Someone Said that Life is in the Journey, Not the Destination ...
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "John" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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12:22 am
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Who is the Media Darling Here?
Yes, I know, Republicans are convinced that Obama is the media's darling and that the MSM never passes up an opportunity to lift Obama or bury McCain. I don't think facts support that, and recent events provide some pretty damning ammo. Bluntly, I think that it's pretty reprehensible for CBS news to re-edit an interview with McCain (versus the version actually broadcast. To eliminate his actual answer to a question and replace it with another one (that isn't, you know, blatantly incorrect*) is just plain wrong. I think this is at least as bad as the offense that got Rather canned. Can you imagine the explosion that would have resulted if it got out that an Obama interview had been re-edited to cover a gaffe? It will be interesting to see if there is any fallout from this.
*Yes, I know, the gaffe being out, McCain is sticking to his guns. Suffice it to say that his explanation (which basically boils down to "we had an Iraq policy, which can be fairly regarded as a precursor to the Surge, and the good things that happened were a result of that precursor policy, therefore it's the larger context, dammit!") I find to be risable. The point of this post, though, is the conduct of Couric and CBS news, not McCain's argument.
PS: Actually, Obama's answers in the Couric interview are well thought out, even as she presses him pretty hard.
PPS: Oh, and as a plea for sanity, I'd like to declare a moratorium on microphone malaprops as election stories or even blog tidbits. Yes, "Israel is and always will be a friend of Israel," though tautologically sound, is a silly thing to say. As is "Czechoslovalkia" when referring to the former Czechoslovalkia. Big, fat, hairy deal. They're funny, but they're not really news or worth spending time on. Election kan haz issues plz?
PPPS: I really, really despise when people essentially claim to read other people's minds. McCain's latest campaign slogan "Obama would rather lose a war to win an election" is merely the latest in a long line of egregious examples. It assumes that Obama agrees that the only way to not "lose a war" is to favor McCain's position, and therefore his only possible motivation is to win the election. This is the kind of crap that I hope that Obama can change, in both parties. Let's stop villifying people who disagree with us, okay? We have enough problems.
Time to go to sleep.
Current Mood:  irritated
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12:17 pm
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AIDS Ride - the Home Stretch
The Ride is nearly upon us now. Together we've raised over $3,100 for Food and Friends, so hopefully they won't have to put patients and families on a waiting list instead of getting them the food and nutritional counseling they need to stay strong. Many thanks to all of you who have donated, helped or provided other support (such as ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mabesty and csabis, who will be catsitting Molly while I am pedalling over hill and dale and eilonwydreams is serving up the ice as a volunteer crewmember).
Of course, if you've been meaning to jump in financially and just forgot, the Food & Friends donation page is here. There's always room for more! :D
I did have a brief bit of excitement this morning. While zipping down Independence Avenue approaching 7th Street SW, suddenly a car in the middle lane decided that he wanted to turn right at 7th. Which wouldn't have been a major issue, except that I was in the right lane moving at speed. Fortunately one of us was paying attention, as I braked hard and tried to swerve inside his turn. The wheels locked up and I skidded into his right rear quarterpanel as he turned. Bounce, thud. Cleverly alerted to my presence by the impact, the driver did stop to make sure that I was OK. Other than a bit of road rash on my left elbow, bicycle and I were fine. And I had to laugh - two guys also stopped to see if I was OK, and they were so young and scrubbed that they must have been either Hill Interns or Mormons. Possibly both! One of them just blurted out "Man, you have great reflexes" and all I could think of was "I had motivation." :D
I'm bicyling again tomorrow, but giving myself Thursday off. After work we'll drive up to Emmitsburg, then it will be 60+ miles Friday, 100+ on Saturday (including through the Gettysburg battlefield) and 40+ on Sunday.
Onwards!
Current Mood:  Lucky
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03:52 pm
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Apparently, I'm tired ... and a couple of good links
When the alarm went off this morning, I could barely move. I mustered just enough energy to send eilonwydreams off to work, e-mailed in that I wasn't coming in, and collapsed.
