Bono

During morning services at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Glenwood yesterday, parishioners received a new accessory: white plastic bracelets inscribed with the word "One." Like the yellow cancer-awareness bracelets popularized by bicyclist Lance Armstrong, the white bracelets are a marketing device. They are symbolic of the One Campaign, an effort to end global poverty that's spearheaded by Bono, frontman of the rock band U2. The U.S. Episcopal Church joined Bono's campaign last summer, and St. Andrew's parishioners got a taste yesterday of what it means to be a "One Congregation" - from signing petitions concerning proposed legislation in Congress to attending church services accompanied by rock music.

THE KIND offer of Warren Beatty to consider serving his nation as president should not go unappreciated.Confiding to a reporter that he might run for the Democratic nomination to compensate for others' inadequacies, Mr. Beatty comes from the proud tradition of Hollywood film stars who sacrifice career for public service. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee comes to mind, as well as Representatives Sonny Bono and Helen Gahagan Douglas and Sen. George Murphy -- all of California -- and, of course, President Ronald Reagan.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- In his obituary, Sonny Bono, the entertainer and congressman, was quoted as having questioned the need for qualifications for jobs he had held."

IN THE course of one lunar month, three widows have been elected to positions once held by their late husbands. In California, Lois Capps won a special vote to serve out the remaining term of Democratic representative Walter Capps. Mary Bono was similarly elected to replace Republican Sonny Bono. On the other side of the planet, Sonia Gandhi was voted president of the political party led by her late husband, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.This is an age in which all sorts of social stereotypes -- the good scout, the passive grandmother, the uninvolved father -- have undergone a solid debunking.

WASHINGTON -- By 3: 35 p.m., only one person was left standing by the Hate and Hypocrisy sign outside the Capitol. The woman from the National Mad as Hell campaign was sitting alone on the cold grass, no mob of fellow protesters in sight. Even the baby Jesus and portable Wise Men, symbols of hope in the divisive season of politics, were packed up and hauled off the marble steps of Congress.History was supposed to be boldly in evidence this day.History, it seems, went home early.Instead of the solemnity of the moment, what Washington delivered during yesterday's impeachment debate was lots of catty commentary by outraged lawmakers, some general amazement by small groups of spectators and the occasionally grave political statement.

Rock fans have come to expect a certain beating of the drums whenever a big tour gets under way. Inevitably, there are MTV specials, VH1 retrospectives and contests on The Box. Sometimes, you even see paid advertising.But for sheer hype, the ABC special "U2: A Year in Pop" sets a new high-water mark -- one that makes downtown Grand Forks look drier than Death Valley. Tied to the launch of U2's Pop Mart Tour (which began last night in Las Vegas), the show is an unabashed valentine.It gushes.

A year ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were in the catbird seat.They took the NFL's best record (13-3) into the playoffs and had a home-field ticket to the Super Bowl.It all fell apart when they were stunned by the Indianapolis Colts, 10-7, in their divisional playoff game. That started a free fall that left the Chiefs on the outside looking in for the playoffs this year: They went from 13-3 to 9-7 and now appear to be in turmoil.It starts at the top, where general manager Carl Peterson has yet get a new contract to replace the one that expires at the end of next month.

Baltimore goes to court this week or next in search of a bigger slice of the state school aid pie, and offices of the lawyers for competing interests in the case will be only a few miles apart -- in Montgomery County.One of the firms, Venable, Baetjer & Howard, has done a 180-degree turnabout. Fifteen years ago, it represented Baltimore in the city's first -- and ultimately unsuccessful -- school finance suit. Today, it's looking out for the interests of Montgomery, the city's arch-foe as it approaches the bar again.

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress, along with the gay and lesbian relatives of several prominent lawmakers, gathered on Capitol Hill yesterday to push for a law banning workplace discrimination against homosexuals.And they cited the recent incident at the White House, in which Secret Service agents put on rubber gloves before admitting gay elected officials, to bolster their case.Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank called the incident an "outrageous example of stupid insensitivity" and proof that individuals are still frequently mistreated simply because they are gay or lesbian.

For Sonny Bono, getting elected to Congress may have been easier than gaining the respect and cooperation of his former Hollywood colleagues.His Entertainment Task Force "summit meeting," intended to "build a bridge" between the House Republican leadership and the traditionally Democratic show business community, will be held tomorrow morning at the Beverly Hills City Hall. But the event had trouble attracting a broad segment of Hollywood's power elite, and was salvaged only when organizers shifted to a less confrontational format that brought about 20 industry higher-ups into the fold.

