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The eloquent BARBARA JORDAN left the House in 1978 and taught at the University of Texas. In 1996 she died. Nine other members have also died. Alabama's WALTER FLOWERS ran unsuccessfully for the Senate and died in 1984, the same year as the committee's No. 2 Democrat, HAROLD DONOHUE. Democrat GEORGE DANIELSON became an appeals-court judge in California and died this year. Death has claimed the committee's four most senior Republicans: EDWARD HUTCHINSON of Michigan, ROBERT MCCLORY of Illinois, HENRY SMITH of New York and CHARLES SANDMAN of New Jersey. New Jersey's JOSEPH MARAZITI died in 1991; the patrician HAMILTON FISH died in 1996.
Pennsylvania's JOSHUA EILBERG lost his seat and pleaded guilty to conflict-of-interest charges. He is the only committee member to suffer public disgrace.
NOMINEES
LOUD YET SOFT According to the A.P., "Novelist Jose Saramago, an outspoken nonconformist who has a soft spot for the common man, was named the winner of the 1998 Nobel Literature Prize."
By that description, future recipients of the award should include:
Pat Buchanan Madonna Michael Moore Don Imus RuPaul Hank Williams Jr.
HONORS
DADDY, DADDY... Just four months ago, the National Fatherhood Initiative touted heavyweight champion and proud papa Evander Holyfield as one of its Fathers of the Year. It was his "personal commitment to family demanded of a good father" that the group so admired. Well, it seems as if this father of four has been busy outside the house. Holyfield recently acknowledged that he has sired five kids with four women to whom he was not hitched. Perhaps he should have put on more than gloves for protection.
TV GUIDE
BARGAIN HUNT What does it cost to advertise on network television? Depends on whether you want anybody to see it. Here's what a 30-sec. ad costs, in thousands of dollars:
ER (NBC) $551* Monday Night Football (ABC) $380* Touched by an Angel (CBS) $277* The Simpsons (Fox) $248* Ally McBeal (Fox) $177 Dawson's Creek (WB) $96* Wind on Water (NBC) $80** Star Trek: Voyager (UPN) $72* Buddy Faro (CBS) $65** The Practice (ABC) $62**
*Network highest **Network lowest Source: Broadcasting & Cable magazine
AVIATION NEWS
FOWL PLAY? There were some odd goings-on last week involving birds and the state of Pennsylvania. Thousands of birds descended on Leola, Pa. Instead of mimicking their scary Hitchcockian cousins, they merely pooped all over. Meanwhile, in two races, one from northern Virginia to Allentown, Pa., and one from western Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, some 2,500 homing pigeons disappeared. No ominous flocks of hawks or weird extraterrestrial activity can explain what happened. Soon after, residents in the eastern part of the state noticed groups of milling pigeons seeking guidance. Next time maybe they should take Greyhound.
NUMBERS
10 million: Size, in square miles, of the hole in the ozone above Antarctica
7.3 million: Its size last year
3.6 million: Size, in square miles, of the U.S.
34: Percentage of Republicans in a recent poll who said they would cheat on their spouses for $55 million
11: Percentage of Democrats who said they would