I slept until 2:30.
I guess I was exhausted or something! I think the flames burning at both ends of my candle met in the middle :)
The weekend was good. Friday night I went to watch the Nats with eilonwydreams, and of course they won - they always do when she goes (the team is 18-26 at home, but 3-0 with the lovely e). The last two times she went the Nats won with walkoff hits in the bottom of the 9th; this time they actually hit three (!) home runs and ripped the Astros 10-0. It was the Nats' largest margin of victory this season. As one might expect given the score, the evening was overall very enjoyable. It was enhanced by the presence of vvalkyri (who I'm trying to convert into a fan) and Stephanie, who I've mostly converted already. *evil laugh*. It was also nice to get an in-game visit from misnomer971, whose friendship I can largely credit to the Nats (with an assist from jauntily, who never blogs anymore :).
The game, with much walking to and fro, combined with a 74 mile bicycle ride on Saturday, a birthday party for a friend Saturday night up in MD, and another ride yesterday may have played a part in the collapse. The highlight of yesterday's ride was realizing the route went near the lovely talentedhands house, and stopping by for an impromptu visit. :)
In another note, happy birthday to csabis! Many happy returns, sir!
And a tip o' the hat to csabis for pointing out an interesting op-ed piece that says a lot of how I feel about some recent developments in the election: The Audacity of Listening
And another cool link, found through vvalkyri, about e coli bacteria that have evolved an ability to consume citrate.
Ooof, posting is exhausting. I think that I'll go hang out on my balcony for a while ... and maybe take a nap
Current Mood:  tired
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09:10 am
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AIDS Ride Update: Two Weeks to Go, and over $3,000!
The donations shown on my page total $2,576.00 (a helpful donor smoothed out the change to the right of the decimal point LOL). I've had two people hand me checks in the last 24 hours, adding another $250. With me already on the hook to match my largest donation ($333.33), that brings my total to $3,159.33.
WOW
That means a lot of people won't have to fight life-threatening illnesses with an empty stomach, or with poor nutrition that robs their bodies of what they need to keep going. And for them, I say a hearty THANK YOU to all that have contributed, and to all those who have held me up while I do this. Go you! And of course, if you've been meaning to jump in, the Food & Friends donation page is here. Just because we've hit our target doesn't mean we can't keep going! :D
My friends and supporters, financial and otherwise, keep me going - which I admit that I need. After a 60 mile ride last Saturday, I just couldn't face another day figuring out where I was going to ride, getting a cue sheet, strapping the bicycle on the car and driving out to pedal for hours and then reversing it all to get home. So I went "spinning" on a stationary bicycle. For over three hours. The good part: I could read, and listen to music - I don't wear headphones when I ride, lest it inadvertently turn into death metal! (with apologies to Frazz, who I stole the line from). The bad part: No coasting! I had to always keep pedaling. Boy howdy, that takes it out of you. OK, it takes it out of me. Phooey on that, I think I'll get back on the bicycle both days this weekend.
Two weeks to go.
Current Mood:  determined
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04:55 pm
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Hostages Freed? Thank God for McCain!
For some reason, my office decided a while back to invest in flat screen TVs in the elevator lobbies. It has always seemed like a classic boondoggle to me, but whatever. For a while the higher-ups maintained some semblance of balance, rotating from CNN to MSNBC to FOX to some financial channel. But eventually they decided "enough of that, we are going with our hearts." So the TVs now play Fixed News all day long. Sigh.
Well, okay, it's not like the political inclinations of the higher-ups was a mystery. So this afternoon I was on the way out to my car and I noticed Fixed News was playing a story on the freeing of the hostages in Columbia. A feel-good story, right? Cynically, the thought flashed through my head that it would be interesting to see how long it would take Fixed to tie this to U.S. politics. I had barely formed the thought when the gushing began. I slowed, and then stopped, transfixed: "... this can only be regarded as a plus for McCain ... being briefed on the operation shows the respect that Uribe has for him as a leader ... conducting this operation while McCain is visiting sends a signal to the world, and the U.S. voter, about the esteem that McCain holds ... this is exactly where McCain is at his best ... Obama is weak on the military and foreign policy ..." and on and on and ON. You'd have thought that McCain walked into the country and Uribe had charged the kidnappers to yield in John McCain's name - which they had done at once with humbled mien.
Gag. News flash - Fixed News has no shame. But c'mon - this story has NOTHING to do with the U.S. election. The operation was almost certainly long planned (the hostages have been held for years) and even if you think that the timing was intended to boost McCain, should the U.S. voter give a rats ass what Uribe thinks? I seem to recall a fair number of right-wingers being appalled at Europeans expressing an opinion about U.S. elections in 2004. The effrontery of those Euros certainly got their indignation up in a way that this kind of alleged foreign meddling has not. Well, I guess foreign meddling for people they like is OK. Asshats.
But of course this operation had nothing to do with McCain. It was instead an operation over the long hall that through some combination of luck and skill stalked the kidnappers and seized an opportunity (which the Columbians seem to have done very well, and me 'ats orf to 'em for it). And of course McCain was briefed on the operation. If he had not been, had the operation failed while he was in country, he may well have been furious with the Uribe Government. And one thing we know about McCain is that you do NOT want to piss him off.
I do try to watch/listen to news sources that espouse different political persuasions from my own. There is value in knowing what a segment of the population believes, even if it a narrative trying to create a reality rather then reporting an actual one. But I tell you, it can be hard on the digestive system ...
Current Mood: irritated
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10:41 pm
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Catching up ...
It's been such a crazy week, that I haven't had time to post about how crazy it's been. Last Wednesday eilonwydreams and I went to a Nationals game with a colleague of hers who (although a total baseball geek who has been to more major league stadia then I have) had never been to Nationals Park. And of course, since eilonwydreams went, the Nationals won on a walkoff hit in the bottom of the 9th. She's two for two. She thinks this is what a major league game is: fast moving (the Nats don't hit, so their games never take very long), and the home team wins in the bottom of the 9th. Really, they should start paying her to come to these games!*
Remember my skipping my baseball game last Tuesday because of the stitches in my head? I was planning skipping Thursday's game, too. But when the manager started sending around e-mails saying that the team was short-handed, I started to weaken. I sent the manager an e-mail asking if he thought the umpires would let me pitch with a batting helmet on to protect the bandage and stitches. His one word response: "yes."
Saving throw against wisdom? FAIL LOL
Not only did I play, I pitched a complete game, got two hits, and we won the game against a team we had been tied with in the standings. I hadn't intended to bat, but we only had nine guys and it was hit or have an automatic out in the lineup. In addition to the two hits I also got hit by a pitch, but thankfully not in the head :) Pitching I gave up two home runs (both solo jobs), but that's not surprising since we played at Stuart HS - the right field porch is about 275 from home. They try to make up for it with this ridiculous netting that goes up 30-40 feet, but trust me it feels like it's leaning over you while you pitch. And they had six lefties in their lineup. Bastards! LOL Two of whom hit bombs. The first was by the leadoff guy, Kurt, who I had played with on with another team several years ago. He's a good guy, but it was a cheap fly ball almost anywhere else. The second, though, was CRUSHED. But that was in the 8th inning, and since we were up by 8 runs at the time and it didn't matter.
The weekend was mostly training rides and chores, getting ready for the Fourth. I was so tired last night that I was almost relieved when the game was rained out in the 3rd inning - although it was annoying to have to drive to Herndon to do it. This afternoon I got the stitches out (yay!) and the Doc says it looks good - I'll go back in January for a thorough checkup, but there's no reason to think they didn't get it all. Tomorrow night - another baseball game!
