...but since I forgot the card reader, my stunning photo of the Boston/Cambridge skyline will have to wait until I get home. In other news, Terri Schiavo had a blog. Thanks for the heads up, Mike.
And finally, happy birthday Rocker. You still smell like a yeti.
What's it going to take for this Schiavo story to die? I'm so hungry for a new story. Thirsty too....
A couple of other thoughts:
Washington has a fairly sizeable homeless population, some of whom spend their days panhandling in front of Union Station. Some of these panhandlers are performers, many with instruments. Today, returning from lunch, I spotted one such performer: obviously drunk, banging on an empty Heineken bottle with a stick to no discernable rhythm. He was also bellowing incoherently.
Upon seeing this man, my first thought was, 'you're definitely going to have to try harder than that if you want people's money.'
Ultimately, I felt that if you're in New York, you should go see The Gates, but they probably aren't worth ten hours on 800ยบ, urine-scented buses.
Proof that all is not lost:
General Motors Corp. is recalling nearly 200,000 vehicles because of various safety defects, federal regulators said Thursday.
The largest recall is of 155,465 pickups, vans and SUVs-- including the Hummer H2 -- because of possible brake malfunctions, the automaker and federal safety regulators said.
All of the affected vehicles are from the 2004 and 2005 model years and have Bosch hydro-boost brake assemblies. They are the Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado and Suburban; the GMC Savana, Sierra and Yukon XL; the GMC Topkick and Chevrolet Kodiak commercial trucks; and the Hummer H2, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This Slate article on "awareness" bracelets sent me to a site that provides some useful information when trying to be more aware. It has a handy list of all the things about which we need to be more aware, and corresponding bracelet color. Of course, with some much about which to be aware, there is a good deal of overlap. For instance, blue represents education, child abuse and interstitial cystitis (among other things).
What else would you expect from a website called AwarenessDepot.com?
More than anything in the President's speech, I was stricken by the ineffectiveness of the Democrats' response. I thought we missed an opportunity to focus on why Social Security privatization is evil and wrong for America, and that Sen. Reid (D-NV) tried to sound like a grandfather and not a leader.
And of the President's speech, mostly I'm glad we don't have the troops to invade Iran, because it sure sounded like he wants to...
From CJ, a game to sum up my music collection. The rules:
My list:
Pretty reflective of my collection, though not my current tastes.
As the Senate confirmed Condi Rice, take note of three Dems' votes on this to se how they're positioning themselves in '08:
Bayh (D-IN) - No
Clinton (D-NY) - Yea
Feingold (D-WI) - Yea
While I think Rice is both unqualified and has disqualified herself through her deception leading up to the war, the President should get to choose his own people. This vote was a smart move by Russ.
... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM SATURDAY TO 7 AM EST SUNDAY...
... 5 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED IN THE WASHINGTON AND BALTIMORE METROPOLITAN AREAS...
I'm excited.
There have been a number of commentators expressing displeasure about the planning for the President's inauguration in the wake of the catastrophic tsunami. I think most of these people are simply upset about the inauguree. While I don't really have a problem with spending more than $30 million to celebrate our democracy, the front page of today's Post did piss me off:
U.S. Tells D.C. to Pay Inaugural Expenses
D.C. officials said yesterday that the Bush administration is refusing to reimburse the District for most of the costs associated with next week's inauguration, breaking with precedent and forcing the city to divert $11.9 million from homeland security projects.
continued...
So let me see, keeping our homeland secure is our number one priority, except for having a kick-ass party. At least Washington, DC isn't a likely target
"Mom, you always give away things I like to poor people. I'm poor too, you know."
-Anne Chabel, moments before opening a bounty of Christmas gifts.
As ridiculous Christian groups decry “christmas hating” as a sign of the decline of moral values in our country, it occurs to me that we should let them argue all they want about whether Macy's is run by sodomites because its signs read Happy Holidays.
There is an opportunity for the religious and secular left to coalesce around a set of moral values that places our families above what we can buy for them. Values not offended by the consideration of other cultures at this or any other time of year, but by the constant conditioning to shop ourselves happy.
Always one to jump in on a cultural phenomenon, I came up with this clever card to celebrate our newest holiday, Chrismukkah.
