Washington City Paper: Contents for Feb. 5

Terrorists and Saints
Welcome to the White Rose Banquet, a charity dinner in support of holy terror.

Cover Story

John Brockhoeft is a saint. Sitting under the klieg lights of the TV cameras, he looks a little embarrassed, patiently explaining his dedication for the thousandth time. He knows that not everyone understands him, not yet. By repeatedly sending himself to the front lines, Brockhoeft has willfully invited the scorn of government and society, risking his own life in the process. Along the way, he has abandoned every comfort, sacrificing freedom and family to fight against what may be the great unrecognized evil of our time. He fits neatly into a long tradition of zealots (Joan of Arc and John Brown come to mind): misunderstood, hated, and, occasionally, hunted. He couldn't care less. Brockhoeft routinely tosses aside threats and insults that would fell less devoted men.

Today, when men like Brockhoeft compare themselves to abolitionists and religious warriors, it taxes the imagination. But 50 years from now, Brockhoeft may get his own national holiday. Just last week, Pope John Paul II compared the struggle that gets Brockhoeft out of bed every morning to America's battles over racism and slavery. Alluding to the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott decision, which affirmed slaves' status as property, the pope said there is today "a culture that seeks to declare entire groups of human beings...considered 'unuseful' to be outside the boundaries of legal protection."... Continued

Issue of Feb. 5 - 11, 1999

News and Features

Terrorists and Saints
Welcome to the White Rose Banquet, a charity dinner in support of holy terror.
Cover Story By Amanda Ripley
The Cleaner, Better-Lighted Place
It ain't Paris in the '20s, but the most antiseptic cafe in town draws its own breed of lonely hearts, hungry minds, and determined gawkers.
The City By Chris Peterson
Bone Dry
Scholars and activists say the federal government won't let them finish pulling skeletons out of the closet.
The City By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Down for the Count
In politically neutered D.C., the census isn't about congressional redistricting. It's about cold, hard cash.
The City By Dana Hull
Pieces of Her
Sculptor Edina Seleskovic retrieves the identity she lost to the Bosnian war.
The City By John DeVault
Cadillac Ranch Hand
District residents pay a high price to protect one very special interest.
The City By Elissa Silverman
Questionnaire: Vigdor Schreibman
The City By Jake Tapper
US Unfair?
The Mail By Andy Sisk
Still Managing After All These Years
The Mail By Ken Sleeman
Radio Ga-Ga
The Mail By Lisa Shannon
Teenage Mutant
The Mail By L.A. Navat
Tomorrow, Tomorrow
The Mail By Joe Cammisa
Hoe Hoe Hoe
The Mail By Angela E. Lauria
Black Comedy
The Mail By Greg Jones
Live and Let Dianetics
The Mail By Dean Blehert
Mrs. Jones?
The Mail By Christine Paquette
Visual Illiteracy
The Mail By Ivan Proud

Columns

End Game
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Gateway Crasher
City Desk By Jason CherkisLaura LangNefretiti Makenta, Elissa Silverman and Jake Tapper
THE COUNCIL'S REFUSENIKS
Loose Lips By Erik Wemple
Institutional Omerta
Paper Trail By David Carr