*The Nats' two out two strike walkoff HR over the O's on Sunday they managed without the help of eilonwydreams. But it was mighty sweet, and she was clearly there in spirit!
Current Mood: cheerful
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10:15 pm
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AIDS Ride Update - Heading into July
Now the training has really started; I did a 40 mile ride a week ago Sunday, and last weekend 38 and 39 miles on back-to-back days. The ride Saturday was a group training ride - several riders getting together and riding around MD east of Greenbelt. That was fun, getting to swap ride stories. Then Sunday I was off on my own to do a ride near Hagerstown - the Mason Dixon Double Cross. It was a lovely ride, if more hilly than I usually like. While I'm much too lazy to take up cycling as a hobby, I'm grateful for some of the scenery that Food & Friends has introduced to me. For once I didn't see any deer, but I saw a lot of pretty farmland (MD and PA corn crops look good; the rain clearly agrees with them) and several groundhogs. Groundhogs! I wonder how many other lone cyclists find themselves singing Grand Old Ivy when they view ferae naturae :D
But the real point is to be ready for the ride, which will be along the PA border on terrain very much like this. The ride dates are July 24-27; I still need to stretch the miles out a bit, but I feel pretty good about where I am physically. When it comes to fundraising, I'm happy to say that my donation total is now over $2,400. With my "matching" bonus of $333.33 factored in, my working total is now $2,734.33. My goal of $3,000 is in sight, with a little help from my friends. If you're in a position where you can toss something in (no amount too small!) then you can chip in here. And of course I always accept moral support! :)
Current Mood: hopeful
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11:36 am
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The Sun Hates Me
So a little over a year ago I had a minor brush with a precancerous condition known as an actinic keratosis. Not cancer, but there was a certain (small) chance that it could become cancerous. So they froze it off. No big deal, but since a major cause is sun exposure I started to pay more attention to skin bumps and what have you. ( good thing )
Current Mood: chipper
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11:35 pm
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He's NOT the Messiah ...
Barack Obama has deeply disappointed me by endorsing the FISA bill working its way through Congress. The ACLU pretty much described here the myriad problems with the bill. Obama has pledged to try to remove the Constitution-busting provisions of the law after being elected. Good luck with that.
Yet I'm still voting for him, and still supporting him. Hell, if I can afford it I'll probably even send him more money once I've cooled off a bit. What bothers me a lot more is that I've seen a fair amount of outrage on the blogosphere basically saying "f him and the car he rode in on" and threatening to jump ship to a 3rd party candidate or just stay home on Election Day.
Have we learned nothing? I would have thought that two terms of Bush 43 would have brought home the costs of splitting over ideological purity. OK, he's NOT the Messiah. Messiahs don't run for office ... at least real ones don't.
Understand me: I'm not saying sit down and shut up, vote Obama like a happy camper. YES disagree, make passionate fervant arguments and be angry. But guess what? Obama plans to try to build a new coalition and bring people together, not tear them apart. This means that if elected, as he governs he's going to make a lot of decisions that I profoundly disagree with. Like this one - and it's a whopper. But he's also going to make a lot of changes that I feel are deeply needed. And if that's not good enough, think on this: if you want any shred of the 4th Amendment to remain, then your one slender hope is the Supreme Court. If the next President is appointing more like Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts, then that reed will fail.
And THAT, my friends, is why every civil libertarian should passionately support Obama for President.
Current Mood: irritated
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10:41 pm
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Offshore Drilling?
Offshore drilling is quite in the news, with Bush 43 renewing his push for offshore drilling, echoing the McCain campaign's recent push.* As reported in the New York Times, it's interesting to note that the drilling ban has longstanding bipartisan roots, including those noted radicals Bush 41 and former FL Governor Jeb Bush.
Some interesting thoughts on the merits of offshore drilling.
