Velez, an Army private, had recently returned from Iraq, where she disarmed bombs. She had served for three years, recently reenlisted for another three, and wanted to become a psychologist to help other soldiers deal with the stress of military life. Her friend Sasha Ramos says she respected the position of Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged shooter. "He's somebody she would have saluted," Ramos said. "It's degrading to all soldiers that he did something like that." • Vandy Beth Glenn has filed a federal lawsuit to get her job at the Georgia General Assembly back after she was fired for being transgender. She had been working as Glenn Morrison and living as Vandy Beth, but she and her supervisor agreed she would start dressing as a woman on Halloween 2006. But she was fired by Georgia Legislative Counsel Sewell Brumby, who said in a deposition, "It makes me think about things I don't like to think about, particularly at work … I think it's unsettling to think of someone dressed in women's clothing with male sexual organs inside that clothing." • According to the American Psychological Association's annual stress survey released earlier this week, women are more likely than men to say they lack the willpower to make lifestyle changes to improve their health. But, Helen Coons, director of the Women's Mental Health Center in Philadelphia, says "willpower" is a misleading term because women may really mean they're too exhausted to make changes and think of themselves as being "selfish" if they put their needs ahead of others'. • A survey of 1,212 doctors published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that many doctors do unnecessary pap smears, adding to heath care costs. Doctors were asked what screening they'd recommend in various situations and most said they'd give a pap smear to a 35-year-old woman with no history of cervical cancer whose cervix had been removed, which is inconsistent with guidelines from several medical associations. • Though many men think women are mainly interested in color when buying a car, a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs for CarMax found 33% of women say price is the most important factor, followed by reliability and fuel efficiency. • Canadian researchers compared 6-year-old children who were breast-fed for 6 months with those who were breast-fed for only three months and found that there were no differences in intelligence, behavior, or blood pressure. While longer breast-feeding gave the children an immunity boost as infants, the researchers say the advantages of breastfeeding do not include lower risks of obesity, asthma, allergy, or dental problems in the long term. • Elizabeth Lambert, the NCAA women's soccer player whose unsportswomanlike behavior was featured on SportsCenter last night has been suspended indefinitely from the University of New Mexico's team. "Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship," said her coach, Kit Vela. • A prosecution source in the Amanda Knox trial says her DNA is on the handle of a knife used to kill Meredith Kercher, but the defense still insists there was DNA tampering at the scene of the crime and that the kitchen knife doesn't match Kercher's wounds. Closing arguments in the case begin in two weeks. • Mary Karr, who just published her memoir Lit, says she developed her storytelling ability as a child. She and her mother would play a game when they were driving or her mom was hungover. "Tell me a story she liked to say, meaning charm me - my life in this Texas suckhole is duller than a rubber knife. Amaze me," says Karr. • "Presidents hate the press," says White House reporter Helen Thomas. "They hate me most of the time. ... Asking questions about Watergate, about Monica Lewinsky, they're questions that will hurt and yet you can't avoid them. If you do avoid them, it shows you don't have guts." •

In an interview with Time, Thomas bashes bloggers, but as always, there is some truth in her harsh words:

Everyone with a laptop thinks they're a journalist. Everyone with a cellphone thinks they're a photographer. So our profession is sidelined in a way. There's no turning back. It's frightening because you can ruin lives and reputations willy-nilly without realizing it. No editors. No standards. No ethics. We're at the crossroads.

"Press at a crossroads" is sort of the theme of the whole interview. Although she is there to talk about her latest book, Listen Up, Mr. President, the most interesting parts come when she discusses the relationship between the President and the press. When asked about the differences between Obama and Bush, she says, "No President likes the press. They all hate us." The Obama Administration, she claims, is amazingly adept at the art of the spin. The so-called "managed news" is naturally not something Thomas will support.

There's very little you can do when they control the information. But I think every once in awhile the press knows enough to protest. It's not their information, it's ours. It belongs to the American people... I think it behooves all administrations to tell the truth as much as they can, to bring the people with them. You cannot have a democracy without informed people. It shouldn't be a shock when the public finally learns things.

Sing it, sister.

