Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jun 2013
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Authors: Al Kamen and Emily Heil
Page: A17

WEED OF DREAMS

It was rematch time for the White House softball team, which, as you
might recall, got smoked last summer by a squad fielded by a coalition
of pro-marijuana groups. The two teams squared off again Wednesday
night at the field on the Ellipse, just off the White House's front
lawn, and again the One Hitters - you guessed it, that's the pot
lobby's team - beat STOTUS, which is shorthand for "softball team of
the U.S."

This time, however, the margin was a respectable 5-2 - a vast
improvement over last year's 25-3 drubbing.

And while the feds may have been jonesing for revenge, the pot lobby
had some extra skin in the game this year: One of the team's sponsors
is Mountain Medicine, a Denver dispensary and "medical edibles"
company (their peanut butter cups look dee-licious) with a bit of a
score to settle with the administration. They're lobbying the Internal
Revenue Service for better tax treatment, and owner Jamie

Lewis says recent victories have made her optimistic about their
prospects on and off the diamond. "We're proud and happy to support
the One Hitters so that we can win on the softball field too," Lewis
boasted in an email.

And the One Hitters had a secret weapon. Players were fueled by swigs
of a hemp-infused energy drink called Chillo, made by another team
sponsor, MediSwipe.

Clearly the team was ready for those high fly balls.

Pushing the envelope

The fight over closing post offices is hitting close to home for
lawmakers and staffers in Congress - the U.S. Postal Service is
finally shutting down three Capitol Hill facilities.

Lawmakers and other Hill denizens may now have to (gasp!) walk to the
next building to buy their stamps, now that the USPS on Wednesday
issued notices of "Final Determination to Close" (which means what
you'd assume it does) at the post offices in the Rayburn and Cannon
buildings as well as the Capitol.

The closures, set for August, are "due to steadily declining revenue
and mail volume," the USPS said in a statement, and it seemed to
preempt critics by noting that only nine customers attended the first
information session about the closures way back in 2011.

The Postal Service estimates the closures will save a little more than
$2 million over 10 years. Which pleased some lawmakers.

"Congress should lead by example and not treat itself to a higher
level of service than it needs or is available to the average
American," House Administration Committee Chairman Candice Miller
(R-Mich.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman
Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in a joint statement. "The cost savings
from these consolidations are a small but symbolically important step
in restoring USPS to long-term financial solvency."

More walking (the post offices in the Ford and Longworth buildings
will remain open), of course, is healthier. Possible silver lining?

Holder-onner?

Attorney General Eric Holder, constantly skewered by conservatives,
came under fire recently from Washington Post columnist David
Ignatius, who said Holder wasn't up to the job.

Some might think heavy incoming from another flank could cause Holder
to leave.

Maybe. But that's not always the case in Washington when officials are
criticized in the news media. They can be loath to leave while under
attack.

For example, back in late 1964, President Lyndon Johnson wanted to
oust J. Edgar Hoover, who had been FBI director since 1935. This came
after years of criticism from liberals and others over Hoover's
harassment of civil rights leaders and other activists - among other
things.

Johnson apparently wanted to keep things quiet until he could name a
successor, which would make it virtually impossible for Hoover to stay.

Ben Bradlee, later the longtime executive editor of The Washington
Post but then at Newsweek, broke a story in November 1964 that Johnson
was looking for replacements for Hoover. The story was said to derail
the effort, causing Hoover to dig in and forcing Johnson to keep him
on. Hoover ran the bureau until his death - eight years later.

(See also: Nixon, R.M.: "I am not a quitter.")

In Holder's case, we had written before the 2012 election that there
had been talk that he might be leaving soon after the inauguration
(assuming President Obama won), or perhaps more likely in the summer
or in the fall of 2013.

Holder didn't want to leave last winter, we had heard, because some
might think Hill GOP critics - especially Darrell Issa - had driven
him out.

While we had heard that Holder's wife wanted him to move on, it was
said that Obama wanted him to stick around and Holder himself was undecided.

At the time - and more recently as well - Holder's associates said he
really wanted to stay until the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights
Act, which would be July 2014.

If the criticism mounts, that might be a stretch.

Back to the public sector

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has tapped highly regarded
environmentalist Kevin Knobloch, most recently president of the
advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists, to be his chief of staff.

Knobloch had also been the organization's legislative director for
arms control and national security and had worked on the Hill in the
'80s as legislative director for then-Sen. Tim Wirth (D-Colo.) and
legislative assistant and press secretary for then-Rep. Ted Weiss (D-N.Y.).
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt