• The Dr. Biden love continues in this interview, where we learn how she influences her husband (Scotch-taping articles and opinions to the bathroom mirror) and her reasons for working ("I think it's very important for a woman to have her own money and be independent"). • A recent study shows that those who witness bullying may experience just as many problems afterward as the victims themselves. A survey of 2,002 students from the UK found that those who reported seeing bullying were more likely to report psychological distress than either the bullies or the victims. •  Italian officials have made it illegal to perform breast enhancement surgery on girls under the age of 18. While there are many good reasons to wait a few more years for surgery, they are primarily concerned with the number of under-qualified doctors. They claim that the legislation is aimed primarily at girls who go under the knife "purely for fashion reasons and have no idea of the risks involved." •  On Sunday, the New York Times reported on Mar/Com, a company that is making a killing fighting gay rights. The San Francisco-based company has worked against human rights in both California and Maine. Residents in Maine payed Mar/Com about $1.6 million to produce anti-gay marriage television and radio ads. • Amanda Knox spoke with reporters from the Associated Press in her jail cell in Perugia. She says she is "waiting and always hoping," and recalls feeling "horrendous" after her conviction. "The guards helped me out, they held me all night," she says. Knox also says she is continuing her studies from prison, and remains in contact with her former professors. •  Investigators announced on Monday that two Muslim women, whose deaths sparked independence rallies and riots in Kashmir, were not actually murdered. The Central Bureau of Investigation says that the two young women were drowned and have taken action against doctors for fabricating evidence. However, the victims' relatives reject the CBI's findings. • The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has called for an investigation into college admission procedures to determine whether or not women are being discriminated against. Many schools apparently do not want to have a female-heavy population, yet receive far more applications from females than their male peers. In attempts to keep a balance, some schools have ended up making it much easier for men to be accepted than women. •  Pregnancy hormones may give women superpowers, according to a new study. When pregnant, women display a heightened ability to read faces, especially threatening or angry expressions. •  Police have combed the journals of Mitrice Richardson for clues to explain her disappearance three months ago. While her family holds onto the hope that Richardson is still alive, officials believe the most likely scenario is that she wandered into the mountains and "succumbed to the elements" after being arrested for skipping out on a check. • Two female players from the University of Missouri's basketball team were arrested on Friday after they allegedly beat up a 21-year-old male cheerleader at a party. Both women have been suspended from the team. • R.I.P. Rose Kaufman, co-screenwriter of the first NC-17 rated film Henry & June. Kaufman passed away on December 7th at the age of 70. • 

[New York, October 28. Image via Getty]

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 28: First lady Michelle Obama (R) and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, stand on the field prior to Game One of the 2009 MLB World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies at Yankee Stadium on October 28, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

• Jean-Paul Gaultier is doing a collaboration with Target that will hit stores next spring; stay tuned for pricing information and images as they inevitably leak. Please let there be lingerie-as-outerwear! [WWD]
• Agyness Deyn might star in a short film. [P6]

• Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant says she intends to add women's wear, like evening gowns and office wear, to the clothing line inspired by the show. The first items, men's suits, go on sale at Brooks Brothers tomorrow. For now, of course, you can always dress like Joan Holloway by cruising the vintage stores. [Independent]
• Oh, someone at Agent Provocateur has a sense of humor that matches our own. Penis! Har de har, har. [Things Doanie Likes]
• The reason the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection tops out at $299, for a pair of thigh-high boots? The pieces are all real leather, says Tamara Mellon. Which begs the question, why does it cost so much, again? There's no law that says real leather has to cost $300. [The Cut]
• 17-year-old Kalief Rollins of Carson, California, started a t-shirt line called Phree Kountry. It sells shirts with messages like "Caution: Educated African American Male," and this week, his business plan was announced as the winner of the National Young Entrepreneur Competition. In addition to $10,000, Rollins got to meet the president, who kept one of the "Caution" shirts. Rollins needs to do two things: make those tees for women, and get a website. Hello! [CBS]
• Hassan bin Ali al-Nuaimi, the angel investor who is ready to acquire the bankrupt house of Christian Lacroix, says if his bid is successful, he will investigate licensing the Lacroix name to private jets, exclusive hotels, and yachts. [Reuters]
• Naeem Khan's Home Shopping Network line will be produced in sizes 0-24 and cost up to $450. [Style.com]
• Ali Wise, the now-ex Dolce & Gabbana publicist accused of hacking into an ex-boyfriend's new flame's voicemail, faces additional charges apparently related to a total of four victims. The Manhattan District Attorney added four counts each of computer trespass, eavesdropping, computer tampering in the fourth degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree, and one count of stalking in the fourth degree. These are all misdemeanors; Wise already faced two felony charges of computer trespass and eavesdropping. The full complaint alleges that Wise used a service called SpoofCard to gain access to two other people's voicemails more than 1,000 times. [WWD]
• From October 20, in France, you will be able to buy a 186-page "biography" of Chanel No. 5. Perfect for that chic woman you know who has...everything. [WWD]
• Jill Biden likes to wear miniskirts sometimes. [HuffPo]
• The Pierre Hardy for the Gap collaboration, which includes some high heeled boots that would be gorgeous if they didn't cost close to $200, has been delayed yet again. Although the boots were supposed to hit stores in September, Gap has been pushing back their delivery. Today was supposed to be Boot Day, but Racked is reporting that none of the Manhattan stores have any. What gives? [Racked]
• Pearl Lowe has designed a line for the British retailer Peacocks. Her daughter, Daisy Lowe, is modeling it. How sweet. [Telegraph]
  
• Vanessa Williams' PR rep must have some awesome dirt to be able to engineer coverage like this: a news item about the actress receiving a meaningless award for being "fearless" praises her "courage and humility," calls her an "entertainment denizen," and reports as objective fact her "fearless conviction." Williams herself accords that to "a thrill-seeking gene. The people that I come from are outspoken and driven and not afraid to take chances." Either really good dirt, or someone at Women's Wear Daily just loves Ugly Betty. [WWD]
• Tom Ford sure does say the darndest things. The Guardian collects his most enduring quotes, including "Richard [Buckley, his partner] hardly ever has anything nice to say about my work. It's my mother all over again." [Guardian]
• Vanessa Paradis is set to be the face of Chanel's Rouge Coco lipsticks next year. [Independent]
• Coach's lower-priced handbag line, Poppy, introduced this summer, has helped raise revenues at the company even as profits continued to fall slightly. First-quarter profits were down 3% on last year, to $140.8 million, but sales rose 8% in North America. [NYTimes]
• Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessyannounced a company-wide 0.6% decline in third quarter. [WSJ]

• Before we tackle today's inevitable layoffs, liquidations and bankruptcies, look at David Beckham. Look at semi-naked David Beckham. In his very important new Emporio Armani ad. Why, good morning to you, Dave. [People]

