We seem to recall the “fiscal problems” were really, really obvious in 2010, but let’s not be picky.
Grassley took the high road.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put on her dancing shoes in Johannesburg Tuesday night. Clinton danced as the crowd of attendees cheered at a dinner hosted by South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
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“It’s hard to understand the late recognition of the country’s fiscal state,” he said in an e-mail, “since record deficits are well-known, but better late than never.
“The cancellation of next year’s conference is a good test of whether expensive annual conferences are necessary and whether the ‘administration of justice’ suffers in the absence.”
Just make sure you don’t miss that plane to paradise. This could be the last Maui Wowie for a long, long time.
Lightening the load
Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for a blackout. No need to break out the emergency kit with the candles and batteries, though.
Wednesday marked the beginning of the general-election “franking blackout” that starts 90 days before Election Day. That’s the period under federal election law during which congressional offices can’t send out “franked” mass communications. Translation: Lawmakers can’t send unsolicited communication — such as postcards or e-mail — to more than 499 people.
That’s partly to avoid giving incumbents an advantage over their challengers in the heat of the campaign season, particularly because the line between purely informational materials and campaign-tinged ones can be pretty thin.
Lawmakers are readying for the blackout: For example, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Administration Committee, sent a reminder Tuesday to folks who had been receiving his e-mail newsletter, warning that unless they signed up to continue getting it, they’d be left in the dark.
How will we live without such oh-so-useful newsletters and other updates?
In a pinch, there’s always that hand-cranked AM Radio to listen to.
Cat got his tongue
Q: How is a State Department spokesman like your grandmom?
A: Naughty words make them both blush.
During a recent State Department briefing, reporters finally goaded spokesman Patrick Ventrell into using the full name of the feminist Russian punk band whose members are on trial for performing songs criticizing Russian President Vladmir Putin . After referring to the band several times by the generic label “the punk-rock band,” reporters pressed him to be more specific.
To which punk band was he referring, they wondered? There must be hundreds of ’em, after all! Reporters were not about to let him get away with such a display of modesty.
“They are indeed called . . .” Ventrell began, before switching up his sentence construction. “Pussy Riot is the name of the band.”
With Emily Heil
The blog: washingtonpost.com/
intheloop. Twitter: @InTheLoopWP.
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