Katie in the City

United 93

2006-04-28T11:36:00.000-04:00

I do not want to see this movie. But I probably will anyway. The early reports are that it is very well-made and as sensitive to the issues as possible. But 9/11 was not even five years ago. Not to mention... we watched the whole thing live. I don't think it is necessarily in bad taste to have created the movie, obviously it is a pertinent issue, and the filmmakers had the backing of all of the surviving family members. My question is... who really wants to see it? The events of 9/11 were not and are not entertaining. Knowing and dealing with acts of terror is one thing. It is a fact of modern life, we can't avoid it. But who would want to go out of their way to sit in a theater for two hours and watch the unfolding of a terrorist act? Especially one that we've already lived through once?

However, I believe that in order to have a valid opinion on something, you have to educate yourself as much as possible on it. So I don't feel as though I can rightly judge the quality, purpose or intentions of the film without having seen it. So if you see me at the theater with a box of tissues, you know what I'm going to see. I'll just have to pick an afternoon when I'm already having a bad day. No sense in ruining a perfectly good one.

Vote "NO," Virginia!

2006-04-27T11:50:00.000-04:00

As we approach campaign season again, the mediastorm here in the DC area will focus on whether Congress will gain a Democratic majority in November, the effect of the president's abysmal approval ratings on Republican candidates, why the Democrats can't get a cohesive platform together, et cetera. We in Virginia appear to have a relatively slow year. There will be one Senate seat up (currently held by Republican George Allen, who is running for re-election), and some House seats, but there is no Gubernatorial race, and we really aren't a "swing" state. If you vote in Virginia on November 7th (as you SHOULD!) you will also be asked to vote on an amendment to the Virginia Constitution. The Marshall/Newman amendment, if passed, will legalize descrimination in our state, by limiting the availability of marriage and civil unions to heterosexual couples only. This is disgraceful. If you are a citizen of Virginia, I URGE you (come October, I may even beg) to go to the polls in November and vote against this amendment. Use your vote as your voice to tell our lawmakers, and the rest of the country, that our state has evolved past the point where we feel the need to discriminate against people who are different. That we, as all religions urge, are accepting and not judgemental of our fellow human beings.

The full text of the amendment:
"That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions. This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage".

For more information on this issue, and tips on how to get involved, check out www.votenova.org

A sample of what you can find on the website:

Ten reasons to vote NO in November

Vote NO if you agree with ANY of the following:

You believe that the language of the proposed amendment goes too far in denying legal recognition to all unmarried relationships and not just same-sex relationships.
You are concerned that the amendment will be read by the courts to bar enforcement of domestic violence laws against unmarried partners.
You are concerned that the amendment will be used by opposing factions in families seeking to deny unmarried partners of loved ones the right to hospital visitation, to decide about organ donation or burial or to determine guardianship of children or property rights.
You are a business person or business owner who is concerned that your business will be sued for offering domestic partner benefits or health insurance to other than immediate family members or that you will not be able to attract and retain the best employees because you will not be able to match benefits available elsewhere.
You believe that civil marriage, as a governmental benefit, should be available to all without discrimination.
You are a religious leader or member of a faith community concerned that the amendment will prohibit you from celebrating marriages or unions consistent with your faith.
You are in an unmarried relationship, and you are concerned that the amendment may deny you access to the courts to enforce legal agreements regarding child custody, property and other arrangements essential to provide stability for your relationship and your family.
You believe that it is unnecessary to amend the constitution because Virginia statutes have prohibited same-sex marriages for 30 years and civil unions and other legal agreements between same-sex couples for the last three years without any legal challenge.
You believe that marriage should be limited to one man and one woman, and civil unions, domestic partnerships and other legal agreements between unmarried gay or straight couples should be legal.
You support full marriage equality.

Shush you. April's a crazy month.

2006-04-18T10:26:00.000-04:00

How is it almost the end of April already?

So I have a Page-a-Day desk calendar called "Wild Words from Wild Women". Granted, they aren't all wild, and some are downright boring, but I've saved a few since the beginning of the year that have struck my fancy. I'm going to type them out here for your thoughtful consideration. As an extra bonus, I will contemplate more on any specific quote that anyone requests in a later post. So pretty much, that means Kenny, if you want to read a rant about any of the following quotes, let me know :-) Here they are, in no particular order:

"The most effective way to do it, is to do it." -Toni Cade Bambara, African-American Author

"What do you mean you 'don't believe in homosexuality'? It's not like the Easter Bunny, your belief isn't necessary." -Lea Delaria, gay gadfly

"If I'm not always happy, that doesn't mean I'm doing something wrong. It means I am doing something real." -Laurie Seligman, composer of mini-mantras

"Ask half the married women in the nation how they became wives: they will tell you their friends urged them." -Fanny Burney, noted novelist of the eighteenth century

"There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are intersecting monologues, that's all." -Rebecca West, known for her prowess with the pen

"When one is out of touch with oneself, one cannot touch others." -Anne Morrow Lindburgh, aviatrix author

"I used to be Snow White... but I drifted." -Mae West, sexy and sinful

"In order to have an enemy, one must be somebody. One must be a dorce before he can be resisted by another force. A malicious enemy is better than a clumsy friend." -Anne-Sophie Swetchine, French-Russian author

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, "I'll try again tomorrow." -Mary Anne Radmacher, American writer

"I don't believe life is supposed to make you feel good, or make you feel miserable, either. Life is jsut supposed to make you feel." -Gloria Naylor, the brain behind Women of Brewster Place

Updated: Incriminating photos...

2006-04-04T10:24:00.000-04:00

... of all sorts of debauchery, including the morris/norris birthday weekend, maryb's birthday, and quality kickball fun... my photos

You've been on Desperate Housewives too long when...

2006-03-30T11:47:00.000-05:00

Now, I don't usually get into the celebrity gossip thing, because, well, I really just don't care. But this morning I heard a most wretched piece of news. Teri Hatcher, aka Lois Lane and better known as Wisteria Lane dweller Susan Mayer, in a move remniscent of her DH cohort Eva Longoria's character, Gabrielle Solis, has apparently taken up with one... Ryan Seacrest.

I know you're going to start bashing and calling me "ageist" and all that nonsense, but it's not an age thing. If Ryan Seacrest was a 40 year old closeted talent show host, I'd disapprove just as much. She can just do so much better. She belongs with one of the stately elder gentlemen of Hollywood... an Ed Harris, or Harrison Ford type. It's not that I don't like Idol, and I am a huge Teri Hatcher fan. I think she's a great actress, and a brave and classy lady. She doesn't need to be degrading herself to the level of a teeny-bopping one-show-wonder like Seacrest.

David wins again!

2006-03-28T11:04:00.000-05:00

Take that, Goliath. My faith in the underdog has been reaffirmed with George Mason's toppling of three big name schools to arrive at the NCAA Final Four.

For those of you unfortunate souls who weren't lucky enough to grow up in the Northern Virginia area, you can't actually appreciate the awesomeness of this event for all it's worth. When I was a young'n, Mason was hardly regarded as an option among the state schools everyone wanted to attend. If you stayed in-state, you went to UVa, or William and Mary, or Tech, or JMU, or VCU... you get my drift. Mason was simply "that commuter school" - without a discernible campus, located in the fray of the ever-expanding exurbs. Completely misplaced - a tad too far from DC to be in the city, but not far enough to be in a "college town", like Harrisonburg or Charlottesville. The only thing we really had to compare it to was NOVA. So that's what it was - a step above NOVA.

I'm not implying that there's anything wrong with attending community college - au contraire, it provides a stellar foundation for many people to build a career or further their education upon. But in the gleaming utopia that is the upper middle-class of the DC-burbs, it just wasn't considered an option.

Mason has been coming into it's own for some five to ten years now. It made it's name first with stellar graduate programs that are convenient and affordable for many of the professionals working in and around DC. As the job market became tight in the post-tech boom arena, a Master's degree became (and still is) par for the course for many professionals looking to maintain a competitive edge in the job market and move up within their field of choice.

In addition to buffing up it's academics, the smart folks at Mason put a good amount of effort into the campus itself. Up went new dorms, in went new gardens, new eateries opened. It developed the feel of a residential campus, and by doing so attracted more students from a farther radius, and thus is much less of a commuter school today than it was ten years ago. Along with this, common sense goes to show that the more applicants a school has, the more selective it can be, and the caliber of students, professors, and programs inevitably rises.

And so, up went the caliber of the athletic programs. And up, and up. And while we were all trying to catch our perceptions of Mason up to it's reality, the school came into it's own and stunned us all with a the presence of a champion.

Way to go, Patriots! You make me proud to be a NoVa native.

I don't have to grow up yet! Yaaaay!

2006-03-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

So last week, on a whim, I joined an adult kickball league. Actually, it's more of a flip cup league that plays kickball until it's late enough to start drinking. This is fantastic for a number of reasons. Basically, it combines a kegger (best part of college?) with recess (best part of grade school!), without the cliqueyness of high school. It's the camraderie and socializing of a Greek organization, without the absurdly high dues, strict rules and mandatory attendance. In short, it's brilliant.

The league I joined is brand new this year, it's called the New Adult Kickball In DC. Or, NAKID. (See why I like these people?) My team, Cack'n'Ballaz (henceforth to be referred to as "CNB"), is in the Pitcher Division of the Coors Light Chuggers league. Additionally, I was able to convince Morris and Norris both to sign up as well, and they are also proud members of CNB. From what I can tell, this isn't a bad way to spend my Sunday afternoons through June. Once we get a schedule, I'll post it, so you can all come and cheer us on!

Hi, my name is Katie, and I'm a bad blogger

2006-03-16T11:15:00.000-05:00

In the interest of not wasting your time on a post filled with how busy I've been, I'll leave it at that. With a promise to try and be better. One post a week is my goal. You have permission to beat me with a wet noodle if I miss a week.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Blessed Solstice...

2005-12-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

...et cetera, et cetera. In observance of the season, I submit for your reading pleasure, this poem by Maya Angelou, written for and read by the author at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, in Washington DC, December 1st, 2005.

"Amazing Peace"
by Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Floodwaters await in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to
avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and gray and threatening.

We question ourselves. What have we done to
so affront nature?
We interrogate and worry God.
Are you there? Are you there, really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension,
Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the
bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from
rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps
quietly in the corner.
Floodwaters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children.
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they
walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth, brightening
all things,
Even hate, which crouches breeding in
dark carridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by
its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of
Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait awhile
with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and
Muslim, say come.
Peace.
Come and fill us and our world with your
majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and
the Confucian,
Implore you to stay awhile with us
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see
community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create a
language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to
each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of
Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues the coming
of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and
Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the
word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into
ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apology or
hesitation:

Peace, my brother.
Peace, my sister.
Peace, my soul.

What I've been up to (besides being a bad bad blogger)

2005-12-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Most of you are probably wondering why I haven't been updating regularly. I mean, the president et al are suffering a credibility gap, the war is losing popularity, the Supreme Court is hearing a Roe-related case, and Kansas is teaching religion in public schools. The thing is, I am getting really sick of all the negativity! I just don't even want to deal with it anymore. So, blog about your own life, you might say. Well, I'm just a little too private to really blog about anything more personal than what I had for dinner last night (French onion soup... mmmm).

Fortunately, that doesn't mean I have nothing to say. I've recently joined a Yahoo! Group for folks who follow Gene Weingarten's live chats on washingtonpost.com. We are a bunch of loonies. It's fabulous. If you've read any of Gene's stuff, you can probably imagine the sort of following he attracts.

Anyway, my kind fellow list members have been very handy in providing useless, time-wasting and otherwise hilarious links. Just when you think you've seen everything on the internet, you've got another thing coming...

This guy had a much more interesting morning than me

The Best Page in the Universe (obviously)

Steve, don't eat it! (A sub-blog of a blog, The Sneeze, that is actually hilarious in its own right)

The Ladder Theory (don't read if you're easily offended. it will offend.)

Oh man, there are like, 1,000 cards I want to send here... mwah hah hah

Okay, more to come I'm sure... for now, back to work! TGIT...

Happy Election Day!

