Washington Metro News

Everyone in the D.C. metropolitan area remembers. I still think of it every time I see a white van. I even think about it when I see someone hustling to their car at a gas station. In October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd terrorized this area by randomly discharging bullets into strangers while they were pumping gas or strolling with their families through mall parking lots. Over a two-month period, they shot 16 people, killing 10.

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Chances are you’ve been following the Washington Redskins epic lately. You don’t have to be a football fan to be fascinated by the story of a team owner who has managed, in 10 short years, to squander generations of good will from an area that came together on little besides the adoration of the Redskins. That has been frittered away thanks to one lousy decade of astoundingly inept management under owner Dan Snyder.

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After a summer of overheated and self-righteous zealotry, Washington was desperate for some consistent levity to lighten the mood. Luckily, Northwest D.C.’s own Anthony Irwin Kornheiser has returned to the airways after a long layoff to deliver some of the smartest two hours of programming anywhere.

The show airs on the Daniel Snyder-owned ESPN radio affiliate, but it rarely focuses on sports. The show is much more likely to wander through politics, reality TV, movie reviews and Kornheiser’s hilariously neurotic musings. There’s also plenty of sage insight from prominent pols like Newsweek’s Howard Fineman and “the smartest man in Washington,” uber-lawyer Abbe Lowell, but there’s also the absurd randomness of having Eugene Robinson talking about "American Idol" and James Carville picking obscure college football betting lines.

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After much thought I have decided to sell out, in the tradition of so many progressive Democrats who like me have worked for congressional leaders and senior Democrats. After seeing the latest scam being perpetrated by industry lobbyists working with Democratic senators receiving industry money, which would allow bankrupt states to have state public options they can't do, and allow Republicans states to have state public options they won’t do, I have made the big career decision.

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Anyone who knows about the great history and traditions of the Capitol and the Congress will know why I and so many others will so greatly miss Sally Crowe, the very special hostess of the House Members Dining Room who recently passed away.

Sally began working in the Congress, in the Longworth cafeteria, before I was even born. She worked for the House for an amazing 57 years and was beloved by all.

When I worked for the House leadership, I cannot tell you how many times I had to visit the Members Dining Room, often at odd hours, often with no notice, often in a mad rush and sometimes with VIP guests. Sally was always there with her radiant smile, her glowing hair, her tactful manner and her wonderful style to make everyone feel comfortable and at home. Read more...

Those of us who live in Washington can sometimes over-inflate the importance of what goes on here, foisting local stories on a national audience.

Sometimes, though, those stories can help make a useful point. So today I write about the Washington Nationals and The Washington Post and what they share in common with so many of our failing institutions.

I’ll give it away: They are now being run by people who seem to have too little regard for their companies’ unique ways of doing business. They seem to consider unimportant the sometimes-tedious ethics and practices that made the properties they’ve taken over prosper in the first place. Economy-wide, whatever the enterprise, it’s only about making as much money as possible. Corner-cutting — of all types — is the way to do it. Read more...

I grumbled for many years when I commuted to work. What a waste of time and energy. But in my car or on the Metro, I often used that quiet time to ponder personal and professional questions that a busy schedule and lifestyle pushed to the background. I’d compose letters, devise strategies, consider options, balance competing demands while alone in my private zone. I now use that same time of reflection as I walk to and from my new office, solving the issues of our times and the mundane ones of my life. Or at least considering them. Read more...

The left wing started it.

They tried to blame Bill O’Reilly for the actions of the idiot who killed Joseph Tiller.

Then they tried to pin the crazy man who shot and killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum on conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh.

Rush fired back, pointing out that many forms of virulent anti-Semitism come from the left. Read more...

In loving memory of Officer Stephen Johns, I write this blog today honoring his heroism in the line of duty.

I’m sure every reader joins me in honoring each and every security guard at the National Holocaust Museum who knowingly placed his or her life on the line to protect visitors and, more importantly, to take this murderer out. It’s difficult to fathom what goes through a law enforcement officer’s mind when they stare down a dangerous threat, but they do it instinctually and unselfishly, and for that, this city and the nation are grateful. Read more...