"Not since Monica Lewinsky flashed her thong at Bill Clinton -- and described the act to Barbara Walters as "a small, subtle, flirtatious gesture" -- has anyone used such an undergarment as an instrument of communication in the nation's capital. That is, not until Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Yesterday at the National Press Club, Strossen held up her thong -- emblazoned with the logo of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Total Information Awareness program -- to lampoon what she considers the government's sinister intrusion into personal privacy as part of retired Adm. John Poindexter's allegedly misguided attempt to snuff out terrorism. The night before, Strossen had displayed the thong (a Valentine's Day gag gift from ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero) during a debate with Pat Buchanan. Buchanan offered to model it. In jest. We hope.

"I love to use humor, especially sexual humor, to make very serious points," Strossen explained. Well, it has certainly made us think about the issues." (Lloyd Grove, The Washington Post, March 12, 2003).