2005-11-08T11:51:00.000-05:00

You may be wondering why I am so happy that it's election day. After all, this year I don't get to cast my vote to get Dubya out of office. Well, I'll tell you. First of all, we still HAVE an election day. Our democracy is working, and we get to choose who governs. This morning, I went to the polls and voted straight down the democratic ticket as my personal little "in your face" gesture to the Republican Administration. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with either candidate (gee, that sounds familiar) but did you really think I would vote for Kilgore when he had Bush stumping for him just last night? Right. Also, it means that now we don't have to watch all of those rediculous commercials by both parties about how the other guy would release prisoners on death row or lock up twelve year old rape victims for getting an abortion. Let's be real. Neither of them will do anything drastic, because they can't risk alienating the swing votes/mainstream constituents. A democratic win, however, will show Bush that he and his party aren't the be-all and end-all of government. That man could use a little bruise to the ego.

I am about to use one of my least favorite phrases

2005-11-04T10:39:00.000-05:00

I hate saying it. Really, I do. I wish I didn't have to. A year ago this week I was on edge over the presidential election. We're talking couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, it was the Christmas Eve of Christmas Eves for my poor political psyche. I was (and am) 100% convinced that George W. did not deserve another term in office, that he was/is not the right man for the job and that he was/is irrepparably harming America's reputation & traditions, the environment, civil rights, education, First Amendment freedoms and the possibility of peace in the Middle East sooner rather than later. (I'm sure there's more but I'm doing this off the top of my head.)

Another year of botched foreign, domestic, fiscal and environmental policy later, The Post reports today that W.'s ratings are at an all-time low. Not only are his approval ratings low, but 58% of Americans doubt his integrity. His INTEGRITY. Defined in the dictionary as "moral soundness" and "adherence to a moral or ethical code". Americans doubt the President's morals and ethics. Why are we really at war? Why won't he answer questions about his mistakes? Why won't he even admit his mistakes? This is not a case of "liberal media" bashing the administration. It is the reporting of fact - numbers, percentages - of Americans polled about their attitudes.

Some bullet points from the poll results:
-39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office -- the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls
-67 percent rated the administration negatively on handling ethical matters
-43 percent say the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government has fallen during Bush's presidency
-68 percent believe the country is seriously off course
-Half say they have little or no confidence in this administration
-29 percent regard the economy as poor, the highest recorded during Bush's presidency
-Nearly two-thirds disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq
-60 percent believe the United States was wrong to invade Iraq
-73 percent say there have been an unacceptable level of casualties in Iraq
-55 percent say the administration deliberately misled the country in making its case for war with Iraq
-Two in 3 say Bush does not understand the problems of people like them
-58 percent doubt Bush shares their values, while 40 percent say he does, another new low for this president

I will leave the interpretation of the numbers to you. Oh, and that phrase I hate so much?

Told you so.

Longest week everrrrrr

2005-11-03T20:18:00.000-05:00

So, in an addendum to my last post, I thought I would mention how thoughtful it was for the President to attend Rosa Parks' funeral.

OH! That's right he didn't. He and his posse were too busy entertaining the Britons. Not that I have a lack of respect for faux royalty from other powerful Western nations. I mean really, the British royal family is all for show. They jumped on the whole democracy bandwagon awhile ago. They just kept the castle and the crown and other such nonsense to appease... the people with the castle and the crown. Anyway. I digress. He could have at least bothered to send Condi or Uncle Dick or someone, ya know? Gosh, it's almost like he couldn't be bothered with the funeral of a black civil rights hero being held in a blue collar city. Oh wait.

Yeah, so I'm being mean. I've really had it with people who think they're all that though. It just feels like we're getting farther and farther away from the "all men are created equal" thing, you know? I mean, they tell little kids in school that anyone can grow up to be president, but that's such bull. Anyone cannot grow up to be president. Wealthy, fit, good-looking, religious, straight, priveleged, white men can. And then only if your parents had all the same stuff going for them. And no one in your family has ever done anything humiliating. Narrows the field reeeeeal fast. Call me when we have a poor, overweight, ugly, atheist, gay, black woman president, and then we'll chat. No, the world isn't fair. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do our damnedest every single day to make things a little more balanced. Especially those with power.

Oh, the irony

2005-11-01T11:51:00.000-05:00

From Sunday evening through yesterday morning, Rosa Parks was the first woman ever to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. I, for one, think that this is fantastic, and wish I had tried harder to get off my lazy rear and go pay some respects. Mrs. Parks was a woman of true strength, who expemplified the rare virtues of honor and integrity. Rare, especially in the place where she laid over that night.

Yesterday, as the nation mourned this great woman and she was moved from the Capitol for her memorial service, our president named Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the 3rd District U.S. Court of Appeals as his choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. Judge Alito is a known Conservative, not of the Reagan Conservatives, but of the Bush Neo-Cons. He has ruled opposite O'Connor's views in a number of similar cases that the two judges have heard respectively, and O'Connor is not overly liberal. Additionally, Alito brings no shake-up to the makeup of the Court. He is a second generation Italian American - no more a minority than my own father. While I do not know enough about him to have formed a strong opinion yet, he is clearly more qualified than Harriet Miers... and clearly, less close to a minority. On this basis alone I must say, shame on Mr. Bush for not striving to respectably represent on the Court one of the greatest strengths of our nation - it's diversity.

Excellent op-ed on this very topic: Diversity Gets Benched

Blog is fixed...

2005-10-31T23:31:00.000-05:00

...but unfortunately I lost all of the customizations I made to my page :-( Very sad. If anyone remembers a specific link/blog I had on the menu to the right, let me know! I will recreate as best I can!

Haiku d'Etat

2005-10-25T11:35:00.000-04:00

I'm a bum blogger, I know. I just wanted to put a quick plug in here for my dear friend Kenny's blog. It's called Haiku d'Etat, and is named such because, well, there's a haiku in every entry.

Anyway, Kenny is a funny, talented, and insightful guy, and I strongly suggest (need I remind you that my family is Sicilian?) that you check out his thoughts. You like your knees unbroken, right? :-)

How's this for a heck of a job?

2005-09-28T09:55:00.000-04:00

Really, Brownie. You did quite a number on making yourself look even worse yesterday. Are you twelve? Did you complete higher education? Making Senators repeat themselves because you're checking your Blackberry? Some common courtesy, buddy -- a Senator talks to you, you listen! These were even Republican Senators -- you made them look damn good! All you really managed to do was prove that you don't have an inkling of a clue. About anything. Ice for their BEER?! I'm thoroughly impressed with the high level of cronyism that got you that job. Why don't you go back to taking care of horses, hmm?

My persoal favorite moment was when Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican, said, "I have come to the conclusion that this administration values loyalty more than anything else. More than competence or, frankly, more than the truth. And you have reinforced that view. . . . I'm left with the feeling [that] the administration feels they have to protect you."

Wow. Finally some folks are getting a clue.

Too little, too late

2005-09-13T18:31:00.000-04:00

I don't know what is more frightening... that the President taking responsibility for a catastrophic failure of government under his watch qualifies as "Breaking News" or that it took two weeks and a huge drop in approval ratings to get him to spit it out... It's the adult version of:

"Now tell your sister you're sorry"
"SOR-Reeeee"
"LIKE YOU MEAN IT! Or no dessert!"...

Can't you just see the conversation between him and Rove?
"Tell the Country you're sorry!"
"Sighhhh... sorrryyyy"
"You better mean it, lil' Dubya, or no high approval ratings!"

It's just really sad to me that our (adult, college educated, "CEO") president so rarely takes responsibility for what happens under HIS watch in HIS "organization" that when he DOES take responsibility, it's "Breaking News". Sigh.

Katrina

2005-09-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

Bad blogger, yes. I know. You've probably been waiting for me to update this in the wake of Katrina, alas, I'm a busy girl. But here's my update.

You, on the Right. You, on the Left. Quit throwing the goddamn blame around and clean up that fucking city! Did our government let us down? Yes. Is there a racial issue at stake? Probably, at some level. Would this have happened in Boston, or DC? Doubtful. But you know what? I can tell you for a fact that those people sitting starving to death on rooftops don't give a goddamn whose fault it is. They just want it fixed. And it's the responsibility of those in power to fix it. To look out for those citizens who cannot protect themselves. Isn't that the basis of Democracy? That all be represented and all be treated with respect? I'll tell you what. I won't -- I absolutely will not -- be satisfied until I see some Congressmen, and Senators, and yes, the President, roll up their damn sleeves and start dishing out meals in the Astrodome. I'm sick of the elitest attitude our government has adopted. I'm sick of people passing the blame around. I'm not even 24, I don't have an advanced degree, I've never run a company, or had children, but even I know that the surest sign of maturity is to take responsibility even when it's not your fault -- and especially when it is. When something this big is broken, Mr. Bush, I don't give a damn whose fault it is. You're the boss. Take responsibility and fix it. Be an adult. Be the bigger person. Don't cower in your room and shrug your shoulders like a three year old. Grow the hell up.

Places to donate:

American Red Cross
(800)435-7669
http://www.redcross.org

America's Second Harvest
(800)344-8070
http://www.secondharvest.org

Humane Society of the United States
888-259-5431
http://www.hsus.org

Intelligent Rant

2005-08-11T12:40:00.000-04:00

I'm a bad blogger, I know. More soon, I promise.

On to the good stuff. This rant is from some very intelligent person who posted to Gene Weingarten's chat on washingtonpost.com on Tuesday. As a side note, if you don't follow Weingarten, you should. He's a comic genius and generally right about things.

A Republican, for now: Gene: "That's when conservatives start wanting to punish Americans for criticizing America. Circle the wagons, boys, and throw out anyone who looks suspicious."

Let's get something straight. REAL conservatives don't support an anti-flag burning Constitutional ammendement. REAL conservatives don't like the idea of the government opening up that can of worms, for the exact reasons you cite. REAL conservatives may hate the idea of flag burning, and would shun anyone who did such a thing, but they wouldn't outlaw it as offensive. What we have in the White House and Congress are not real conservatives. They are some sort of ultra-religious, blindly patriotic, liberals who believe that Big Government is the answer to everything. We shall see what happens to the Republican party in 2006 and 2008. My guess is that you'll start to see a real schism as people like me, dissatisfied with the religious right, leave the party. The question is only if the Democrats are saavy enough to run a candidate that appeals to a REAL conservative.

Libertarian keeps looking better and better.

Gene Weingarten: BOY do I like this post. Thank you.

That person's got the right idea. Bush is more liberal than everyone would like to think. No one knows what "liberal" and "conservative" really mean anymore, since extermists on both sides have skewed all perception. Sigh.

Common sense... at least, one would hope

2005-07-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

The Right Nominee
Monday, July 11, 2005; Page A14
The Washington Post

IN THE PAST, presidents have nominated justices to the Supreme Court who have been received with a national outpouring of acclaim. American society is probably too politically riven for President Bush to manage such a triumph today. Still, broad-based support should remain Mr. Bush's critical goal as he contemplates the replacement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
There is an enormous difference between a judicial nominee confirmed on a party-line vote and one who receives strong bipartisan backing. This requires of Democrats a fair-minded assessment of the president's choice. Yet it also requires that Mr. Bush search for a nominee who meets the standards of those acclaimed selections.

The first is that any nominee should have professional qualifications of the highest caliber. This point would be too obvious to mention, except that presidents have not always paid it much heed. Particularly in the current political environment, it is essential that there be no suspicions that the nominee was named because of narrow ideological considerations or political loyalty. Mr. Bush would do the country, and himself, a great favor if he can convincingly state that his nominee is among the small group of American lawyers most qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.

Another critical factor is temperament. By this we do not mean being a nice person or being genial in the courtroom; great justices are sometimes neither. The world of conservative jurisprudence is today split between judges content to decide specific cases and those -- such as Justice Antonin Scalia -- who insist on using the bench as a kind of pulpit for a larger war over American law and society. A nominee who strikes such a pose not only invites opposition from those who disagree with his or her stances but displays precisely what the court does not need: a lack of modesty and a grandiose conception of the judicial function. Justices only rarely get to be heroes and should not imagine themselves as such.

