The singer, a Jewish black Canadian, unites all of comedy's traditional practitioners in one gene pool, and if he decides to start doing shows on Christmas Eve, Tannenbaum and David Fagin are hosed.

Until then Christmas Eve belongs to Good for the Jews, Tannenbaum and Fagin's unique combination of music, insult comedy, and jokes that goyim laugh nervously and pretend to get.

Good for the Jews plays Jammin' Java on Dec. 24, and they wouldn't have to be out on such a cold night, so many miles from Tannenbaum's home in New York, if Hebrew school wasn't so freaking boring.

"It's a very joyless expression of Judaisim," says Tannenbaum. "It explains why so many unobservant Jews are abandoning the religion."

"The music that I write and sing," he says, "is the music I wish I'd been able to hear as a Jewish teenager."

Tannenbaum was negatively shaped by what he says was called Jewish music when he was growing up in Stamford, Conn. "It was folk music delicately strummed on a guitar," he says. "It was sincere, holy, and boring as hell."

This is not what you get from Good for the Jews. At one show I saw a few years ago at the DCJCC, Tannenbaum and Fagin riffed for quite some time on one audience member's name (I can't remember the exact riff, but it was something like "Were your parents the Jewiest Jews in your hometown?"). Tannenbaum says the group's song "I'm Better Looking Than the Guy You're Going Out With" is a cue for uncomfortable audience interaction.

"There's only one time I've gone out in the audience to talk to people and felt in physical danger," he says. One time, the song occasioned a marriage proposal among a couple he'd targeted. They invited Tannenbaum to officiate at their wedding, too: "They wanted to be roasted at their own wedding," he says, "and I was happy to oblige."

Tannenbaum's smartass live persona (think Catskills by way of Park Slope) isn't too different from his Twitter persona (and I encourage anyone reading this to follow his account in the hope that he may someday catch up with me, follower-wise). It is considerably less respectful than the tone he adopts while writing about music for Rolling Stone or I Want My MTV, the new book he co-authored with Craig Marks.

"Unfortunately I don't get paid yet for being a wiseass on Twitter," he says. "As badly as writing pays, being a musician pays even worse. I'd say that [being in Good for the Jews] is less than 5 percent of my time but is probably 80 percent of my delight. If you write a good article for Rolling Stone, nobody applauds."

But he doesn't just have it in for CU. He's taken on obesity, smoking, tobacco advertising, ladies' nights, women paying more than men for shaving cream and dry cleaning, and men paying more than women for manicures. If you trust his self-congratulatory website, he's known as the "Ralph Nader of..." several issues, a "Radical Feminist," "the Area's Best-Known 'Radical' Law Professor," "one of the "100 Most Powerful People in Washington," "the Fastest Legal Gun in the East," the "Dean of Public Interest Lawyers," and so on.

Until recently, that very website also hosted fake naked photos of Britney Spears, according to Above the Law. A first-year student in Banzhaf's tort class emailed the legal website to say that the professor had used the photos to illustrate the concept of defamation: "He displayed a censored version in class, which is fine, but then when I was checking his online slides for my outline, I discovered that he had also posted 9 (nine) photos of Britney Spears in varying degrees of undress on his website."

The student included a link that's now dead, though Google cached it (it's a safe-for-work index of files with names like "brit4big.jpg"). ATL's Staci Zaretsky saw the images before they were pulled, and attests, "I saw nips and bush..." In an email to his class, likely as a result of Zaretsky's post, Banzhaf wrote, "I apologize to anyone who may have been searching the 'defamation' directory for files other than HTML files, and stumbled upon the images which should not have been there. I have removed these images from the new directory location."

If you arrived here after Googling "Britney Spears nude," I am sorry to disappoint. For the rest of you, I've contacted Banzhaf for comment and will update this post if I hear back.

“What the French did during the war was excessively criminal,” said Holocaust survivor Leo Bretholz.

In 1942, Bretholz was 21 years old when he escaped through the window of a cattle car that was deporting Jews out of France. The train was destined for the Auschwitz concentration camp.

“People were pushed into the cattle cars at the end of riffle butts and families were being separated,” Bretholz said.

He and other survivors will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday in support of the holocaust rail justice act.

France's national railway, known as SNCF, transported some 76,000 prisoners to death camps. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

“The French got paid by head and kilometer by the Germans for every person that they deported,” Bretholz said.