• Unfortunately for Heidi Montag, clothing lines whose main qualification as same is the attachment of a famous name are not faring well in the downturn. (Please, let someone therefore piece it together that continuing to announce B-List Star for Major Middle Market Retailer arrangements isn't a recession-proof move.) [AdAge]
• Unfortunately, the news came too late to stop Hilary Duff for DKNY Jeans... [WWD]
• ...and to stop Jessica Alba from dipping her toe into the designer waters. [Fashionista]
• And Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen menswear. (OK, so The Row technically should get a pass for being, actually, kinda good, but it's the principle of the thing.) [Elle]
• But getting a celebrity to wear your dress on a red carpet is still worth a starlet's weight in gold. [WSJ]
• The recession will not, however, kill Spanx, which had sales volume of over $350 million last year. Because while the shitty economy is temporary, hating your body enough to want to squeeze and yank and pull it into a girdle is forever. [Reuters]
• The economic situation is making it tougher perhaps than ever for young designers who were in the midst of expanding in line with pre-recession demand and fanfare. [NY Times]
• Esprit has reported its first interim drop in profits in ten years. Sales are slow worldwide, and particularly so in Europe. [Financial Times]
• Estee Lauder's second-quarter profits are also down by 30%. The company will restructure 2,000 workers out of working existence. [The Street]
• Elizabeth Arden, however, beat analysts' expectations for the second quarter by 2 cents a share. Sales still fell 12.7% and net profit was down from $33.8 million one year ago to $17.4 million now. [Reuters]
• A handful more details about the Mathew Williamson line for Target: it launches on April 23, it will be colorful (which, frankly, if anything at all comes to mind when you think "Mathew Williamson" you already knew), and in addition to the regular frocks and tops, there'll be jumpsuits. Controversial move! [Blackbook]
• Kim Gordon discusses her line for Urban Outfitters, Mirror/Dash, with the New York Times, but although they hit stores on February 16, there's only one picture of the actual clothes. She's surprisingly realistic about Mirror/Dash's design process — she admits she doesn't actually sketch so much as talk about fabric and "ideas" with her partner before sending away to Urban Outfitters' sample houses. [The Moment]
• Never to be outdone by Vogue and its eyebrow-raising Sean Avery internship, Elle now has for an intern the fashlete (did I just make that up? I think I did. Let's go with it!) Stew Bradley, an actual Philadelphia Eagle. May he cherish the coffee-schlepping, xeroxing, and sexual harassment that are the hallmarks of any true New York media internship. [The Cut]
• Except, on his first day, Bradley went to lunch with Diana Ross, Diane von Furstenberg, Jessica Alba, Jason Wu, Anil Kapoor Veronica Webb, Eva Amurri, John Frey, Roberta Myers, Joe Zee, Anne Slowey, Whitney Port, and Olivia Palermo. At Diane von Furstenberg's studio. [WWD]
• Now, if she'd only worn her favorite label, Carhartt, on the campaign trail, Sarah Palin might have had a shot at the Brooklyn hipster vote! [US News]
• Janie Bryant, the costume designer for Mad Men, is crafting a contemporary, not vintage, clothing line. And that's about all she's willing to say just now. [WSJ]
• High-end Baltimore fabric store Michael's Fabrics says it has the lemongrass embroidered wool Isabel Toledo used to create Michelle Obama's inauguration day outfit. It's 33" wide and yours for a mere $500 a yard. Just in case you want to whip a dress up at home. [Unbeige]
• Isabel Toledo is still reeling from the media attention following dressing Michelle Obama. (Her husband, the fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo, calls it "Obamathon.") An exhibition of her dresses is going up at the museum at FIT in June. [WWD]
• Monique Lhuillier is introducing a new, more moderately priced line for fall. Given her regular dresses retail for $3,000-$7,000, "moderately priced" in this sentence means around $2,500. [WSJ]
• The Washington Post saw Jill Biden and her security detail nip into Bloomingdale's to buy some Tory Burch shoes. [Washington Post]
• UK Elle has Vivienne Westwood's handwritten "manifesto," and it includes such worthwhile tips as "DIY Suggestions: Necklace of safety pins" and the reminder "We need an estimated $30 billion per year to save the rainforest. $30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000etc-->" Also, she believes Leonard Peltier is innocent. [Elle]
• PETA Photoshopped a Pinocchio nose on to Giorgio Armani's face for a full-page ad in Variety after the scrappy perma-tanned Italian allegedly went back on his word after pledging to no longer use fur in his collections. Armani's people say they use only rabbit fur from animals raised for meat. [New York Daily News]
• Now, this should be fun: Lynda Carter, Valerie Bertinelli, Katie Couric, Natya Liukin, Jennie Garth, and Tori Spelling are among those modeling for a fashion week show dedicated to heart health. Designers include Christian Siriano, Carolina Herrera, and those guys at Badgley Mischka. [WWD]

• Vivienne Westwood's campaign with Pamela Anderson (and Viv's hot, much-younger husband) was shot on election day last year. The ladies talk about their friendship, which is based on sending each other books. [Times of London]