But her criticism of the current presidency does not stop there. At a recent interview at the Commonwealth Club, Thomas told reporter Phil Bronstein that Obama "lacks courage." "There was a gasp in the crowd," Bronstein writes. "I was the interviewer and it rocked me a little." For Bronstein, this one comment seems to reflect the growing tide of criticism that has been leveled against Obama from the left in the most concise way possible. This is classic Thomas, telling it like it is. Bronstein ends with a little advice for Obama:

So while he's dodging Glenn Beck broadsides and rope-a-doping formerly infatuated Democratic critics, Barack Obama needs to keep a much closer eye on the 89-year-old woman front row at his press conferences than he does on the genuflecting artist who built a giant Nobel Peace Prize sand sculpture of the President in India.

Probably good advice, but not as good as what Thomas herself had to say to any future president: "Do the right thing. There's no other place to go."

And finally, Thomas shares what it is like to write based on opinion rather than straight news (which sounds surprisingly similar to writing a blog): "Now I wake up every morning and ask, 'Who do I hate today?' That's how you write a column!"

Q&A: White House Legend Helen Thomas [Time]
Bronstein At Large: In Conversation With Helen Thomas At The Commonwealth Club [SFGate]
Helen Thomas: White House Watchdog Tells All [CommonwealthClub.org]

• Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has requested that India return the remains of Mother Teresa. According to reports, Indian church officials are irate over Albania's claim that Mother Teresa rightfully belongs to them. But as she herself once said: "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world." •  A recent study found that intimate partner violence is linked to many different health problems, including urinary tract infections, chest pain, and acid reflux. They also found that women who had suffered abuse were more likely to be diagnosed with depression. •  A recent case involving a teacher from Michigan, who passed out at a party and awoke later only to find her entire body covered with obscene pictures and language, has sparked a debate about "drunk shaming." To make the story much worse, the teacher claims there was non-consensual sexual activity earlier in the night. •  The Bomb Squad was called yesterday to examine a package sent to a Swedish princess visiting New York. However, the package was found to be harmless, if a little creepy: It contained wires, cassette tapes, underwear and a love letter. •  According to a new report, almost half of the women who requested the morning after pill in Ireland were unable to get access to the pill within the recommended 24 hours. The morning after pill is not currently available over the counter in Ireland. • Researchers are attempting to address the link between socioeconomic status and breast cancer survival rates through examining the possible benefits of targeted interventions. •  A 54-year-old man from the UK claims that Halloween decorations could scare him to death. He suffers from severe arachnophobia, and even the sight of a rubber spider may be enough to give him a heart attack. •  An 86-year-old Florida woman has been charged with stealing a long-haired cat, which she claims was given to her by her neighbor several years ago. •  Liverpool police claim that there have been instances of teenage girls performing sex acts on bouncers in exchange for admittance to a night club named "Pink Bar." Police are seeking to shut down the gay-friendly club. • The Human Society has filed a complaint against IHOP regarding their eggs, which IHOP advertises are "cruelty-free." The Humane Society says that the eggs are not cage-free, and thus cannot be truly called "cruelty-free." •  Unsurprising news: a study found that overweight women's self-esteem dropped when they looked at photographs of models. A little more surprising: underweight women's self-esteem actually rose. • In a Q&A at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club, White House correspondent Helen Thomas said that "Nancy Reagan was a heroine in my opinion," and that Obama "lacks courage." • The Xhosa practice of ukuthwalwa, or abducting girls for marriage, has some South African girls as young as 11 essentially enslaved to their husbands. But Prince Xhanti Sigcawu of the Xhosa royal family says, "Ukuthwalwa like all our other customs was and remains an important part of who we are as people." • In Ireland, 1,722 women were turned away from domestic violence shelters last year because of lack of space. But the Irish government may be about to cut funding for some victims' services by up to 30%. • Princeton will add one gender-neutral, apartment-style dorm to its housing offerings next year, which supporters say will be a boon to transgender students. • A British woman who splashed children by driving through a puddle may face criminal charges, but she says the kids asked for it. • Eight young women, all drug users and some prostitutes, have been killed in Jennings, Louisiana in the last four years, and police say it may be the work of a serial killer. • The Daily Mail interviewed a 52-year-old woman who has been raising a pet crocodile for the past 13 years. In 2005 her husband forced her to choose between him and the croc. She chose her "daughter" because "husbands can look after themselves." • 

Ann Curry simpers annoyingly throughout the interview (low moment: asking the 89-year-old Thomas what she wants people to say about her when she's dead), and she's got a lot to learn if she wants to live up to her "inspiration." Thomas, on the other hand, comes off as gracious yet direct. She emphasizes the achievements of other women journalists when Curry tries to single her out, but of the ten Presidents she has covered, she says, "I think every President could've done better." The best part, though, is when Curry asks her (again, simpering) if she thinks "if you had asked things more diplomatically, you might've gotten more of an answer?" Thomas says, "I think the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and that's the way I like to ask the questions."

