My Thoughts Exactly...

SOX WIN THE DIVISIONNN!!!!!!!

It appears I posted too soon. Can't leave this out of teh blog!!!111!!!

Fenway reacting to the Sox winning and the Yankees losing to clinch the division for the first time in 12 years!


Big Papi celebrating in style.


What a year, what a team.

Paps is absolutely plowed but boy is his...er... enthusiasm contagious.

Paps and Dice-K with a well deserved caption!

Schilling ready to win another World Series!
Oh well!


There's always this!

Of America, Coast to Coast

I'll admit it: I liked going to school in California. It was relaxing but engaging in a lot of different ways. Plus being on campus is an experience I'm missing at the moment. Pepperdine is great.
But being here in DC, I've been presented with so many opportunities on a daily basis that would make a week let alone a single day. Take this past week for an example:

Over the weekend, I got a call from my uncle who lives north along the Red Line in Rockville, Maryland asking if I want to join my cousin and him at a NASCAR race this weekend. Now my uncle and that branch of the family has always been rather distant to me in comparison to the rest of my family if only because they were always on the move and never lived near us. My uncle recently retired as a Lt. Col. from the army and is now settling down as the head of Public Works for the city of Rockville. And so, when he called to hang out, I immediately took him up on the offer.
NASCAR to me has always been a new realm I have been meaning to discover, and this was my first real chance. We went up to Dover, Delaware and enjoyed the confines of the Monster Mile. It really was a great time, and I even picked up a new favorite driver, Kasey Kahne, though there was nothing particularly inspiring about his performance other than the fact he came out alive from a big wreck at the end of the race. It's just he has a really cool name. Is there any other criteria used for picking a favorite racer? It's not done geographically, which would be easy. Someone enlighten me if I'm doing this wrong.
Anyways, one of the souvenirs I got from the weekend was a wicked sunburn that blistered my nose. So for the whole week at work I was sporting a band aid to hide the damage. Embarrassed, I often told people I got into a fight, but generally everything in regards to my nose was in jest. It was actually a good conversation starter. Which brings me to the climax of the tale.
Each office puts on briefings every now and then to lobby other offices to sign onto bills they are sponsoring. Usually, a panel of specialists on the topic speak in support of the measure. For example, earlier in the year, I went to a briefing on guns and terrorism. There are 9 criteria one must clear before they can purchase a gun and being on a terrorist watchlist is not one of them so the office was proposing to close that gap. They had a three member panel representing the FBI, ATF, and DOJ speaking on the subject.
This particular briefing was on school lunches. The proposed bill co-sponsored by my Congressman Chris Shays would update the standards for all food sold on school grounds outside of the actual meals. This means vending machines, a la carte food, etc... So on the panel speaking were two mothers who billed themselves as the "Angry Moms" who were dissatisfied with the nutritional standards of food provided to our kids and were crusading for the cause against soda and chips. Also speaking was perhaps the biggest surprise: actor Chevy Chase and his wife apparently care passionately about the issue. So much so they spoke at the hearing and by all observations were quite knowledgeable. Now thats not to say Chevy didn't challenge the air of aggression and concern. Often times he would interrupt an Angry Mom or even his own wife which comments like "I'm here as a father not an actor. Actually, can anyone remember when I was last an actor?" or "Which reminds of of my work in Fletch," or "So are there any questions for me on school lunches? No? Anybody seen Caddyshack?"
After the briefing had finished, Chevy was busy signing autographs and taking pictures with the twenty-something year olds who were the real Legislative Assistants being lobbied on the issue. Being experienced in living in close-quarters to celebrities in Malibu, I tried to be cool and just continued to sit in my seat, finishing up my notes, minding my own business. That was until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Chevy Chase, who asked "What happened to your nose, kid?" Remembering I had that band aid on my nose, I froze thought at the thought of who was making conversation with me. Chevy bleeping Chase. Still awed, and remembering where I was, I stammered out as quickly as it came to me, "I got in a fight with an Angry Mom." He let out a bellowing laugh and we carried on about California and such. It was a dream realized: I made Chevy Chase laugh.

I'm still trying to digest that moment, a highlight of my life. Ha. But still, it was pretty cool. Maybe I'll go to a Farm Bill briefing next and run into Dan Ackroyd. If I've learned anything, everything is possible.

On Hiatus

TB is on a bit of a break for the time being. Don't worry, I'll be back soon, with plenty of stories to tell about NASCAR, a nose, and Chevy Chase. Sit tight.

