Correct The Record Monday September 1, 2014 Roundup

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P17 D6 P22 V11 P20

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Labor Day, our nation celebrates the hardworking men and women who drive our economy and build the future of our nation." - *Hillary Clinton *Correct The Record Monday September 1, 2014 Roundup:* *Headlines:* *MSNBC: “Benghazi coming back with a vengeance in September” <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/benghazi-coming-back-vengeance-september>* “Clinton defenders at Democratic groups like Correct the Record and American Bridge say they will be ready to respond to any incoming fire, and are already passing along research to undermine the books.” *Washington Post: “Clintons keep up with a sprawling, yet aging, political network in Arkansas” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clintons-keep-up-with-a-sprawling-yet-aging-political-network-in-arkansas/2014/08/31/5f18934c-2f8e-11e4-9b98-848790384093_story.html>* “’Lynda’s List’ as her under-the-radar alumni news service is called, is a telling example of the Clintons’ attention to detail in maintaining and nurturing their formidable political network, which extends around the globe yet remains perhaps deepest in Arkansas.” *Jewish Journal opinion: Lazar Palnick: “Hillary, Israel and the Jews” <http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/hillary_clinton_israel_and_the_jews>* “From her foreign policy abroad to her work back home, Hillary Clinton has consistently shown her support and dedication to the issues that matter most to Jewish Americans.” *Washington Times: “O’Hillary: The Ready for Hillary superpac journeys to Ireland, raises $50,000” <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/1/ohillary-ready-hillary-superpac-journeys-ireland-r/>* “Fundraise for Hillary Clinton in Ireland: faith and begorra, that’s exactly what Ready for Hillary did. The independent grass-roots activist group traveled all the way to Ballsbridge - that’s an exclusive suburb of Dublin - to raise $50,000 for Mrs. Clinton, a potential White House candidate.” *Washington Examiner: “Six signs Hillary Clinton is running” <http://washingtonexaminer.com/six-signs-hillary-clinton-is-running/article/2552656>* “Hillary Clinton isn't officially running for president. But unofficially, the signs are everywhere.” *Wonkette (satire): “At The New York Times, A Slow News Day” <http://wonkette.com/558899/at-the-new-york-times-a-slow-news-day>* “Maureen Dowd manages a third straight week without any mention of Bill or Hillary Clinton…” *Articles:* *MSNBC: “Benghazi coming back with a vengeance in September” <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/benghazi-coming-back-vengeance-september>* By Alex Seitz-Wald September 1, 2014, 7:12 a.m. EDT After several mercifully Benghazi-free months, the 2012 attack on the diplomatic compound in Libya is about to be thrust back into the spotlight around its September 11 anniversary. The special House committee investigating Benghazi is finally expected to begin its work, in earnest, with its first hearing the week Congress returns from August recess. Meanwhile, two books promising explosive new allegations about the terror attack will hit shelves in September, and Fox News plans to air a new, one-hour documentary on the attack this week, featuring exclusive interviews with Americans who fought in the onslaught. Add that to the usual fare that accompanies the anniversary of any major news event and you get a headache for the teams surrounding Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. For both, it’s a stubborn political problem that will likely never go away, no matter how many investigations clear the senior players of the worst allegations of wrongdoing. And it’s little doubt why: Polls suggest that Clinton is vulnerable on Benghazi ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run, with members of both parties listing it as her biggest weakness. Partisans on both sides are gearing up for the return of Benghazi. Tim MIller, for example, who is the executive director of the GOP super PAC America Rising, told msnbc his team is prepared to jump on “anything that comes up in these books/hearings that call into question Sec. Clinton’s claims.” And Clinton defenders at Democratic groups like Correct the Record and American Bridge say they will be ready to respond to any incoming fire, and are already passing along research to undermine the books. On Sept. 9, conservative talk radio host Aaron Klein’s “The Real Benghazi Story” will hit bookstores. Published by an imprint of World Net Daily (the website that promotes the notion that Obama was not born in the U.S.), the book promises “to blow the lid off” “shocking,” “devastating,” and “mind-blowing” new details of the terror attack. It’s the story “the White House and Hillary don’t want you to know,” the book’s subtitle claims. Klein’s audience is undoubtedly the already-converted, but three of his previous books have made it to The New York Times bestseller list, and his latest is easy fodder for the conservative echo chamber. Klein has plans