It's an admirable answer because in a journalistic setting, it often seems like the shortest distance between two points — or least between the journalist and the source's approval and help — isn't a straight line. The easiest thing to do when interviewing someone is to softball, to make the source feel comfortable and at home, because this is what we're taught to do in social situations. Asking difficult questions basically means intentionally creating awkward situations, something most of us — especially women — spent junior high school trying to avoid. And while it's sometimes necessary to butter up a source a little bit, some questions — like, say, "Would the President attack innocent Iraqi lives?" — really can't be sugarcoated. Helen Thomas has spent her career going against all social conditioning by asking the most powerful people in the country questions that actually matter (as opposed to questions about, say, their obituaries) — for that, she deserves to be an inspiration to everyone.

Helen Thomas' Impact On Ann Curry [Today Show]

[Washington, D.C., August 4. Image via Getty]

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 04: Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas holds the birthday cupcakes which were given to her by U.S. President Barack Obama to celebrate her birthday in the White House briefing room August 4, 2009 in Washington, DC. August 4 is also the birthday of President Obama. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

White House Correspondent for the American Urban Radio Network, April Ryan(L), assists Helen Thomas, the White House Correspondent who has reported on every US President and Press Secretary since John F. Kennedy, to her front row center seat for the daily press briefing in the Press Room of the White House November 12, 2008, in Washington. Ms. Thomas is returning after being out with an extended illness. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Earlier: "Excuse Me For A Second," But, Helen Thomas Is An American Patriot
Longtime White House Reporter Helen Thomas Is Critical Of Even Her Own Behavior

The documentary was made by Rory Kennedy, one of Robert Kennedy's daughters, and filmed over a weekend at her mother's estate. It intercuts footage and photographs of Thomas's most famous moments — from the start of her catchphrase "Thank you, Mr. President" in the Kennedy Administration to her grilling Bush about his motivations for getting into Iraq — with footage of Thomas speaking about her work. However, most of the reviews agree that Rory Kennedy doesn't subject Thomas to the same kind of grilling for which Thomas is famous, seemingly content to be as much a fan as a rigorous documentary filmmaker.

The biggest flaw, by many reviewers' standards, is how little Kennedy touches on the difficulties of being too friendly with the people you cover. Thomas says it was difficult to ask Nixon a tough question about lying moments after he congratulated her for being the first woman to head UPI's Washington bureau but that she did it anyway. When looking at footage of herself palling around with the people she covered, she worries aloud, "Obviously I’m a fraud." Thomas is far from it, but as anyone in D.C. will tell you, everyone here is a "friend," even if you've only met twice and hate each other's guts. That D.C. subculture where everyone argues at work and goes and drinks afterwards would have been worth a more thorough exploration with someone who took advantage of it but tried hard never to get caught up in it.

In a more light-hearted moment, Kennedy asks her subject if she ever played up her sexuality to get more access, a thought at which Thomas laughs uproariously and says "I never had the potential … nobody made a pass at me, darn it!" I don't know how that's possible in a male-dominated environment, but it's not an unwelcome revelation, either, for someone trying to make a go of a quasi-journalistic career in Washington herself.

That said, I think an overly laudatory documentary about Helen Thomas doesn't do Thomas or Kennedy a great service. Helen Thomas was a great, dogged reporter whose more recent forays into opinion journalism have brought her no small measure of opprobrium from many Washington insiders who have called her earlier work into question. Seeing her come out forcefully in defense of her journalistic objectivity and to defend her opinions against the kind of stern questioning that she brought to the White House would've been more interesting to watch than a film that might appropriately air at a future memorial service. I don't need my heroes on pedestals, especially when they've spent their laudatory careers doing a much-needed raking of the mud.

Review: 'Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House' on HBO [LA Times]
'Thank You, Mr. President' [Newsweek]
Rory Kennedy Discusses Helen Thomas Film — Coming to HBO Tonight [Editor & Publisher]
Just a Few More Questions, Ms. Thomas [NY Times]

Filmmaker Documents ‘First Lady Of The Press’ [MSNBC]