• The first season of Erin Wasson's much-anticipated line for RVCA is late. [Racked]
• Fresh from accusing Dolce & Gabbana from copying a menswear design he hadn't even then shown, Giorgio Armani has snide words for Rome's fashion week. (The Italian capital has a small couture week, which is separate from the bigger ready-to-wear week in Milan.) Rome fashion week responds, basically, that Armani should eat it. [Reuters]
• Meanwhile, Italian designers didn't necessarily enhance their fashion-forward quotient by showing an inordinate amount of Obamawear. Did nobody think giant screenprints of the man's face on caftans might be slightly too literal an interpretation of "hope"? [Reuters]
• The industry, like the country, continues to feel the effects of this recession. Macy's is laying off 4% of its workforce, or some 7,000 people, in company restructuring. [WWD]
• Liz Claiborne, which owns the brands Mexx, Lucky Brand, Juicy Couture, and Kate Spade, announced plans to cut 725 jobs across the company this morning. That's 8% of its workforce. [Reuters]
• Avon is struggling against poor sales, and the high US dollar. Restructuring made net income jump 80% last quarter, but the company expects 2009 to be tough. [WSJ]
• Meanwhile, retailers whose margins are hit hard by discounting this season are trying to find ways to manufacture and distribute clothing ever more cheaply. Think less embroidery and time-consuming embellishment, less air-freighting, and switching from Chinese factories to ones in countries like India. [WSJ]
• Update in the ongoing search for the "recession-proof" inessential of myth. It's not designer frocks. It's not lipstick. It's not body creams. But it might be shoes! A survey of consumers reports people are still planning to buy new shoes. [WWD]
• Annick Goutal's sales were up 7% on last year in December, but the figure for the average sale dropped. The iconic luxury perfumer is accordingly scaling back its expansion plans. So for now you'll still have to go to France, or the magical land called eBay, for those gorgeous bottles. [Financial Times]
• Uniqlo is faring better than most. Same-store sales climbed 5.7% in January, and it also grew sales through the difficult months of November and December. Their raft of designer collaborations for the coming months and their commitment to cheap, beautiful basics should put them in good stead. [WWD]
• Can you imagine New York Fashion Week taking place at Lincoln Center? The Bryant Park Corporation, which runs the park where the tents have dwelt twice-annually since 1993, has frequently clashed with fashion week organizers IMG, and apparently the $2-3 million it receives in rent from IMG every year is no longer enough to keep BCC happy. It wants the giant tents, the stiletto-clad editors, the sulky models, the hyperactive stylists, the vague celebs, the chattering media, the whole faaaaaabulous lot of us out after the coming September. Lincoln Center is in the middle of its own redevelopment, and I can't imagine designers who are mainly headquartered downtown, in Chelsea, or in the garment district being happy with such a faraway location. [New York Times]
• The Kaiser acquired a furniture company. "One thing is on the body, the other thing is around the body," he shrugged, says Women's Wear Daily. He's also dressing Marianne Faithful on her upcoming tour. [WWD]
• ABS by Allen Schwatz is rushing production on a $300 knock-off of Michelle Obama's Jason Wu inaugural gown (Wu himself is not producing the one-off dress for sale). Schwartz is also doing a version of Obama's Isabel Toledo sheath, but in ivory, since he thinks women won't buy lemongrass. Which is odd because lemongrass is exactly the kind of color most women would not have considered wearing until we saw the first lady looking so radiant in it. He doesn't give a fig what Jill Biden wears, either, so Reem Acra need not fear a reproduction of the red chiffon sleeveless gown Biden chose for the inauguration. Schwartz has bigger fish to fry, like taking inspiration from what Kate Winslet, Sandra Bullock, and Drew Barrymore wore to the Golden Globes, and guarding against "soft" sales in a market that has seen the designer dresses he copies so heavily discounted that they approach his versions in price. [WSJ]
• Maybe P. Diddy ripped off an artist's glass sculpture for his perfume bottle. [TMZ]
• Jason Wu's not going to show fur in his fall ready-to-wear collection, after all. Seems like quite a sudden reversal of concept less than two weeks out from fashion week. [WWD]

Leive deflected host Peter Sagal's invitation to criticize Michelle Obama for, in his words, looking like "clumps of kleenex" were clinging to her chiffon Jason Wu gown — but she did disagree with the protocol sticklers who argued the president made a faux pas when he chose to pair his tux with a white tie instead of a black one. (According to the mindless traditions of men's formalwear, white bow ties are supposed to be worn with tail coats and tail coats only, not tuxedo jackets.)

"I thought that that was actually a good step," said Leive, "because she was wearing a white dress, and he was matching the wife. Which I generally think is a good rule for men to follow — you don't want to clash with the wife."

