Let's start tonight's diary with this Craigslist ad for the job of Speaker of the House:
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE (Washington, D.C.)Are you an American Citizen? Do you have experience negotiating hostage situations? Are you ready for the challenge of a lifetime? Then this job is for you!
We are seeking an extremely patient and motivated person to lead the U.S. House of Representatives.
Responsibilities:
-Keeping the government open -Avoiding a default on U.S. debt -Maintaining women's access to health care -Managing multiple investigative committees aimed at attacking Hillary Clinton -Explaining to the "Freedom Caucus" the concepts of compromise and democratic governance
Requirements:
-Proven ability to work with irrational people who pursue narrow priorities at the expense of millions of others -Proficiency in Word, Excel and PowerPoint -Babysitting experience STRONGLY PREFERRED -No Congressional experience necessary
Please e-mail resume and an outline of your plan to TheNextFrankUnderwood [at] gmail [dot] com.
RINOs NEED NOT REPLY
Welcome once again to Sunday Puzzle Warm-Up, a weekly opportunity to have a little fun and to get your brain in gear for the regular Sunday Puzzle (which posts Sunday evenings at 8 pm Eastern time).One of the hardest parts about doing these puzzle diaries on a weekly basis is figuring out who or what to use for the answer each week.
For the next few weeks I'm planning to spotlight people who've been featured in the news for something interesting. And since Daily Kos is one of my main sources of news, these will often be people who've recently been featured in a DK diary.
Which means you get a bonus puzzle: after you figure out who is spotlighted in tonight's diary, your challenge is to figure out why they're being spotlighted and post a link to a Daily Kos diary (or other source) which tells the story of what they did to deserve the spotlight.
This week it was hard to select the person to feature. I've been running late and haven't had much free time so I asked the gremlins for suggestions. Ooh, that's easy! piped up one of the gremlins. Bernie Sanders, for his line about people being sick and tired of hearing about the damn e-mails.
Well, yes, it was a great line. But (as I explained to the gremlin) there are 13 letters in Bernie Sanders' name which means I can't construct a JulieCrostic with equal-length columns. Plus, spotlighting one of the Democratic candidates but not the others could lead to a pie fight.
Ooh, ooh! screamed another of the gremlins enthusiastically. I have the perfect choice! Bernie Sanders, for rescuing Andrea Mitchell from the media!
Well, yes, that was an interesting incident. But (as I explained to the gremlin) there are 13 letters in Bernie Sanders' name which means I can't construct a JulieCrostic with equal-length columns. Plus, spotlighting one of the Democratic candidates but not the others could lead to a pie fight.
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! screamed the largest gremlin at the top of her voice. I've got it! Bernie Sanders, for posing for a picture with Sandra Bland's mother and sister!
About that time I realized I'd probably need to do this week's puzzle without any gremlin help. Fortunately I was able to find someone who did something very classy, isn't Bernie Sanders, and has a non-prime number of letters in her name (14 letters, to be exact).
Who is it, and why is she in the Sunday Puzzle spotlight this week? Come on down and solve tonight's puzzle for the answer to the first part of that question.