Your W Team! in the know! On the go! And, yes, just a little bit sexy, too!
 
Why don't you take a look at a few news items while we slip into something more comfortable?
 
In keeping with its aversion to nation-building, the administration has regarded involvement in Afghan politics with the same horror that it would now greet an invitation to a Ken Lay testimonial dinner. But the effort to maintain a low profile in Kabul has had unforeseen and unfortunate consequences.
 
The Afghan concepts of "friend" and "enemy" -- being considerably more flexible than our own -- have fostered a measure of forgiveness that would arguably account for the seeming evaporation of all but a handful of Taliban and Al Quaida fighters.
 
Our tentative fraternity with our new partners also leaves us somewhat in the dark about day-to-day shifts in political currents . Although we are reasonably certain that some form of democracy is taking shape, we are as yet unable to articulate it with any precision.
 
It would appear that liberation is a task more easily done than said.
 
And, while on the subject of revolting things, the Enron debacle has seized official Washington with a degree of panic not seen since the fall of Pompeii, as embarrassed beneficiaries of the fallen giant jam the exit doors. The unofficial motto of the Department of Justice has become "J'recuse!"
 
In fact, the compromised corporation's tentacles are so pervasive it may not be possible to form an untainted jury or prosecutorial team anywhere in the known world. Efforts to find suitable venues have thus far yielded only the Swiss canton of Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, and, ironically, Kandahar.
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Speaking of which, in this week's epic, the Commander-in-Brief takes to the Afghan skies, determined to bring peace to that war-worn land -- even if he has to kill everyone to do it. We invite you to twiddle your tootsies in the stream of...um...conscience revealed in "Commander George and the Machineries of Doom."
 
Next week, the First Civil Servant ventures into the frozen wild in a frosty tale of betrayal (his) and courage (everyone else's) in the Yukon Territory.
 
And we're sure that all Americans are relieved by the President's triumph Saturday over the errant pretzel that lodged in his throat, triggered the vagal nerve, temporarily shut down his breathing, and caused a fainting spell that resulted in a bruised lip and gashed cheek (and who hasn't had that happen?) All of Washington was quick to express its sympathy for the stricken leader. Said Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, "Oh, too bad...and how's Cheney getting along these days?"
 
And some good news, White House medical personnel, speaking of the unexplained hand injury suffered by the First Lady this weekend, confirm that the bruises and swelling are much diminished.
 
And hasn't this been just an awful couple of weeks for the President? What with Enron, growing rumors of a secret White House oil deal with the Taliban, and now this pretzel attack, it's easy to understand why he's as despondent as an Afghani burqua salesman.
 
And finally, this question: Should it now be "Prince Harry, potter"?
 
See ya next week,
 
Hank