Helen Thomas Gets a New Job

She may be 90 years old, but she's not going anywhere: Helen Thomas, the former United Press International reporter who resigned last year after saying Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine," has a new job. Thomas will be writing a weekly column for the News-Press of Falls Church, Virginia, a posh suburb of Washington, D.C. The newspaper's editor, Nicholas Benton, has known Thomas for 20 years, and said he was convinced she doesn't hold extreme views. "Following my more than eight hours of direct, one-on-one talks with her since the events of last June, I remain firmly convinced that she is neither bigoted, nor racist, nor anti-Semitic," Benton said. Thomas' debut column, published Thursday, attacks Republicans' perennial talk about privatizing Social Security.