I have to admit that if I were running the show (fear for your lives, everyone) I'd be open to possibly including offshore drilling as part of a comprehensive energy policy that would truly move us away from a petroleum-based energy system. I hate the idea**, but I also realized that a rapid weaning of our energy needs is politically impossible; I've seen nothing in the reaction of the American populi to think that believing the contrary is anything but wishful thinking. Faith based, if you will. But the price that I'd exact for offshore drilling would be steep in terms of siphoning revenues away from the proceeds to pay for heavy investments in solar and wind power, AND R&D into both hydrogen fuel for vehicles and cleaner nuclear power (that would be fusion based, for those who consider that an oxymoron).
*Want to bet the McCain campaign just wishes that W. had stayed out of this one? They're spending all their time with the difficult task of differentiating themselves from "24%? Is that good?" Bush and here he jumps in with a hearty "me, too!" after McCain pushes drilling.
**Given the environmental fragility and higher costs of recovery, I'm even less enthused about the prospect of drilling in ANWR.
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11:48 am
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AIDS Ride* Update - Past the Minimum, Going Like Gangbusters!
Despite my lazing about in San Francisco last week, my donation levels vaulted past the ride minimum (and there was much rejoicing). A stack of donations moved my total to $1,988.33. And thanks to my personal matching policy and a lovely generous friend (who doesn’t read blogs, because she objects to them lol), I’m now on the hook for another $333.33. So my working total is now $2,321.66. I’ve reset my fundraising goal to $3,000, but I’m open to exceeding that :-). Having a successful ride is doubly important right now because Food and Friends is being hit very hard by rising food and gas prices. When your work is preparing meals and delivering them to patients and families dealing with a life-threatening illness like AIDS or cancer, price volatility at the pump and supermarket really hurts. For the first time ever, F&F has had to put prospective clients on a waiting list. With the help of some friends, we’re going to move a bunch of people off that list. If you are able and willing to help out, here is a link to my donations page. And yes, I do accept moral support; immoral support is a matter of negotiation ;-)
On the training side, I haven’t started hill training yet because baseball games keep being scheduled for weeknights; I’m hoping that pitching (and on Tuesday nights, swing dancing) counts as cross training! :-) I did get my first training ride in last Saturday, a 20 mile jaunt around Arlington. That was before the storms came through, and let me tell you after a week in San Francisco, the humidity felt especially thick. As an interesting aside, apparently part of last Saturday’s haze was also due to wildfires in North Carolina. I’ll actually be losing bicycle time over the next few days as my team does a site review. Showing up in spandex for a review is a bit ostentatious, even for me :-D I should be able to get in a longer ride (30-35 miles) this weekend, and once my weekend league stops playing I'll be able to do back-to-back weekend rides, which will also help. Onwards and upwards!
*Actually, this is a “Team Food & Friends” ride, not an “AIDS ride.” But to me it follows on the several AIDS rides that I’ve done, and so I just use the phrase. Please don’t sue me.
Current Mood: determined
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03:07 pm
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I'm back ...
And hoo boy, rediscovering humidity. A spiffy thing about California - sweat works there. Sweat actually evaporates, and conducts heat away from the body while doing so. Who knew? And yes, I know I missed the first mega-heat wave of the summer, so I won't mention how nice the weather was there.
The trip was really nice; we stayed at a hotel on the west end of Fisherman's Wharf, so close enough to walk in but not quite in the middle of it all. Most of our commuting was done on the cable cars, because they were really convenient to our hotel. We saw some friends, walked up the steps to Coit Tower, bicycled across the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausolito and took the ferry ride back, visited my Aunt & Uncle, walked through the majestic (and absurdly tall) redwoods in the Muir Woods National Monument, journeyed into Oakland and watched the Yankees beat the A's. That was fun, if a little surreal as the Yankees' starting pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang, was born in Taiwan and we were surrounded by Chinese fans holding up signs and rooting for him. There were more Yankee fans than I expected, many of them in the infield area; A's fans, at least the boistrous ones, were largely limited to the outfield seats.