The now 90-year-old man sees the act before the committee as a way to achieve justice.

“I want justice to be finally done after all these many years,” he said.

Donald Shearer will testify alongside Bretholz. Shearer became a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down. The American was transported by French railway to Buchenwald concentration camp.

“It was just 10 months of misery because if the train hadn't taken us away four days later we would have been liberated in Paris,” Shearer said.

In his own words: View the interview with Shearer below.

The legislation before lawmakers would strip away foreign sovereign immunity from SNCF in its defense against lawsuits by holocaust survivors. The rail company is reportedly pursuing federal contracts to build high-speed rail in the U.S.

Last year, it for the first time apologized for its role in the holocaust.

“An apology like that is hollow for the victims that we represent,” said attorney Raphael Prober. His law firm, Akin Gump, is representing 650 holocaust victims worldwide pro-bono, including 250 Jews and PoWs in the U.S.

Bretholz lost his entire family to the Nazis. Now he says he wants peace of mind.

“Money can never bring back the victims. Money is just a token. To fess up, yes we did something awfully wrong and we are contrite about that, and we regret it, and we know we were guilty of something awful,” he said.

More: View the interview with Bretholz below.

Greeting cards will be delivered to troops, veterans and military families over the holidays. Hollis Gentry spent her lunch hour writing a stack of cards Thursday.

“I have lots of veterans in my family, many generations and I just happened to be out on my lunch break and thought I’d add to the stack of cards being signed,” she said.

“It means a lot just to get a card from somebody. It makes them realize that people are thinking about them back at home so I think this is fantastic,” said Sal Morello of New York.

Of the 2 million service members, tens of thousands will find themselves away from home over the holidays.

“I think when the troops get these they know the American people are signaling that they support you, we haven’t forgotten you and we’re proud of what you’re doing for us,” said Suzy Defrancis of the American Red Cross.

“Not all Americans are always touched by people who serve -- they may see it on the news -- but they may not personally know someone and I think this is their chance to say thank you for those who are serving them,” said Kevin Connolly.

Since the program started four years ago, some three and a half million cards have been mailed. For many senders it's a small way to show their appreciation.

“We just came from Arlington Cemetery so get a sense of the importance of what they’re doing, so its nice to come here and see that people are acknowledging that people are over there at great sacrifice to themselves,” said Kelly Adam of New York.

For the first time this year, cards can also be sent online at RedCross.org/holidaymail.

Sepultura Tribute

Thursday, Oct. 27, at Asefu's (1920 9th St. NW)

Brazilian metal band Sepultura just hasn't been the same since founding guitarist/singer Max Cavalera left the band in 1996. Joining up for a one-off tribute performance of some of Sepultura's early material are members of local powerviolence band DOC and local grindcore groups Drugs of Faith and Mind as Prison. This show will feature some original music too, courtesy of Richmond's Inter Arma and D.C. groups Midnight Eye and Auroboros. $7.

Halloween Tribute Band Show

Friday, Oct. 28, at the Ottobar (2549 N. Howard Street, Baltimore)

Stillborn Monster Babies is paying tribute to the Misfits, the Snallygasters will take on the Sex Pistols, the Quarantines will do a version of the Ramones, and Fun Brigade will pay homage to local hardcore heroes Minor Threat. In addition, there will be "a special surprise band" covering songs by Rocket from the Crypt. The Ottobar's website is vague about who's in any of these groups, but the names alone hint at great things in store for anyone willing to make the drive up I-95.

The Legwarmers

Friday-Saturday, Oct. 28 & 29, at the State Theatre

This '80s tribute band already plays the State Theatre several weekends a year, but Halloween might finally give you the courage to dress up in that leotard still tucked away in the back of your closet. (Retro haberdashery tip: put on some neon shades and no one will really know it's you). The Legwarmers will take you through all the highs (and lows) of the 1980s, from memories of the Summer of '69 to the Love Shack. $18

Tribute / Halloween Show

Saturday, Oct. 29, at Hole in the Sky (2110 5th St. NE)

Hole in the Sky is a Northeast D.C. artists collective and performance space that has been quiet since a visit from the fire warden in February. According to the space's website, it is reopening for a special Halloween Party -- including a haunted house! -- that is a partial benefit for feminist filmmakers From the Back of the Room Productions. As far as I can tell, the show will feature tributes to the sort-of D.C. band Bikini Kill, SoCal punkers the Descendents, and late-'80s Lower East Side crust-punkers Nausea. Minneapolis grind band Scaphe will be on hand playing miscellaneous garage covers. The show's flyer warns that "you would look cooler with a costume on." $5.