to promote the book in New York and Washington, and already “has interview commitments with top-tier cable, radio and print outlets,” according to his publicist. Then, at the end of the month comes “13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi.” The book is likely to gain more traction in the mainstream press, considering its author, Boston University journalism professor Mitchell Zuckoff, and publisher, Hachette, a well respected house. Zuckoff got unprecedented access to the six Americans who defended the CIA annex in Benghazi and tells their story from the ground. Paramount reportedly bought the film rights months ago and has a screenwriter and producers attached to the project. Zuckoff’s book promises to “set the record straight” on what happened on the ground, but will not dwell much on the politics or bureaucratic wrangling in Washington. Still, even if Clinton barely makes a cameo, anytime people are talking about Benghazi its bad for Clinton. The book may also provide embarrassing new details from people closest to the attack. Zuckoff’s work also spawned an hour-long Fox News special, set to air Friday, in which host Bret Baier interviews the security operators. The documentary is being promoted by Fox and will likely further stir the pot on the right. The House Select Committee on Benghazi – the seventh congressional committee that has looked into the attacks – has been quiet since its inception this spring, will hold its first hearing the second week of September. Led by South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, Republicans last week hired the Army’s former top lawyer to be their general counsel. They’re finishing staffing up, but are revealing little about future plans beyond the first hearing. The Democratic side, led by Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, say they are mostly staffed up. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who sits on the select committee, said that while Gowdy has been inclusive of Democrats and responsible thus far, he’ll have to deal with high expectations from the conservative base. “I’m not sure where we’re headed. I’m not sure the House leadership knows where we’re headed. But I do think there’s going to be a lot pressure on the chairman to produce something,” he told msnbc. Gowdy told The New York Times Friday that it will likely take until at least the end of 2015 for the committee to complete its work, but that it could go into 2016 if agencies are slow to turn over requested documents. Some Democrats and Clinton allies, who have long dismissed the slew of Benghazi investigations as being politically motivated, say they expect the committee will be used to attack Obama in anticipation of the midterm elections, before turning attention to Clinton afterwards. But Schiff said the committee is unlikely to produce anything in time for 2014 elections. He did, however, say there will be tremendous pressure on Gowdy to bring Clinton as a witness. Other Democrats are treating a Clinton testimony request as a certainty. “I don’t think there are many new facts to be found there,” Schiff added. *Washington Post: “Clintons keep up with a sprawling, yet aging, political network in Arkansas” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clintons-keep-up-with-a-sprawling-yet-aging-political-network-in-arkansas/2014/08/31/5f18934c-2f8e-11e4-9b98-848790384093_story.html>* By Philip Rucker August 31, 2014, 10:31 p.m. EDT LITTLE ROCK — While Bill and Hillary Clinton were vacationing in August at their rented mansion on a scenic bluff in the tony Hamptons, they read a flurry of e-mail updates from an earlier life. At 7:41 one Monday morning, the Clintons received word that the elderly mother of longtime Little Rock radio and television personality Craig O’Neill had passed away. A few days later, another bulletin: Rufus Ellis “Buddy” Tate Jr., a farmer and lumberer from Marvell, Ark., died five days shy of his 100th birthday. His only child, Sherman Tate, is an old friend of Bill’s. Then another: Dorothy Jean Darr Martinous, who managed the bridal salon at J.C. Penney and was a prize-winning dancer of the Charleston, died at age 98. She had been active for decades in Arkansas Democratic politics. In each case, the notices came from a 70-year-old retiree named Lynda Dixon, who worked as Bill Clinton’s personal secretary when he was governor of Arkansas and now fires off e-mails to her old boss, Hillary Rodham Clinton and their aides from her home here in downtown Little Rock, within view of the Clinton Presidential Center. “Lynda’s List,” as her under-the-radar alumni news service is called, is a telling example of the Clintons’ attention to detail in maintaining and nurturing their formidable political network, which extends around the globe yet remains perhaps deepest in Arkansas. The couple’s strong ties to the state have been highlighted this year as Bill spends time here stumping on behalf of Democratic candidates in the November midterms. After the Clintons packed up from Arkansas in 1993 to move to the White House, never to return permanently, Dixon stayed behind and kept the couple up to date with news