Feeling the Chill in Paradise

Homeland Security Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano has tapped Rand Beers, founder of the National Security Network, to be counselor to the secretary.

Mignon Clyburn, now a member of the South Carolina Public Service Commission -- and daughter of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) -- looks to be heading this way to become a member of the Federal Communications Commission.

Is the Pen Mightier Than the Shotgun?

There are going to be all sorts of books about the Bush administration, including one planned by the president himself and now, maybe, by Vice President Dick Cheney.

"I've given serious thought to writing a book," Cheney told conservative radio host Sean Hannity this week. "I never have, and my family has been bugging me about it. I've got 40 years since I came to town to stay 12 months. I've got a lot of stories to tell, and a few scores to settle. So I'm giving that some serious thought."

"I like the "scores to settle" part, because if I were you, I'd have a few scores to settle as well," Hannity said.

"No, no," Cheney said, laughing. "I'm going out with a good heart." (Special thanks to George Washington Hospital.)

If you have to choose, pick Cheney's book.

The Donkey Parade Goes On

K Street firms continue to stock up on plugged-in Democrats. Brunswick Group, a strategic corporate communications consultancy, announced yesterday that it has hired David Sutphen, a former lobbyist and senior congressional aide, as a partner. He will work closely with the firm's new managing director in the Washington office, Hilary Rosen, a political commentator and former head of the Recording Industry Association of America.

Sutphen brings six years of experience on Capitol Hill as general counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and chief of staff to former representative Harold Ford (D-Tenn.), as well as stints as a senior executive at Viacom and the RIAA. But he also brings important ties to the new White House. His sister, Mona Sutphen, is slated to become Obama's deputy chief of staff.

With Philip Rucker and Alice Crites