10/01/2004

Pres. Eisenhower's Son will vote Kerry in Nov.

Add Ike's son to the list of former Republican presidents' children who have come out against the current Republican nominee (Reagan's son did the same thing, although to be fair, he's always been a Democrat). Eisenhower's switch is more telling, as he has always been a staunch Republican, and now feels that his party has abandoned him...and the middle class.

In his own words: "The Republicans used to be deeply concerned for the middle class and small business. Today’s Republican leadership, while not solely accountable for the loss of American jobs, encourages it with its tax code and heads us in the direction of a society of very rich and very poor."

Of course, he's right.

Read the whole article here.

Debate #1: Kerry's problem, Bush's idiocy on display

The bar where I watched the debate, Millie and Als in Adams Morgan, erupted in laughter and applause last night when Bush yet again mixed up Sadaam Hussein with Osama bin Laden. Granted, the crowd was pretty much 99% pro-Kerry (with the obligitory lone Bush wack-o screaming "you voted for it!!!" at the screen whenever Kerry brought up Iraq), but all bias aside, the consensus was that Kerry won this round easily.

Bush often had that "we just got attacked but I'm reading to school kids" look of dumbfounded uncertainty whenever he was forced to make an unscripted response to one of Kerry's assertions. The answer he came up with, time and time again, was the one Karl "Evil Personified" Rove scribbled down for him to say whenever he didn't know what to say: "Mixed signals. Wrong war, wrong time." Bush obviously cannot think on his feet (some would say or anywhere else, for that matter), and when he tries to, it makes you wonder what the hell anyone who votes for this moron is thinking.

But then he gets onto one of his prepared speeches, and you find out how he gets all the yokels to vote for him. He turns on the "good ol' boy" factor. Leaning over the podium and delivering his lines with a smart-ass tone that basically implies "Jesus, this is so obvious, how can my opponent, THAT ELITE LIBERAL, not understand us?" The "us," of course, being the under-educated, over-religioned masses that buy into his bullshit hook, line, and sinker. He succeeds in portraying himself as a down-home, regular guy, which is no small feat considering that he was born a millionaire, never had to work a day in his life, went to Yale, is a member of an elite fraternity, and didn't have the guts to show up to his military service.

And that's Kerry's problem, in a nutshell. He's obviously head-and-shoulders above Bush in intelligence, intellect, and honor, but while Bush can cover up his priviliged past with a bullshit "country" persona, Kerry just comes across as richer, smarter, and more inside the Beltway than you or me. Not good when you're trying to get the Joe Schmoe vote. (Actually, Schmoe is a Jewish name, so Kerry's probably got his vote....er, maybe the Billie-Bob Adkins vote? Whatever, you get the picture.)

That said, I hope Billie-Bob and all his buddies come to the correct conclusion that the reason they lost their good job at the call center and have no income or health insurance is due in large part to Bush's economic policies before November. Hope against hope, I know.

Best Kerry line of the night: "We could've caught bin Laden at Tora Bora if we'd have used U.S. troops, but Bush outsourced that job too."

9/28/2004

Trikinasana

I think that is Sanskrit for Triangle Pose. I found yoga in Bethesda. I like it. No chanting. It's the Iyengar style which is very different from the style I learned in SF. This style is much less obviously athletic. They like to teach you the poses and are VERY precise about things so you can then practice at home. Like the gnome in Amelie...I now do either tree pose or mountain pose in every city that Joe and I visit. I can't wait to do my new pose when I am at work.
I call it Worksucsasana.

Burn baby burn

I am quite excited. I just burned my first CD. Very exciting. Not music though, data.
Photos and random stuff just to get it off my laptop.

Liz's (my sister) visit was fun. First night she was in town we took her to eat in our neighborhood at Dehli Daba. Just say that out loud: Dehli Daba. It's just fun to say.
Sat. we went out to the suburbs to shop, then Sat. night went out w. friends to Alero - tried a new drink. Lemon juice + beer. yum. Then headed to 4P's for the Irish Pub experience. Liz said that she liked the Irish singers...Then Sunday morning we met up w. my friend Michele and walked around Eastern Market then Joe peeled off to watch football and the girls went to brunch at Bread and Chocolate. mmm. It was fun to have my sister in my hood.

Far-away Friends

I was thinking this morning after writing an email to one of our S.F. friends that Jenny and I are both very lucky to have so many fantastic people in our lives. I, especially, have moved around a lot in my life, and now that Jenny has done the coast-to-coast transplantation, she's getting a taste of how bittersweet it is to know that you have friends all over the world, even though you might not get to see them in person as often. Still, no matter where you all are around the world (10 states and five countries...and counting!), please know that we value your friendship immensely and love you all! Keep in touch with us and we promise to do the same!

And start a blog, for god's sake!

9/27/2004

Great Weekend in Der West Virginia

This past weekend Jenny and I trekked out to WV for a weekend away from the city. Well, "trekked" may not be the best description, since we were in the Eastern panhandle, which is only an hour and a half away.

We started out at the Angler's Inn in Harper's Ferry, which was a cute 1800's house with a comfortable feel and friendly owners.

Saturday morning we drove over to the nearby Mountain Arts and Heritage Festival, held on a farm between Harper's Ferry and Charles Town. There were dozens of vendors, and most were demonstrating their craft onsite. One of the coolest things we saw was a lady who wove baskets. I'll look for her card later so I can post a link you can check out. Jenny bought a cute necklace made from old, broken china patterns, and we also bought some yummy, hand-made apple butter (Jenny hadn't tasted it before this weekend) and a small bearful of WV honey. Yum!!!!

After the Festival, we drove back down to Harper's Ferry and walked around the old town, reliving the history of John Brown's raid and the events leading up to the Civil War and subsequent birth of WV.

After trying to get a beer at a Saloon exhibit (It looked real, honest!), we cruised up to Sheperdstown for our last stop of the weekend. We stayed at the hilariously decorated Bavarian Inn and even had an olde-school Kraut and Weiners dinner straight outta Deutchland. Actually, the Inn was a four-star hotel, and was quite pleasant. We had a lovely view of the river from our room, although we pretty much passed out instantly after our mega-heavy (and mega-yummy) dinner.

On the way home to D.C. on Sunday, we decided to check out Rockville and Kensington for house hunting areas. We LOVED Kensington, and are going to start looking there immediately. Anyone want to give us money? ;-)