from their sprawling — and aging — network of friends and acquaintances. Once full of wedding and baby announcements, or reports of a new job or award, Dixon’s notices nowadays more commonly deliver word of who is sick, who has died and who needs a helping hand. “I am the one that knows who his friends were, all his constituents that were important to him — I just send notices to him and Hillary,” Dixon said in a rare interview. Unlike many Clinton hands who lead public careers, Dixon has served the couple in near-anonymity. In anticipation of Hillary Clinton’s potential 2016 presidential campaign, the Clintons are keeping their Arkansas network especially active. Their allies here insist she would put Arkansas in play, even though the state has become more Republican since Bill Clinton carried it in the 1990s. President Obama lost here by 20 percentage points in 2008 and by 24 percentage points in 2012. The Clintons have staffs in New York and Washington, but, Dixon said, those aides “don’t know the Devoe Bollingers of the world. He was one of the president’s constituents, one of his supporters, an old cattle farmer from Horatio, Arkansas.” Dixon said she scours the obituary pages of local newspapers and calls funeral homes looking for familiar names. At the top of each e-mail to the Clintons, Dixon writes the name, address and phone number of the subject — or, in the case of death, a next-of-kin. Like clockwork, that person often gets a call from Bill. A few days later, a warm letter from Hillary might show up in the mail. And in some instances, the Clintons fly home to attend funerals, as Bill did on Aug. 15 in Hot Springs, where he bade farewell to Margaret “Marge” Mitchell, a close friend of his late mother. The former president was an honorary pallbearer. “You may move from your home town, you may move from your home state, but you don’t forget from where you came, and Bill Clinton is the prime example of that,” said Skip Rutherford, a longtime Clinton adviser and friend who serves as dean of the University of Arkansas’s Clinton School of Public Service. When Bill returned to Little Rock on Aug. 15 to address a meeting of the Southern Governors’ Association, he referred to Arkansas as “our state.” “I’m feeling pretty nostalgic,” he said, noting that he woke up in New York that morning at 4:45 to fly to Hot Springs for Mitchell’s funeral. At a time when the Clintons are under scrutiny for their family’s exploding wealth and extravagant lifestyle on the paid speaking circuit, reminding voters of Hillary’s Arkansas roots has political benefits. This is where she married Bill, raised daughter Chelsea, practiced law, came of age politically, and, as first lady, championed state education and children’s health initiatives. In July 2013, both Clintons attended the dedication of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library in Little Rock, a gleaming facility where, as Bill marveled in his recent speech to the governors, “they’ve got a 3-D printer!” At the opening, Hillary read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to youngsters sitting around her feet. Hillary returned this May for the opening of the Clinton Pres­idential Center’s temporary blown-glass exhibit by artist Dale Chihuly. And she came in June to sign copies of her latest book, “Hard Choices,” at a suburban Wal-Mart. But in this high-stakes election year, it’s Bill who’s been an especially frequent visitor, throwing himself into Arkansas races. With his sky-high popularity — his favorability rating was 68 percent among registered voters in Arkansas in a May NBC News-Marist poll — he is trying to boost three longtime friends: Sen. Mark Pryor, gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross and congressional candidate James Lee Witt. In August, Clinton headlined a Democratic Party fundraiser at Little Rock’s historic Capital Hotel, and associates said he is coming back in September and October to campaign. “If he could get away with it, he’d live here for the two to three weeks before the election,” said Vince Insalaco, the state Democratic Party’s chairman and a longtime Clinton friend. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D) said that when he asked Clinton’s staff if he would come to the August events, “they weren’t real high on him coming” because the Clintons were vacationing in the Hamptons. But once Beebe got the former president on the phone to personally invite him, it was easy to get to “yes.” “A vacation from vacation is probably consistent with his personality,” Beebe said. Here in Arkansas, he added, “he soaks up information like a sponge. He’s always wanting to know the politics, he’s always wanting to know the policy, and even more often than when he comes, I’m getting a phone call from him.” Before the Little Rock fundraiser, Clinton huddled with Pryor to talk politics. Pryor said he met Clinton when he was about 12; his father, David Pryor, served as governor when Clinton was climbing the political ladder as attorney general, and then as a U.S. senator when Clinton was governor and president. “It’s not unusual if you’re in Arkansas for the phone to ring at an odd hour and it be Bill Clinton at the end of the line,” Mark Pryor said as he rested his hands on his Bible during an interview on a recent Sundaymorning before church. Clinton is eyeing the race to succeed Beebe with special interest. The Democratic nominee is Ross, a protege who got his start in politics as Clinton’s 21-year-old driver during the 1982 governor’s campaign. “We had a one-car motorcade: It was him and me in a Chevy Citation,” Ross recalled. “People wanted their photo taken with him. I’d take it with one of those old Polaroid cameras where the picture shoots out the front. He would autograph the bottom and say, ‘You’ll have your picture developed in a couple minutes.’ ” Clinton helped persuade Ross — a former congressman who graduated from Hope High School, in Clinton’s birthplace — to run for governor and has counseled him throughout the race. The Republican nominee is Asa Hutchinson, who as a congressman in the late 1990s was a floor manager of Clinton’s impeachment proceedings following the Monica Lewinsky scandal. For many Clinton loyalists here, Hutchinson’s role still stings. “It’s kind of like being against the Razorbacks,” Insalaco said, referring to the University of Arkansas sports teams. “It wasn’t just being against Clinton, but against the whole state. . . . Insiders remember, but voters outside, I think they may need to be reminded.” Hutchinson said Democrats were “grasping at straws.” And he argued that Bill Clinton’s popularity would not rub off on Ross. “Arkansas is not really a coattails state,” he said. Bill Clinton, busy reconnecting with old friends here, is trying to challenge that prophecy. After Clinton’s August fundraiser at the Capital Hotel, George Hale, 69, settled into a couch in the lobby. When a reporter introduced himself, Hale said, “I’m an F.O.B. Friend of Bill.” This May, after Hale’s wife died, Hale said Clinton “sent me a little handwritten note saying he was very sorry for the loss. He said, ‘Hang in there, George.’ ” How did Clinton know about Hale’s loss? Lynda’s List, of course. *Jewish Journal opinion: Lazar Palnick: “Hillary, Israel and the Jews” <http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/hillary_clinton_israel_and_the_jews>* By Lazar Palnick August 29, 2014 Last month, I read an opinion piece in a Jewish publication wrongfully accusing Hillary Clinton of being anti-Israel and not fighting for the issues that matter most to Jewish Americans. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout her career, Hillary Clinton has fought for and been a strong ally and representative of the Jewish community. To suggest otherwise is just absurd. I have been lucky enough to know Hillary Clinton for more than 35 years, ever since I was a teenager in Arkansas in the 1970s. I don’t know anyone who is more able and ready to work on the issues that matter and to make sure that the ideas and concerns of the Jewish people are addressed. I first met Hillary when my father, who was a Rabbi in Little Rock, went to Fayetteville to perform the town’s first ever Bar Mitzvah. At the reception, we met a nice young couple, Bill and Hillary Clinton. My parents and the Clintons became friends, and thus began a long history working together in public service. The author of the piece I read cites obscure references to Hillary Clinton’s life and work back in Arkansas. Having witnessed that time in her life, I can say how misleading and unrepresentative these are to her history fighting for and understanding important issues to the Jewish community. Hillary was always close to the Jewish community, and she and I worked together on many projects. Behind the scenes, Hillary became one of the leaders of a group of civic-minded professionals who worked together to help people of all faiths strive for communication and cooperation. While Hillary was a Methodist and Bill a Baptist, they always supported interfaith activities. Hillary was always good at thinking outside the box and finding unique solutions to problems. While traveling, Hillary discovered an Israeli educational program that was designed to help immigrants and their children adjust to life in new countries. Hillary studied the groundbreaking program and figured out that it could be adapted to help economically disadvantaged families in Arkansas. Hillary brought the HIPPY program to Arkansas, where it was soon offered statewide and now operates in 21 states, serving 15,000 families. I also noticed that the author conveniently chose to exempt from his argument Hillary Clinton’s eight years in the Senate where, as a Senator from New York, she came to know the largest Jewish constituency outside of Israel and was an outspoken defender of Israel. Hillary Clinton’s support within the Jewish communities of both New York and Arkansas is a testament to her friendships and relationships that have been developed over a lifetime. Conflicts in Israel and the Middle East weigh heavy in the hearts and minds of the Jewish community. Strong leadership from leaders who understand our history and share the interests of the Jewish people is needed to bring about peaceful resolutions. The article chooses to neglect