A related point is that a nominee who strongly believes in the stability of precedent -- the legal principle of stare decisis -- is far more likely to garner broad support than a nominee who generally regards past decisions as ripe for overturning. Justice Clarence Thomas is more radical than Justice Scalia not because he has a more radical view of how cases should be decided in the first instance but because of his willingness to overturn age-old precedents. It is far easier to support a nominee whose approach to cases is not one's own if that nominee treats decisions of past eras with respect and deference.

Mr. Bush has made clear that he is looking for a nominee who will strictly interpret the Constitution and not be looking to discover novel rights within it. This position will have greater integrity if he nominates someone who applies such a skeptical eye across the board; fidelity to the Constitution as the Framers wrote it can be a position of high principle or it can be a cloak in which to wrap the promulgation of one's policy preferences under the guise of law. A nominee who has a track record of rejecting claims he or she finds politically congenial will -- and should -- have an easier time than one whose fidelity to the law is circumstantial. Moreover, insisting on constitutional rulings supported by the document's text, history and structure need not mean insisting on cramped or anachronistic treatment of law that was written in general terms to remain relevant to a changing society.

Liberals and Democrats, having lost the election, cannot reasonably ask Mr. Bush to nominate a justice to suit their tastes. But that doesn't mean a full-fledged war is inevitable. Even in the current environment, there must be a potential nominee who will satisfy the president but offend a minimal number of his foes. The president would do great service if he could find such a person.

Brilliant!

2005-07-08T12:39:00.000-04:00

Another liberal column. Right?
George McClure
July 3, 2005
http://denverpost.com/opinion/ci_2833971

The mainstream media in this country are dominated by liberals.

I was informed of this fact by Rush Limbaugh. And Thomas Sowell. And Ann Coulter. And Rich Lowry. And Bill O'Reilly. And William Safire. And Robert Novak. And William F. Buckley, Jr. And George Will.

And John Gibson. And Michelle Malkin. And David Brooks. And Tony Snow. And Tony Blankely. And Fred Barnes. And Britt Hume. And Larry Kudlow. And Sean Hannity. And David Horowitz. And William Kristol. And Hugh Hewitt.

And Oliver North. And Joe Scarborough. And Pat Buchanan. And John McLaughlin. And Cal Thomas. And Joe Klein. And James Kilpatrick. And Tucker Carlson. And Deroy Murdock. And Michael Savage. And Charles Krauthammer. And Stephen Moore. And Alan Keyes.

And Gary Bauer. And Mort Kondracke. And Andrew Sullivan. And Nicholas von Hoffman. And Neil Cavuto. And Matt Drudge. And Mike Rosen. And Dave Kopel. And John Caldara.

The mainstream media in this country are dominated by liberals. For instance, did you know there is an ultra-leftist professor at the University of Colorado named Ward Churchill who wrote an essay three years ago in which he called victims of Sept. 11 "little Eichmanns"? Bet you never heard of him, as the liberal media elite likes to put the kibosh on embarrassing stories like this.

The mainstream media in this country are dominated by liberals. Look at how they all gave Bill Clinton a pass on the whole Monica Lewsinsky affair. Remember? It was never in the news. We never heard any of the salacious details. The work of his presidency never came to a virtual halt while he defended himself.

The mainstream media in this country are dominated by liberals. They have so poisoned the electorate that no Republicans can get elected. Republicans don't control the presidency. Republicans don't control both houses of Congress. Republicans don't control 28 of 50 governorships.

Last year, a lot was made of a report released by The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The report found that 34 percent of national journalists identified themselves as liberal, 54 percent identified themselves as moderate and 7 percent identified themselves as conservative. Twenty-three percent of local journalists identified themselves as liberal, 61 percent identified themselves as moderate and 12 percent identified themselves as conservative.

These figures can be interpreted in a number of ways. First of all, if you actually read the whole report, you'd come across commentary that specifically warned against drawing any easy, across-the-board conclusions: "We would be reluctant to infer too much here. The survey includes just four questions probing journalists' political attitudes, yet the answers to these questions suggest journalists have in mind something other than a classic big government liberalism and something more along the lines of libertarianism."

But pretend you're doing a story on the Pew report, and the nuanced comments above are not sufficiently dramatic for your medium. You need to reduce things into some digestible sound bites. If you wanted to sound the alarm bells on the right, you could say that national journalists were nearly five times as likely to identify themselves as liberal than as conservative. This would be literally true but perhaps a little misleading, as the same poll results tell us that 61 percent of national journalists identified themselves as moderate or conservative.

If you're John Gibson of Fox News, you just make up your own statistics and claim that "80-some percent of reporters are self-described liberals." If you're Rush Limbaugh, you offer up the same lie a day later and specifically cite the poll that proves you wrong: "most of them (journalists) are liberals. Eighty percent of them will admit it in the latest press poll ... ."

Just for the sake of argument, let's assume that the media in America really are predominantly recalcitrant leftists. Say you're a conservative media mogul named Rupert and you have the wherewithal to do something about it. Here are three paths you might take:

1. You could announce your belief that the reporting of news is always subjective and therefore biased, so you are going to start a news network that comes at things from your own perspective in order to balance out what you perceive to be the bias of the left.

2. You could set up your own news network that actually is fair and balanced.

3. You could set up your own news network that's consistently and demonstrably partisan, but call yourself fair and balanced.

Guess which one he chose.

This just in at Fox News ... the mainstream media in this country are dominated by liberals.

George McClure is a former stand-up comic who now works as general manager of a Denver marketing firm.

Whether you agree with my politics or not...

2005-07-07T10:58:00.000-04:00

I received this email yesterday from a man I work very closely with at CEB. Many of you probably have already received the letter, as I forwarded it along when I received it. This is a really worthwhile cause, and I urge you all to support it in any way that you can. AIDS is not a gay disease, it's not a druggie disease, or a poor disease, or a black disease. It's OUR disease, and will be our epidemic, right here in America, if we don't do something to stop it, now. If you have any questions, you can email me, of course, and I'm sure James will be happy to speak with you as well.

Dear CEB Colleagues,

On June 13, the Centers for Disease Control announced that for the first time since the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, more than a million Americans are believed to be living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. With more than 20 million deaths so far, AIDS is now the leading cause of death among all people aged 15 to 59 worldwide.

On May 7, one month prior to this announcement unfortunately an individual was added to that statistic. My brother, Ronald "Ron" Christopher Luna who had lived and fought with AIDS for 16 years, passed away. Ronald fought every day not to allow the AIDS virus to control his life and he taught and helped so many who also lived with this horrible disease. My brother taught me a great deal about strength and responsibility and to get up everyday and to be thankful. His core was about kindness, truth, and seeing the beauty in others and in his memory I have pledged to do everything I can so that no more brothers, sons, or friends have to be added to either statistic.

On October 30, 2005 I will be running in the Marine Corps Marathon. From now until October I'll be logging nearly 500 miles in this six-month training program which is raising money for the fight to end AIDS. The money I am raising will benefit the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the largest provider of HIV/AIDS services in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia. The Clinic provides direct medical care, food, housing and other AIDS services to help keep people alive until there's a cure. Regrettably on June 2, The Whitman-Walker Clinic announced that it would pull out of the Northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs, lay off nearly one-fourth of its staff of 260 and reduce, consolidate or end a host of other programs to stabilize the organization's finances and future.

This is very sad news especially when 1 in every 20 adults in the District of Columbia is living with HIV/AIDS. This marathon is such a worthy cause, and I would like to ask for your support. I have made a personal commitment to raise at least $1,700 before July 29, 2005 and I hope to rise even more. Any donation you can make to help me meet my goal would be most appreciated. I have attached a donor form or you can visit the program’s website at http://www.aidsmarathon.com/sponsor.asp?citycode=DC and put in 1618 (that’s my runner #) to make a donation on my behalf. Contributions are tax-deductible and will make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Thanks for your generous support.
James Luna

P.S. Please forward this to your friends and family.

Two things right quick

2005-07-05T16:52:00.000-04:00

I am compelled to post this, as one Ms. Liz Abbett has managed, yet again, to make me laugh out loud from her station on the opposite side of the planet. Take a gander at this photo. If you know Liz at all, you will recognize why this is a terrific photo. If you don't, you're missing out, but she'll be stateside again soon enough, so you'll get your chance!

Also, if you're at all a regular reader here (or have met me) you know that I am what some people might call... shall we say, liberal. And the current resident of 1600 Penn is not my favorite person. However, nor do I hate the man. I just think he's very silly, quite stubborn, and much too intolerant and ignorant to run a country. Nonetheless, he is the president. But really, folks... all of you, liberals and conservatives, are being very very silly about this whole "W" hat thing! First of all, the city was named "Washington" looooong before #2 made even had a birth certificate. SECOND of all, both red AND blue are the colors of our baseball team. My "W" hat is blue, yes, but only because when I bought it IN FEBRUARY, I thought the red was a little too loud for my taste. I'm more a sensible navy type of girl. But really, even my over-political mind didn't come up with this until I read about it in the news. Get over it! The city was here first, and the city AND team will be here long after this one president. His middle name is irrelevant to the (very classy) logo on the ballcaps.

And now, off to the Nats game! :-)

I like this quote--

2005-07-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

You have to read it at least twice to appreciate it.

"The mind that is hampered by fear lest something old and precious be destroyed is the mind that experiences fear of science. He who has this fear cannot find reward and peace in the discovery of new truths and the projection of new ideals. He does not walk the earth freely, because he is obsessed by the need of protectings some private possession of belief and taste. For the love of private possessions is not confined to material goods." -- John Dewey, Individualism: Old and New

That's all I really have to say for now.

The neocons are coming, the neocons are coming!

2005-07-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't heard (you probably haven't, I only have because I'm a news/politics junkie) Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has just resigned her post on the Supreme Court. O'Connor has the distinguishment of being the first woman nominated to the Court, by President Reagan in 1981. Despite her appointer's record of conservatism, O'Connor has been the moderate voice on the Court over the past 20 years. She is the consistent swing vote, blocking efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, while allowing for modifications to the ruling, and voting against affirmative action yet standing up to the Bush Administration's uses of the Patriot Act. Her departure leaves a hole in the Court that will likely not be filled quickly.

Bush, no doubt, will try to fill the spot with one of his neocon buddy judges, and the confirmation hearings will be a test of the minority party's right to filibuster. The justice who replaces O'Connor will shape the culture and the very identity of our nation over the next generation. Reproductive rights, marriage equality, use of the death penalty, free speech, the role of religion in government and minority rights are only a few of the many volitile issues that will be decided in the Court over the next few decades. It terrifies me to think that we could be indefinitely seen by the rest of the world as a nation that doesn't value the equality of ALL of its citizens, one that subscribes to the tenets of a single religious doctrine. This IS what will happen if Bush is allowed to nominate justices without being checked by the legislative branch. That is not the America I know and love.

The president's duty in the vacancy of of a justice chair is three-fold:
1. President Bush MUST take seriously the Constitution's "advise and consent" requirement and nominate a consensus candidate with broad bipartisan support.
2. The Senate leadership MUST provide ample time for hearings and review of any nominee.
3. And, the eventual nominee MUST fully disclose - and justify - his or her judicial philosophy, especially on key constitutional issues

Now, think about Bush's record. Think about how he gets his way. Has he done it with honesty and respect for the minority voice? Has he ever listened to dissenting opinions? We're in trouble folks. And I have a feeling Justice O'Connor will not be the last to retire during Mr. Bush's reign.

It's like Back to the Future... or something

2005-06-29T16:28:00.000-04:00

For those of you who had the stomach to sit through Mr. Bush's speech last night, you may be wondering -- since when have re re-linked Iraq and September 11th? Well, apparently as those WMD accusations fell through over the last couple of months/years, the Administration realized that -- oops -- we're in a big ol' mess of our own making with no credible reason for having had made it! So, now that we're almost four years removed from 9/11, maybe the public has forgotten that there's no link between Saddam and Al-Queda and we can use that excuse again. Wow, anyone else have deja vu?

