By TRISH CHOATE, Scripps Howard News Service

WASHINGTON - William Howard Taft was a supersized man who many contend left a puny legacy, but the nation's 27th president changes the shape of things to come in the world imagined by Jason Heller in "Taft 2012: A Novel."

WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense has waged war on two fronts in the Middle East, kept complicated fighter, bomber and transport aircraft flying all over the world and schooled troops in high-level intelligence gathering, but it hasn't won the battle of the balance sheet after more than 20 years of engagement.

WASHINGTON - Texas Gov. Rick Perry snubbed the European Union ambassador to the United States last month during the ambassador's visit to the Lone Star State.

EU Ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida said he hoped to meet with Perry in late October to talk about economic development, but at the last minute, campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination called Perry away from Austin.

WASHINGTON - The repeal of the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy doesn't mean same-sex partners of gay and lesbian troops can shop at the commissary, move into base family housing or get health care through the military.

SAN ANGELO, Texas - On June 11, 2008, top cops from Arizona, Nevada and Utah walked out of a meeting in Las Vegas excited about the prospect of banding together with federal authorities for a multistate effort to fight crimes related to polygamy.

The task force still hasn't materialized.

WASHINGTON - Before a person goes on vacation, several things must happen to prove that taking time off is the only way to maintain sanity.

In addition, the longer the vacation, the longer the list of, shall we say, encouraging signs.

If you're just going on a three-day weekend, then you might get off nearly scot-free.

WASHINGTON - Wind farms could have the ability to make days a little cooler and nights a little warmer, make crops grow better and shift the course of a storm.

All that might sound like science fiction, but researchers are finding such results in their studies of turbines and wind farms.

WASHINGTON - Top Republican strategist Dave Carney just quit Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign, but as far as the New Hampshire-based political consultant is concerned, he never stopped working for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who some are urging to run for the GOP presidential nomination.

WASHINGTON - WASHINGTON

The license plate on a car belonging to a Texas GOP congressman's aide -has drawn fire from some who see it as an insult to President Barack Obama, the nation's 44th president.

The plate, WTF 44, was attached to the Lincoln Navigator sports utility vehicle belonging to Scott Graves, the legislative director for Rep. Mike Conaway.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II has come a long way from his days growing up in west Texas public housing and attending a blacks-only Booker T. Washington High School in a country divided by segregation.