Dinner With The President

That's me, with Georgian Senator Saxby Chambliss. This guy received monetary gifts from famed corrupt-lobbyist extraordinaire, Jack Ambramoff. In 2001 he said he wanted to "turn the sheriff loose and arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line." Woo Republicans!

The President's Dinner was the most bizarre display of partisan hackery I have yet witnessed. The reception preceding the dinner consisted of lobbyists hurriedly scurrying around the room trying to hob-nob with as many congressmen as possible, offering effusive praise and worried tsk-tsks about the state of the Republican Party along the way. Everyone eventually got seated at dinner, and the fun began.

Speeches by the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, and the Senate, Mitch McConnell, began the evening. McConnell was particularly strident in his criticism of the Democratic Party. Especially amusing was his claim that the Democrats' vision for the United States is "very different from what the Founders envisioned, and very dangerous." Uh-huh.

I began to look around the room and take stock of those in attendance. I made a quick observation: far more cowboy hats than black people. In fact, I saw three black people all night. The remaining thousand or so attendants were as pasty white as can be. Another observation: short men. Everywhere! It is an interesting phenomenon that short men opt for the Grand Old Party, but I suppose it makes sense.

An old guy with a really long white beard entertained us with country music as our dinner was served, and then an Irishman sang God Bless America. Americans, especially Republicans I've found, get a huge kick out of hearing foreigners (especially Euros) sing God Bless America, the national anthem, or some other patriotic sing-song that affirms America's superiority. It's as if we're saying, see! America IS the Greatest Country on Earth, even the Europeans think so! Republicans love that shit.

Then, George W. Bush himself walked into the room. Everyone stood up and began applauding. I felt sick. A Congressman from Texas introduced the President, and it was then that I realized why Democrats are going to win overwhelming majorities in Congress, as well as take the Presidency, in November - these guys are clueless. The Congressman said, "Before he was elected President, George W. Bush made a solemn promise to uphold the dignity and honor of the office, and he has kept his word!" Yeah, right. The ten minute speech that this Congressman gave was the most ridiculously laudatory speech I have ever heard. How can anyone take the Republicans seriously when they are sucking the dick of a President who has the lowest approval rating of any President in United States history?

Oh, but the kicker from this Congressman: "When all is said and done, and history looks back on this President, people will consider him the Winston Churchill of our generation." I couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the Congressman from Alabama sitting next to me gave me a nasty glare. I mean, are you SERIOUS? You're comparing the guy who won World War II against Adolph Hitler to a mockery of a President who illegally waged a war and LOST against a third world country? Republicans are beyond delusional.

Bush's speech was the expected partisan diatribe against the evil Democrats ruining our country. The interesting thing was, he kept repeating over and over that Republicans would regain majorities in Congress and that John McCain would be our next President. I found this interesting - he's speaking to the most supportive crowd he can possibly muster, and yet it seems as if he's giving a stump speech for Republicans. Why? What's the point? First of all, everyone knows that Republicans aren't going to gain majorities in Congress - there's just no chance. And secondly, everyone there was going to vote Republican anyway. It really seemed like Bush was too lazy to conjure up a speech with anything substantive and decided instead to go with the speech that would get him a lot of applause and let him feel good about himself.

In all, the dinner was both eye-opening and throw-up-in-my-mouth inducing. It also assured to me that the Democrats are going to rout the Republicans in November. Until Republicans can evince themselves of the anti-intellectual partisanship that Americans are sick of, they are going to suffer at the ballot boxes. But hey, as long as they can wear cowboy hats, listen to country music, and decry those evil, liberal, communist Democrats, it's all good. Right?

John McCain, the Feminist Crusader

Cindy McCain on why women should support her husband: "Supporting our troops the way he does, our young men and women, is very pro-women."

If that is the best example that they can come up with as to why women should support John McCain, his campaign is hopelessly screwed. Because he supports the troops?! What does that have to do with anything related to women?

Oh, right. It doesn't.

More of Those Annoying "Rights"

John McCain in 2006 on Don Imus's radio show:

"I work in Washington and I know that money corrupts. And I and a lot of other people were trying to stop that corruption. Obviously, from what we've been seeing lately, we didn't complete the job. But I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government."

"Habeas Corpus." "First Amendment rights." Those pesky things!

Pale Blue Dot

Carl Sagan:

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader", every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

The Times, They Are A Changin

When asked by the Politico's Mike Allen whether he uses a Mac or PC, here's what he said:

Neither. I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all the assistance I can get.

