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the zeitgeist checklist: What Washington is talking about.

Zeitgeist Checklist: Karl Rove, Come On DownWhat Washington is talking about this week.

By Christopher Beam
Posted Friday, March 23, 2007, at 7:43 PM ET

(Continued from page 1)

6. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 20 [UP ARROW]

How Would Orwell Vote?
2008. Grassroots politics scores a coup with an anti-Hillary mashup of an old 1984-themed Apple Macintosh ad. The clip shows a revolutionary Obama supporter destroying a JumboTron that displays Hillary's yammering mug—all set in a freakish, dystopian future unimaginable to anyone who hasn't seen a Democratic National Convention. The video's creator reveals himself on the Huffington Post as a former employee of a digital media company affiliated with Obama's campaign. Look for his next Orwellian ad, featuring Hillary as a talking pig.

7. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 2 [DOWN ARROW]

Order on the Court
Sports. With Maryland and GWU knocked out, the District invests its NCAA dreams in Georgetown, which slips into the Elite Eight with a last-second win against Vanderbilt. Memphis ekes out a victory against Texas A&M, UCLA defeats Pittsburgh, and Ohio State comes back from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat Tennessee.

8. New This Week [UP ARROW]

The FBI Knows You're Reading This
Crime. A DoJ official adds his testimony to an ongoing investigation of the FBI for illicitly collecting records from phone companies, banks, and credit institutions by issuing "national security letters"—legalese for "gimme." The official attributed the estimated 3,000 violations since 2003 to "mistakes, carelessness, confusion, sloppiness, lack of training," and all the other things you look for in a federal agency. 

9. New This Week [UP ARROW]

Black Hawk Down 2: Return to Mogadishu
Africa. Supporters of Somalia's ousted Islamic leadership drag the bloodied bodies of four soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, resurrecting memories of America's disastrous mission in 1993. Further south, Zimbabwean opposition leaders join talks in South Africa to discuss countering the increasingly violent presidency of Robert Mugabe. Zambia's president calls Zimbabwe "a sinking Titanic." That, plus a quarter of its passengers have AIDS and semi-automatics.

10. New This Week [UP ARROW]

Zucker to Murdoch: "I Do"
Business. In the unlikeliest marriage since Carville and Matalin, NBC and News Corp. announce a joint online video venture to rival sites like YouTube. You'd sooner expect Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly to start making out on air. YouTube, meanwhile, after being sued by Viacom for $1 billion, is banking its survival on America's love for bad lip synching and kittens traversing Casio keyboards.

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Christopher Beam is a Slate political reporter.
Illustrations by Vivian Selbo.
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