Hmmm

So much to talk about today. 1st, several Black Democratic leaders in Prince George's County, Maryland (see, I said Prince George's, not PG), are breaking ranks with the party to support Steele, the Republican nominee for Senator. The reason? The same tired whine of the Democratic Party taking us for granted. Gimme a break, do they really think the Republicans are our friends? And what evidence do they use for this? The fact that Mfume had to run against someone in order to get the nomination. It's a democracy, dipshits. That's what we have elections for. Personally, if I lived in Maryland (something I will never, ever do - I'm aVirginian born and bred), I'd have voted for Mfume. But guess what? He lost, and so I'd support my party's nominee. Steele really is Bush's Bitch, despite what his ads (don't) say.

2ndly, next week, in addition to the Senate and House races, voters in Virginia will choose whether or not to have a constitutional Amendment to ban same-sex marriages AND civil unions. It's gonna pass, sadly. What I don't get about the folks against gay marriage, is that they say marriage is between a man and a woman. Actually, what they say is that marriage is between ONE man and ONE woman - the way God intended it to be, throwing polygamy out too. But just about every man in the Old Testament (or just the Bible to The Chosen) are married to multiple women. What's that all about? Either the Bible was wrong, in which case gays should be allowed to marry, or the Bible is right, and we should marry as many folks as we want. Which is it?

Winning?

Washington Post columnist, Dan Froomkin, hits the nail on the head:

One of the more reality-defying aspects of President Bush's position on the
war in Iraq is his insistence that we're winning. "Absolutely, we're
winning," Bush said. "As a matter of fact, my view is the only way we lose
in Iraq is if we leave before the job is done."
With the body counts soaring, the country descending deeper into civil war and the central government consistently unable to assert itself, how can he call this
winning? The answer: It's becoming increasingly clear that Bush sees the
war in Iraq in very simple terms. As he himself said, he believes that the
only way to lose is to leave. Therefore anything else is winning -- anything
else at all.

Even if no progress is being made -- even if things are getting worse, rather than better -- simply staying is winning.

So we're winning.

Scary, isn't it? And remember, when you cast your vote in a week and a half, you're either voting for change, or voting to let Congress continue to enable this man. It's that simple folks.

Rested

Well, I'm back from the West Coast and feeling a bit rested and refreshed, finally. I always have a hard time readjusting to the time change coming back home. And add to that the fact that I came right back to work on Monday, and I was one tired man for a few days. But I'm feeling good now, for the final weeks push before election day. I feel really good about it, folks. But we can't rest, not just yet. Volunteer, call a campaign near your home and ask if they need help. It's all about bodies, folks. We need to get as many people to the polls as possible.

Monterey, CA

Hey kids. I arrived in Monterey yesterday, after spending 4 days in Los Angeles. Such a different vibe here. Very, very relaxed. A nice New England vibe to it. Quiet, crunchy, outdoorsy. Went to sit on some rocks on the beach after getting here yesterday with Colleen and Santi, drank some stout, good times. Afterwards, went to a bar for another drink. We asked what they had on tap, one of the beers was called "English Ale". Nice, generic name. At this, Santi, who's actually from England, asked "What's the name?" The waitress again said "English Ale". After scratching our heads in bewilderment, the bartender came over and told us that the brewery here in town is allowed to make the beer, but not allowed to use the name, hence "English Ale". It was very good after all of that.

Today, Santi and I are headed out to hit some golf balls, then down to the aquarium to see the Great White Shark. Good times.

LA Day 1

Just got back to my hotel after spending the evening with my homie Aaron S. He's in grad school here at UCLA, about 20 minutes from my hotel. He showed me around Santa Monica and Hollywood tonight. Good times. Had dinner at a cool little pub in Santa Monica, Father's Office. Awesome beer selection, delicious steak and sweet potato fries. And, this being LA, beautiful women! Oh my God!! I love my wife with all my heart, and she's awesome. Just let me say, it's a good thing I'm an honest man with a ring on my finger. If I was single, I'd move the California in a heartbeat. Daaaaaammmmmnnnnnn!!! We ran into a few of Aaron's classmates, one of which had a friend visiting from San Fran. Let's just say her tattoo and thong were very, very nice to see.

Of course, I'm out really out here for work, and the conference I'm attending. Went to a few interesting sessions today on diversity in the workplace. Tomorrow morning, one of my favorite NPR reporters, Maria Hinojosa, is speaking. Can't wait to hear her.

California update

Just got to LA after spending Friday and Saturday with my little brother and his family in San Diego. I decided to take the train instead of flying. It's a lot cheaper (only $28), plus the view of the Pacific was awesome, until we reached San Luis Obispo and headed inland. One thing that really struck me was the complete lack of security at the train station in San Diego and on the train. No one went through passengers bags, there was no metal detector, nothing. A terrorist could easily put any kind of bomb on the train and have it explode in a heavily populated area. Doesn't anyone at Homeland Security remember what happened in Madrid? Truly scary.

California Dreamin'

Headed to Cali on Friday for work and fun. 1st, I'm visiting my little brother K10, his lovely wife Maggie and my newest niece Maya in San Diego. Then, it's LA by train for a work conference for 3 days. Finally, headed up north to visit our good friends Colleen and Santi in Monterey. Also going to try and see one of my oldest friends, Hutch, and his family in San Fran. I've known Hutch since 9th grade. We did the whole high school/college/fraternity thing together. Haven't seen him in about 3 years. Will be blogging from the westside all next week.

What Exactly Is President Bush's Job?

Real Leadership

Follower

My Future Senator

Maybe someone should get Condi a dictionary

It seems that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in need of a dictionary.

A review of White House records has determined that George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, did indeed brief Condoleezza Rice and other top officials on July 10, 2001 about looming threat from Al Qaeda, a State Department spokesman said on Monday evening.

The account by the spokesman, Sean McCormack, came hours after Ms. Rice, the secretary of state, told reporters aboard her airplane that she did not recall such a meeting and said it was "incomprehensible" she ignored dire terrorist threats two months before the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. McCormack also said the Bush administration had determined that the Sept. 11 commission had been briefed about the meeting, even though no mention of it appears in the commission's report.

The question of whether such a meeting took place and what may have occurred has emerged as central since an account of it appeared in "State of Denial," the new book by Bob Woodward of The Washington Post. The book said that Mr. Tenet and his top counterterrorism deputy, J. Cofer Black, believed that Ms. Rice had not taken their warnings seriously.

Last I checked, "incomprehensible" means that there's no way that something happened, not that something did indeed happen.

Chicken Sh**t Scaredy Cats

So, after blasting us Dems as soft on terrorism, what great idea does Senate Majority Leader Frist have about the Taliban? Invite them to join the Afghani government. I shit you not!!

QALAT, Afghanistan U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Monday that the Afghan guerrilla war can never be won militarily and called for efforts to bring the Taliban and their supporters into the Afghan government.

The Tennessee Republican said he had learned from briefings that Taliban fighters were too numerous and had too much popular support to be defeated by military means.

"You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government," Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. "And if that's accomplished we'll be successful."

What happened to not negotiating with terrorists? And, last time I checked, Al Qaeda and the Taliban were closer than stink on shit.