To be frank, the speech gave no answers to any of the aching questions and concerns that have become increasingly apparent in the public eye. In fact, it didn't even really give any new information at all. The president asserts that we have enough troops on the ground in Iraq, yet for some reason, between our troops AND the Iraqi troops, we still haven't managed to stop the surge of suicide and car bombings that are killing innocent Iraqi CIVILIANS on an almost daily basis. To me that says either we need more troops or the intel of the greatest nation in the world (excuse my French) sucks. Our occupation of Iraq has done nothing but draw more terrorists toward it -- it's more dangerous to live in Baghdad now than it was during Saddam's reign! I actually understand his reasoning behind not wanting to set a timetable. We made the mess, now we have to stay there until it's cleaned up. What I don't understand is why we don't even have a plan. I've written research papers with more detailed plans than the one he ostensibly laid out last night. Another speech filled with old quips, soundbites, and outright BS. Same old stuff is getting old, George.

And I can't even begin to explain my disgust at the audacity he had to encouage us to sign up with the military. Mr. Bush, you walk over to the East Wing tonight, and encourage Jenna and Barbara to sign up with the military. When they're in line, then you can come back and ask us to send more of our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers into war. Until then, cut the hypocrisy and don't ask of us something you don't have the balls to do yourself.

Give me liberty or give me...

2005-06-27T09:16:00.000-04:00

... a constitutional amendment to revoke my liberty? Yes it's as backwards and hypocrtical as it sounds. We're ostensibly letting thousands of men and women die in Iraq in the name of democracy and liberty, while here at home we are threated with having it taken away. The House of Representatives has AGAIN voted in favor of ratifying the Constitution to prohibit desecration of the flag, even as a form of political speech. This is rediculous not only in its complete hypocrisy and disregard for the First Amendment, but also because, really, how often is a flag actually burned. Think about it. Further evidence of conservative politicians wasting taxpayers' time and money on a moot issue only to further their own political agenda and keep the donations pouring in from their neocon supporters. Now THAT'S offensive.

The Right to Offend
The Washington Post
Monday, June 27, 2005; Page A14

ONCE AGAIN, THE House of Representatives has voted to send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment giving Congress the power to prohibit the "physical desecration" of the American flag. The vote is a ritual in the House, a political debasement that would be beneath denouncing except that the amendment might pass someday and even this year. The cooler heads who have always prevailed in the Senate are less numerous. Amendment supporters in the Senate are dangerously close to having enough votes. Only a few senators have to buckle to the intense political pressure to support this desecration of the Constitution or not show up for the vote. The flag-burning amendment will move out of the category of inane legislative posturing in which it has lurked since the Supreme Court rightly declared burning the flag to be a form of constitutionally protected speech.

Such an amendment would be offensive even if flag burning were a kind of expressive epidemic. But the problem the amendment purports to address is a fiction. When was the last time you saw someone burning a flag? If the answer is never, that's because it hardly ever happens. In fact, one of the few certain consequences of passing this amendment would be to make flag burning a fashionable form of protest.

The other effect would be to water down one of the most profound principles that the Constitution articulates: that Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech. The great power of this principle is that it admits no exception: not for the most odious racism or Holocaust denial, not for the most insulting criticisms of those in high office, not for cone-shaped white hoods or hammers and sickles, and not for burning or otherwise defiling the Stars and Stripes. Passing this amendment probably wouldn't create a great substantive shift in the general scope of the First Amendment's protection, but it would sap it of the idea that gives it its power: that American government does not punish even the most offensive ideas. Congress does the flag no service with such protection.

I know, I know...

2005-06-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

I am a bad, bad blogger. Will you forgive me? That said, I haven't really got the time to be extensive here... my new job actually keeps me busy! and gives me work to do! Crazy, I know. But I stumbled upon a lil' editorial I wanted to share. So, in light of apologies and forgiveness, etc, I just want to say, I agree with what he said. (I know... "Republican" and "apologize" don't usually go in the same thought, but one can hope, right?)

Deep Throat Today

2005-06-03T18:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm doing a post on deep throat. (Minds out of the gutter yall, this isn't a how-to manual!) The best-kept secret in the history of journalism, and the history of Washington, for that matter, has been revealed. To Vanity Fair. What?!

As a self-professed media geek, I'm at the same time skeptical and awed. I didn't get excited when W. Mark Felt revealed himself as Deep Throat at first, because Woodward et al were not confirming it, and for all I knew, this was some crazy 91-year-old's hallucinations. Thus, the journalist in me. That and, for all the reading and studying of media history I've done, Mr. Felt's name did not ring any bells. You can rest assured however, that once the Post confirmed his identity, I tripped over myself to get to the television. And was quickly reminded that cable news networks are useless. And that G. Gordon Liddy is still a funny-looking man with a funny-sounding name. He lucked out that J. Edgar Hoover was of the same era, or he'd definitely be the butt of more jokes...

But one has to wonder... why now? Why in Vanity Fair? And why did he do it in the first place? The few ounces of me that have not been completely obliterated by a cynical world view want to believe that Mr. Felt spilled the secrets of the Nixon administration out of a sense of duty to his country and a strong moral and ethical sense. Certainly, without a whistle-blower, Nixon probably would have gotten away scott-free, thus making Mr. Felt one of the moral heroes of our time. But the realistic side of me knows that he probably did it for a few different reasons.

More likely than not he was a little bit annoyed at only being made the #2 guy after J. Edgar Hoover resigned from head of the FBI. A resentful man in the know is no good for a crooked administration. Second, let's be honest, who wouldn't want that kind of noteriety? Even without his name actually out there, there's the thrill of the chase, the high of watching the mystery being solved and knowing you're the one putting the pieces together. And when the entire world is watching along with you? That's the kicker, baby.

So, why now? Well. Cynical though it sounds, I'm fairly certain it was partially for the public gain. Anonymous noteriety is only fun for so long. No matter how honorable his intentions, Mr. Felt is most certainly human. He's elderly, and not well. No doubt he wanted his smiling moment in the sun before he passes on. Additionally, he (and several family members, soon enough, no doubt) has a book coming out. Cha-ching, cha-ching, much?

As for Woodward's confirmation? Well, we all knew Woodword stood to make a fortune selling the story eventually anyway. Now he's been relieved of waiting for the old man to sell the farm! Mr. Felt and Woodward did each other a favor by revealing the secret when they did.

Funny, though, that his should fall on the heels of the Newsweek "scandal". Newsweek, as described in earlier postings, got slammed for using an anonymous source. Granted the media has grown much too comfortable with the use of such sources, and no doubt lazier journalists are not careful to check the credibility of their anonymous sources, but I can't help but wonder what would happen if we had a Watergate-type scandal today. I'd be willing to bet that the White House would stop in their tracks and denounce the "liberal media" for being careless, biased, etc. etc. It's a little bit scary. The media are the only ones in place to hold those in power to their word, to challenge their motives, and to keep them (somewhat) honest. If we don't trust the media, and we don't trust the government, and they don't trust each other... then those with the power will do what they please, because we'll never know who to believe. And we're so afraid of being wrong, we might just stand back and let them get away with anything they like. WMDs, anyone?

food for thought... what if...

scary, huh?

Potty Parity: The Latest Reason to Move to NYC

2005-05-27T11:27:00.000-04:00

The latest twist in the women's rights debate -- equal toilet access. The New York City Council has enacted a law that establishes a 2-to-1 ratio of women's restroom facilities to men's restroom facilities in all new public venues. This will apply to restaurants, bars, theaters, clubs, etc. Existing venues will also have to make the change if they undergo major renovation, however they can circumvent the law by making all public restrooms unisex. This is a victory for all women who've done the "gotta potty shuffle" in line for while their partner ducks in and out of his restroom, makes a stock trade, has a beer and reads the first half of War and Peace.

Post script to yesterday's post...

2005-05-27T09:10:00.000-04:00

I urge you to read this elegant, concise, and thoughtful editorial by E.J. Dionne, Jr., which appeared in this morning's Washington Post: "Assault on the Media"

Not that anyone is really surprised

2005-05-26T11:33:00.000-04:00

As you probably well know, the weekly newsmagazine Newsweek recently published a somewhat unfounded story regarding a prison scandal that involved American interrogators defacing the Muslim holy book, The Koran. This (and, according to right-wing accounts, ONLY this) caused killing, rioting, and mass hysteria in Muslim countries. Newsweek was called to retract its story and was admonished by the Pentagon and the White House for causing unneccessary violence and loss of life due to actions made based on negligent and incorrect information. Irrelevant to them, of course, is the fact that the entire Iraq war -- which has resulted in upwards of 1500 Americans killed in combat alone, not to mention Americans who later died of wounds received in combat, or the deaths of our allies and countless innocent Iraqis -- was based ENTIRELY on a series of false statements and propaganda of these statements. I'm still waiting for my apology.

Newsweek did in fact retract its story after refusing to name the anonymous source it used as a basis for the allegations. Protecting sources is of the utmost in journalistic integrity. Declining to do it is not an admission of guilt or an easy way out. It is an admirable and courageous stance. Not that the Administration saw it this way, of course. They labeled the whole debacle as an "anti-American ploy" of the "left-wing media".

So imagine the SHOCK they must have felt when yesterday evening the FBI released documents detailing that US authorities were aware as early as 2002 of widespread desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay prison. Huh. Imagine that. It WASN'T a "leftist media" conspiracy. American military investigators actually use these kind of gross and uneccessary tactics in military prisons. I doubt, however, that administration officials will take the same high road as Newsweek did and retract their inaccurate comments. Regardless that Newsweek's comments weren't inaccurate to begin with. And regardless that this is certainly not the only reason we are so hated as to incite riots.

When I was younger I was taught that a part of being a mature and responsible adult was learning to take responsibility for your words and actions, to apologize when you are wrong, and to not place blame for consequences of your actions on another person. These things are considered, in the adult world, wrong, at best, and downright immoral, at worst. Newsweek has learned this lesson. Bush and his cronies clearly never quite got through junior high. And I don't like to be associated with people who cannot behave like adults.

Breaking News: House Republicans think for selves, make intelligent choice

2005-05-25T12:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday 50 House Republicans made the crucial move of voting against the wishes of President Bush and House leaders to help pass a bill that would repeal bans on stem cell research. The vote was a definitive 238-194. The President has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill should it reach his desk, but in light of this development, coupled with the cross-aisle agreement on judicial nominees, such action may in fact prove to be a political nightmare for Mr. Bush. This of course, all regardless of the fact that stem cell research has very strong public support. The legislation has very strong support in the Senate as well, so as the vote moves to that chamber, the likelihood that Mr. Bush will face such a decision increases dramatically. The American President is elected in confidence that he will represent the American public. We can only hope this president is humble enough to follow the lead taken by his fellow public servants, and put himself aside long enough to act as a true representative of his constituents. High commendations to those 50 Republicans for sticking to their guns and not caving to the administration. It's about time they cut the cord.

Why I love the media

2005-05-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

As a student of media, I hold in my heart a delicate balance of disgust and admiration for mass media. On the one hand, I feel, as many people do, that contemporary media institutions focus too much on stories that twenty years ago would have barely made a supermarket tabloid (see runaway bride, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, et cetera). On the other hand, I respect the media as a venerable institution of America. A proof of our freedoms, a purveyor of culture, a challenge to convention.

It is of this mind that I bring to you two articles I came across today, both of which made me laugh out loud for completely different reasons. The first is from The Washington Post. It showed up towards the end of the day on the washingtonpost.com website, top left front. First story you see. The headline read, "Exercise may beat back cancer". Beneath, the lead read, "Study finds breast cancer patients who are active have a better chance of surviving the disease."

Makes sense to lead with it. I mean, who doesn't want to find better and more effective ways to fight cancer? I found though, my intelligence was insulted merely thanks to the presentation. Who would have EVER thought that, of all things, EXERCISE might be GOOD for you? Are you serious? Where could these researchers have come up with such a wild and outlandish idea to even study it?

Hah hah. I know. But really folks. It's not rocket science. If exercise has so many health benefits for healthy people, wouldn't it follow in course that it would have health benefits for SICK people as well? Did it really take us this long to figure this out? And let's be honest. How many people, upon being diagnosed with cancer, actually think to themselves, "Well, there's no science that says exercise is good for me anymore, so I'm going to quit the gym and sit on the couch with a bag of potato chips between chemo sessions"? I can just see them all now. Jumping right back on that treadmill! I mean, either you care about your health or you don't. It's really that simple. Don't argue. It really is that simple.