this in passing judgment on Hillary Clinton’s record as Secretary of State. As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton continued her strong support for Israel. One of her greatest achievements as Secretary of State was negotiating a cease-fire to avert an all-out war in Gaza. She also helped lead efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. On the U.S’s relationship with Israel, Hillary said, “Israel and the United States are united by a deep and unbreakable bond based on mutual interests and respect.” The domestic issues that the Jewish community cares about - freedom of religion and separation of church and state, personal freedoms and rights, education, and health care - are issues Hillary Clinton has worked on her entire life. Her passionate support of the Jewish community culminated with her being awarded a lifetime achievement award from the American Jewish Congress. From her foreign policy abroad to her work back home, Hillary Clinton has consistently shown her support and dedication to the issues that matter most to Jewish Americans. I share in the thoughts of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in saying to Hillary Clinton, “you are a great friend and a great champion of peace,” and I hope the rest of the Jewish community can share in this long-lasting bond with Hillary Clinton. *Washington Times: “O’Hillary: The Ready for Hillary superpac journeys to Ireland, raises $50,000” <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/1/ohillary-ready-hillary-superpac-journeys-ireland-r/>* By Jennifer Harper September 1, 2014 Fundraise for Hillary Clinton in Ireland: faith and begorra, that’s exactly what Ready for Hillary did. The independent grass-roots activist group traveled all the way to Ballsbridge - that’s an exclusive suburb of Dublin - to raise $50,000 for Mrs. Clinton, a potential White House candidate. A hundred fans showed up on Friday night for the event, organized by New York-based attorney Brian O’Dwyer and hosted by local power couple Linda and Brian Farren, who also have raised money for former President Bill Clinton in the past. The Irish press was intrigued, boasting headlines like “Is Ireland ready for Hillary?” and suggesting that the nation feels ignored by the Obama administration. Meanwhile, only American citizens could donate to the cause, though organizers suggested Irish folks would donate if they could. Mrs. Clinton herself was not at the event. Iowa, rather than Ireland, is calling. She will attend retiring Sen. Tom Harkin’s 37th annual steak fry on Sept. 14 in the company of Mr. Clinton - which might be problematic, as he is a vegan. But no matter. He can have a veggie fry. Ready for Hillary will also be there, incidentally. The group is raffling off an all-expenses-paid trip to the event for an eager Clinton fan. *Washington Examiner: “Six signs Hillary Clinton is running” <http://washingtonexaminer.com/six-signs-hillary-clinton-is-running/article/2552656>* By Rebecca Berg September 1, 2014, 5:00 a.m. EDT Hillary Clinton isn't officially running for president. But unofficially, the signs are everywhere. Most Democrats expect the former secretary of state won't make a public decision before the midterm elections in November. But her actions so far this year have pretty much confirmed what most people already thought. Here are six steps she's taken toward a presidential campaign: The memoir. A carefully crafted, inoffensive memoir is nearly a prerequisite to the modern presidential campaign, a convenient way for a candidate to tell her story on her own terms. Clinton released her memoir "Hard Choices" this summer, detailing her tenure as secretary of State, and outlining her policy perspectives on a wide range of foreign policy and national security issues. The book tour was not unlike a presidential campaign: Clinton crisscrossed the nation for book signings, speeches, and interviews, receiving outsized media attention all the while. The super PACs. Without money, there is no presidential bid — and Clinton will be able to count on plenty of the former. Two super PACs, although by law directly unaffiliated with Clinton herself, have already set to work raising money and building lists of volunteers to help Clinton hit the ground running if she decides to seek the presidency. The first, Priorities USA, which supported President Obama in 2008, has aligned itself early with Clinton and has brought on former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina to help attract the party's biggest donors. The second group, Ready For Hillary, has been methodically building a nationwide network of Clinton supporters and collecting mostly small-dollar donations. The office upgrade. Clinton recently relocated her personal office to a larger space in midtown Manhattan, an important step should she want to add to her existing staff in advance of a presidential bid. The office likely would not house her presidential campaign headquarters, but serve as a transitional space. The trip to Iowa. In 2008, Clinton posted a disappointing result in the key Iowa caucuses, where she finished third behind Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. This