Until then, chew on this and draw your own conclusions:

Break Open the Bubbly!!

The Sox are going to the playoffs!

It's the Weekend

W00t w00t. Going to relax and NASCAR this weekend. Everyone, enjoy.

Tides within a Party

As the Captain's Quarters shows, 25 Democratic senators refused to condemn the vile attack on the men and women of our military. But as much of a political wedge as the vote was, it helped point out the different tides driving the Democratic party. On one hand, MoveOn.org-esque groups supply funds for much of the party on the condition that the recipients remain loyal to their ludicrous platform. Hence why 25 members opposed today's resolution. But it gives me some hope at least that some fraction of the party remains beholden to the people they represent. Regardless of how you feel about Iraq, and I am no hawk, American's don't want personal attacks on our men and women in uniform. At lest some Democrats get that. In fact I think most do. But unfortunately 25 either are as wacky as the lefties, or just spineless to stand up against their cash cow.
It's about time the Democratic party bucked up and said enough is enough or they'll just as quickly lose the gains they got last fall. Supporting our military should be something we aspire to as a unified country. Again, regardless about how you feel the administration has used our combat troops, the least we can do is have some respect for those who put their blood on the line for you and I.

Jon Stewart and I agree on something?

Who knew?

By the way, you can hear the crickets. Apparently humor is OK as long as its not pointed at them or their causes. But then again, this crew is known for going into the lion's den...

Remind Me Never to Ask John Kerry a Question

I don't want to get tasered like this kid did for asking that loser a question. Kerry came to Pepperdine, my college, last year and I'm glad he did. Anything that helps advance political discourse is OK in my book. But tasering? Granted, the kid was kinda out there, but TownHall.com asks a good question:

It's interesting that the police allowed the whole thing to be taped.

Yes -- the kid is a nut. But what kind of country is it when you can't ask a question to a politician without being arrested?

Argh.

BOSTON (AP) -Mariano Rivera retired David Ortiz on a popup with the bases loaded for the final out, and Derek Jeter broke an eighth-inning tie with a three-run homer that sent the New York Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

Quite the Day for My Part of the Country...

Talk about busy, so much is going on sports-wise up in New England today.

There's NASCAR up in New Hampshire, the Pats are facing off against the Chargers at Foxboro, and The Red Sox are looking to win the series against the Yankees tonight as Schilling squares off against Benedict Clemens. So much to watch, so much to take in! Maybe I'll just watch the Emmy's... ha.

Anyways, here's the link to my CT Post article, published yesterday.

Enjoy.

The Red Sox Just Changed Their Team Logo...

And its looking an awful lot like someone with their arms grasping at their own neck. I mean seriously, up 7-2 on the Yankees in the 8th and you BLOW it? I was really hoping they wouldn't roll over again this series, but it seems like the team just has to give the fans a coronary. Get well soon, Manny.

Amen.

File This Under the "What's Wrong with America" Department

Now this makes the liberal wing just look petty. And while the wise and honorable thing to do for Democrats would be to denounce such bile, some are even hesitant to do that. Thats because the MoveOn.org branch of the party is what is driving Dems at this point and the #1 reason why I could never vote for a Dem. I mean come on, an ad hominem attack on a 4 star general? Someone who has dedicated their entire life to preserving the freedoms that allow such hate groups to post this garbage. Say what you want about the war, or about whether the 'surge' is working. Personally, Petraeus is the most credible source on the matter, not some internet brothel of liberal psychos.

This crosses the line in such a way it makes me sick.

My 9/11 Story

Everyone has one, and I haven't contributed mine to any media except for my own recollections, so forgive me if I feel the urge to put it on pen and paper... as if I could ever forget.





Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 was supposed to be eerily similar to Monday, September 10th and was in all likelihood going to blur into Wednesday, September 12th. Especially to an 8th grader who was trying to negotiate the limitations of a strict Catholic school setting with the self-perceived authority of being at the top of my middle school. After all, I was practically in high school and like many of my classmates, I tried to act it. My universe thusly encompassed the four walls of my home and however many walls were in my school. Sure I wanted to graduate or move on or whatever, but deep down things were going just fine thank you very much. I was ripe to have my innocent world view robbed.
Getting to school and home room were like any other day. But as the days first activities were beginning, our country was morphing all around the bubble created by St. Thomas Aquinas School. It started during religion class, when we were interrupted a few times by our assistant principal calling our teacher out into the hallway about 3 times in the 35 minute periods. Looking back, it would be easy to interpret this interruptions and subsequent awkward stares by our teacher to mean something was amiss. But, I mean, how were we to know at the time. There were no prior experiences like 9/11 by which we could be like "Uh oh, I know what this mean." There was no precedent for this kind of disaster, no gene contained in our DNA like the one forged that Tuesday that causes our palms to get sweaty in an airport security checkpoint or in a metro stop flooded with men in flak jackets.
And so the day went on for another period, notably art class. We pretty much abused our middle-school art teacher who was flaky enough to think we were being creative. We were, just not in the ways he wanted. Like someone would bring in a Ludacris album from home and one of us were charged with manning the speakers to turn down the volume during the swears (and we would never quite self-censor correctly for some reason). So mischief was naturally abound when all at once the curtain came crashing down.
In a swift and serious fashion we were whisked out of the classroom and without a word of explanation we were guided to church. And I am quite serious when I say we were all convinced we were being sent there for penance for our less than holy acts of behavior to our poor art teacher. This was the beginning of a very confusing stretch for us, for from this point on no one gave us anything more concrete than a "shhh."
We filed into the pews like we did on every first Friday for the school mass, except we had had our first Friday mass last week. So why are we here? Everyone was of the same confused mindset and anyone's guess was as good as the other's. Father Martin came out and began the services intended for something no one knew while classes were still being marshaled into their seats. The confused yet jovial attitudes of the students couldn't contrast more with the stern, forlorn look of the teachers or clergy at that hour. And that was as close to anarchy as our bubble got. Sensing on this, no one really paid much attention to anything they were thinking an hour before. This was weird, and weird never happened at St. Thomas. Not to us. What the hell was going on?
Then all of a sudden our guys pivoted from one another back to the altar. Father Martin was saying something about pulling together as Americans and a horrific tragedy. Again, no details, but enough sound bites to thoroughly scare us. It was a different kind of pandemonium, and I'd say half of us thought we were finished... like done with altogether. I distinctly remember my friend Colin and I looking straight at each other an mouthing "nuclear war" at the same time with the same "I can't believe I'm saying this" expression. It didn't help that moms were starting to come in to the middle of church and pulling little Timmy and little Suzie right out of mass. On September 10th, this would have been blasphemous on a level that would have blown our minds. But on September 11th, with all the strange things that had happened already, we all wished we were one of those lucky kids that was that much closer to finding out what actually happened. Again may I remind you, we were told nothing, so getting out became priority number one. Whatever gave us some kind of piece of mind we weren't all going to die.
And as if we needed anything else to freak us out, Father Martin was accompanied as the mass was progressing by various priests and deacons who I guess felt the need to bring God back to that day. The big tipoff was when our elderly Monseigneur, who had been out of commission for a while, even made an appearance and looked visibly bewildered. I can't say that I blame them for being shaken or disturbed... they were in need of a bedrock as much as we were. I wish I had the wisdom and focus to turn to God in that moment, but I wasn't ready for the judgment so perhaps my way of avoiding the certain damnation I felt i was in for was by avoiding thinking of God altogether. Looking back now, I could have used him then the most and I was lucky I found him in the time after that day.
After mass ended, we were shepherded back to the school as swiftly and sternly as were were whisked into the church. And then we waited.
This was probably the worst part of the entire day. Word had leaked about various details surrounding what had happened. They were vague enough where we were still in the dark but they gave us something... anything... to cling to. We heard something about a bomb, possibly a hijacking or possibly a subway. And as far as cities were concerned, we knew it had something to do with New York and there was something about Boston. This last part scared me because coincidentally enough my dad was at a meeting in Boston that day. My mom was the assistant managing editor of the Connecticut Post, so i knew it was out of the question for her to leave work and come pick me up. But with the lack of details and mystery surrounding the day, I wanted to just start the day over and never leave them again. But I had to wait, along with all the other kids whose parents were occupied.
Girls who had a parent that worked in the City were crying, guys were practically assaulting our teacher who was just sitting there stone-faced in order to get some information. It was chaos, panic, confusion, anarchy. I hated it, I wanted to get to my home where my grandparents were staying in our in-law apartment. And mind you, this was before everyone was handed a cell phone as soon as they developed speaking skills. So we were cut off completely until we were to reach home. Even the bus drivers were instructed to say nothing as they were called in especially early to bring us home. They couldn't get there soon enough and we didn't need to be prodded to be quick about getting on the bus. Good byes would have to wait... or would this be the last time I saw my friends? Would I be brought to some underground bunker? What was going on.
After probably the shortest bus ride (but one that felt like the longest) of my life, my twin brother and I who were finally reunited (we were in different classes all day) threw open the door and went for the TV to search of CNN or some other channel like that which was never relevant in our lives until that very moment.
The rest is a history we are still living. This blog post doesn't really have an end because in many ways 9/11 still isn't over. But on that day, we were bonded by the unknown. We witnessed along with the rest of the world as the Twin Towers fell, as a smoke plume drifted from the Pentagon, as reports of another plane crashing in Pennsylvania we flashed all over the screen, and as people everywhere ran. We were young, we were naive, but we weren't the only ones in confusion. We weren't the only ones panicked by the chaos. We weren't the only ones who ran.
And now six years later we are faced with questions about a terrorists mastermind still at-large, a war still unfolding in a country that had nothing to do with that day, and whether or not we should just move on from 9/11. It's pointless to even think that, because as long as we have to take our shoes off at an airport were are still living 9/11. And at the point in which we as a nation became so vulnerable, so human, how wise would it be to forget the lessons of what happened that day. Moving on from 9/11 is as stupid as saying move on from DARE class or get beyond CPR training, except on a scale so large your life depended on it. Lessons like 9/11 shouldn't be forgotten, though some are calling for just that.
I'll always remember 9/11, what I felt, how I wanted family, security, piece of mind, and ultimately God. You are more than welcome to do with your 9/11 experiences as you wish, but don't tell me to move on. Like it or not, it's a part of me, I'm a part of the 9/11 generation, and I've accepted that. Can you?