Okay. Next story. The humor here is not quite as dark. Actually, it's just flat out funny. A woman in West Virginia was painting her fence when a 1500 pound camel sat on her and trapped her. She was forced to call 911 on her cell phone in order to be freed because she was having trouble breathing.

I'll give you a moment.

Now, I'm struggling with a good place to start here. How about with the obvious. Did anyone really think she WOULDN'T have trouble breathing? I would think that 1500 pounds of anything might impair your respiratory system, just a little. Secondly, and more striking, is HOW did a 1500 pound camel get loose? In West Virginia? As Kenny asked, did it make a wrong turn in Djibuti? Was there a rogue circus in town without an animal trainer? Some answers would be nice here! Isn't that what the media does?

Oh, I forgot. One more story. This one's pretty damned good, too. "Banksy the Art Terrorist" (I assume that's a self-appointed name, I'm not actually sure) attacked at The British Museum, where he discreetly hung a fake cave drawing labeled "Homo Supermarkititis". Ha ha prankster, right? Well, maybe, but the drawing hung in the museum for at least three days before anyone noticed. Is this a statement on the human condition? What is it saying about us?

Much to contemplate.

Movin' on up!

2005-05-20T14:47:00.000-04:00

Go figure it's been gorgeous out all week and Friday is rotten. Someone born today must have been really bad this year. Did your parents ever tell you that as a kid? Mine always said that if it rained on your birthday it meant you'd been bad all year. Thankfully it never really affected the gift-getting! Seriously though, it's just nasty out. It's not a nice Spring drizzle. Not a fun thunderstorm thing. Cold, heavy rain. Someone must've been downright cruel to get us this. Anyone know when the president's birthday is? Hmmm...

I'm hoping it stops in the next hour or so, since I'm hopefully moving to my new cube today, which is at 2000 Penn, several blocks away. As of Monday, my job title is officially "Recruiting Coordinator" which definitely sounds a whole heck of a lot better than Administrative Associate, even if the pay's not much more. Because, c'mon, we all know that an Administrative anything is a glorified secretary. But not anymore! Not me, no sirree!

Last night I had a pretty good first date, no thanks to the DC metro system. We were meeting in Court House, at Gua-Rapo, at 7, so I stuck around at work a little later and headed to the metro around 6:30, a half-hour normally being more than enough time to make it the three stops from Farragut to Court House. Oh, but no. I get into the station and there is a packed blue line train sitting at the platform. The platform is pretty much shoulder to shoulder. Neither of these are good signs. After dawdling in the station for nearabout five minutes, the train finally pulls out, and the sign announces that an Orange line train is arriving in three minutes. Pause for a minute and consider just how far back this train had to be. It was backed up three minutes PLUS the five minutes the Blue liner sat in the station. And then everyone's favorite (I'm sure) metro station manager gets on the PA system and announces that the next train is actually at Metro Center.

Now, I've been wedged into the station for a good 15 minutes. I don't have this guy's phone number because we'd been emailing each other, and it was no secret that when the Orange line arrived, commuters were going to be packed in like sardines. So I did what any logical, health conscious woman would. I got on the next Blue line, took it to Rosslyn, and walked to Court House. Mind you, I'm in heels and black pants, carrying my massive work bag. And Court House is all uphill from Rosslyn. And it was humid.

Needless to say, by the time I got to Gua-Rapo (15 minutes late) I wasn't all too pretty a sight to behold. However, bless his heart, my date was very understanding and still sat and chatted with me for two hours and bought me a few drinks. Time will tell, I suppose, whether my discombobulatedness scared him off or not.

Thus, the perils of dating in the city.

Fight Animal Cruelty

2005-05-18T10:56:00.000-04:00

Let me lay this out on the table for you. I'm a carnivore, albeit an occasional one, but I do enjoy the odd hamburger, steak or buffalo wing. That said, I'm also a huge animal lover. Anyone who has heard me talk about my darling Rodrigo knows that. To me, there is no excuse, ever, for an animal to be treated with cruelty, neglect, or disdain. I respect them as part of the crazy, complex ecosystem we live in. I respect that they are beneficial to human society and our way of life in innumerable ways -- from pets for companionship, to nourishment, to medical breakthroughs, and so forth. I also believe that any use of an animal can and must be done in a humane, compassionate fashion. And some of them are pretty darn cute. But I have to draw the line when they are treated with no respect for the quality of life they bring to us.

PETA recently went undercover at a Covance drug-testing lab and found that some of the senior researchers were behaving more like primates than the primates themselves. The animals were being unnecessarily abused and maltreated while being used for drug tests. This DOES NOT have to happen, and SHOULD NOT happen. The drug tests need to be run as sparingly as possible with as much respect shown for the animal as possible. For more information and ways to become active in the fight for the rights of these animals, please please please visit www.peta.org or www.covancecruelty.com (WARNING: some of the images on these sites are HIGHLY disturbing!)

A ginormous leap for lingweenies!

2005-05-17T13:12:00.000-04:00

Mirriam-Webster recently asked readers for submissions of their favorite words that are not in the dictionary and received over 3,000 entries. So many of the words were entered multiple times that the editors have published a top ten list:

1. ginormous (adj): bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous
2. confuzzled (adj): confused and puzzled at the same time
3. woot (interj): an exclamation of joy or excitement
4. chillax (v): chill out/relax, hang out with friends
5. cognitive displaysia (n): the feeling you have before you even leave the house that you are going to forget something and not remember it until you're on the highway
6. gription (n): the purchase gained by friction: "My car needs new tires because the old ones have lost their gription."
7. phonecrastinate (v): to put off answering the phone until caller ID displays the incoming name and number
8. slickery (adj): having a surface that is wet and icy
9. snirt (n): snow that is dirty, often seen by the side of roads and parking lots that have been plowed
10. lingweenie (n): a person incapable of producing neologisms

I am ashamed in that all of my literary and linguistic studying and playing I have only heard of four of these words. Lingweenie, therefore, is ultimately my favorite.

Pardon our mess

2005-05-13T18:51:00.000-04:00

I realize that my blog has been MIA for at least 24 hours. Perhaps longer. I sincerely apologize and assure you that those responsible shall be spanked. On the plus side, I went to the doctor yesterday and he cleared me to wear any damn bra I want! Boobs are still a little on the sore side, though, so I won't push it. I did however, prance about in a skimpy little hot pink number with tiny straps and only two hooks in the back. And the girls stayed up and in place! Best feeling EVER!

Mission Accomplished?

2005-05-11T15:56:00.000-04:00

You decide... I don't even need to comment here:

Insurgent Attacks Leave More Than 60 Dead Across Iraq
By Jonathan Finer, Marwan Ani and Bassam Sebti
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 11, 2005; 11:27 AM

BAGHDAD, May 11 -- Insurgents staged five attacks in three Iraqi cities Wednesday morning, leaving more than 66 people dead, including 30 killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a military recruitment center in the small northern town of Hawija on the outskirts of Kirkuk.

Explosions also rocked three Baghdad neighborhoods and Saddam Hussein's former home town of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, where wire services reported more than 33 people had been killed, many of them Shiite Muslim day laborers.

The attacks brought the number of dead in the past two weeks over the 400 mark, making the period one of the most lethal since the fall of Baghdad in 2003. The violence has coincided with the fractious work of forming a new government for the nation, which remains divided along religious, ethnic and factional lines, a situation complicated by the presence of foreign fighters.

Also Wednesday, U.S. forces continued a hard-fought offensive against some of those foreign insurgents along the Syrian border in northwestern Iraq.

In a news release at 11 a.m., the miltary reported several additional engagements, including an attack on insurgents planting explosives near the town of Husaybah that left three of them dead.

The military also said that Marines at a checkpoint had killed a woman and a child who were passengers in a car that, despite warnings, refused to stop as it approached a checkpoint. The statement said the marines thought the car was a suicide bomb and were "unaware of the gender of the passenger or that there was a child in the vehicle."

Hawija Police Col. Abdul-Fattah Obaidi said that more than 100 military recruits were in line at about 8:30 a.m. to fill out applications when a man jumped out of an Opel sedan and ran toward them, detonating powerful explosives. Police closed most downtown streets and imposed a curfew on the town.

"We didn't see anything. We just heard the explosion. The force knocked me down to the ground and when I woke up I saw bodies surrounding me," said Muhammad Fattouh, 32, a former Iraqi army soldier who was waiting to re-enlist.

The blast blew out windows and damaged the façade of Hawija Hospital, located along the same street. U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police carried some 32 wounded people inside for treatment and piled the bodies of the dead in the hospital's courtyard.

Fourteen of those killed were burned beyond recognition, said Ali Jubouri, a physician, who added that many of the most seriously injured were transferred quickly to a larger provincial hospital in Kirkuk, a city of 850,000.

In the Baghdad area, the deadliest of three separate explosions occurred in the southern suburb of Dora, where a bomb in a Kia sedan parked on a street near a police station and an oil refinery was detonated by remote control just after 9 a.m.

Two female students who were passengers in a passing car were killed, along with the driver.

Lt. Jamal Hussein of the Dora police said the target appeared to be a police patrol in the area. "I was inside the shop and suddenly I heard a huge sound of explosion. I went out immediately and I saw black smoke and people screaming and shouting. It was horrible.

After receiving a tip that another car parked 10 meters away on the same street might also be rigged, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police cleared the area and sent a robotic device to check under the vehicle for explosives. The robot blew up the car, shattering windows on nearby restaurants.

Ani reported from Kirkuk. Naseer Nouri contributed to this story from Baghdad.

And the smarter sex is...

2005-05-10T15:29:00.000-04:00

A new poll today found that women, who in November voted for Bush in record numbers, are once again leaning back toward their more traditionally Democratic ways. With social security, the economy, and other domestic issues having taken the spotlight away from terrorism and homeland security, women are focusing more on these domestic concerns and in that space they lean more liberal.

In its 25-year existence, the gender gap has never been closer than it was last November, with John Kerry winning the female vote by a mere three percentage points. This was credited largely to the contingent of married and middle-class white women whose main concern at the time was the war on terror, whereas women traditionally vote along lines of economic concern, where they tend to lean Democratic. With economic concerns back at the top of the public agenda, women are once again leaning left. If we could just coordinate some economic concerns with an election year, we'd be all set...

Jesus might love everyone...

2005-05-09T15:07:00.000-04:00

...but the East Waynesville Baptist Church doesn't. Led by Pastor Chan Chandler, the North Carolina congregation voted last week to oust nine of its members who did not support President Bush in November's election. An additional 40 members resigned from the congregation in protest. Back in October 2004, several members left the church voluntarily after the pastor issued an ultimatum that congregants planning to vote to Kerry either leave the church or repent. Unfortunately for Pastor Chandler, he may be forfeiting his tax exempt status as a religious institution by publicly supporting one candidate over another. Just a reminder that the Church-State line runs both ways.

Now, it's not that I would ever want to be a member of a congregation led by such a closed minded and ignorant man, but I realize that this is taking place in a small town, and many of these families likely grew up going to this Church. Removing them from the community, whether forcibly or guilting them out, has got to be much more difficult for Waynesville residents than it would be for myself or another more urban dweller. I applaud those members leaving the church for not compromising their true beliefs.

The larger Baptist convention is refusing to get involved, stating that church membership is governed by local church bylaws and not the state convention. But in this case, their silence is damning. It is the equivalent of consent by non-action. But then a little bad press for another denomination might help the Vatican... almost makes the US Catholic Church look good.

The lab will call you in a week with your results...

2005-05-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

The FDA plans to issue a new rule stating that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor, due to the fact that gay men are a "high risk" category for carrying the AIDS virus. Unfortunately, the FDA has not yet approved a screening test for bigotry. Oops, did I say that out loud?

