An estimated 10,000 copies of the Arizona Daily Wildcat were stolen yesterday. Coincidentally enough, the paper had a Police Beat item about how a girl believed she had been slipped a "date rape" drug at a Phi Kappa Psi frat party.

The woman claimed that on arrival, a fraternity member she knew gave her a drink. Later, an unidentified man gave her another drink. The woman told police she had assumed both drinks contained vodka, as they were both colorless. The woman reported that at approximately 11:30 p.m., she had begun feeling “overly flirtatious.” The woman also claimed to have experienced a loss of both hearing and bladder control. The woman told officers that her friend had walked her back to her residence at the Arizona-Sonora Residence Hall at approximately 1 a.m. on Sept. 27, at which point she vomited. The woman’s friends later told her that between the hours of 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 and 1 a.m. on Sept. 27, she had made out with three different men at the party. The next day, the woman looked up GHB online and believed she had experience its symptoms.

We love this detail:

When contacted by phone, Kovalski said: "I would have no clue at all. I'm in no way involved, and neither is Phi Psi. I have no idea how my homework got out there."

Ward 6 City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, who had previously stopped short of telling voters to reject the Public Safety First initiative, came out against Prop 200 yesterday during press conference yesterday at the Reid Park Zoo. (We didn't attend the conference, which also featured representatives from the business community, labor unions and social-service non-profits, but from what we've seen of the coverage on local news stations, it looks like it was a disaster.)

City Councilman Rodney Glassman also came out against the initiative this week. We've seen an e-mail in which Glassman states: "I will not be voting for Proposition 200 and do not support it. I support increasing law enforcement but this is the wrong way to do it."

With Councilwoman Regina Romero and Councilman Steve Leal also opposing the initiative and Councilwoman Shirley Scott supporting it, that leaves only Councilwoman Karin Uhlich as the fence-straddler in the fight over Prop 200. Uhlich issued a statement yesterday that tags Prop 200 as a bad idea, but she has, so far, been unwilling to say people should vote against it:

Proposition 200 is a very serious issue before the voters. Today, as early ballots are mailed to homes across the city, it is important that voters know the facts.

As I have stated all along, I have serious reservations about Prop 200,

The Arizona Daily Star ran an op-ed by George F. Will that suggests that Obama is some kind of narcissist because he uses the first-person pronoun too much in his speeches. Naturally, the marching morons who comment on the Star's Web site jumped on the bandwagon, saying this is proof that Obama is all about self-aggrandizement.

This is a popular meme on the right these days, but like so many others, it's not really true. Blogger Mark Liberman ran the numbers on Bush, Obama and Clinton—and guess what? Bush and Clinton use the first-person pronoun more than Obama does:

…since I'm one of those narrow-minded fundamentalists who believe that statements can be true or false, and that we should care about the difference, I decided to check. …

I took the transcript of Obama's first press conference (from 2/9/2009), and found that he used 'I' 163 times in 7,775 total words, for a rate of 2.10%. He also used 'me' 8 times and 'my' 35 times, for a total first-person singular pronoun count of 206 in 7,775 words, or a rate of 2.65%.

For comparison, I took George W. Bush's first two solo press conferences as president (from 2/22/2001 and 3/29/2001), and found that W used 'I' 239 times in 6,681 total words, for a rate of 3.58% — a rate 72% higher than Obama's rate. President Bush also used 'me' 26 times, 'my' 31 times, and 'myself' 4 times, for a total first-person singular pronoun count of 300 in 6,681 words, or a rate of 4.49% (59% higher than Obama).

For a third data point, I took William J. Clinton's first two solo press conferences as president (from 1/29/1993 and 3/23/1993), and found that he used 'I' 218 times, 'me' 34 times, 'my' 22 times, and 'myself' once, in 6,935 total words. That's a total of 275 first-person singular pronouns, and a rate of 3.14% for 'I' (51% higher than Obama), and 3.87% for first-person singular pronouns overall (50% higher than Obama).

As a result of this previous experience, I had a first-person-counting script all ready to go, and it took only a few seconds to check the new transcripts. This time around, Barack Obama's Olympic remarks included 26 first-person-singular words out of 1130, for a rate of 2.3%. This is slightly below his typical rate for presidential press conferences, and a bit more than half the rate of the George W. Bush pressers that I measured earlier (2.3/4.49 = 51%, to be precise).

