Rented Wheels, Forgotten Secrets

Got a Job? Have a Brownie

The positively shocking resignation Monday of Michael D. Brown as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency lends a heightened urgency to the Loop "Brownie's New Gig" contest. Now he actually is going to be out on the streets, so Loop Fans must act quickly to come up with a suitable new job for him.

Send your entry via e-mail to intheloop@washpost.com or mail it to In the Loop, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Naturally, entries by administration or Hill folks may be submitted on background. But all entries must include telephone contact numbers to be eligible . Winners will receive a coveted In the Loop T-shirt.

Deadline for contest entries is midnight Monday. A spot check of the flood of entries so far reveals some fine creativity -- and a lot of anger -- though there's a slower than usual inflow from fans overseas. Remember, a good job outside the country -- way outside the country -- might be just the ticket for this fine public servant.

Walking in Henry's Shoes

Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell has been tapped to be chairman of the board of the Eisenhower Fellowships, succeeding former secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger in May 2006. The private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization gives fellowships to people believed to be potential leaders.

God Makes Change

First the al Qaeda group in Iraq hailed the hurricane deaths from Hurricane Katrina as "the wrath of God." Then last week, Ovadia Yosef , a former chief rabbi of Israel and the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas movement, said Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for President Bush 's support for Israel's Gaza pullout.

"It was God's retribution. God does not shortchange anyone," Yosef said during his weekly televised sermon, according to the Associated Press.

A Quarter-Million Banked

Remember that State Department idea to give someone $250,000 for "an external study of publicly available data on foreign public opinion" and recommendations for "specific actions"?

The idea apparently was to have a new survey for incoming public diplomacy chief Karen P. Hughes to look at upon her swearing in last week. The plan to acquire what is publicly available was shelved last month. Now Hughes might have to walk over to State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research to get the data -- or she could summon those folks to brief her.