'War on Terror' Makes White House Comeback

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Blast From the Past

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs turned back the clock a bit Monday when he referred to "our War on Terror" in response to a question about Afghanistan. Asked why he used the Bush-era term, Gibbs said: "We're focused on getting the strategy right."

The phrase was coined by President George W. Bush after 9/11. But it has not been used at all by the current White House. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed in March that the administration had stopped using "War on Terror" and John Brennan, the president's own counterterrorism adviser, went further: "Describing our efforts as a 'global war' only plays into the warped narrative that Al Qaeda propagates."

You've Been Served

Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean is suing pageant officials for libel, slander and religious discrimination. Prejean says that two months before April's contest, organizers told her not to mention God at public events.

Prejean finished second in the Miss USA competition after answering a question by stating she believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

Pageant officials fired Prejean in June, saying she violated her contract by missing scheduled appearances. But her lawyer says Prejean was fired for her controversial answer.

Lights Out

Back in 2007, Germany's environment minister proposed a ban on incandescent light bulbs. The ban went into effect Tuesday for all European Union countries. But it seems his fellow Germans just can't get enough of the regular light bulbs, the ones the minister called the energy-guzzling versions.

Incandescent bulb sales have soared 35-percent in the first half of this year. Some German retailers say they've seen sales of 100-watt bulbs jump 600-percent since the end of July.

Listen to the Music

The House of Representatives Tuesday faced the music and reversed a decision to kill the patriotic tunes callers hear when they are put on hold. The original music was abruptly restored after a three-week absence, because of negative reaction to the smooth jazz standards that had replaced it.

Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the House chief administrative officer — who reports to Speaker Nancy Pelosi — said: "The music was changed during recess as a pilot program in an attempt to offer offices a choice of hold music. But based on the feedback we received, the old music was preferred and we reactivated it today."

Lawmakers were not told in advance about the pilot program. Michigan Republican Congressman Fred Upton was not happy, writing in a complaint letter: "We should proudly embrace our nation's patriotic songs, not callously shun them aside for elevator music."

— FOX News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.