Darcy White taught deaf students in a Kenyan village about three hours north of Nairobi fro 2003 to 2005. Many of them never learned sign language and could only communicate through basic gestures.

“A lot of the teachers of the deaf don't even sign. I would offer sign language classes but they were pretty apathetic to it,” White recalls.

Since the Peace Corp launched in 1961, nearly 60 deaf Americans have served the program in countries around the world. Many of them were students at Gallaudet University, which opened a museum exhibition dedicated to the deaf volunteers.

“We didn't know any of their sign language when we got there. We had to learn right away,” describes former Peace Corps volunteer Pauline Spanbauer.

The earliest volunteers say they were shocked by the treatment of deaf people in their mission countries.

“Most of them are hidden, they don't go to school. Their parents are ashamed of them so you never see them,” said William Eiffler.

“When we told them we were college educated, they couldn't believe we had degrees from GU. We were very proud of that. We were showing them what deaf people can do,” Spanbauer said.

More recent participants say some of that prejudice still exists, with many natives not believing they were actually deaf.

“They would see my English writing and not believe a deaf person could write so well,” said Sarah Gordon.

After two years in their host country, many say they saw a change in both the deaf and the hearing villagers they worked with. Returned volunteers are encouraging current students at Gallaudet to apply to the Peace Corps.

“There are plenty of opportunities around the world. The world is calling us to help,” Spanbauer said.

At the newly dedicated MLK memorial in Washington visitors recalled Shuttleworth's impact.

“I think he was a great man. He fought against injustices and civil rights for all people,” said D.C. resident Francine Copeland.

“I remember hearing him speak. He was such an eloquent speaker and was so inspirational,” said Rocky Twyman of Maryland.

On Monday, Birmingham said farewell to the Baptist preacher at his funeral, honoring him as a liberator who freed the community and the country from generations of discrimination.

Shuttlesworth was "one of the founding fathers of the New America," who put his life on the line to end segregation and racial discrimination, said Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.

"Fear, real fear, smothered the air, not just throughout Birmingham but throughout the American South," said Lewis, who met Shuttlesworth in 1961 during the Freedom Rides. "Birmingham is different today. Alabama is different today. America is different today, because this man passed our way."

Lewis was joined by pastors and other foot soldiers from the civil rights era who remembered Shuttlesworth as an architect of the movement, a man whose courage and persistence persuaded the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to come to Birmingham in 1963 to take part in historic protests that drew the eyes of the nation.

That visit helped paved the way for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and for King to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

The tributes described a state long synonymous with hate that was forever changed by Shuttlesworth and his fellow clergymen.

“That song of hope that we dedicated last week was made possible, in part, by the extraordinary, vision, courage and leadership of reverend Fred Shuttlesworth,” Martin Luther King, III, Dr. King’s son, said.

He brought international attention to the brutality of legalized discrimination in the South. And for decades after the 1963 campaign, Shuttlesworth continued to fight racial injustice in Birmingham, even after moving to Cincinnati.

Joining the crowd of mourners were members of King's family, along with the Revs. Joseph Lowery, Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson, and the widow of the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy.

Shuttlesworth died Oct. 5 at age 89.

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley spoke frankly to the mostly black audience of mourners about his own experiences with segregation. He grew up on the other side of Jim Crow as a young white man in Shelby County and later as a student at the University of Alabama.

Before men like Shuttlesworth agitated for an end to segregation, the governor said, he never gave much thought to the culture of racial discrimination that hung over the state. He thanked Shuttlesworth for undoing what he called "the teachings of a misdirected society."

When King took the helm of the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott in 1955, Shuttlesworth was already in Birmingham trying to start a movement. But hardly anyone was paying attention.

Shuttlesworth was from a small church, and it was easy for local whites to dismiss him as a radical. Until King came to Birmingham, Shuttlesworth couldn't get the national press to recognize his city as the embodiment of the horrors of segregation.

King became the icon of the civil rights movement, overshadowing Shuttlesworth, who was again eclipsed by King again in death.