I will post pictures when I can find the camera cable to upload them.
I'm off work today, but doing a million and one errands. I missed anything and everything on LJ for the last week, so if there's something I should notice feel free to flag it for me. :-)
Current Mood: cheerful
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09:40 pm
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Grief
Today I mourn. As you know, last year I adopted two kittens, rescues. The cat on the right, Molly, the runt of her litter, had immediate health issues, but gamely hung in and eventually thrived. In honor of her toughness, I named her Molly, for she is truly unsinkable. Her sister I named Amelia, for her spirit of exploration. Every time I saw her leap from place to place, or stare raptly at (and chase) glinting reflections of light, I ponder how well the name suited her.
Yes, suited. Because when I got home from work today I found that Amelia had died during the day today. The vet doesn't know why ... he suspects that she had a congenital heart defect. There was no warning sign - just this morning I led the cats on a merry chase after the feather toy for several minutes before leaving. Amelia seemed happy, and she made others happy in her short life. When you get right down to it, that's not a bad epitaph.
Requiescat in peace, Amelia
Current Mood:  sad
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05:02 pm
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Three Cheers and a Bullock for Me!
I'm healthy*! Yay!
My office occasionally offers free medical testing, and I invariably take them up on it. Hey, free is free :-) This time they offered a "cardiac risk screening," testing the triglycerides, cholesterol (total, HDL, LDL) and glucose levels. I passed! Woot! Not only did I better all of the benchmarks, but since the last testing three years ago I've actually slightly lowered the overall cholesterol number while raising the HDL (good) cholesterol. Since this naturally means a lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, my Chol/HDL ratio also improved.
This is all to the good, especially since my family does have some history of cardiovascular trouble. Of course, I could still get taken out by a bus or something on my bicycle ride home. It reminds me of the saying: "eat right, exercise ... and die anyway." :-D
*OK, fine - my heart risk is better than normal. The rest of me is probably falling apart :p
PS: Bonus points awarded for correctly identifying the source of the title line :D
Current Mood:  Healthy!
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04:31 pm
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AIDS Ride Update
Another week in, and the amount raised for Food and Friends has reached $1,080. Thanks to not one but TWO fantastic people, I'm now on the hook for $250 as well*, so really the total is $1,330. The minimum goal is $1,900, but I'm interested in seeing how far beyond that we can go. $2,500? $3,000? The generosity of my friends continues to amaze me, and the support that I've gotten even from those whose personal circumstances make donating impossible is also moving. And if you are able and willing to help out, This is a link to my donations page.
Speaking of moving, next week I start hill training; at least one night a week I'm going to do ride Military Road in Arlington VA. The night will vary depending on other commitments, but the sweating will occur. I hate hills, but unlike my last ride I feel a need to train for this one. While that one was 233 miles in 3 days, it was FLAT (on the eastern shore - 20' is a big hill there) and we caught a break on the weather (80's and overcast, not much wind except for the occasional thunderstorm). This won't be flat, and there are no guarantees on the weather. So the "la la la, no training for me"** approach would be asking for trouble. Not that I'd ever do such a thing ...
*Remember, I will match the largest donation that I receive. Feel free to make me pay serious coin! :D
**OK, last time I did ONE training ride, of 20 miles, four weeks before the event. I can't believe I got away with that :)
Current Mood: Inspired
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09:44 am
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How do they DO that?
Back from Wicker Man, had a very good weekend (was generally an innocent bystander to drawma rather than a participant, and thanks to a tip from my Seester I managed to avoid being the guest of honor at the burn, etc). We slept very soundly last night, and I turned on my computer this morning to get up to speed on a short work week. When lo and behold in comes my usual raft of updates from my friends on GoodReads.