time, she's launching her Iowa charm offensive early, with a trip to the Hawkeye State in September. Clinton will headline the annual Steak Fry of Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, an important political event, along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. The cautious remarks. Clinton drew some criticism for taking more than a week to respond to the protests in Ferguson, Mo., but her caution was hardly surprising. Clinton appears to have made a deliberate calculation that any newsmaking statements that could later pop up in a campaign setting where views have changed. That's not to say Clinton hasn't taken some risks, however. In an interview with The Atlantic, Clinton attempted to distance herself from some of the president's foreign policy by calling his decision not to intervene early in Syria a "failure." The celebrity endorsements. Should she run for president, Clinton will likely have no trouble lining up celebrity surrogates on her behalf. In fact, they're lining up already. Singer Katy Perry snapped a photo with Clinton earlier this year, with the caption: "I told @hillaryclinton that I would write her a 'theme' song if she needs it..." Actresses Liv Tyler and Aubrey Plaza, among others, have also expressed their early support for Clinton. *Wonkette (satire): “At The New York Times, A Slow News Day” <http://wonkette.com/558899/at-the-new-york-times-a-slow-news-day>* By Doktor Zoom August 31, 2014, 3:38 p.m. EDT Things have quieted down in Ferguson and we have a holiday weekend, so the New York Times is full of analysis-type stuff today. There’s a pretty good piece on Democrats’ attempts to mobilize African-American voters who are outraged over Michael Brown’s shooting (and another story about that effort in Ferguson, specifically). There’s also longish story about the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to prevent Hong Kong from doing free-n-fair elections, which is both well-reported and interesting, but which we bet you won’t read because it is not sexxay, you laggards. Go on, we dare you! You probably can’t handle it! The big breaking news of the morning, we guess, is the St. Louis Rams’ cutting Michael Sam, and if you read the New York Times for sports news, that’s in there too. How about more analysis stuff? ISIS is both medieval in its politics, and pretty darn modern in its use of social media, doing what the Times calls “jihad 3.0.” Also, too, five years after everyone freaked out about “Death Panels” in Obamacare, insurance companies are increasingly covering end of life planning sessions, and the American Medical Association has recently requested that Medicare do the same. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is considering the proposal but not saying anything about how it may decide, so get ready for a Return of the Death Panels — or not, maybe, since aging Boomers really want coverage for their visits to plan living wills and such. And here’s some cheery news: “Temporary” jobs are becoming a bigger part of the employment picture, and we’re all doomed (OK, we skimmed that one). The Social Q’s advice column is as terrible as it ever was, and fun to read because you can thank your personal deities (ours are Molly Ivins and George Carlin) that you don’t know any people like these: An old friend has a perennial problem being faithful to girlfriends. His current mate, whom he met while cheating on his former girlfriend, recently discovered a number of his dalliances. She decided to stay with him, but asked me to stop being friends with one of the women he cheated with. (I was not aware of the affair while it was going on, if that matters.) Trouble is, I am not that close with the girlfriend, but I’ve become quite friendly with the woman I’ve been asked to drop. Thoughts? We can’t really quibble with the advice — “Simply ignore the request. You are not that close” — and the suggestion that if the new GF continues to press the issue, it would be best to sympathize but add “You focus on your relationships, and I’ll tend to mine.” But yeesh, we’re happy we don’t have any friends who are apparently still in junior high school. Also, too, there is a question about diarrhea, right there in the Paper of Record: A sweet friend, who is justifiably modest about her culinary abilities, had us to dinner at her house. The next day, when I called to thank her, she said her husband had been up all night, feeling queasy. I did not confess that I, too, had suffered symptoms associated with travel in third-world countries because my friend (who has a low self-esteem thanks to a rough childhood) would be crushed. My husband viewed this as a matter of public health and thought I should have spoken up to prevent future episodes. What say you? Irene, Stamford, Conn. Again, the advice is spot-on (ewww), and even gets to the central weirdness of the question: When your friend opens a food truck, trolling the streets of Stamford to hawk her extra-rare chicken cordon bleu, that is the moment for speaking up. But the morning after a modest dinner for four, where 25 percent of the guests have already complained