Laboratorio Del Galileo - Thursday, December 9, 2004
Stone Crab with Caviar Sauce and Parsnip Puree
—{ O }—
Roasted Duck Liver with Fried Semolina, Cotognata, Duck Jus
—{ O }—
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Bagna Cauda Timbale Cotechino and Chives
—{ O }—
Tortelloni of Skate Wing with Rapini
—{ O }—
Papparedelle with Wild Game Ragu
—{ O }—
Risotto with White Truffle
—{ O }—
Sauteed Sea Scallops with Lentis, Baby Fennel and Fennel Sauce
—{ O }—
Roasted Squab Leg stuffed with Chanterelle and Porchini, served with Polenta and Stuffed Dried Tomato
—{ O }—
Cheese
—{ O }—
Pannetone with Caramelize Banana and Zabaglione Sauce
—{ O }—
Baby Pineapple Souffle
—{ O }—
Bomboloni
Mr. DASCHLE. It is with heartfelt gratitude to the people of South Dakota, with great respect and admiration for my colleagues, and with love for this institution and the power it has to make this Nation even greater that I say farewell and look to the future with great optimism, with hope and anticipation.
I yield the floor.
Proof that good things still happen to Democrats:
Attorney General John Ashcroft resigns.
The author of get your war on:
CHIN UP.
We're smarter than those motherfuckers.
We can learn more quickly than those motherfuckers.
We can be more ruthless than those motherfuckers.
We can be some six-million-dollar motherfuckers ourselves.
Chin up.
We're more American than those motherfuckers.
We're more responsible than those motherfuckers.
We're more compassionate than those motherfuckers.
Hell, our atheists are more Christian than their Bible-thumpin' motherfuckers.
There's an election in two years.
There's nothing we can't do.
Chin up.
Because it's on, motherfuckers.
It is on.
-David Reese
Get your war on once again gets it just right on Social Security Privatization:
Woman:The coolest thing about another four years of Bush would be the unveiling of the "Ownership society!" Doesn't that sound bad ass? You get to be in charge of your own Social Security.
Man:Are you kidding me? What the fuck would I want to be in charge of my Social Security for? That's not my job. I don't know how to do that shit! And in case Bush is wondering, I don't want to have to deliver my own mail, either.
Also, the Jon Stewart/Tucker "Dick" Carlson feud continued last night on both shows. Good for you to not back down against these worthless sycophants, Jon. Keep it up.
Finally, I belive, do you?
For those who missed it, and those who want to see it again, here's a link to Jon Stewart on Friday's Crossfire.
Despite a number of polls that show Sen. Kerry w/ more electoral votes than the President, the pressure is on him to "change the race" tonight. I hope he does, but I still don't think it matters. He just needs to avoid catastrophe.
Am I wrong to be wondering if the timing of today's major offensive into Samarra is politically motivated?
For those who think the President has locked up re-election, I encourage your viewership of American Research Group's new polling data. With polls from all 50 states conducted this month, the count stands at:
President Bush: 253 Electoral Votes
Senator Kerry: 270 Electoral Votes
Tied: 15 Electoral Votes (WI and WV)
It should be noted that both candidates are in close races (within the poll margin of error) for about 1/2 of their predicted EVs. Regardless, Kerry should have no problem getting to the 330 I've been predicting for months.
John Kerry was terrific on Letterman last night. He was relaxed, funny, and on message. And finally, he has a compelling message on Iraq. In a speech yesterday he provided the best articulation of the President’s poor leadership and poor choices.
The President claims it is the centerpiece of his war on terror. In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion from that war and the battle against our greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. Invading Iraq has created a crisis of historic proportions and, if we do not change course, there is the prospect of a war with no end in sight….
In Iraq, this administration has consistently over-promised and under-performed. This policy has been plagued by a lack of planning, an absence of candor, arrogance and outright incompetence. And the President has held no one accountable, including himself.
Sen. Kerry’s criticism of the President is dead on, and it’s good to see him step it up. He faces the continuing challenge of trying to describe a plan for Iraq, though it is impossible to guess what the situation there will be by the time he is elected. He’ll face criticism for that, but a vague outline of coalition building is better than no clue at all.
His speech has played well in the press, and I think this could be the turning point, when we finally stop focusing on forged documents and lying veterans, and pay attention to the ever-growing quagmire in Iraq.
Sen. Zell Miller is an idiot. If his hate-filled speech rife with deception wasn't enough evidence, check out his interview on Hardball following his speech. Here's a great exerpt:
Get out of my face. If you are going to ask me a question, step back and let me answer. I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.
What a statesman. Here's the link to MSN Video.
In the past few weeks, the election seems to have turned from one where it was Kerry's to lose to one where the President's reelection appears more and more likely. Part of this can no doubt be attributed to the Swift Boat ads and the media's unwillingness to identify them as the lies they are. But there is a broader element at play, and I think the Republican National Convention is demonstrating it.
