The Beautiful People (Literally, It Seems)

Who: The Hill
What: "50 Most Beautiful People for 2011"
When: July 27

Just in case you haven't had enough of Beltway gravity, The Hill presents the fifty most beautiful people in Washington, D.C.

No, really.

With bright blue eyes and an easy smile, Ferko laughs when asked for beauty tips. She notes moderation is the best policy, but she has her weaknesses — all things cheese.

“I eat anything that I want, but everything in moderation,” Ferko said.

She also loves to work out and travel, saying she takes “a bucket-list trip” every year with her husband, stopping in Istanbul last year to celebrate their five-year anniversary. That followed trips to Austria, Germany, Hungary and Russia in years prior.

Ferko still likes to play soccer when she can, but don’t expect to see her between the sticks.

“I took the gloves off and I’m not putting them back on,” she said.

That's number forty-eight. Jacqueline Ferko. "A keeper", according to Kevin Bogardus. Of course, it's all a play on words. Then again, what in politics isn't?

Rupert Murdoch: Capitalist

Russ Baker offers a reminder amid the surprised murmurs and horrified gasps:

Rupert Murdoch has had a profound influence on the state of journalism today. It’s a kind of tribute, in some sense, that the general coverage of his current troubles has reflected the detrimental effect of his influence over the years. Right now, the media, by and large, are focusing on tawdry "police blotter" acts of the very sort that have historically informed Murdoch’s own tabloid sensibility, while the bigger picture gets short shrift.

To be sure, the activities and actions of Murdoch’s that dominate the public conversation at the moment are deeply troubling, leaving aside their alleged criminality. Still, what is really pernicious about Murdoch is not his subordinates' reported hacking of phones, payments of hush money, etc., or the possibility that Murdoch may have known about, tolerated, enabled, or even encouraged such acts.

It is, instead, the very essence of the man and his empire, and their long-term impact on our world and our lives.