrysler plant in Sterling Heights, Mich., local TV reporter Peggy Agar asked Barack Obama what he’d do for struggling autoworkers. “Hold on one second, sweetie,” he replied, explaining that he would later answer at a press availability. But there was none forthcoming, and as Agar said on the air, “This sweetie never did get an answer.” Obama later apologized to her in a message on her cell phone. |
A blessing from Barbara
|
At Tuesday night’s “Celebration of Reading” event held at Strathmore, we found proof of what we’ve all suspected: That former first lady Barbara Bush is tougher than her husband, former President George H.W. Bush. The event was put on by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and, throughout the evening, the Naval Academy’s Mens Glee Club performed soaring renditions of myriad patriotic songs. At the beginning of the program, Mr. Bush turned to the singers on stage and began to thank them. “Thank you for everything you do for your country,” Bush began, but that’s about as far as he got. He instantly got choked up, placed his hands over his face and was unable to continue with his prepared remarks. Ever the matriarch, Barbara Bush stepped in to finish what her husband couldn’t, telling the group, “Thank you for everything you do. God bless you and God bless the U.S.A.” The two then took their seats. |
Categories:
Rosty: Also on LBJ’s hit list
.jpg) Don’t be surprised if former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., is among those eager to read the transcripts of the latest tape-recorded conversations of President Johnson, which were released by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum earlier this month.The 13 hours of conversations, which took place in early 1968 when LBJ was grappling with the anti-war opposition that later caused him to decide against running for re-election, include some acid comments about Rostenkowski, who came to Congress in 1959. LBJ bitterly complained to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in a phone conversation on Jan. 20, 1968, about Rostenkowski, who was a Daley protege. He said he’d like to further Rostenkowski’s career, but accused him of “whoring around with every damned bad mouther and dissident” in the anti-war movement. Daley was sympathetic, according to Robert Garrett of the Dallas Morning News. “He told Mr. Johnson that he often warned Mr. Rostenkowski not to answer every reporter’s question or take stands on every issue,” Garrett said. “Don’t talk too much because you’ll have to retract too much,” Daley said. Rostenkowski, of course, went on to become of the most powerful members of Congress. He became chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in 1981, but was defeated in 1994 after being indicted on corruption charges involving mail fraud in the House post office scandal. He later served 17 months in a Wisconsin minimum-security prison. |
Jerry Falwell: Woman stealer
|
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife,” commands the Bible. Your roommate’s fiancee? That’s another story. In her new biography of her husband, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Macel Falwell explains their unique courtship. “In the fall of 1952,” she writes, “Jerry moved to Springfield to attend Baptist Bible College. His roommate in the dorm was … none other than my fiance, Julius. Jerry might have been born again, but he wasn’t sanctified enough not to do everything in his power to come between Julius and me.”
To that end, Falwell “conveniently forgot” to give Julius messages from her, and even destroyed letters that poor Julius had written to her and entrusted to Falwell, sending his own instead. Of course, that wouldn’t be the only trouble Falwell would get into during his 72 years. Macel also attempts to explain Falwell’s comments in the wake of 9/11, when he appeared to place the blame for the attacks on America’s permissive attitude toward abortion and homosexuality. “To understand how things went awry that day, you must grasp the biblical perspective of sin and judgment as Jerry did,” she writes. Furthermore, “Jerry was exhausted when he agreed to the interview with Pat Robertson, and never anticipated that Pat would ask him who bore responsibility for God’s removing His protection from America. … Later, Jerry wished he had given a different answer.” Also in the book, their son Jonathan recalls a meeting they had at Larry Flynt’s offices in California, long after their battle in the Supreme Court. “Across Larry’s desk were all the latest issues of his pornographic magazines. Dad hated pornography, but he liked Larry Flynt, the king of porn. … At one point, Larry suggested that Dad try a diet that had helped him, and he had his secretary download it for him.” In that sense, Flynt fares much better in the book than Bill Maher. The comic/talk-show host “was rude and disrespectful and did everything in his power to try to fit Dad into the caricature that the media had painted of him,” says Jonathan. But despite the “demeaning” nature of the appearance, Falwell said it was worth it. “I just preached the gospel to millions of people tonight and Bill Maher paid for it.” Adds Macel: “Jerry was willing to be made a fool for the sake of the gospel.” |
Mary Tillman can’t avoid politics in D.C.
