Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
MLK Abolished Slavery?
The results of a University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy poll suggests that America's college students might need to brush up on their knowledge of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Although 81 percent of the students knew that the slain civil rights leader pursued quote, "racial justice and brotherhood," most of the remainder of the students believed that Dr. King was promoting an end to slavery. Slavery in the United States was officially abolished in 1865, some 98 years before Dr. King gave his famous "I Have a Dream," speech.
"Tuesday-Thursday Club"
For many years, Congress had been known as the "Tuesday through Thursday club", but Democratic leadership promised to change all that and work like most Americans, five days a week.
But just one day after Majority Leader Harry Reid told his Senate colleagues that they would have to work longer hours, they were off the next day. And last Monday, in the interest of bipartisanship, Congress took another day off, so members could attend a college football championship game.
Congress is closed today for the Martin Luther King holiday. And there are more congressional breaks to come—later this month, Republican and Democrat retreats will shut down the House for two days each, making two three day work weeks in a row.
Bush Library Opposition
Some professors at Southern Methodist University aren't pleased that their school is the front-runner to house President Bush's presidential library. The fear is that the library would celebrate a presidency that some of the faculty believe unnecessarily took the country into the war in Iraq.
While the library has its detractors, many students would welcome it. SMU political science major, Luis Arango says that school has "a very conservative vibe and most students like Bush. The only people who don't, seem to be the faculty," Bush family connections to the university include SMU graduates first lady Laura Bush, Bush advisor Karen Hughes and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. Even Vice President Cheney served on the school's board. The project will be financed with a private fund drive and is expected to raise at least $200 million.
Windsurfing Challenge
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry wants Americans to know that windsurfing isn't easy. In the upcoming issue of Details magazine, Senator Kerry is quoted as saying, "I challenge anyone who makes fun of windsurfing to come out and do it with me and see how long they last."
Senator Kerry was ridiculed by Republicans in the 2004 presidential election for windsurfing off the coast of Nantucket. The images of the senator twisting his surfboard back and forth proved irresistible to Bush media strategists, who quickly turned it into a powerful campaign advertisement.
—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
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