Inside the Beltway

That’s an order

“We’ve been looking forward to spending some time this morning — at ease. Please, everybody, you can sit down.”

— Deputy commander in chief Vice President Dick Cheney, rallying around U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton in California this week.

Boston beanbags

Democrats are taking more than verbal aim at Republicans during the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Take Sen. Jon Corzine of New Jersey.

Jody Franklin, who was Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief of staff during the 1992 presidential campaign, says she was in the audience when Mr. Corzine addressed a union breakfast coinciding with the convention. Surrounding him were artfully placed full-size cutouts of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

“After his remarks, Senator Corzine was offered a few bean bags,” she reveals. “Without missing a beat, he threw a pitch, hit Cheney on the chin and knocked him over to a cheering crowd.”

Bigger fish to fry

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean can’t comment on all the convention fussing and fighting surrounding left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore’s anti-President Bush film “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

Top party leaders, in fact, are keeping their distance from the movie and its producer during this week’s Democratic National Convention, reports Marc Morano, CNSNews.com’s senior staff writer.

“I have not seen the movie, so I can’t comment on it,” Mr. Dean said.

When pressed for his reaction to Mr. Moore’s harshly critical statements about Mr. Bush, Mr. Dean replied: “To be honest with you, I am not sure what that is, either. I haven’t paid that much attention.”

Others apparently want Mr. Moore permanently out of the picture, so to speak, or as CNN anchor Bill Hemmer told the filmmaker during an interview this week: “I’ve heard people say they wish Michael Moore were dead.”

The New Republic reported that a visibly angry Mr. Moore later confronted the popular CNN anchor on the convention floor and spouted: “’Some people want you dead? Some people want you dead,’ Bill? Why would you say that on live TV? Would you say that to [George] Bush or [John] Kerry?”

Before the anchor could respond, Mr. Moore stormed off, saying Mr. Hemmer and others in the news business are responsible for U.S. casualties in Iraq because they aren’t doing their jobs.

Muslim choice

The number of Muslim delegates from across America who have come to Boston to have their say during the Democratic National Convention and express their support for John Kerry’s campaign: 40.

Shahid Khan, national finance co-chairman of the John Kerry for President Committee, says the aim of the delegates is to “mobilize American Muslims in the community and show our support to the Democratic Party.”

Wired generation

Out to define what has the potential of being an important voting bloc in the 2004 presidential election (that is, if they come out to vote), 18- to 24-year-olds across the United States have chosen the term “Wired Networkers.”

Register and Vote 2004 held a nonpartisan contest for name ideas, then conducted a poll to empower young adults to define their voting segment. Wired Networkers won with 46 percent of the vote, beating the Go-Gos and the Detached Connectors.

Luck of the draw

People from around the world who hope to permanently reside in the United States can now learn whether they’re winners in Uncle Sam’s “2005 Diversity Lottery.”

Conducted under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the lottery every year makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

“Approximately 100,000 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa,” the State Department says.

Applicants for the 2005 lottery were selected at random from more than 9.5 million qualified entries received during the 60-day application period that ran from Nov. 1 to Dec. 30, 2003. The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions, with a maximum of 7 percent available to people born in any single country.

During the visa interview, applicants must provide proof of a high-school education or its equivalent or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience.

Registration dates for the 2006 lottery will be widely publicized next month.

• John McCaslin, whose column is nationally syndicated, can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.