MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 This week of impassioned protests, withdrawal deadlines, and a political debut for the ages kicks off today with the upsetting but hopeful story of the FBI's rescue of nearly 50 juvenile prostitutes after a local and federal combo crackdown on pimps selling kids for sex. Details come from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Scott Gutierrez, who reports that police in Seattle, Tacoma, and Kent took part in last week's three-day Operation Cross Country, which netted 571 suspects in 29 cities and led to the rescue of the aforementioned 50 girls—10 of whom hailed from the Seattle area (the youngest Seattle girl was 13). Also caught in the Seattle part of the crackdown: 35 adult prostitutes and three suspected pimps, with the latter group facing possible federal charges. As for the rescued minors: They've been placed with family members or Child Protective Services.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 In much lighter news: Today, President Barack Obama delivered his first speech to Congress, a complicated event upstaged by the simple failure of Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, whose televised response to the president's speech single-handedly transformed the rising star of the Republican Party from a potential presidential candidate to a human billboard for the Emmy-winning sitcom 30 Rock, whose intern character Kenneth was the go-to comparison for the majority of Americans attempting to characterize Governor Jindal's odd but familiar blend of Southern sanctimony and talking-to-a-brain-dead-baby-osity. Even Republicans couldn't help bashing Jindal, with conservative commentators blasting the 37-year-old governor's "animatronic" delivery and "cheesy" prose. Congratulations to Governor Jindal, who joins the mighty Sarah Palin as proof of the odd-but-delightful fact that at this stage of history, every Republican failure translates directly into a golden opportunity for Tina Fey.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Speaking of the president saying things, today Obama announced his (latest) selection for secretary of the Department of Commerce: former Washington governor Gary Locke, who follows New Mexico governor Bill Richardson (who withdrew due to a potentially incriminating grand-jury investigation of "contracts in his state") and Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire (who backed out over policy disagreements) as Obama's pick. Congratulations to Locke, who we hope has the staying power his predecessors lacked.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26 The week continues at a Wal-Mart in Bloomingdale, Illinois, where late this evening an employee doused himself in lighter fluid, set himself on fire, and burned to death. Further details come from the Associated Press, which identifies the self-immolation victim as 58-year-old Larry Graziano, who told police called to rescue him that he "couldn't take it anymore" before setting himself fatally ablaze. A Wal-Mart spokesman said Graziano was a seven-year employee who worked nights stocking shelves and had no reported personnel issues.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Today brings further proof that the president never shuts up, as President Obama declared he will end combat operations in Iraq within 18 months. "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," said Obama. "Iraq's future is now its own responsibility." On Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders remained cool to the suggestion that tens of thousands of troops would remain. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said his announcement was good news because it meant an end to the war, but she cautioned that the troops left behind must have a "clearly defined" mission. Obama succeeded in winning over most Republicans, who initially dismissed the time line as arbitrary. Senator John McCain, who lost the presidency to Obama, said he supports the plan. "Let us have no crisis of confidence now," he told his colleagues on the Senate floor Friday. "Instead, let us welcome home our fighting men and women—not just thanking them for serving in Iraq, but congratulating them on bringing us to victory there."

••Meanwhile in Puyallup: A woman was sentenced to three months in jail for being a cruddy mother. Details come from KOMO, which identifies the woman as Tammy Gibson, who made headlines last June when she went to the home of a registered sex offender and beat him with a baseball bat. As victim and Level 3 sex offender William A. Baldwin told police, Gibson began her bat attack by announcing that she was going to kill Baldwin because he had molested her children. In a subsequent interview with police, Gibson told police that Baldwin had not molested her children, but had merely spoken to one of her daughters in public—the previous summer. Which brings us to today, when Gibson was sentenced to three months in jail for assault, during which time the daughter she shredded the law to "protect" will have no mother at all.

••Meanwhile in Tacoma, a Pierce County Superior Court judge was today charged with felony harassment and a misdemeanor count of patronizing a prostitute. Details come from Tacoma's News Tribune, which reports 58-year-old judge Michael Hecht stands accused of patronizing one prostitute and threatening to kill another prostitute last August (shortly after his election but prior to his swearing-in, for what that's worth; also, both prostitutes were male). "Judge Hecht denies both allegations," said Hecht's attorney Wayne Fricke to the Associated Press. Today, superior court presiding judge Bryan Chushcoff announced that he will continue to assign cases to the presumed-innocent Hecht, whose arraignment is set for March 13.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 The week continues with a much-appreciated response to Seattle's disgusting upsurge of anti-gay violence, as several hundred marchers—organized by the Queer Ally Coalition—took to Seattle streets to protest the ongoing clobbering of Seattle denizens (some gay, some just perceived to be so) by clueless scumbags. Thanks to all who showed up to reclaim Capitol Hill as a civilized, chilled-out neighborhood in a civilized, chilled-out city.

SUNDAY, MARCH 1 The week ends with an accurate collection of facts from the Seattle Times editorial board, who today issued the group statement, "Repackaging the news is not journalism," inspired by the ongoing legal action between the Associated Press and All Headline News Media Corp., the online news source the AP accuses of "free riding." As the Times editorial board writes, "The online venture does no original reporting or news coverage... All Headline News merely cobbles together wire-service dispatches from the internet. If AP went silent, so would All Headline News. Same with the demise of local newspapers and daily reporting, most recently Denver's Rocky Mountain News. The blogosphere would not have fodder—or mainstream media—to rail against. Newspaper-like blogs that assemble and present the work of others would have precious little to aggregate. So much of the discussion about the future of journalism is about distribution... Missing in all the discussion is an understanding of the craft, organization, and expense of gathering the news. The stuff everyone has an opinion about. News appears almost magically in a bounty of online formats, seemingly for free. Opinions masquerading as journalism are not sufficient to inform a democracy."

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