of food-related illness, I would probably keep it to myself [...] But you have conjured a heroine almost as fragile as Laura Wingfield in “The Glass Menagerie.” Why smash her unicorn (again)? Honestly, only here on Wonkette would we ever say, “Oh, yeah, that gave me the squirts, too!” Which seems like the obvious transition to the Sunday Review section, and the note that Ross Douthat and Tom Friedman are off today, does it not? Instead, Roger Cohen has a column about Barack Obama’s “hesitant foreign policy,” and why mister we could use a man like Richard Holbrooke again. Frank Bruni has a book-blurb as a column, about Sam Harris’s upcoming Waking Up, which asks what it means to be “spiritual but not religious.” It’s every bit as fascinating and exciting as a Frank Bruni column should be, although Bruni does have this worthwhile question: We hear the highest-ranking politicians mention God at every turn and with little or no fear of negative repercussion. When’s the last time you heard one of them wrestle publicly with agnosticism? Hahaha, this is a hilarious question, seeing as how it is written about elected politicians in the United States of America Under God. Maureen Dowd manages a third straight week without any mention of Bill or Hillary Clinton, largely because she’s hanging out with a celebrity, Matthew Michael Sheen [one of those "M" names, whatevs -- Dok Z], star of Masters of Sex. Skip it, unless you like Matthew Michael Sheen a whole lot. Nicholas Kristoff has the groundbreaking insight that white people, very often, simply Don’t Get It, and he is eager to “push back at what I see as smug white delusion,” which will probably win him some friends among the Bill O’Reillys of the world. After a litany of statistics that should be shocking, he says, All these constitute not a black problem or a white problem, but an American problem. When so much talent is underemployed and overincarcerated, the entire country suffers. Kristoff hopes that if more whites actually had black friends, they might become a little more aware of what reality is like for black Americans: I was shaken after a well-known black woman told me about looking out her front window and seeing that police officers had her teenage son down on the ground after he had stepped out of their upscale house because they thought he was a prowler. “Thank God he didn’t run,” she said. One black friend tells me that he freaked out when his white fiancée purchased an item in a store and promptly threw the receipt away. “What are you doing?” he protested to her. He is a highly successful and well-educated professional but would never dream of tossing a receipt for fear of being accused of shoplifting. And he also says that a “starting point is for those of us in white America to wipe away any self-satisfaction about racial progress.” Yes, we got rid of Jim Crow, in a legal sense, but maybe it also would be helpful “to acknowledge that the central race challenge in America today is not the suffering of whites.” It will be fascinating to see how Fox News addresses Nicholas Kristoff’s shockingly racist anti-white column. *Calendar:* *Sec. Clinton's upcoming appearances as reported online. Not an official schedule.* · September 4 – Las Vegas, NV: Sec. Clinton speaks at the National Clean Energy Summit (Solar Novis Today <http://www.solarnovus.com/hillary-rodham-clinto-to-deliver-keynote-at-national-clean-energy-summit-7-0_N7646.html> ) · September 9 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton fundraises for the DSCC at her Washington home (DSCC <https://d1ly3598e1hx6r.cloudfront.net/sites/dscc/files/uploads/9.9.14%20HRC%20Dinner.pdf> ) · September 14 – Indianola, IA: Sec. Clinton headlines Sen. Harkin’s Steak Fry (LA Times <http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-tom-harkin-clinton-steak-fry-20140818-story.html> ) · September 19 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton fundraises for the DNC with Pres. Obama (CNN <http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/27/politics/obama-clinton-dnc/index.html>) · October 2 – Miami Beach, FL: Sec. Clinton keynotes the CREW Network Convention & Marketplace (CREW Network <http://events.crewnetwork.org/2014convention/>) · October 6 – Ottawa, Canada: Sec. Clinton speaks at Canada 2020 event (Ottawa Citizen <http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/hillary-clinton-speaking-in-ottawa-oct-6> ) · October 13 – Las Vegas, NV: Sec. Clinton keynotes the UNLV Foundation Annual Dinner (UNLV <http://www.unlv.edu/event/unlv-foundation-annual-dinner?delta=0>) · October 14 – San Francisco, CA: Sec. Clinton keynotes salesforce.com Dreamforce conference (salesforce.com <http://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/DF14/highlights.jsp#tuesday>) · October 28 – San Francisco, CA: Sec. Clinton fundraises for House Democratic women candidates with Nancy Pelosi (Politico <http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/hillary-clinton-nancy-pelosi-110387.html?hp=r7> ) · December 4 – Boston, MA: Sec. Clinton speaks at the Massachusetts Conference for Women (MCFW <http://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/>)