Though he died nearly three weeks ago, Shuttlesworth's burial was postponed because of last weekend's dedication of the King Memorial on the National Mall, which drew many prominent civil rights figures to Washington.

But Shuttlesworth's record of commitment ranked him among the movement's top leaders.

He survived a Christmas 1956 bombing that destroyed his home, an assault during a 1957 protest, chest injuries when Birmingham authorities turned the hoses on demonstrators in 1963 and countless arrests.

He moved to Ohio to preach at a church in the early 1960s, but returned frequently to Alabama for protests. He came back to live in the Birmingham area after he retired a few years ago.

Friday's funeral was the last in a series of events remembering Shuttlesworth, including a public viewing of his body at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, a candlelight vigil and a memorial service Sunday with remarks by Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African-American to hold that position.

Stacy Hoeflich, who has been teaching fourth grade for 13 years, was named national history teacher of the year Wednesday.

“It’s like a superstar moment - which is not usual for me,” she said Thursday, back in her classroom at John Adams Elementary School.

Her passion for teaching was sparked by her own high school history teacher. Now she looks for that same spark in her students' eyes.

“When we really get into what we're talking about and I see they're making the connections it just doesn’t matter -- it's exciting. And I couldn’t work in a job where there isn’t that excitement,” Hoeflich said.

Outside the classroom, she serves as an educational consultant at George Mason University and is active in national conferences on history education. John Adams’ Principal Grace Taylor says Hoeflich’s lessons benefit the culturally diverse student population at her school.

“It's amazing. The dialogue between kids and Ms. Hoeflich is not common in most classrooms so we are really, really thrilled to have her on staff,” said Taylor.

Hoeflich says her students fuel her drive to teach.

“All teachers will tell you about the ah-ha moment and a lot will say that's why we do it – I mean you just want to keep going. You want to push further and say "let’s keep going and connect this to this to this" because its not just one little connection but it's this to this to this -- especially with history,” she said.

While the award may open new doors for the future of her career, Hoeflich insists the classroom will always be home.

“I may be able to do more with the state or with the federal government in terms of policy and education policy and that’s an exciting possibility-- but I wouldn’t leave the classroom -- so that’s it. That's why I'm here,” she said.

The math teacher and her students went to the gymnasium for what they thought was a schoolwide assembly with the state superintendent of education. Then Lowell Milken announced that his foundation had selected Shira Fishman for a national honor with a $25,000 cash prize.

When she first heard her name, Fishman says she was excited and a little embarrassed.

“I'm good in front of my kids in the classroom, I'm not shy at all. But in front of this kind of stuff is not what I'm used to. I'm very flattered but I'm also very overwhelmed,” she said.

“She's a great mentor to other teachers and someone who we're particularly looking for is someone engaged in her community and she is involved in so many activities so that all adds up to one outstanding teacher,” Milken explained his family foundation’s decision.

Fishman was also selected because of her non-traditional approach to teaching geometry and algebra.

“She explores the logic of every student's answer. Regardless of how off it is. And I think it makes them so comfortable that they're willing to explore difficult concepts because they know it's a safe place to learn,” said the school’s principal David Pinder.

Teaching is Fishman's second career. About five years ago she walked away from her job as a mechanical engineer and came to McKinley as a math teacher because she says teaching has always been her passion.

“I was coaching basketball at my old high school. I grew up in Silver Spring so I was working with the kids and coaching them in basketball and I thought this is my passion what I want to be doing,” she said.

Fishman waited tables at night for her first few years of teaching to make ends meet.
The foundation’s money will also come in handy in May when she and her fiance are getting married.

Students all wearing orange in honor of Unity Day, pledged to support others who have experienced bullying, treat others with respect, increase awareness of bullying incidents and report any suspicious behavior.

“It's not a good thing, it doesn't make you feel great, when someone tears you apart for something that you probably can't even help… people don't realize what it does to somebody,” said 11th grader Xavia Hawkins, who says she was teased and bullied in middle school.

The bullying got so bad for Jasmine Green, she decided transfer to escape the situation.

“I actually had to transfer to another school because I was bullied and my mom had to get a restraining order on one of the children,” Green said.

Students shared their personal stories and their commitment to treating everyone with kindness Wednedsay

October is national bullying prevention month, so Largo HS kicked off its own program, addressing the issue through lessons in the classroom.