No Line on the Horizon U2 [Interscope Records] ** 1/2 (2 1/2 STARS) Less than a minute into the first track on U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, it's clear the Irish rockers are ready to take risks again. That much is refreshing. For all of the copies sold and Grammys won, U2's last album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, was a safe bet. The songs were focused and vaguely reminiscent of the group's early years, but few were very memorable. Not so with No Line on the Horizon, which won't be released in stores in the U.S. until next Tuesday, but was available for listening this weekend on U2's MySpace page and on U2.com.

U2's Bono to write column for The New York Times Bono - lead singer for U2 and an advocate in the fight against poverty in Africa and AIDS - will write an Op-Ed column for The New York Times. The paper announced that his first column will appear tomorrow, for which he will also do a podcast. His column will appear occasionally. Bono, 48, called the gig "an honor," and joked that he's "never been great with the full stops or commas." The Times said the column will cover a broad range of topics.

John Harold Rhines, a youth adviser and longtime lawyer who worked many cases for free, died of heart disease Thursday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 64. Born in Ocala, Fla., Mr. Rhines was the eldest of six children born to John Harold Rhines Sr. and Gladys Grant. After his father died, his mother remarried, and the family relocated to Baltimore in 1947. Mr. Rhines played football at Edmondson High and graduated in 1961. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Morgan State College, now Morgan State University, in 1966.

A concert film featuring one of the world's premier rock bands in top form, shot using cutting-edge technology that gives the audience a better-than-front-row seat. What's not to love? U2 3D, opening this afternoon at the Maryland Science Center's IMAX theater, uses updated 3-D technology to give the viewer not only unrestricted access to the band in concert, but also access unavailable to anything without wings. It's not enough that you get to have Bono practically reach out and clutch your hand during "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" and practically sit on The Edge's shoulder as he clangs out the power chords that propel "Sunday, Bloody Sunday."

Former Vice President Al Gore and rock star Bono come from vastly different backgrounds, but this summer they have a lot in common. Each has been engaged in an extraordinary promotional campaign for a social cause, culminating in a highly commercialized media spectacle. For Mr. Gore, it was the Live Earth concert; for Bono, it was a special issue of Vanity Fair that he edited, featuring the Red Campaign to bring heightened awareness of Africa's AIDS epidemic. These efforts are changing the face of grass-roots politics, perhaps even forcing society to reconsider what it means to be politically involved.

When the likes of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, or Christopher Hitchens, citing insights of science or the rise of sectarian violence, denounce the very idea of God, fundamentalists strike back by attacking pillars on which such modern criticism stands. In this mode, Pope Benedict XVI last week issued two unexpected decrees, restoring the atavistic Mass of the Council of Trent and resuscitating an outmoded Catholic exclusivism - the notion of a pope-centered Catholicism as the only authentic way to God. The Council of Trent, whose Mass and theology (including its anti-Judaism)

During morning services at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Glenwood yesterday, parishioners received a new accessory: white plastic bracelets inscribed with the word "One." Like the yellow cancer-awareness bracelets popularized by bicyclist Lance Armstrong, the white bracelets are a marketing device. They are symbolic of the One Campaign, an effort to end global poverty that's spearheaded by Bono, frontman of the rock band U2. The U.S. Episcopal Church joined Bono's campaign last summer, and St. Andrew's parishioners got a taste yesterday of what it means to be a "One Congregation" - from signing petitions concerning proposed legislation in Congress to attending church services accompanied by rock music.

More scoop on the guy who, in the last days of the governor's race, lent $500,000 to the Martin O'Malley campaign. I told readers the other day that John Coale was Greta van Susteren's husband, Lisa Marie Presley's divorce lawyer, a prominent Scientologist and a self-proclaimed ambulance chaser who has run afoul of the bar in Indiana. All true, but Coale called the other day to say he also is: An O'Malley supporter who isn't looking for political favors. (He was named chairman of the governor-elect's juvenile services workgroup Friday, but there's no money in that.

When Aaron Kraus was on a hunger strike outside Government House to protest university funding cuts two years ago, Gov. Robert Ehrlich offered the University of Maryland student government president a steak (which Kraus refused) and shelter in the mansion (which he accepted because it was raining). Now that Kraus is a graduate, he has taken something else from the Ehrlich administration: a job as a public information officer with the Department of Natural Resources. How'd he get that gig, since his resume could sum up his college work experience as: Thorn in Gubernatorial Side?

Acquisitions DAP Inc., the Baltimore-based subsidiary of RPM International Inc., acquired the Patch & Repair line of ready-to-use products from Custom Building Products of Seal Beach, Calif. No terms were disclosed. CTR Investments & Consulting Inc. of Pasadena acquired International Identification Group, a visitor tracking management company, for shares of CTR stock plus a performance-based incentive package. Awards Jerry Fader, founder of Allstate Leasing and president and chief operating officer of the Atlantic Automotive Corp.