They have a vicious noise machine of political operatives throughout their organization (but never the President) who immediately react to any misstep by Kerry. The "rapid response team" the Republicans operated at the DNC is unmatched by Democrats this week. This constant spin wears down journalists who seem less and less willing to call them on their lies. On CNBC the Vice President recently denied saying that it was "pretty well confirmed" that Mohammed Atta met with Iraqis (this is the Iraq/Al Qaeda connection he had repeatedly cited even after evidence that Atta wasn't in Prague at the time of the meeting). He used those exact words on Meet the Press in December of 2001.
The reporter, flustered for a moment, tried to press him on it, but without having prepared the clip, simply allowed him to repeat his denial. Sure, this story hits the blogsphere, but it is besieged by stories about THK telling a reporter to "shove it" or Kerry's Vietnam service record. Whether a coordinated strategy or not, the Republicans seem to deluge the media with myriad claims about John Kerry and George Bush. Overwhelmed, the media can't provide an appropriate filter, and enough of the lies and misleading statements get through to have an effect. Are the Democrats unwilling to play this game, or are we just no good at it?
Since last Memorial Day when Scot, Trish and I went to Bozeman, I've been craving a blackened salmon burrito from La Parrilla. Spinach, rice, salmon, and a ricotta/sun dried tomato spread made even tastier when eaten in paradise. I've dreamt about it, thought about replicating it (but decided it just wouldn't be the same), and generally obsessed over this burrito. Finally, after over a year, while nursing a hangover, I got my burrito.
And it was good. I think I'll have another today.
Oh, the views are pretty good up here too.
In a completely unrelated note, as I was settling in to my hotel room in Bozeman on Friday, I flipped on the television. With the Olympic opening ceremonies about to run on NBC, Fox thought it would capitalize on Olympic fever as well. So, as I was putting away some of my clothing, I watched an orangutan beat a sumo wrestler in a tug-of-war and then a sprinter beat a giraffe in a 100-meter dash. Who needs water polo?
Julia Child is responsible for bringing food into popular culture and expanding the culinary horizons of Americans. She is also responsible for introducing me to he power and possibilities of food, and of the notion of food as passion. It's hard to be too sad at the death of a 91-year-old, especially one who lived as fully as she. But her passion is responsible as much as anyone for my love of food, and my unwavering belief that you can never add too much butter.
I'm in Montana and you're not. 6,000 feet above sea level, surrounded by trees and on the lookout for mountain lions. Tomorrow: Butte.
I'm still working on a recap of the rest of the convention, but as time passes, here are a few basic points:
Though I am uneasy with his new role as Democratic spokesman, Ron Reagan has a pretty good piece in Esquire this month, The Case Against George W. Bush. He was very dry at the convention, but hits the President hard:
But George W. Bush and his administration have taken "normal" mendacity to a startling new level far beyond lies of convenience. On top of the usual massaging of public perception, they traffic in big lies, indulge in any number of symptomatic small lies, and, ultimately, have come to embody dishonesty itself. They are a lie.
Pretty strong stuff.
I was planning to wait until the end of the convention before blogging about it, but since I'm home sick today, and won't catch Kerry's speech live anyway, now seems as good a time as any to catch up on the rest of it.
Monday:
Can Bill Clinton be President again? Please?
Republicans believe in an America run by the right people, their people, in a world in which we act unilaterally when we can, and cooperate when we have to. They think the role of government is to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of those who embrace their political, economic, and social views, leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves on matters like health care and retirement security.
He twists the knife in the President even further when he discusses the tax cuts:
When I was in office, the Republicans were pretty mean to me. When I left and made money, I became part of the most important group in the world to them. At first I thought I should send them a thank you note—until I realized they were sending you the bill.
The other notable event on Monday was USA Today's spiking of Ann Coulter's column. I can't imagine why. Her lede:
Here at the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston, conservatives are deploying a series of covert signals to identify one another, much like gay men do. My allies are the ones wearing crosses or American flags. The people sporting shirts emblazened [sic] with the "F-word" are my opponents. Also, as always, the pretty girls and cops are on my side, most of them barely able to conceal their eye-rolling.
and later:
Support the troops, the signs say, bring them home. That's my new position on all government workers, except the 5% who aren't useless, which is to say cops, prosecutors, firemen and U.S. servicemen....I love public school teachers punishing any mention of God and banning Christmas songs so much -- I think they should go home.
She's gone from moronic and insulting to just plain incoherent. Nice.
