Representative Patrick Kennedy caused a stir on Capitol Hill and provided C-SPAN with its most exciting programming in years when he launched a diatribe against the press from the House floor. Kennedy also gave The Washington Post some insight into his decision to retire from Congress at the end of this year.

Meanwhile, State Rep. David Segal (D-Dist. 2, Providence, East Providence) and nine other State Representatives penned a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan requesting “guidance on the effort to adopt a school funding formula in Rhode Island.” The lawmakers fear that without a funding formula Rhode Island could miss out on the opportunity to get federal funds through President Obama’s Race to the Top program, and hope that a statement by the Secretary will spur action in the statehouse.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse took to the opinion page of Politico to voice his dismay at the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Citizens United case.

And if the ongoing healthcare reform debate had members of Congress feeling frenzied, they could have chilled out with Brown’s own The Low Anthem at two of the District’s premier music venues.

— Dan Davidson

Today’s Morning Mail invited students to participate in $ocialClassmates, an informal forum to discuss issues of socioeconomic class at Brown.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who immediately thought of Ke$ha. After all, who else would replace random ‘s’s with dollar signs?

Can Ke$ha be relevant to an intelligent discussion about socioeconomic issues? She may not have no money in her pocket, but at least she’s got plenty of beer. Actually, a little Wikipedia-ing reveals that Ke$ha’s single mother struggled to support herself and her children and had to rely on welfare to get by. Maybe Ke$ha would be a valuable participant in this discussion.

The event, sponsored by an Identity and Cross-Cultural Engagement GISP and Office of Student Life, wants to be a safe space for self-exploration, according to Morning Mail.

I just hope they don’t fight ’til they see the sunlight. Don’t want the Bro-Po to shut them down.

The Brown website is down. Clearly the whole internet is falling apart.

The V-Dub hasn’t had a lot of press since going tray-less a few years back. Unlike its Main-Campus cousin, most don’t stop to ponder the dear old Dub’s history — or more recent  scandals. But the V-Dub has experienced a quiet revolution.

We all were a little disappointed when the new, clear Ratty cups were smaller than the old ones. We figured there was no other option. But we were wrong.

The new V-Dub cups look exactly like the Ratty’s — BUT BIGGER. And so, so much better. Never will we have to get up for a refill between chicken fingers five and six again.

And you might even be able to use them in Canada.

Operation: the Variety Show
7:00-9:00
$5
What do IMPROVidence, the Chattertocks, Spoken Word, the Higher Keys and Out of Bounds all have in common? They’re all really good at Operation! Or they’re going to be in the same variety show. It’s unclear which.

Brown Orchestra Spring Concert
8:00
Sayles Hall
$2
One name. Three syllables: STRAVINSKY. Who’s ready to party?

The Get Lucky Show
9:00
Salomon 001
$1
The table slip for this event has a picture of a vomiting leprechaun. I think that pretty much says everything you need to know. Oh, and it’s a comedy show.

Alter Ego
10:00
Zeta Delta Xi
$3 door, $1 drinks
Go to Alter Ego and leave yourself behind.

Congratulations to Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen  ’67 LLD’98 hon., an Economics concentrator who is said to be Obama’s pick for the country’s next Fed Vice Chairman.

Former lawyer James Cook was convicted yesterday on all 22 charges against him, including twelve counts of sexual assault and one count of an “abominable or detestable crime against nature” — in this case, bestiality.

Rhode Island House representative Douglas W. Gablinske has proposed a bill that would penalize not wearing a seat belt beyond its current status as a secondary offense. Currently, police officers can only cite people for failing to buckle up if they were pulled over for something else. The bill the bill becomes law, not wearing a seat belt will move from a secondary to a primary offense.

Did you know that there’s a “Best Bagger of Rhode Island” event where contestants compete to bag supermarket goods? Did you know that the winner goes on to Las Vegas to compete in the national bagging championships? And did you know that you can get a taste of extreme bagging right here? Check it out!

We’re going to try to start a new feature with the top 10 Spotted at Brown and BrownFML posts of the week. We read them so you don’t have to?

This is based on how many thumbs up/checks posts get; with occasional overrides by the official Herald BoB committee. Since this is the inaugural post, the posts are going back a bit more than a week.

BrownFML

In order by date:

1.) Last night, I returned to my room late to find the door unlocked. My roommate groaned and said from under the pillow, ‘look, take his laptop if you want, just don’t piss on the floor.’ FML

I admit, I would pull a similar stunt (just kidding, roomie with a triple black belt). [Read more →]

Having a food allergy at school . . . ah yes, I remember those days. I can remember teachers celebrating my friends’ in-class birthday parties with ice cream and homemade brownies galore. Everyone would have fun, enjoying one delicacy after another . . . everyone except me, that is. Because I am lactose intolerant, my mom would send my teacher a hand-written note explaining that I “needed to avoid milk products” during class activities. Thanks, Mom. So, while my friends would munch on the tastiest of treats, I would be left with something less appealing.

Thankfully, students with food allergies at Brown are not left with the Ratty equivalent of a Fruit Roll-Up. As cited in a recent USA Today article, Brown is one of a number of colleges and universities in the country that are catering to the various dietary needs of today’s students. With “allergy-free kitchens” and meals made by “specially-trained cooks,” these schools are responding to the growing presence of students with food allergies on college campuses. In a 2007 study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 4 percent of children aged 18 and under have food allergies. While some of these children outgrow their allergies, many do not, which leaves college administrators to prepare for the influx of students with varied dietary needs.

Brown is certainly up to the challenge. In a 2008 interview, Ann Hoffman, director of administration at Brown Dining Services, discussed what BDS does for students with specialized dietary needs, such as celiac disease, or intolerance to gluten. “We offer special meal preparation if our menu doesn’t provide an adequate selection of safe and appealing options,” Hoffman said. Once again, Brown is doing what it can to cater to student needs, and my first grade self smiles to see that there’s not a Fruit Roll-Up in sight.

Retro-style “Diamonds and Coal” from The Herald’s issue on February 27, 1998:

A diamond to El Nino. Sure, it’s nice to have some warm weather. But killing those helpless Floridians. That’s just wrong!