Upcoming Column Sneak Peak

This will be run in the CT Post in the upcoming week, probably next weekend. Take a look and enjoy:

Buzz. Buzz.

I keep my phone on vibrate, but I can almost tell when a particular pulsation is coming from a friend or family or work. This one was definitely a friend buzz, and as I looked down to confirm my guess, I tried to inspire myself into acting surprised I was right.

Normally, a call at around 9:00 PM from this particular college friend would be in relation to scheduling for the fast-approaching evening. Perhaps it was for a final run to the local grocery store or fast-food place. Or maybe, as I go to college in California, a late night beach cookout was in the works.

But the circumstances of this particular phone call were different. You see, instead of returning for a second consecutive year onto the unyieldingly sunny, palm-tree lined confines of Pepperdine University, I did what 60% of students do at my school: go abroad. OK, I may be stretching it, as “abroad” in this sense is spending my fall semester in Washington, D.C., but next semester I’ll be going to London where I really will be abroad.

So when I saw that the phone call was from my former roommate, I had to adjust accordingly to more of a “How’re things going?” tone that was reserved for times like summer break. In fact, on the other end was not only my roommate, but the whole collection of all my dorm-mates just settling down for dinner in the cafeteria with the three hour time difference from Washington, D.C. to California.

The conversation itself was uncomfortable as we talked about what the other was missing. They filled me in on how everyone changed over the summer in Malibu and I updated them on my fantastic internship on Capitol Hill working for Congressman Christopher Shays (R-4). I would never take back my plans for this year, but I would hardly complain if I was sitting at that cafeteria table with them instead of connected through a phone.

As happy as I am fulfilling a dream working for Congressman Shays and then going to London, the stinging reality I kept being reminded of throughout the conversation was how it would be a full year before I see my best college friends again.

While I’ll always appreciate hearing from my friends out in California, I’d just ask that they mind the time difference. I’ve already be awaken half-a-dozen times at 3:00 AM.

Are You Kidding Me?

This has gotten out of hand. I was just told I would need to be moving for the third time since I've been here in the District. The apartment complex screwed up the rooming assignments again and mismanaged a ton of the kids in the program. I had known about this for a while, but after having been displaced to the Holiday Inn for the first week or so of the program, I thought I would be immune from any further moving. I was wrong.
I woke up this morning to the news that I need to clear out my stuff... all of it... by tonight. I'm pretty sure after I unloaded myself from the week of torture before at the Holiday Inn, I burned all my boxes. Now I'll have to take everything out again and move to the 6 man suite I've been downgraded to from my perfect 4 man. Oy vay.

