Killer Press Kit—He got everything right. From the handguns to the black T-shirt to the vest to the black, backward baseball cap. He posed. He spoke in short sentences--perfect for sound bites and pull quotes. Cho Seung-Hui made a press kit, a video and nearly 50 head shots and sent it off to NBC. It was accurate. He knew what a killer is supposed to look like, and he crafted his image carefully to match.

In one facility in Taylor, Texas, about 45 minutes outside of Austin, the kids don't pretend they're teachers or doctors. In their prison garb, they play guard-detainee, where the guard screams in the detainee's face as the detainee cowers and cries. That's the picture lawyer Lisa Graybill paints of the T. Don Hutto Center, a prison converted last summer to detain immigrant families.

Why isn’t the United States working to make Iran a close ally? Iran has enormous natural resources, a rich culture, an educated populace and a strategic position in the Middle East. In many ways, compared to its neighbors, Iran is a bulwark of civilization.

A friend forwarded an e-mail containing a link to a website that documents what we are spending on the Iraq adventure. The numbers change each second as the totals are updated in real time. The figure spins as wildly as an odometer during a sports car test drive, reflecting the cost’s exponential climb.

At the April 16 meeting, councilors debated various issues but postponed votes. Two land use appeals opposed the Development Review Board's (DRB) approval of a subdivision plat near the Embudito trailhead. The DRB ruling allows construction on individual lots to exceed the sector plan's requirements regarding density and slope as long as averages for the entire area meet guidelines. Councilors will hear the appeals in May.

Kurt Vonnegut Went Up to Heaven--I went to see the writer at Popejoy Hall a few years back and he asked those of us in the audience to point at the sky and say those words when he died.

Monday, April 16: The head of Albuquerque's 311, the city’s non-emergency information service, resigned today. Michael Padilla was accused of creating a hostile work environment and insulting lady employees, allegations that Padilla has denied. The call center was taken over by former second in command, quality and training manager Esther Tenenbaum.

Dateline: Japan--Talk about a hot seat! Japan’s leading toilet manufacturer is recalling some 180,000 bidets because they have a tendency to burst into flames. Toto Ltd. is offering free repairs on the Z series electric bidet after wiring problems caused three separate toilets to catch fire between March 2006 and March 2007. According to company spokesperson Emi Tanaka, the high-tech toilet sent up smoke in 26 other incidents. “Fortunately, nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out and there were no injuries,” Tanaka said. “The fire would have been just under your buttocks.” The popular Z series toilet features a pulsating massage spray, a power dryer, built-in-the-bowl deodorizing filter, a “Tornado Wash” flush and a lid that opens and closes automatically. The model, which retails for between $1,680 and $2,600, is not sold in the United States.

[RE: Editorial, “Sex and (Bad) Politics,” April 12-18] I have focused nearly my entire career on studying human papillomaviruses (HPV) in New Mexico and other global populations. It is correct that my research group has contributed to HPV vaccine development and this fact is noted in the above-named article. I would like to clarify my position on Senate Bill 1174, which would have mandated all sixth-grade girls in the state to receive HPV vaccines. I applaud Gov. Richardson’s decision to veto this bill and the wisdom of his advisors to realize that the state was not prepared to deliver what was proposed. The governor’s decision was by no means an overreaction of the administration or its constituents but rather an appropriate response to a bill that was rushed, poorly written and did not incorporate some of the most critical components required to properly enable HPV vaccine mandate.