“We want the students to brainstorm and discuss strategies and ways to stop bullying and also the effects of bullying, the effects of bullying from the bully's perspective from the victim's perspective, from the victim's parents perspective,” said Largo high principal Angelique Simpson Marcus.

To Simpson Marcus this isn't a new topic but technology is taking bullying to a different level.

“It’s become more pronounced over the years, especially with different types of social media,” she said.

“You’ll never see this the way its being done here, authentically as they did in Colonial times,” said Frank Coleman of the distilled spirits council.

Distilling was a business for Washington.

"Toward the end of his life after his presidency, he started this distillery and it was the largest of its kind in the country at the time," said Dennis Pogue, who works to preserve the first president’s Mount Vernon home.

Each barrel of apple mash will eventually make about six cases of apple brandy. It's heated with fire and cooled by water from a nearby creek.

“You have to watch the temperatures to make sure its not too hot or cold, but if you nurture it just right you get this marvelous spirit that comes out the other end,” said Dave Pickerell, a master distiller.

“You go to maker's mark or wild turkey and you see the same process, but it's on steroids. They're making more in a minute than Washington made in a year,” Pogue said.

The apple brandy will be aged for two years before it goes on sale. Last year Mount Vernon distilled peach brandy, which will be ready next year.

The rye whiskey they made two years ago goes on sale this month for $185 a bottle. Proceeds will benefit education programs here.

It's probably your checkbook, depending on where your protege is going to and/or skipping class.

A new survey from Campus Grotto says that the top ten priciest colleges in the United States now have a tuition that tops $55,000.

No, not for your entire college experience. These aren't junior colleges! We're talking about $55,000...per year. That's the cost of about three new Volkswagen Jettas, 66 64GB Apple iPad 2s (with 3G) or 22,000 small Dairy Queen Blizzards.

The most expensive school, according to the list, is Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. Tuition and living expenses top out at just under $60,000 per year to send one kid (one! not five! one!) to the school.

NYU, Columbia, Harvey Mudd and Eugene Lang College round out the top five. Check out the entire list here, and think about it this way - if your son or daughter wants to go to one of these, imagine all the CashBack Bonus you'll rack up on that credit card!

On Monday, the group delivered a new computer to Julia Bain and daughter Oceana.

“I’m going to be using it for educational games, and sometimes just plan old games,” Oceana Bain said.

Mother and daughter have been without a working computer for months, instead taking a bus to the library to use computers there. The trip took about 30 minutes, and time needed for mother Julia Bain's job search was always cut short.

“It would only be a maximum time, an hour, sometimes it would exceed that limit to an hour and a half, but it was hard to hurry up and do what you needed to do,” Julia Bain said. “I will not get off for a break, someone will have to kick me off in order for me to get off.”

The Manassas-based organization Linux4Hope is led by 18-year-olds Garron Haun and Jessica Waters, who draw on their passion for volunteering, technical knowledge and donations from the public.

“I had some friends donate some computers some mice and computers and monitors,” Haun said.

Any information stored on the machines was wiped out for security purposes, and a Linux operating system was installed. Haun says Linux tends to be virus-free, and a more stable system, making donations almost seamless.

“It makes a huge difference when you don't have to register with Microsoft or even Apple,” Haun said.

Potential candidates apply through the website, where they’re screened by the group to ensure all applications genuinely need computers.

“I’ve seen everything from just a name and a telephone number and a name, telephone number, address and a whole couple paragraphs on why the people deserve what we're giving,” Waters said.

The organization has volunteer networks in Richmond and Harrisonburg, Va., as well as Los Angeles and London. Demand is so high, they're looking for more donations of computers and parts. The goal is to expand their network and reach non-profit status.

The group is holding a fundraiser Monday night at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 9971 Sowder Village Sq. Manassas from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

[Georgetown Hoya]

If it doesn't meet the benchmark within three years, the school would lose accreditation and require extensive re-structuring.

Virginia factored graduation and completion index into its accreditation rating for the first time this year, allotting credits for students with a diploma. The state requires an index score of 85. With 75 dropouts, Wakefield failed to meet the state standard, scoring at 77.

Principal Chris Willmore says that number derived by the state doesn't entirely reflect the achievements of the student body.

“There are three comprehensive high schools and all students in the attendance zones of those three comprehensive high schools are attributed to the high school, whether or not the student attend there. They may attend one of the alternative programs or continuation programs,” Willmore said.