I tell you, it's getting intimidating. I have several friends that either read like the wind blowing through the pages of a book, or devote every spare waking hour to reading (or both). They are constantly posting thoughtful reviews of books both deep and frivolous, updating regularly. Roaming through literary landscapes, pondering deep thoughts and enriching their lives, finding books that I would love to get to know on my own. And it's frustrating, because that's NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
Not for lack of interest. I'm currently enjoying a read of Elmer Gantry. No, it's finding time to read that is foiling me. I actually read pretty quickly (and thankfully I tend to remember what I read), but I don't get to read while commuting (it makes handling the bicycle tricky) and much of the reading time I do get I'm trying to keep up with what's going on in the world through the daily paper (online and print) and a raft of periodicals.* And of course my activities (dancing, baseball, etc) and occasionally even movies ... you get the idea.** I did read several chapters on Sunday while chilling in front of our tent, but the zen of the glade and the sound of the stream overwhelmed me and my mind wandered. It was a peaceful stillness in the mind, and was really welcome. But once again the book had to wait.
So I tip my cap to my voraciously reading friends, and envy them the pleasure of the many good books they read. I would not change my life to read more, but I do acknowledge that there is a cost in the balancing.
*I highly recommend The Week, and I regularly read National Geographic, The Sporting News and the Sports Weekly. I also read Sports Illustrated and occasional New Yorker articles that eilonwydreams recommends to me.
**Oh, and LJ, too! :-D
Current Mood: content
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03:29 pm
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Back to the Future? I Don't Think So
Watching Hilary Clinton try to play out a losing hand is one thing; after all, I can respect “Never Give Up! Never Surrender!” It is her playbook that really continues to piss me off. In her latest gambit, she has gone barnstorming around Florida saying that if the DNC doesn’t seat the FL and MI delegations the way that Hilary wants them at the convention, then the DNC will be doing to the states what Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush did to the FL votes in 2000.
Um ... no. And the parallel is frankly offensive; I mean, who wants to be Katherine Harris? Leaving that aside, the whole premise is messed up. When the FL and MI voters went to the polls, they ALREADY KNEW that the DNC had declared the elections invalid as far as the nomination process was concerned. It was THE story of those elections, and was reported widely. If you knew enough to know where to show up for the polling, you knew that the results weren’t going to count, or at least that there was a chance they would not.* It is easy to find reams of statements made by Hillary Clinton to this very point, including when she said in so many words to NPR last October that the votes weren't going to count for anything. Before that, in September, she pledged to follow the DNC on the election structure.
Except now that she is losing, of course. It is just this kind of slick smarmy small-p political BS that caused me to take the “anyone but Hillary” stance last January (interestingly, that post was after the Michigan event, and before the Florida one). Now if the MI and FL voters had been told that their vote would be meaningful, and then the votes were either miscounted (butterfly ballots, anyone?) or not counted at all, the parallel would be more apt. But instead it is just crap to scare the DNC into doing what she wants and to strike fear in the hearts of superdelegates. And in throwing this crap into the fan she creates a false set of victimization and entitlement among people who have not been paying attention or who are actively looking for a reason not to support Obama. While hopefully that isn't a lot of people, it may be decisive in a close election. And that's the beauty of it - by beating the drum of a backlash, she potentially creates the backlash so she can say "I told you so" later.
But while understandable from a "me me MEEEEEEE" perspective, it's just shortsighted and reprehensible. This election is important for the country, not just the Clintons personally or the Democratic party in general. It is much too important to be playing BS games like this. But despite that, it is clear that Clinton thinks the long term risks are insignificant compared to the risk that she might not be the nominee. And that says a lot about her, too.
*As an aside, when the DNC voted to strip the states of their delegates last fall, the DNC was dominated by Clinton supporters (12 of 30). The vote was one short of unanimous. The dissenting DNC vote was from an Obama supporter. As another aside, even given the turnout, how many voters didn't go to the polls because they took the DNC at their word? Why should they be penalized for believing that the DNC meant what they said?