WHAT: Star Party

WHEN: Tonight from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: 1601 E. University Blvd., on UA campus

WHY: The White House is holding a star party astronomy event, and Flaundrau decided to throw a party in conjunction with the White House to support their message.

ACTIVITIES: Public viewing of Jupiter, the moon and celestial objects with Flandrau's 16-inch observatory telescope along with portable telescopes on the UA Mall

COST: Telescope viewing is free. Donations are encouraged for entry to the Mineral Museum to support astronomy education in the community.

INFO: 621-3646, www.uasciencecenter.org/astronomy

DETAILS from the press release:

Flandrau: The UA Science Center will host a star party on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the UA Mall to join the White House in an international celebration of World Space Week. The public is invited for a special free telescope viewing of Jupiter and various celestial objects from Flandrau’s 16-inch observatory telescope and portable telescopes on the UA Mall. Assisting Flandrau will be astronomers from the University of Arizona chapter of SEDS (Society for the Exploration & Development of Space) and the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA). In addition, the Flandrau facility will be open to view its meteorite collections, as well as specimens in the UA Mineral Museum.

“We’re very excited that President Obama is demonstrating his support for science education, and astronomy in particular, by hosting the first ever star party at the White House,” said Alexis R. Faust, Executive Director for Flandrau: The UA Science Center. “Star parties are a unique way to connect the importance of space and planetary science research at the UA to families and children in our community.”

World Space Week began Sunday with celebrations in over 50 nations and an announcement that President Obama will host the first ever "Star Party" on the White House lawn this Wednesday evening. The White House event for middle-school students will include 20 telescopes and various hands-on activities that will "highlight the President's commitment to science, engineering and math education as the foundation of this nation's global technological and economic leadership," according to a White House statement. The UN-declared World Space Week, October 4-10, is the largest annual space event on Earth, according to the World Space Week Association.

In the Oct. 1 issue, we included an event listing indicating Diana Gabaldon would be in Tucson on Oct. 2. That was incorrect. She will be discussing her novel An Echo in the Bone on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m., at Barnes and Noble, 5130 E. Broadway Blvd.

Then on Sunday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., an educators' reception will be held to kick off the Educator Appreciation Week. Teachers can sign up for a free educators' discount card. Performances, food and free giveaways will be offered.

Our friend and colleague Max Cannon's been doing some comic-book stuff, and he sent us this important alert:

RED MEAT's Max Cannon ( a.k.a. my inglorious self ) will be signing his questionable contribution to Marvel Comics' STRANGE TALES #2 this Wednesday, Oct. 7 (today) at Tucson's own beloved Fantasy Comics. Hoping you can be there to witness the travesty of Marvel's extreme lapse in judgment (by including me) for yourself.

Original artwork will be on display.

4 to 7 p.m.

Fantasy Comics
2595 N. First Ave.

When you read our election endorsements in this week's paper, and you're left scratching your head, why not alleviate any possible who-do-I-vote-for headache by playing a round of Pornstar or Potato? Not a bad time suck, but it would be even better if it was Pornstar, Potato or Politician?

Play it right here.

The Tucson Tea Party is having a big protest rally this Saturday at Tucson Electric Park. Billed as Tucson's Last Stand, it's a chance for conservatives and libertarians to express their displeasure with Democrats who are in power.

But there's one anti-tax message that might not be heard. Brandon Patrick, who is running the campaign against the Public Safety First initiative that city voters will decide on Nov. 3, says that he's having trouble connecting with Trent Humphries, the organizer of the event.

Patrick wants to have a chance to warn the crowd that Prop 200 will likely result in tax increases because the latest estimates show this unfunded mandate would cost the city nearly $64 million a year once it's fully implemented in five years.

UPDATE: Patrick tells The Range that Humphries did get back to him earlier today and let him know that neither pro-200 nor anti-200 representatives would be speaking at the event, but he was welcome to buy a booth.

I've got a free copy of the Field Guide to Candy to whoever e-mails the best candy recipe to [email protected] by Saturday, Oct. 31.

The book is a cornucopia of confection information, including recipes for everything from rice-crispy treats to chocolate-covered strawberries that look like they’re wearing tiny tuxedos. My personal favorite is the recipe for chocolate-dipped potato chips, the mere thought of which makes my love handles jiggle with giddy delight.

Entries will be judged by assistant editor Irene Messina and me, Adam Borowitz. I'll mail the book to the winner.

Good luck, and if this contest goes well, we'll be holding more in the near future.