She also brought our attention to the fact that Jill Biden's Reem Acra gown had an eery resemblance to the dress Miley Cyrus wore to the inaugural concert she co-headlined. The gowns do share a similar coloration and distinctive notched neckline, but on closer inspection, Biden's draped and gathered chiffon is a world away from Cyrus fille's prom-y rhinestone belted satin.

Fig. 1: Jill Biden

Fig. 2: Miley Cyrus




Leive wouldn't be drawn on either Michelle Obama's relatively panned Tracy Feith dress ("I was not a huge fan...but I kind of have a problem criticizing someone for what they're wearing to a prayer breakfast") or Aretha's hat ("It was not a diminutive hat, I will give you that"). But she didn't prove to be entirely humorless: when Sagal asked if she ever simply made up the trends featured in Glamour, she replied, "Every month, Peter, come on!" She later joked that as a working mom, if her assistant ever wrote a book about her, it would be called The Devil Wears Whatever's Clean.

On Glamour's "Guy Issue" — the issue that taught us that "54% of guys in 1995 would sleep with a willing 15-year-old, but only 17% of 2009 guys would tap that" — Sagal was friendly but caustic about the mag's raft of Cosmo-like listicles. "'15 Things That A Man Really Wants In Bed'?" he said, "Come on, I worked on this all day, and I came up with two. And the second one is, to eat a sandwich in bed after. Who are you trying to kid here?"

Unperturbed, Leive replied, "Maybe it's up to Glamour to expose you to the other 289 things you actually want?"

Naturally, Leive defended her publication's approach to fashion. "We don't consider ourselves the sort of mean, finger-wagging fashion authority who will tell you that you are not rich enough or thin enough to wear this stuff," she said. "We try to be approachable and relatable and show our share of crazy designer concoctions, but we're always trying to pair them with things that an average woman might have in the closet." I suppose that's why February's issue features a fashion spread where a model wears a Proenza Schouler dress ($1,275), Viktor & Rolf shoes ($1,100), a Lanvin dress ($6,640), and a Dior dress ($15,650). (Also featured are $45 Converses and a $25 bracelet.) In all of February's fashion stories, you have to flick to the back of the issue to get the price list. I wonder why?

After her brief interview, Sagal announced he would quiz Leive about mixed martial arts, according to the show's typical odd-couple topic pairings. She nonetheless revealed hidden depths of knowledge on the topic of solving problems mano-a-mano. Leive got all three questions right, and won the prize for the listener. Perhaps working at a ladymag is more like no-holds-barred single sex combat than we would have guessed.

Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me [NPR]

Related: Glamour's Guy Issue Has Few Guys, Plenty of Issues

[Baltimore, January 17. Image via Getty.]

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle and Vice President elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill as they arrive in Baltimore during a event at the January 17, 2009 during a 137-mile train trip to DC to begin a four-day inaugural celebration (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

• The fighting that began Wednesday in Mumbai is continuing today. Nearly 200 people have been confirmed dead so far, with almost 300 others injured. Militants are still fighting and holding (and killing) hostages in the Taj Mahal hotel and in a Jewish community center. [NY Times, Huffington Post, NY Times]
• Barack Obama has issued a statement condemning the attacks. [Washington Post]
• The Iraqi Parliament has passed the Status of Forces Agreement, which could have us out by 2010, but will have us out no later than 2012. [Washington Independent]
• In other news, former First Lady Barbara Bush has been moved out of the ICU following surgery to repair a perforated stomach ulcer. [CNN]