Regardless of the fact that AIDS is rising faster among heterosexual women than any other group, and regardless of the fact that a blood test for AIDS is a simple procedure which can yield a result in 20 minutes time, the government regulated FDA is denying gay men a basic right and privilege provided to heterosexual men. Additionally, it labels gay men as sexually unsafe and sexually promiscuous -- a demoralizing stereotype that society has made significant progress in overcoming in recent years, but is still far from being abolished. And now the government is promoting it.

Leland Traiman, director of a clinic in Alameda, Calif., that seeks gay sperm donors, made a pretty startling point along these lines to a Washington Post reporter, when he pointed out that under the new rules, a man who has unprotected sex with 20 prostitutes can walk in and, unquestioned, donate sperm, but that a gay man in a safe, monogamous relationship would be turned away. And he's right. And it's sad.

Dr. Deborah Cohen, an OB/GYN professor at the University of California, San Fransisco sums it up best, "This rule will make things legally more difficult for them," she said. "I can't think of a scientifically valid reason -- it has to be an issue of discrimination."

You know we're far enough removed from September 11th when...

2005-05-05T12:05:00.000-04:00

Two grenades exploded outside the British Consulate in New York City today. And the press is still covering the runaway bride. ("Steve should be happy. At least you only dumped him!" my mom said!) Three years ago, if a grenade had gone off anywhere in a 500 mile radius of midtown Manhattan the world would have stopped spinning and there would have been round-the-clock coverage until the teenager responsible had his recess taken away. For a year!

Meanwhile, paleontologists have uncovered a new species of dinosaur in the Midwest which supports the link from meat-eating dinos to plant eating dinos. Apparently the new fella has features common to both types and fills in a missing link in the dinosaur evolutionary chain. What they can't figure out is why a whole herd of their remains was found isolated in Utah. Early Mormons?

In related news, I'd like to bring to your attention a story which falls into a category I like to call "The DUH Factor" (kind of like The O'Reilly Factor, but more intelligent). Kansas state education officials are hearing the arguments for replacing (scientifically proven) evolution in the school curriculum with (unproven) creationism. Teachers and scientists alike are understandably upset about this, since the whole point of science is to, well, prove things. The flaw here of course, is that in order for creationism to be valid, there has to be a creator and unless you believe in a creator, it's a pretty moot point to teach. Clearly you cannot force children or teens to believe something that cannot be proven for the purposes of public education. It is a blatant overstep of the Church/State line and in my opinion, will not pass. Even though it's Kansas. Believe what you will, but you can't heave it on the other kids, okay? DUH!

Egad, has it come to this?

2005-05-03T17:40:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true, I'm falling into the pop-culture/blogger/media trap. I'm writing a post about... American Idol. Okay, okay, okay, hear me out people. I've been a casual user for about three seasons. I don't call or text my vote, I don't visit contestant websites, I don't buy their CDs (Clay's Christmas CD DOESN'T COUNT! He didn't win!) But I do think it's an interesting study on the making of a pop star and media effect on public opinion and vice versa. Plus, let's be honest, who doesn't like to laugh at the audition episodes? (C'mon you know you've watched them.)

But this time I'm MAD. I'll admit my prejudice, I have always thought that Fox was the "skeeviest" of the four major networks, and save Idol and House, I rarely tune to that channel. They have the most eye-rolling reality show concepts and their comedies are based on the crudest and most juvenile humor. And even to this I cannot imagine WHY SCOTT SAVOL IS STILL IN THE COMPETITION! Let's be honest folks. He's not attractive. (He's actually fairly creepy looking. I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley. Or a well-lit street for that matter.) He's only a marginally decent singer. He has close to zero stage presence. And the man has been arrested for assaulting the mother of his child! The show's major audience is, to no surprise, adolescent women. Is this the kind of person we as a nation have taught our girls to hold up as an IDOL? I realize that many adults take shows such as Idol in stride, but the fact is, twelve and thirteen and fourteen year old girls do not. They fall crazy-in-love with the people that Hollywood holds up for them. They want to be Britney and date Justin.

I don't know about you, but I would rather my daughter want to be Carrie than date Scott.

Okay. I had to get that out of my system. No more Idol posts :-)

Growing up Russo, or, Why you should never do your hair before going out in the Volvo

2005-05-01T21:33:00.000-04:00

KatieR 10 3 81: ah yes the clunker does williamsburg
AER926: hahahaha
KatieR 10 3 81: should be tons of fun
AER926: i know ive tried to explain it to my friends
AER926: they dont comprehend
KatieR 10 3 81: no there really is no comprehending
AER926: latest improvement is no radio, right
AER926: im realllly excited about that
AER926: because the tape deck already broke
KatieR 10 3 81: until you've ridden in it on a hot summer day, with all the windows down and the ceiling falling in your face, the portable cd player skipping next to you on the front seat and the dice dangling in the rearview mirror which looks out to puffs of black smoke from the exhaust pipe that's hanging on by a hinge
AER926: hahahaaha
AER926: oh its priceless
KatieR 10 3 81: and then in the humidity it starts to rain, but alas, you can't shut the windows or you'll die of suffocation, and you can't gear it up over 50 mph or it'll shut down
AER926: hahahahhahaa
KatieR 10 3 81: so you putt putt along 95 until you arrive at your destination, soaked to the skin, sunburned with sunroof tanlines and hoarse from making your own music
KatieR 10 3 81: THAT my friends is the real Russo driving experience
AER926: lolol
AER926: so so excellent
KatieR 10 3 81: and it'll always be okay because,
KatieR 10 3 81: at least you're not driving THE VAN
AER926: hahahaaha
AER926: yessssss
AER926: dum da dum dum DUM
AER926: THE VAN

'Til death (of civilization) do us part

2005-05-01T19:35:00.000-04:00

In today's Washington Post Outlook section, Stephanie Coontz takes an interesting look at marriage in our culture; specifically at the reemergence of pro-marriage campaigns and endorsements. She argues that it is not traditional marriage itself that society is rebelling against, in fact, society is not rebelling against any specific institution. It is simply that in our culture of choice, there lies no need for traditional marriage as a structural institution of society. The economic equalizing of men and women, combined with the sociological acceptance of the non-traditional family has depleted the need for traditional marriage as a building block for society. Now that marriage is predicated primarily on love, or lack thereof, people see it as acceptable to remain unmarried if they have not yet found love, or conversely, to end a marriage if they fall out of love. And thanks to advances in medicine, law, and social norms, this in no way hinders the ability to have and rear children, or to advance economically or socially.

Coontz brings up many other interesting points in her article, which you can find here, and looks at cultures from around the globe in drawing her conclusions. I suggest you take a look for a fresh and thought provoking view of the direction human society is taking. We are at a crossroads of human civilization, and it's a pretty neat thing to stop and take a look at.

"Forget the fantasy of solving the challenges of modern personal life by re-institutionalizing marriage. In today's climate of choice, many people's choices do not involve marriage. We must recognize that there are healthy as well as unhealthy ways to be single or to be divorced, just as there are healthy and unhealthy ways to be married. We cannot afford to construct our social policies, our advice to our own children and even our own emotional expectations around the illusion that all commitments, sexual activities and care-giving will take place in a traditional marriage. That series has been canceled." -Stephanie Coontz, "For Better, For Worse", The Washington Post, May 1, 2005

Baseball, boys, and cute Gap shirts

2005-04-30T20:50:00.000-04:00

The Nats won last night-- Yay! Their first three runs all came by way of single run homers, one by starting pitcher Livan Hernandez. Hernandez went on to pitch through the eighth inning. I'm still working on getting used to this whole pitchers hitting thing. "Real" baseball my Dad says. It takes a different way of thinking and strategizing about the game when you have to worry about your pitcher being in the lineup.

Well, you'd think I was used to being disappointed by boys by now, but I'm not. Maybe you never get used to it. Maybe it's not a good thing to get used to, because then maybe you'd settle. But anyway, I still hate it when you think you've met someone who's finally different, who finally won't let you down and then they just turn out the same as all the rest. FOR THE LAST TIME. If you don't want to call me, that's fine, but DON'T SAY YOU WILL. God I hate that. Just don't tell me you'll call, then I won't WAIT for you to call, then no one is bummed out. Why is that so hard for men to understand? Do they think they're getting time off in bad-guy purgatory for making us think that they like us? Or are they just lame?

I think they're just lame. If there are any REAL men out there who want to take a cute girl with new small perky boobs out, give me a buzz. Otherwise, go tell some other girl you'll call her and quit wasting my time.

On the plus side, Erin came over today and I ventured back out into civilization. If you can rightfully call Tysons "civilization". We wandered a bit, got some CPK, Erin made her requisite stop at Sephora, and then we stopped at Gap so I could try on all sorts of fun tops I never got to wear before. I managed to keep the purchase level to only three shirts, not too bad considering that my boobs look UBER cute in everything I tried on. And thats when they're still swollen and I'm wearing a bulky sports bra. Look out world! ;-)

Drains are out!

2005-04-29T20:04:00.000-04:00

Went to the doctor for my first post-op visit today... nothing of interest to report, I guess I'm healing pretty well thus far. They took the drain tubes out, thank GOD. Those were starting to get irritating. I go back again next week and they'll take the tape off of the incisions. I'm still pretty swollen, and my boobs are sitting so high on my chest they look fake! I have been assured that this is just a passing phase (damn! LOL!) I'm not too sore anymore, just sleepy. Obviously I don't want to be on narcotics any longer than I have to. I think I will try and switch to Ibuprofin tomorrow. Tonight we will also attempt a shower. Wish me luck.So far Kara and Leah have come to visit, have I mentioned that I have the coolest friends ever? Lots more people have called, too. Erin, Kenny, Steve, Mike, and emails and ims from a dozen more. I'm such a lucky gal. :-) Love you guys! Thanks for looking out for me!Off to doze/watch the Nats game. GO NATS!!!

I'm alive!

2005-04-28T19:51:00.000-04:00

Since I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats :-) Surgery was happily uneventful, they were running late (what?! a doctor running late?! unheard of! :-)) so I didn't get out of surgery until close to 5, so they just ended up keeping me over night at the hospital. That's an experience let me tell you! No catheter though! Yay! And they gave me morphine. Mmmm, morphine. Sent me home around 11 with percocet. I go back to the doctor's office tomorrow to get the drains taken out... I can't WAIT. The drains are actually bothering me more than anything else. The percocet is helping but makes me really drowsy and out of it (so if this post is completely incoherent, that's why!) Anyway, I'm going to go doze... keep in touch!

Is it 5:30 yet?

2005-04-26T16:48:00.000-04:00

I've been very very good today. I tied up all sorts of loose ends at work. Yet it is still 40 minutes away from closing time. What have I done to deserve this torture?!

Okay, granted it wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so anxious about tomorrow. But I figure you all are sick of hearing my surgery excitements and anxieties, so I won't burden you with more of the same... who am I kidding, yes I will! (See the little "x" in the upper right hand corner? Yeah, that one. Click it if you don't want to read more. Bubye now.)

We are, if you want to get technical (and I do), t-minus 19 hours and nine minutes to surgery time. Which means in approximately 17 hours I have to be at the hospital. In seven hours I have to cease all consumption of food and liquid, including gum, toothpaste, and the like. Who wants to order pizza with me at 11:00 tonight? :-) KIDDING. At least I'll be busy for a lot of that time. And attempting to sleep for much more of it... Tylenol PM, I love you.

Anyway, this is probably the last entry I'll make before Thursday or Friday, but do not despair, I will be back and full of hospital tales in no time at all! I may or may not stay the night there tomorrow, depending on what the doctor thinks is best for me. Frankly I don't care at this point as long as no one forces a catheter on me. Really, I think I'd rather just pee in my bed. (I know you all needed that lovely mental imagery!)

On a completely unrelated note, I JUST discovered today that you can refresh a webpage by pushing the F5 key! HOW FANTASTIC! QUE FANTASTICO, even! This is almost as cool as the introduction of the scroll button to the mouse. If anyone else knows any other handy keystrokes, please share! Heaven knows I'll have enough time to practice this weekend...

Look Maw, I done learned HTML!