Late update: Apparently it's not just me; Clinton's antics are enough that it's making at least one of her declared superdelegates unhappy. According to reports, Governor Paterson of New York (a superdelegate supporting Clinton) thinks that she should drop her attempts to overturn the DNC position and honor the MI and FL results. Good for him.
Current Mood:  angry
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03:05 pm
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First of All ...
I did not bicycle to (or from) work last Friday. I did, however, bicycle to work today :)
Things are crazybusy right now, which has contributed to the slowness of my posting. It was a wonderful weekend, though, and the next few weeks are likely to be enjoyable but very hectic.
( Friday/Saturday )
( Sunday )
( This Week )
And I'm grateful to say that my friends are AWESOME!!!. In just over a week since I posted about the three-day bicycle ride that I'm doing in July on behalf of Food and Friends, I've raised $435. I'm hoping to raise over $2,000, and despite my indolence my friends have lifted me up and pointed me on my way. I thank you, as does F&F and, most importantly, their clients.
Onwards!
Current Mood:  busy
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12:09 pm
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Tradition!
This Friday is National Bike to Work Day. Despite this event, and the fact that I bicycle to work for 8 1/2 months of the year, my own personal tradition for this annual event has been to NOT bike to work on B2W day. This is not done intentionally; it just seems like every May when the day rolls around, something keeps me from rolling on my bicycle. I've had to drive to work to go to an offsite meeting, been on work travel, been on vacation, or simply not been able to ride because I don't have a set of work clothes in the office. Overall I probably get to bicycle on B2W day no more than one in three or one in four chances.
I had thought that I was going to ride Friday; my suit rotation was set up so that I would bicycle Mon-Wed this week, take the subway and swap out clothes on Thursday, then bicycle on Friday. But the monsoon rain on Monday forestalled that plan. It wasn't the chill, the rain, or the 40mph wind gusts that stopped me - but putting them all together got me off the bike for a day. So Friday is my suit swap day, and I don't try to handle the garment bag while riding anything more challenging than the Metro.
Unless ... Friday is a day I can get away with not wearing a suit, although I'd have to pack a collared shirt, tie and slacks into a backpack. Hmmmm
Current Mood:  Scheming
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10:45 pm
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Demonstrating My Inability to Learn ...
Hello! As you may already know, I've been doing charity bicycle rides on behalf of Food & Friends and other HIV/AIDS charities for a number years (read about it here and here). From 1998 through 2006, I rode several thousand miles and raised well over $60,000 for these causes, including $3,000 in 2006. I didn't ride last year, but this year I'm back in the saddle. So from July 24th through 27th I'm going to be bicycling over 200 miles around Emmitsburg Maryland (hills! AUGH!) in order to raise money for Food & Friends.
Why Food & Friends? To help people in the Washington D.C. area who are suffering from prolonged life-threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses. I'm particularly focused on those living with HIV/AIDS. Treatment has gotten so effective the disease has almost dropped from sight. But that doesn't change the fact that THERE IS NO CURE. And for people who are living without health care or other means, every day is a battle to get the nutrition and medicine that they need to stay alive. Food & Friends makes sure their clients can face these battles with a full stomach. Every day Food & Friends delivers meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to over 1,000 clients, each meal tailored to the nutritional needs of that client. They deliver as far north as Hagerstown, MD and as far south as Fredericksburg, VA. I've been a supporter of theirs for years, and I'm proud to be riding in this event on their behalf.
I note that as a rider I am paying all of my logistical and overhead costs. This means that every dollar donated goes directly to Food & Friends. And even better - once again I am promising to personally match the largest donation that I receive. So I encourage you to give until I hurt! :-)
Won't you join me in this adventure? You can ride on Team Food & Friends or volunteer on the Ride. For information on how to do that, go here and follow the links to "Team Food and Friends." If you would like to participate financially - THANK YOU! - here is a link to my personal web page. If you are not in a position to contribute money, I happily accept moral support. :D
Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting in whatever fashion you can. Wish me luck :)
Current Mood: determined
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