For some reason, mild violence struck twice around Bush at APEC this weekend. Reporters scuffled for the best seats at a press conference, and Chilean and US Secret Service bodyguards got into a fracas over whether or not the Secret Service could accompany Bush into a dinner. (The AP reporters use "scrum" in both cases. When was the last time you used "scrum"? Too long ago, I'd wager.) Evidently Bush personally pulled a bodyguard out of the fight in a "let's settle down now" maneuver. I feel surprised that the President's corps of bodyguards let itself get distracted in this manner.

The more interesting White House-related story: Rice had uterine fibroid embolization and is recovering well. Various stories emphasize, via some spokesperson, that her condition wasn't cancerous or life-threatening, and that she never went under general anesthesia, which are appropriate reassurances regarding one of the President's closest advisers and one of our nation's top policymakers.

I had never heard of this procedure before, so I Googled a bit and found out that UFE is one of those newer, smaller alternatives to big problematic surgeries. Instead of slicing through lots of healthy tissue to surgically remove a tumor or fibroid, doctors can use tiny injections or streams of particles to burn or starve the offending cells. Pretty cool stuff.

Rice just turned 50. She's never married and has no children. And, although several women have conceived and delivered babies successfully after UFE, "At this time, UFE is not commonly being performed on women who desire future fertility because its effects on fertility are unknown."

It sounds as though Rice (unlike Hillary Clinton or another American political pioneer, Frances Perkins) has made her decision to be a 21st-century Janissary. I'm glad she has the option to do that. I hope she recovers completely.