2005-04-26T09:33:00.000-04:00

Okay, so most of you computer-ish types won't think this is all that exciting... but I DO! Yes folks, that's right, I have done gone and figured out how to post pictures on my blog ALL BY MYSELF! None of these fancy schmancy blog photo hosting sites, oh no. And, for my first display of skill, please welcome a lovely little image of my darling kitten, trying to look more angelic than he really is:

Isn't he the cutest? :-)

"Okay, but you can't use my Wal-Mart employee discount card on the wedding rings!"

2005-04-25T11:39:00.000-04:00

Now, those of you who know me know that I try very hard to be completely non-judgemental and hold no prejudices. I am very much a "live and let live" kind of gal. I am not a fan of stereotypes. But c'mon, this new Mr. and Mrs. are just ASKING for it... and may they, their dogs, guinea pigs and iguana live happily ever after in their cozy lil' trailer home. The End.

Re: Discrimination without Representation

2005-04-25T11:10:00.000-04:00

In reference to my post on April 21, I call to your attention today's Washington Post lead editorial:

Let the District Decide
Monday, April 25, 2005
Page A18

SEN. SAM Brownback (R-Kan.), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on the District, has let it be known that he is bothered by an advisory opinion of the District's attorney general, Robert J. Spagnoletti, that "validly married same-sex couples," presumably living in the District, may file joint D.C. tax returns. The senator has warned that any action by the District to recognize gay marriages will trigger a congressional backlash. The prospect of some members of Congress taking out their displeasure on the District's budget or attacking the city's domestic partner benefits program has officials such as Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) worried -- "very extremely concerned" is the way the mayor put it in a lunch with Post editors and reporters on Wednesday.

Those fears may be well founded. But Mr. Brownback's not-so-veiled threat to intervene in the District's business is ill advised and unwarranted. Mr. Brownback is a proponent of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. He is also a potential candidate for his party's presidential nomination in 2008. Whether he views the prospect of leading a charge against the District as a boost to his presidential aspirations we leave to others to decide. What is clear, however, is that Mr. Brownback seems inclined to take the U.S. Senate to a place where neither circumstances nor the District's home rule powers invite Congress to go.

Mr. Spagnoletti's opinion is only advisory -- though we do not quarrel with it. As he observed, the city's Office of Tax and Revenue "reserves the authority" to reject joint tax returns filed by gay couples married last year in Massachusetts. The tax office's overseer, D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi, has said he would consult with both the attorney general and the mayor, and Mr. Williams is carefully studying the ruling and the legality of such joint tax filings while holding talks with a wide range of people in the city. The question of whether the District should or shouldn't allow gay couples married elsewhere to file joint D.C. tax returns is well within the city's authority to decide under the Home Rule Act. Issues involving same-sex couples are being addressed in states and courts without intervention by Congress. So should it be in the nation's capital.

Just another manic Monday...

2005-04-25T10:20:00.000-04:00

T-minus Two Days
48 hours from now I'll be at the Georgetown University Surgery Center. Not IN surgery yet, mind you. To be honest, I'll probably still be sitting in the waiting room. Nonetheless, the process will be in motion. I'm not nervous so much as I am anxious. Just wanting to get it over and start the recovery, right now it's like this really huge bump in the road that's just looming ominously. I'll be happy once I wake up in recovery. (Probably not comfortable, but happy.) And of course, like I told my Mom, once I go under, my waiting is done. She and my Dad still have to sit in the waiting room for four more hours! I think she's more nervous than I am. Poor Mom! (I'll be fine, Mom!) Picked up some Tylenol PM since I haven't been sleeping well. Just have to buy a few more things and I should be good to go. My friends have been awesome, all promising to visit, and Leah, aka the best roomie ever, got me a super-cute bag filled with goodies to keep me busy while I'm bedridden. I also brought my laptop over to my parents' house to test out the wireless connection -- no problems whatsoever! (Mike you rock!)

Looks like somebody's got a case of the Mondays!
I know people are so sick of that quip, but I can't stop saying it, because it's God's honest truth. Like how I thought Dilbert was the dumbest comic strip ever until I started working in an office full time. Now I think it's brilliant. I have about a million and one things to wrap up before I take my week off, but I just can't seem to motivate myself. May 23rd is my transition to recruiting, and I find that I'm counting the hours. I know I should really give my all in this position until I switch over but it's just SO hard. I mean, let's look at my to-do list. Find directions from each of three hotels in California to a specific meeting site. Book rooms at the closest hotel. Submit expense reports for boss. Enter faxed surveys into web-based survey. Photocopy a binder. Compile assessment scores. Mail out compiled assessment scores. (Is ANYONE getting excited yet? Anyone? Hello? Are you even still reading?!)

Best table ever
Thank your lucky stars folks -- I am NOT going to gripe about the people who sat at my tables this weekend. Not that there weren't pains. There were, as always. But this was overshadowed by perhaps the nicest, most understanding customers I've come across in all my years of waiting tables. A young couple, no older than myself, possibly younger, came in and sat in my section. I took all of their orders, and their appetizer had come out, when a table in Doug's section opened up and they asked that they be moved there. Not being one to deny anything to a customer, I said that it wouldn't be a problem and helped them move their food and drinks. While it wasn't going to be a big check, I was bummed at losing the tip, since it was a relatively slow night. Lo and behold, to my surprise, when an hour later the gentleman walks up to me and hands me several bills, saying that he hadn't realized that they would lose me by switching tables and that it wasn't much, but they felt very badly about the situation. I protested, he insisted, so I took the cash. Well, turns out he gave me $8.00, on top of the $8.00 he tipped Doug, on a mere $36.00 check! Wherever you are, you are a shining example of the ideal customer, so thank you.

Antsy Rainy Friday

2005-04-22T14:45:00.000-04:00

Did you get the memo?
You know you don't have enough work to do when booking an online hotel reservation for your boss's trip to London next month feels gratifying. Herein lies the issue with internal job transfers. It's been announced that I'm leaving the team, so no one feels compelled to give me any longterm projects. Understandable. But on the other hand, my boss won't let me go without my replacement in seat, or at least hired. Which means I'm back to making binders and photocopying and sending mass emails like the intern that I'm not. Then my replacement will start, and everyone will be in the middle of projects that s/he won't understand, and therefore that person, too, will be doing intern-like work for at least a month or so. Which means the team is paying someone in this position for probably a good two or three months without actually getting any quality return on their investment. Alas. I just want to get over to HR and get settled there. I've outgrown this AA nonsense.

Surgery Update
I went into G'town Hospital Surgery Center this morning for pre-op testing. Not so much wild and crazy, but I was still pretty nervous. The nurse took my blood pressure and it was 144/88... it's never that high. So clearly we had a little anticipatory adrenalin running there. Basically they just gave me a run down of what happens on Wednesday ("You come sign in at the desk, we bring you back, get you into a gown, Dr. Spear draws on you..." etc) They drew some blood for a CBC and got a health history from me. Nothing major. My surgery isn't until noon on Wednesday, and I have to be there at 10:00. I was kind of hoping it would be a little earlier, since I'm sure I won't be able to sleep the night before. No eating or drinking after midnight, no makeup or nail polish, and so forth.

Good times. Work Monday and Tuesday is going to be a bitch to get through, I'm going to be wound so tight! Not too much longer kids! :-)

Heeeeeey Nats!

2005-04-21T16:43:00.000-04:00

As of 4:30 this afternoon my Nats have finished an eight-day, three series homestay, after splitting a short two-game series against the Atlanta Braves. The win last night marked the Nationals' first shutout of the season, with Zach Day taking the 2-0 win. The Nats were geared up to win today's game as well, until Christian Guzman gave up a two-run throwing error in the bottom of the ninth, giving the until then scoreless Braves a rally and ending the game at 2-1. The loss drops the Nats to second place in the NL East, half a game back from the Marlins. The Nationals are still ahead of the Braves in the season series, which stands at 3-2.

Next the Nats head out for a quick roadtrip to New York to face the Mets, who are currently in last place in the NL East. This is the first time this season these two teams will face each other. They last met when the Mets won a pre-season exhibition game at RFK Stadium on April 3rd. The Nats will be back for another homestand Monday, April 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Last Pope Post

2005-04-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

I promise. Really, I wasn't going to write any more Pope posts, but Tina Brown has a column in today's Post that just really pegs to a tee how I've been feeling about Catholicism and the Papal proceedings of the past few weeks. So I thought I would excerpt from it and link to it. Enjoy!

Reverence Gone Up in Smoke
By Tina Brown
Thursday, April 21, 2005; Page C01

(Excerpts)
The European production values of the Roman Catholic Church upstaged anything exurban America's strip-mall megachurches can do -- or Hollywood, for that matter. Of course, Catholics who'd been made to feel for the last three years that they belonged to the Church of Pedophilia were especially elated by the clouds of incense trailing around. But even the most cynical of impious cultural elitists were feeling ever so slightly reverent by the time of the funeral itself.
...
By the time the plume of white smoke appeared and the bells of St. Peter's pealed on Tuesday afternoon, a wholly unrealistic hopefulness had descended on the secular salons of New York. It felt a bit like the afternoon of the exit polls last November when Democrats believed Sen. John Kerry was about to become the 44th president of the United States. There was an irrational feeling that someone who would proclaim the truth of spiritual liberty over fundamentalism would fling open the doors to the balcony and emerge from behind those theatrical scarlet curtains -- some youthful cardinal we hadn't even heard of yet, some charismatic dark horse whom the joyful crowds, so many of them young, would immediately recognize as their own. The suspense was killing.

Until -- Oh no! Cardinal Ratzinger! His very name was ominous, a cross between Ratso Rizzo and William Zanzinger. His election was like the sharp rap of a ruler across the knuckles by a punitive nun. It was as if you expected Barack Obama and got Bob Dole.
...
Maybe the disappointment was also the flip side of the wishful, desperate expectation that the new pontiff would be a standard bearer for a refreshed discourse of ecumenism, tolerance and openness. Secularists, humanists and quiet worshipers of an unpoliticized God have felt beleaguered, frustrated and unfairly disrespected...

Discrimination without Representation

2005-04-21T13:00:00.000-04:00

This is hilarious to me. DC is allowing gay couples married in other states and now living in the District to file joint tax returns, although not promising that they will be recognized. Not great, but a step in the right direction nonetheless.

Today, the Washington Post reports that Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R), the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the District is threatening DC Mayor Anthony Williams with budgetary retaliation if gay couples are allowed to file jointly. So, let's review. DC is not allowed to have voting representatives in Congress. Congress is allowed to allocate DC's budget and taxation. Now, DC wants to do the right thing and give its citizens equal civil rights and is therefore being threatened by Congress, who has unleveraged power over the city, with monetary retaliation.

Just stinks of bribery and coersion, doesn't it? DC is Democratic. Congress is controlled by Republicans. Allowing DC to have representation would throw the balance. So, NOT ONLY are Republicans denying DC representation in fear of losing power, but they're also abusing the power they already have and denying DC autonomous rights to treat its citizens fairly.

HOW IS THIS A DEMOCRACY?

One week till surgery

2005-04-20T19:42:00.000-04:00

Now that I'm counting down days instead of weeks until surgery, I'm beginning to get a leetle nervous. Not because I'm afraid I'm making a mistake, on the contrary, I'm more certain of it the closer it gets. The whole being put under and cut open thing skeeves me out though. Although, like Angela said, it's not like I'd want to be awake for it either.

I went to Filene's Basement at lunch and got a cute pair of PJs with a button-front top, since I won't be able to wear any over-the-head shirts for a few days at least. Also, I got a sports/compression bra online which should be here Friday. Having that will be a little more comforting than the generic Champion sports bras. Even though the surgeon said the generic ones were fine, I think I'll feel better with a medical one on hand. I also made a list of things I need to make sure I have before I go over to my parents house on Tuesday night. There are a few more things to pick up but I've got most of it already. Mike is coming over tonight to install my wireless card on my laptop so I can use it from the couch in my parents' house (they have wireless). That'll be awesome, I can make some CDs, chitchat with the gals on the board about healing, watch some Oprah... I haven't watched Oprah in almost a YEAR! I think that might be what I'm looking forward to most! Kiiiiddddding.