Never stay here:

After Some Reflection...

I can't decide who won the debate. Rudy stayed on message the best, but never said anything outside of "I ran New York City, and it was good." McCain showed he wasn't dead and had a few lines, so having a pulse was a win for him. Romney had by far the hardest set of questions trained at him and looked the most uncomfortable of the front-runners because of it, but he also made solid points substance wise and didn't do anything to jeopardize his status as leader in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Nevada... coincidently all the early states.
But ignoring the "front-runners" I thought Huckabee was the most impressive. His exchange with Ron Paul was almost too easy. The other candidates need to use Paul more as a punching bag, it helped Rudy in the first debate, it helped Huckabee here. Props.
The major wildcard will be Fred Thompson, who didn't get nearly the hard questions someone like Romney got as Leno was perhaps a tad more receptive than random diner patron taking pot shots at candidates. We'll see how well he fares now that other candidates wont feel compelled to be polite since he's officially a candidate.
I'm looking forward to a shake up and a sprint until the primaries at the turn of the new year.

Disappointed....

Can I say this New Hampshire debate leaves me walking away with a sour taste in my mouth? I just don't think this night helped the Republican Party at all. No candidate really distanced themselves from another, they all had extremely weak and possibly embarrassing moments, and none focused on the real problem: the chaos that this country would go through with a President Clinton/Obama/Edwards. I mean raise your hand, who wants forced visits to the doctors who will be managed by the same guys who managed Hurricane Katrina recovery or an imminent recession brought about by drastic increases in taxes for the middle class? Not me.
Still, not enough focus was on the threat of a domestic mess of a Democratic regime. It was more of a bitter, attack approach from the candidates against each other, which is fine to highlight their differences to some extent. But let's not forget President Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt not attack another Republican." Let's stick to that next time guys.

More analysis to follow...

Tune in Tonight...

Fox News is airing the GOP Debate tonight live from New Hampshire at 7. Make sure to pay attention if you haven't already as these forums tend to draw contrasts between the candidates and at least give the viewer some idea of where the candidates stand with a filter other than their own press shop.
Some questions to ponder:
-Will Rudy's socially liberal stances be an issue amongst the candidates?
-Would adding Fred Thompson to this field (who will be airing a special commercial during the break of the debate and will be announcing on Leno tonight) make the selection anymore appealing?
-Will Romney be able to maintain a tough defense against other conservatives vying for his poll numbers?
-Is Huckabee really a break-through candidate?
-When will all the other guys drop out?
-Who amongst these candidates is the most like the Gipper?

No-No

In case you missed it, Red Sox phenom pitcher Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter last night. A fantastic performance, and the thing is, this isn't an outlier of the kid's performance. His stuff is really that good, and this was only his SECOND big league start. Perhaps this is the spark the Sox need going into the stretch run.

Week in Review

So I've handled to butterflies, been put through the grind of work, experienced the classes, and surveyed the city for the first week. And I may say, the discouraging start has given way to an auspicious end of August. I'll be joined by the rest of the interns after Labor Day and I really look forward to the start of the session. After all, thats what I'm here for: to witness government. My confidence in the institution has waned along with about everyone else's in America, but I figure it's only fair to harbor such sentiments after experiencing it firsthand. It's one thing to watch CSPAN, but for those of us uninterested in such an endeavor, it makes sense to come down here and be a part of it however small for a period of time. Still, I'm an intern... hardly a bureaucrat or anything... but at least I have some perspective on what the flaws of our government are and hopefully some experience it for later on in life should I be called on to fix it in whatever way I can.
I suppose I'll always be considered an outsider or common person without a blue-blooded lineage or trust fund, but I think there's something to be said for that. Who knows, maybe if more people interested in just making this country better as opposed to themselves better were in politics, we wouldn't have the rampant corruption that we do.

Moving on to baseball, what is going on with the Red Sox. They demolished everyone they played, really giving me confidence going into the Yankees series, but it seems like they left their bats in Chicago. They just couldn't score, and thus got swept. Luckily they had built a comfortable enough cushion where they are still safely ahead of the Yankees, but man did they squander an opportunity to put the final nail in the Yankee coffin. On a side note, one of my friends got the boot from Fenway Park last night. Should be an interesting story, I can't wait to hear it.

Ok well the roommates have left for the weekend to go home so this weekend will hopefully surprise me and end up not as dull as it seems to be shaping up to be. I'll keep ya posted.