The Washington Times' evolving credibility, the Motorhome Diaries, the Veterans Administration, and more after the jump.

• Last month I applauded the Washington Times for covering the Chas Freeman story, and argued that thanks to Eli Lake (formerly of the New York Sun), the paper is developing a formidable archive of enterprising foreign policy reporting. Fishbowl DC announced on Wednesday that the Times had snatched up Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Chuck Neubauer, formerly of the Los Angeles Times–no small feat for a paper that runs scripture in its op-ed pages on Christmas day. Perhaps with a little more time, people will learn to ignore the Washington Times' strange founder (just as so many Beltway liberals are capable of cheering The New Republic while bashing Marty Peretz, the magazine's "racist" owner and editor in chief; and just as sophisticates across the country barely looked up from their Kellogg's Cinnamon Toast Crunch when the the New York Times announced it had accepted a cash injection of $250 million from a corrupt Mexican oligarch) and judge the paper by its merits alone.
• Speaking of the shit human beings will tolerate, someone needs to raise a fuss about this: "David Schultz, a reporter for the NPR affiliate WAMU in D.C., had his microphone, headphones, and a digital recorder seized by police and PR reps from the Veterans Administration when he interviewed veteran Tommy [Canady] at a public town hall meeting in D.C. yesterday....[Canady] was attempting to tell Schultz about the poor treatment he says he's been getting from the VA hospital. VA officials claim Schultz didn't identify himself as a reporter, failed to obtain a VA-approved waiver before speaking with [Canady], was both exploiting [Canady] and violating [Canady]'s right to medical privacy." That's from Radley Balko at Reason, who also writes that "the VA still hasn't returned Schultz's equipment." One Reason reader wasn't very sympathetic towards Schultz:

"Back in my college days a friend of mine who was a reporter for the college rag refused to leave an (improperly) closed session of some policy-making body, and then when they demanded he leave, he taunted them to have the cops drag him out of the room, as he wasn't leaving any other way.

If he knows where to take a stand, what the fuck is wrong with "adult" reporters and their news outfits that they capitulate so easily?"

Great question!

• Speaking of Radley Balko: If you give two shits about police raiding the home of a watchdog blogger, a police chief who retaliated against officers for participating in internal affairs investigations, and "police officers facing civil rights lawsuits" who plead ignorance of the law as their defense, then I suggest you add the Agitator to your RSS reader.
• And please, check out the Motorhome Diaries: Searching for Freedom in America.

That's it for me folks, I'm off to find a new front rim.

• Dave McKenna incited a quiet riot on Monday by asking, "Did Anybody Go to the Phish Reunion?" Phish fans, many endowed with a LSD-inspired sixth sense, flocked to the comments board. The exchange was nowhere near as trippy as the culture war going on over at the Sexist, or as revolting as the average Twilight attack, still, I was mucho impressed to see the school of stone-washed stoners band together in defense of Trey "Is this thing on?" Anastasio.
• Speaking of getting stoned: "Police said Monday they confiscated about $1.2 million in illegal drugs and more than $68,000 in cash...Authorities also arrested 194 Phish fans during the three-night celebration of the band's return to the stage after a nearly five-year absence." That's the gut of an AP article about the Phish reunion concert. Let me sum it up in a different way: Laid back folk got together to listen to some laid back tunes, and the cops ROBBED THE SHIT OUT OF THEM. For those of you who are thinking (or typing) "serves those scofflaws right," I want you to look around your home or office for a consumable that some other person might perceive as unhealthy–a bottle of Jager, maybe, or the April 2004 issue of Genesis magazine, or a package of Ramen noodles. Now, I want you to imagine some sweaty prick with a Taser taking that thing away from you, bending your arms behind your back, snapping a picture of you after you've been crying (this picture will end up online), demanding thousands of dollars in exchange for your freedom, and then releasing you in your dirty laundry with that taboo attached to your personal record. Ugh.
• The National Review Online's Media Blog tips its hat to the Washington Times for totally nailing the Chas Freeman story. Kevin D. Williamson writes: "The other Times — the Washington Times — was very much on the case, with Eli Lake providing the most substantive reporting on Freeman, his history, and his connections to the Chinese and Saudi regimes. National Review, The New Republic, and other opinion journals covered the story, but the newspapers were largely absent. The Washington Post covered the story sparingly, and the Wall Street Journal touched on it, too, but considering the issues at play, it was remarkable that so much of the daily press took a back seat." It would seem that this is one of those stories only Washington folk give a shit about: Jamie "Am I bigger than Jesus, yet?" Kirchick dug his heels into the Freeman story over at The New Republic and the Washington Independent's Dave Weigel suggested that the now office-less Freeman will one day form an unholy alliance with Michael Steele.
• Michael Perkins did some WMATA math and found "Metrorail fares have stayed flat relative to inflation for trips of equal length." He goes on to suggest that WMATA could stand to raise them: "Would it be better if fares kept up with inflation, and there was less pressure for service cuts?  Maybe with fare increases, there would be money for increased service after the recession is over." Perkins' post is deep, folks. I suggest those of you who can handle more than a graf or two of uninterrupted transportation talk dive the hell in. Though for my money, I think WMATA would invest in a chain of children's haircutteries before it raised fares as much as they need raising–an amount that would further marginalize the people who need WMATA the most. (Also a good transportation read: "Nobody Rides for Free," by Sarah Godfrey.)
• Last but not least, there's a party: My some-time bosses at Reason magazine and reason.com are hosting a Reason.tv (so many domains!) viewing party this Friday in celebration of John Stossel's 20/20 special, "Bailouts, Big Spending, and Bull." I have reason to believe that "[s]oft and hard drinks and light fare will be served," and I'm certain that admission is free, and that most of the attendees will be the sweetest, most disarmingly-sincere capitalist pigz most of you have never met. Just make sure and RSVP. (Ruth Samuelson wrote a great piece about think tank food awhile back, now's as good a time as any to read it.)

OK, folks, let's seize this thing.

Flickr photo courtesy of David Drexler. Thanks David!