Friday I go into the surgical pre-op testing center for, well, pre-op tests. I'm not sure exactly what they have to do, I know I get to meet with the anesthesiologist, and they'll probably do some bloodwork, and I get to find out exactly where I'm going next week. I think my mom is going to come with me, if she can get off work. Georgetown is such a good hospital but so not metro accessible!

To keep me from being nervous, I made a list of thing's I'm looking forward to:
1) Wearing button-down shirts... that CLOSE!
2) Not having to lift my boobs to wash under them
3) No more constant pill popping for back pain
4) Cute, lacy, patterned bras!
5) Working out with only ONE sportsbra
6) Dresses that fit on the bottom AND top
7) Non-granny bathing suits
8) No boob sweat in the summer!
9) Little tank tops that don't show my bra through the arm holes
10) Bras with fewer than four hooks in the back
11) Strapless bras
12) Halter and tube tops
13) Not having to rest my boobs on my desk at work if I want to sit up straight
14) No more permanent bra strap marks

Pope Benedict XVI

2005-04-19T16:45:00.000-04:00

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany has been elected as the Catholic Church's 265th Pope. He has taken the name of Benedict XVI. Very Middle Ages. If you refer to my post yesterday, I'm sure you can assume how I'm feeling about this election. I have a very bad feeling about this. Perhaps Nana was right...

After Cardinal Ratzinger's homily yesterday before the Conclave convened, The Reverend Richard P. McBrien, a theologian at the University of Notre Dame said of him, "He's too much of a polarizing figure. If he were elected, thousands upon thousands of Catholics in Europe and the United States would roll their eyes and retreat to the margins of the church."

Ah yes Father McBrien, I like the way you think. At least someone in the Church acknowledges the truth.

Why is the Pope/former Cardinal Ratzinger polarizing?
Let's start a list, shall we?
-Fought for the Nazis during WWII
-Declared feminism/feminists to be a threat to Christianity and makes women "adversaries" of men
-Called homosexuality an "intrinsic evil" and states that Catholics are "obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions"
-Urged the European Union not to allow Turkey to join because it is a Muslim country and Europe is "essentially Christian in nature"
-Encourages stamping out dissent in the Church, believing that when it is voiced in public, it is destructive (mmm nothing like free speech, is there?)

Rules for Dating

2005-04-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

Now that I've been back in singledom for about four months, I've had the opportunity to really sink into the adult casual dating scene. You know, ACTUALLY dating. Not high school "we-kissed-now-we're-exclusive" or college "we-hooked-up-now-we're-exclusive-or-we're-fuck-buddies" nonsense. It's more like "hey you seem cool let's grab a drink" and you do just that. Grab a drink with one person on Monday, grab dinner with another person Thursday; if you like them make similar plans for next week, if not, c'est la vie. Old school, traditional dating. Seeing more than one person at a time. Only seeing each one once a week tops. No commitment, no searing emotions, just plain, old fashioned fun.

It's fantastic. Except. I don't know where women get a bad rap for always being clingy and wanting to jump into things! More often, I get stuck in a situation where I like a guy, I want to see him ONCE a week, but he's all emailing me and calling me and texting me umpteen times a day. Guys-- if a woman stops returning your calls... STOP MAKING THEM. On a similar vein, occasionally I'll meet a guy who I do want to see more often. We go out once or twice, have what I think is a good time, he promises to call... and nothing. This doesn't bother me. If I've only been out with you a few times, trust me, I'm not emotionally invested. If you don't want to see me again, I might be disappointed, sure, but I'm a big girl. So, point #2: DON'T say you want to see me again if you don't! DON'T say you'll call me if you have no intention of it! I'll be more annoyed if you promise to call and never do. Lastly (and this more or less ties everything together) don't tell me you're interested in casually dating if you're not. If you're just looking for a fuck buddy, that's fine, but taking me out on the premise of wanting to actually date is only wasting my time and yours. Same goes if you're looking for a relationship. Even if I really liked you, I still wouldn't jump into something serious with you. And honestly, guys who go out looking for a relationship are kind of a turnoff.

A few more things of note:
1) I will offer to pay on the first date. Don't take me up on it.
2) Never indicate that you are waiting around for me to call. This indicates a lack of a life on your part. Not cool.
3) If I can't go out with you one night, don't drink alone in your apartment instead. Or at least, don't TELL me you're drinking alone in your apartment instead.
4) When we're setting up our second date don't say "should I pick up some condoms?" and think I'm not going to laugh at you.
5) Don't tell me repeatedly that you want to see me again and then never set up a date. Just say you're not interested and get on with it.
6) Don't call me if you have nothing to say.
7) Don't giggle. Twelve-year-old girls giggle. Grown men do not. Even when they're nervous.
8) If during our first date/conversation you mention: your ex, your psychiatrist, your gaming addiction, the death or serious illness of a family member, your children, your kidney stones or that you carry a picture of your car in your wallet, do not expect a second date. It is not that I cannot empathize with these things. I can, and if I really like you I would probably consider making it work. However they are not things I need to know about you within the first few days of our meeting.
8b) If you carry a picture of your car in your wallet I probably will not date you regardless.
8c) You are definitely out of luck if you cry while talking about any of the above. If you're thinking, "Well, but my favorite Aunt Fanny just died this morning! How can she be so insensitive?" I am sorry about Aunt Fanny. But you would have been better off postponing our date. That shows bad taste AND bad judgement on your part.
9) Do not drink a girly drink at the bar. This goes for anything blended, anything pink, anything with a cherry and anything served straight up besides a standard martini.

I'm sure I will be adding more as I think of them. Or more likely, as I am subjected to them.

Early Results

2005-04-18T21:13:00.000-04:00

Early results on "Katie in the City" indicate that it is in fact, filling a void. We go to the public:

MikeSellery: Ms. Russo, Thank you for contributing your blog to the Foundation for Giving Mike Something to do at Work. Your generous contribution will help us stave off mind sucking bordem until Thursday afternoon, the earliest they plan on getting my new servers online. Until that time, we will need much material to surf the web to occupy our time. Keep in mind that, as a US taxpayer, you are paying me to read your blog, since our contract bills directly to the federal government. I hope you feel you are getting your money's worth, and please keep this in mind next time there are debates about the budget defecit. Sincerely yours, Michael A. Sellery, Founder of the FFGMSTDAW.

Yes folks, this is where federal government reform has gotten us. Back to you in the studio, Chip.

Spring Monday Thoughts

2005-04-18T12:36:00.000-04:00

A New Pope
So, the Papal Conclave starts today. The longest conclave of the 20th century took only five days, so it looks like we should have a pope by the end of the week. I, for one, think it would behoove the Church if they were to elect a pope from outside of Europe. Much of the malsentiment towards the Church has to do with the perceived non-inclusive heirarchy. You know, a bunch of old white men in some medeval Church making rules for the rest of us to follow. Let's broaden our horizons, shall we? Almost 1 in 2 Catholics lives in Latin America, for example. This segment of the Church is historically very passionate about their faith and very devoted to their Church. If this segment begins to feel alienated, the Church stands to lose the trust of a very significant constituency. On another hand, the Church is growing most rapidly by an evangelation standpoint in Africa. A pope who understands foremost the concerns of people in the African nations and is able to connect with this population will be an asset whose positive ramifications will surely be felt for centuries to come. As far as Western Europe and North America go, if this is the population the Church is looking to excite, they are going to need to make some compromises and elect a pope who is of the mind that the Church doctrine can grow and change with the times. It has before -- until the late 1800s the Church took preached that slavery was acceptable... so how can they now be so certain that homosexuality and birth control are wrong?

There is much to consider...

The Nationals
A HUGE congrats to my beloved HOME TEAM the Nationals for completing a sweep of their first homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Vinny Castilla is shaping up to be the man to watch, having almost hit for a cycle in two of the three games. His best chance was in the home opener, but when he came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth needing only a single for the cycle, Diamondback pitcher Lance Cormier let a fastball fly high and inside, hitting Castilla on the shoulder and sending him to first base sans cycle... I don't boo often, but I booed then.

The Nats also finally unveiled their mascot at yesterday's game, a floppy bald eagle named "Screech". He's pretty darn cute as far as mascots go, if not very original. My issue, as a child of the 80s of course, is being able to mentally differentiate him from this Screech...

Unless the service really sucks...

2005-04-18T03:06:00.000-04:00

...you should always tip your waiter at LEAST 18%. It being two days after tax day is not an excuse to stiff your waiter. If you haven't got the money, don't go out to eat. We pay taxes too, you know.

If you've never worked in the food industry, here's a briefing on Things To Consider when tipping:
1) If the food is taking a long time, it's most likely that the kitchen is busy. Once the waiter places your order, s/he has no say in how long it takes to come out. I will be happy to check and see where in the lineup your order is, however, don't give me lip, because it's not my fault.
2) Don't ask the obviously foreign bussers to bring you something. If they spoke English, they would wait tables. They don't, so they bus. If you ask them for something and it never comes, don't yell at me. I never got the message, because they can't understand you.
3) I'm sorry if you don't like what you ordered, I will be happy to bring you something else. If I like you, I might even ask the manager to cut you a break on your tab. But it would still be thoughtful of you to tip me on what would have been the full amount. That's the amount of work I did.
3b) If you use a coupon or gift certificate, that's great. But tip on the full amount.
4) If I'm at another table, do not interrupt me. I see you. I will get to you. Unfortunately I have not yet developed the ability to take and remember orders from two seperate tables at once.
5) If you want to sit and hang out after you finish eating, that's fine. But bear in mind, especially when the restaurant is busy, that you are taking up a spot another paying (and tipping) customer would be sitting. So if you sit for an extra hour and hog the free coffee refills, it would be thoughtful of you to leave a little extra on the tip for my inconvenience.
6) Waitstaff does NOT receive regular minimum wage. We get paid about $2.15 an hour, and after taxes are taken out, we tend to receive a check every two weeks for a big fat $0.00 dollars. Tips are not an "extra" for us. They're a livelihood.
6b) Do not assume that because I wait tables, I'm inferior to you. I have a college degree, and work a full-time job. I need some extra money at this time while I build up my career. Most of my waitstaff colleagues are students and using the money to go to school or pay loans. Trust me, we aren't lazy and we don't lack ambition.
7) It is not my fault if we don't have your favorite beer on draft or if we're out of cheesecake tonight. Don't take it out on my tip.
8) If you are in fact too lazy to do your own basic math or even pull out your cell phone and use that calculator, here's a key for tipping for everyday service. If it's awful or amazing, adjust accordingly:
<$10 check = $1.50-$2.00 tip
$10-$20 = $2.50-$4.00
$20-$30 = $4.00-$6.00
$30-$40 = $6.00-$8.00
$40-$50 = $8.00-$10
$50-$60 = $10-$12
$60-$70 = $12-$14
Can you see the pattern? Great. (If not, please cut up all of your credit cards and reenroll in Jr. High math, thanks...)
8b) It is appreciated if you increase the amount of your tip if you have any of the following:
-screaming or otherwise ill behaved children
-an absurdly high-maintenence member of your party
-request special treatment for an occasion
-request seperate checks
-have a very large party (more than 10)
-do anything that you have to apologize to me for

IN RETURN, I will, to the best of my ability with only two hands and feet: take your orders in a timely manner, sweet talk your children, make reasonable and honest menu suggestions, make sure your drinks are filled, check in on you in reasonable intervals, and generally oversee your comfort while you're sitting in my section.

Thanks!

Welcome!

2005-04-17T19:15:00.000-04:00

Hi guys and gals! Welcome to my blog... a general way to keep you entertained about my comings, goings, adventures and thoughts on living the single life in the big city. Okay, the city isn't THAT big... but it's a nice one!

A quick update on where I am... I live in the Ballston area of Arlington in a cozy 2-bedroom apartment with my awesome roommate (and fellow JMU alum) Leah, and an adorable, smart, and slightly crazy cat named Rodrigo. I'm working down at Foggy Bottom at The Corporate Executive Board, where I just got a promotion (yay!) and will now be working as a Recruiting Coordinator in the HR department. Leah is an almost-3rd year med student at GW; aka my in-house health center ;-)

Keep checking back, there'll be more to come!