• The Vatican says that cell phones and the Internet are killing our souls. Fuck, seriously, is there anything fun you're allowed to do as a Catholic anymore? (Click through for a bonus picture of Pope Benedict in a funny, non-Pope hat.) [Telegraph]
• Iowa's Supreme Court will hear an equal protection challenge to its gay marriage ban, which may or may not invalidate the marriage of the 2 people who managed to get married in the 9 business hours the ban was struck down before the court issued a stay. [LA Times]
• The police have charged someone in the murder of Arkansas reporter Anne Pressley, who was beaten to death in her home last month. Despite the extreme level of violence that police initially said indicated it could be someone that knew and hated her, it turns out it was a random attack by a violent psycho named Curtis Lavelle Vance. [MSNBC]
• Mitchell Wade, the former defense contractor who bribed the shit out of former Congressman Duke Cunningham, apparently bribed other people and is singing like a canary. He's implicated at least 5 other thus-far-unnamed Congressmen and various other government officials. [Washington Post]
• The Congressional probe of all of Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel's (D-New York) shady business dealings will be done before the new Congress is sworn in, according to Nancy Pelosi. This means, in all likelihood, that he'll get a slap on the wrist and continue on as Chairman, which is how it always worked when the Republicans ran Congress that Pelosi promised to change when she came to power. [Washington Post]
• Now that Democrats have voted to keep Joe Lieberman in his position of power atop the Senator Homeland Security Committee, someone bothered to notice that he gave a bunch of money to Republican Senatorial candidates, too. [Washington Post]
• Jill Biden might keep teaching at a D.C.-area community college as Second Lady, which would make her the first Second Lady to carry on with a paying job after moving into the Vice Presidential Mansion. Also, she's probably cooler than you even thought she was. [Politico]
• And although Hillary Clinton hasn't officially been offered or officially accepted a gig as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration, let alone resigned her Senate seat, New York State Attorney General (and enormous asshole) Andrew Cuomo has already begun a whisper campaign to make himself the front runner in the race to be appointed to the seat. Earlier this year, Andrew Cuomo referred to Barack Obama with a racial slur, which his staff rushed to cover up and intimidate bloggers and reporters from covering, swearing that the racially-loaded term "shucking and jiving" was no such thing. Hopefully, someone reminds Governor David Patterson of this every time he gets a damn phone call encouraging him to appoint Andrew Cuomo to anything. [NY Times, Pam's House Blend]

• The Republican Governor's Association meeting (supposedly starring Sarah Palin) kicked off today with a comedy routine from Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who was once considered for the VP slot. Pawlenty said that the Republican Party "needs more than a comb-over" and that "Drill, baby, drill, by itself, is not an energy policy." [Time, Politico]
• Former GOP pollster/strategist Frank Luntz took his turn shitting on the party and McCain today, too, saying, among other things, that "Stevie Wonder reads a teleprompter better than John McCain." Luntz, who was a GOP star in 1994, is so far up Newt Gringrich's ass that he knows what donor's cock Gincrich just finished sucking to fund his campaign in 2012 from the taste alone. [Politico]
• Sarah Palin thinks they should put a woman on the GOP ticket in 2012, because there's no way all the PUMAs can die by then. [Huffington Post]

• Joe and Jill Biden are going to meet with the Cheneys. No word on whether Cheney's man-safe comes with a re-sizing clause. [Politico]
• Henry Paulson enjoys spending your money buying stocks since it reminds him so much of the days at Goldman Sachs but, much like those days, he doesn't plan to spend a dime of it on bailing out the auto companies. [Huffington Post]
• In case you thought who Obama would choose to send to the G-20 summit in D.C. would be a Cabinet preview, he's sending Madeline Albright and former Republican Congressman Jim Leach just to fuck with you. [The Hill]
• Despite the Bush Administration's best efforts to deregulate under the radar and tie Obama's hands next year, it turns out even they don't know the rules that well and the Democrats in the House can just pass a bill next year and tell the Bush Administration to fuck off. [Politico]
• Obama might cut a deal with Congress on executive privilege, the subpoenas of Bush officials and classified documents to preserve his right to claim executive privilege in the future. [Huffington Post]
• Former Republican Congressman Mark Foley feels really bad that sex-IMing with teenagers cost the Republican Party the 2006 election and him a post office in name. He is, however, sporting a wedding ring that matches the one his boyfriend wears. [Huffington Post]
• Bribe-loving Congressman William Jefferson (D-Louisiana) may, finally, go to trial on corruption charges. How is he still around, Speaker? Please remind me. [The Hill]
• Oh, and Montana Senator and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has already started shanking Obama — and ailing Congressmen and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Ted Kennedy — on health care reform. I guess it's not just Republicans who love their circular firing squads these days. [Politico]