Free Republic

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) is joining the ballet … at least for one night. The congresswoman is reprising her role as a merry widow in the Washington Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” on Saturday. It’s the third time Norton, 77, has taken to the stage with the ballet company. Other Washington fixtures, including Mayor Vincent Gray (D) and the late former Mayor Marion Barry (D) have appeared in the classic Tchaikovsky ballet.“There is no more delightful fun than seeing or being lucky enough to be asked to perform in ‘The Nutcracker,’ ” Norton said in a statement. “Isn’t this...

Democrats, looking to capitalize on President Bush's decision to oppose the University of Michigan's affirmation action program, began a campaign Friday to make civil rights and equal education opportunities a major 2004 election issue. "Civil rights has always been the great unfinished business of America," Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy told a Capitol Hill Democratic forum. Democrats have been criticizing the GOP on civil rights issues since December, when Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi started an uproar with remarks praising the pro-segregation 1948 presidential campaign of Strom Thurmond. Then the Bush administration argued to the Supreme Court on Thursday against...