Etc...

I won't ever do it again

Charles Haslett was caught exceeding the speed limit by 11 m.p.h. one day in April near Bridport, England. He readily admits this wasn't the first time and that anyone else in the same situation would be strip-ped of his driver's license. Yet he walked out of court last week with only a slap on the wrist - a modest fine and a warning. So, does he have royal connections or something? Not exactly. But he is a Prince Charles look-alike and, in fact, earns his living making personal appearances posing as the heir to the throne. His defense: that he needs his car to carry the two suitcases of clothes he uses in each show.

As the Republican National Convention unfolds this week in New York's Madison Square Garden, most of the featured speakers, naturally, will be party luminaries, such as host Mayor Michael Bloomberg, ex-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California. The keynote speaker, however, will be retiring US Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia - a Democrat. Miller consistently has voted with Republicans and considers himself out of step with his own party's leadership and its presidential challenger, John Kerry. But what's especially notable is that he was a keynote speaker once before - at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, also in New York. The 10 most recent GOP keynoters, and the state or district each represented:

1964 Mark Hatfield, Oregon
1968 Daniel Evans, Washington
1972 Richard Lugar, Indiana Anne Armstrong, Texas
1976 Howard Baker, Tennessee
1980 Guy Vander Jagt, Michigan
1984 Katherine Ortega, New Mexico
1988 Thomas Kean, New Jersey
1992 Phil Gramm, Texas
1996 Susan Molinari, New York
2000 Colin Powell, Washington, D.C.
- CQ Press