 AP Mary Tillman appeared before a small gathering at Olsson’s Books & Records in Chinatown Monday night for a reading from her book, “Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman.” Her son, Pat Tillman — who turned down a multimillion-dollar NFL contract to become one of the Army’s most high-profile soldiers — was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, although the Department of Defense initially said it was the result of hostile fire. Tillman said that she “does not like to get too political” and that “I’m not here to talk about the war or be an anti-war person,” but she soon found herself unable to avoid politics, slamming the “lies and deception” that accompanied her son’s death and demanding that the American public “not let the Bush administration off scot-free.” “We shouldn’t start wars,” said Tillman, “especially because of contrived reasons.” Tillman also claimed that the misinformation about her son’s death was used to “dupe” the public and distract Americans from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the president’s low approval ratings and the rising casualties in Iraq. Despite the small crowd, Tillman had some friends in the audience willing to help her out. She opened the floor to questions following her reading and, after an awkward pause, a young man raised his hand and said, “I think it’s a great book. Thanks for writing it.” “Thank you, Kevin,” Tillman responded. “Everyone, meet my son Kevin.” |
In praise of those ‘womanly wiles’
|
A Senate resolution recognizing the 100th birthday of the Congressional Club — the organization of congressional spouses — reveals the club’s all-too appropriate origins. In 1908, of course, all congressional spouses were women. This didn’t sit too well with Rep. John Sharp Williams, D-Miss., who was adamantly opposed to women’s organizations of any type. According to the text of the resolution, however, Williams was no match for “womanly wiles and feminine determination”: You see, when Williams “was called out of the chamber by Mrs. Williams, the good-mannered representative obliged and withdrew his opposition and request for a recorded vote, saying, ‘upon this particular bill there will not be a roll call, because it would cause a great deal of domestic unhappiness in Washington if there were.’ ” Behind every great man … |
Sinatra in the swamp
|
Usually Washington parties for politics and, well, that’s about it. But Republican consultant Doug Heye and PR flak Peter Mirijanian are bringing folks together at Hudson Restaurant and Lounge tonight to toast a certain crooner on the 10-year anniversary of a certain crooner’s death and celebrate his recent postage stamp. “We’ve had 43 presidents, but only one chairman of the board,” Heye told us. “No one unites Republicans and Democrats like Frank Sinatra.” |
This T-shirt will self-destruct
 If John McCain rebuilds the GOP’s big tent, it will undoubtedly be made out of hemp fibers. Late Tuesday afternoon, we received an e-mail from campaign manager Rick Davis touting the campaign’s new line of eco-friendly merchandise. That’s right, now all you crunchy conservatives out there can get your hands on McCain “T-shirts and polo shirts made from biodegradable fabric, as well as organic cotton hats and shopping bags. You can also buy travel mugs and notebooks made from recycled materials.” It beats recycling your message. |
By the numbers
|
69: Percentage of Republicans who believe in hell 52: Percentage of Democrats who believe in hell 45: Percentage of independents who do |
Jeff Dufour & Patrick Gavin
People, power and politics in the beltway, by the Washington Examiner's Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin. Got a juicy tip? Send an e-mail to yan@dcexaminer.com.
People, power and politics in the beltway, by the Washington Examiner's Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin. Got a juicy tip? Send an e-mail to yan@dcexaminer.com.
subscribe to Yeas & Nays's posts
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Interesting Donald Trump interview on CNBC
Listen to The Donald's thoughts on the real estate industry on CNBC. As usual, entertaining and interesting, and always bombastic. ...