He says about half of the dropouts attributed to Wakefield haven't even attended the school, and the school's graduation rate is above the state benchmark.

Parents and students received notice last week about Wakefield's rating. Senior Ben Dannemiller believes that getting back on track requires commitment from teachers and students.

“A student can only do so much in the class if the teacher doesn't care, and same way for a teacher, if the class doesn't care,” he said.

Kyleigh Blain says student attendance is always a challenge toward the last quarter.

“In the fourth quarter they just want to leave, they just want to leave school because it's almost the end of the school year,” Blain said.

Willmore says the school will keep a close watch on student attendance, create a dialogue with parents, and offer guidance to seniors behind on credits.

The "Dormy Awards" are a celebration of the best that college has to offer. When it came to party dorms, George Washington and Catholic proved they were a force to be reckoned with, putting four dorms on the top 15 list. 

•Thurston Hall at George Washington University, third place 

•Ryan Hall at Catholic University, sixth place

•Ivory Tower at GWU, eighth place 

•Flather Hall at Catholic University, ninth place

Georgetown University also made the list, with New South placing 10th. The rankings confirm our belief that Catholic and GWU are serious followers of the "work hard, party hard" mantra.

[D.C. Shitlist]

— 9.7 percent of DCPS eighth graders say they have attempted suicide

— 18.4 percent of middle school students have missed classes because they didn't feel safe traveling to school

— 13.9 percent of middle schoolers were afraid of being beaten up at some point in the last year

— 15 percent of middle schoolers were members of a gang or crew in the last year

— Around 40 percent of ninth graders repeat the grade, with one in three failing algebra

According to U.S. News & World Report, which we trust like Evangelicals trust the Bible, 85 percent of AU students graduate with internship experience — the highest rate in the nation. GWU came in fifth place, with 66 percent. The national average is 37.6 percent.

Dave Hacker knew he had stumbled upon something extraordinary when he found what to the untrained eye looks like a rock.

“I was just about to go home and just looking around, and I saw a little bit of this bone exposed,” he said.

The 40-acre plot of land in Laurel where Hacker found the piece is known as Dinosaur Park. Almost every week, volunteers like Hacker dig up fossils that date back more than 100 million years.

“It’s one of the few places east of the Mississippi river where dinosaur fossils can be found on a regular basis,” he said.

In the 1800s, this was the site of an iron mine, which explains why the land is so exposed.

Earlier this month, the downpours that came with tropical storm Lee stirred up the land, surfacing formerly buried bones.

Experts believe this might belong to a plant-eating dinosaur, like the Astrodon that was once prevalent in Maryland, but it's too soon to tell with certainty.

A team from the Smithsonian Institution is taking the lead in the excavation. Further analysis in the lab will confirm which creature once roamed here.

— Trimmings from a Peace Corps beard.

— A volunteer's dreadlocks.

— Dog-eared copies of the following books: Life of Pi, The Kite Runner, The Alchemist, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Siddhartha, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, In the Time of Butterflies, The Beach, The Tin Drum, Name of the Rose, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Eat, Pray, Love.

— CDs by the following artists: Manu Chau. That is all — just Manu Chau, and preferably his entire discography. (But if you want a little diversity, feel free to add A Rush of Blood to the Head or anything by Jack Johnson.)

— A stuffed goat.

— As many skirts as you can find.

— A pair of Birkenstocks.

— A stack of unfilled Moleskin or Mead journals.

— Dr. Bronner's.

— A box of 1,000 condoms.

— A machete.

— At least one photo of someone flashing the victory peace sign.

— This exact photo. Accept no substitutes.

Connolly, one of 22 people to receive the grant this year, helped create the Elder Justice Act of 2007 and currently is the director of the Life Long Justice initiative and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. She's even writing a book, which, once published, will no doubt include the phrase "written by a MacArthur Fellow" somewhere in the jacket copy.

[WaPo]

The Examiner reports that 80 percent of "highly effective" teachers accepted their salary increases this year, and 70 percent accepted their bonuses. When asked why she took the bonus and raise, Shira Fishman, the newly crowned teacher of the year, said, "It's the type of thing where I feel like if I'm considered highly effective here, then I feel like I'd continue to be wanted in the classroom here."

In a rational, functioning school system, yes, that would be true. Let's hope it's true at DCPS, too.