Some D.C. News to Beat Snow Coma

Hey out there. Good morning (or afternoon for the rest of you.) Nothing like a little snow to make you want to curl up under a big, warm blanket, read and eat toast all day, huh? I can do that. But you, YOU, have to be alert and productive, which is very hard when you suffer from SNOW COMA.

So to help you fight the unflattering 'dumb head' effects of Snow Coma, I'll summarize a few highlights of what's happening out there that you can drop into conversations and appear to be 'with it' throughout the numbing day.

Anything to help, short of a hot toddie.

TAXI FARES
Mayor Fenti made a big dent in proposed taxi cab fares, dropping the staring price to $3 dollars, with an additional 25 cents for each 1/6 mile, and a complete drop-kick to rush hour surcharges and additional passengers. Citizens are thrilled, drivers are P.O.'d. President of the Taxicab Industry Group calls for weekly strikes for one full day from 7am to 7pm beginning February 4th. Read more here.

FOODIE IN/OUT LIST
See what the Washingtonian says are the new 'Ins' and 'Outs' on the foodie front, especially if you're on your way out for Restaraunt Week and want to get the thumbs-up from the sommelier (key "in" word.) Some in/out parings to pique your interest: Hungarian wines oust Australian wines, chic cheese plates to cheese carts, lobster mushrooms to poached lobster, and take a half bottle over a wine flight any day... see the full list here.

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
I am soOO bad about keeping up with politics, I don't know how anyone can keep up, but there's nothing worse that not even knowing who's having primaries today and who said something clever yesterday, and who's winning. Until I found Citizen Jane Politics. The website began when founder Patricia Murphy learned that only 20 percent of women followed online campaign news but accounted for 55 percent of the voting population. Bad girl! Now you can keep pace with nifty daily highlights and coverage of the race that we women want to know.
A highlight:

"Barack Obama learned the lesson in New Hampshire that any Jane in the country could have told him, “As women go, so goes the state.” The Clinton and Obama camps are now signaling that the battle for the Democratic nomination will come down to who woos the women best. Let the race begin! [AP]"

HILLARY FORCE ONE

So, Hillary Clinton picked up the flight attendant intercom and welcomed everyone to "Hill Force One." She warned that if polls dropped suddenly, they would be diverted to New Hampshire. If they looked to the right, they would find tax cuts for the wealthy and a war with no end; to the left, a sturdy middle class and a good international reputation... or something like that. Watch it yourself, it's sure to entertain.



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, FLICKR-ING AT LAST
Last but not least, the Library of Congress started their own Flickr site with rare and fantastic photos from their archive now available to the general public. They also hope people will can help catalog the images by leaving comments and tags. Visit the site here.