"So Called, Quote, Habeas Corpus"

John McCain at a townhall meeting today:

The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country. Sen. Graham and Sen. Lieberman and I had worked very hard to make sure that we didn't torture any prisoners, that we didn't mistreat them, that we abided by the Geneva Conventions, which applies to all prisoners. But we also made it perfectly clear, and I won't go through all the legislation we passed, and the prohibition against torture, but we made it very clear that these are enemy combatants, these are people who are not citizens, they do not and never have been given the rights that citizens of this country have. And my friends there are some bad people down there. There are some bad people. So now what are we going to do. We are now going to have the courts flooded with so-called, quote, Habeas Corpus suits against the government, whether it be about the diet, whether it be about the reading material. And we are going to be bollixed up in a way that is terribly unfortunate, because we need to go ahead and adjudicate these cases. By the way, 30 of the people who have already been released from Guantanamo Bay have already tried to attack America again, one of them just a couple weeks ago, a suicide bomber in Iraq. Our first obligation is the safety and security of this nation, and the men and women who defend it. This decision will harm our ability to do that.

Yeah, so-called Habeas Corpus, whatever the hell that is, right?

You have to understand, though, there are bad people down there. Bad people! Thanks Johnny, for speaking in a language America can understand.

Yesterday in Congress

Bill introduced to declare July 26 "National Day of the Cowboy."

Bill introduced to declare August 2008 "Digital Television Transition Awareness Month."

Your tax dollars at work!

Da C-E-O

The CEO of the company is coming on a visit soon, so I was given these, and only these, notes on him:

Craig prefers to drink decaf iced tea (Lipton) with lots of ice; no sweetener.

Craig prefers to eat shrimp salad for lunch.

Few Things

1.) I am really hungover.

2.) I got my first paycheck and:
a) I'm rich!
b) I had to pay 70 bucks in taxes. What the fuck?!

But most importantly, I'm rich!

3.) This guy says it exactly how I wanted to say it, but couldn't:

Back in the day – you know, when presidential candidates were respectably white – news organizations called potential First Ladies “wives.” But now that black folks are running, we can get all funky fresh with the lingo, yo. So it’s basically fine for Fox News to use “Baby Mama” for Michelle Obama, slang that implies a married 44-year-old Princeton-educated lawyer is, to use an Urban Dictionary definition of the term, “some chick you knocked up on accident during a fling who you can’t stand but you have to tolerate cuz she got your baby now.” Because the Obamas are black! And the blacks, they’re all relaxed about that shit, yo. Word up. And anyway, as the caption clearly indicates, it’s not Fox News that’s calling Michelle Obama “Baby Mama,” it’s outraged liberals. Fox News is just telling you what those outraged liberals are saying. They didn’t want to use the term “Baby Mama.” But clearly they had no choice.

4.) I can't believe conservatives are actually bitching about the Supreme Court decision to enforce habeas corpus. Yeah, fuck the foundation for our entire political philosophy -- it doesn't apply to the evildoers! Duh.

Infrastructure, All The Time

Went to the Senate Banking committee's hearing on national infrastructure this morning to see Michael Bloomberg (mayor of NYC), Shirley Franklin (mayor of Atlanta), John Peyton (mayor of Jacksonville) and Mark Funkhouser (mayor of Kansas City) give testimony.

Senator Dodd (former presidential candidate) in his opening remarks affirmed his support for a national infrastructure bank that would be an independent institution which ranks and funds projects on their merits. All the witnesses, and especially Bloomberg, expressed their support for such an infrastructure bank, emphasizing the need to fund infrastructure projects on merit.

This seems like a common problem that needs to be addressed, and one that in the current system of national infrastructure funding is certainly not. Accountability and a system meritocracy for the infrastructure projects that are funded by the federal government is virtually non-existent. In the current system, most infrastructure projects are funded through earmarks - projects particular to certain constituencies that are added solely for political reasons. The main argument for an infrastructure bank, besides the increased funding for infrastructure that it would represent, is that it would be an independent commission not privy to political whims.

The proposed infrastructure bank has been compared to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which I think is an apt comparison - a federal agency that is nevertheless not subjective to the political process. The infrastructure bank would be different, however, in that it would work in close conjunction with Congress in securing funding, but outside of funding (which it could also receive from other sources, such as user fees and puplic-private partnerships), it would be independent.

Along the same lines, Bloomberg and Funkhouser complained about the vision-less-ness of the nation's infrastructure program (or lack thereof). Bloomberg recommended a national commission, similar to the one proposed by Representative Blumenauer in his testimony to the House of Representatives, that would lay out a national vision for infrastructure and make funding recommendations. This, like an infrastructure bank, would provide independence from the political process. One proposal I've heard is that the funding proposals from such a commission would need to be voted down by 3/5 of Congress, providing additional insularity from politicization.

None of these proposals will come to fruition without political initiative, however. What was mentioned by Bloomberg was the "unsexiness" of infrastructure funding, and the disadvantage it receieves from that. This is true: Mayor Funkhouser talked of the $2.3 billion needed to fix Kansas City's sewage system, which emits 6 billion gallons of sewage into nearby lakes and rivers due to deficiencies. Nobody, however big the problem may be, wants to talk about sewage, or even crumbling roads and bridges for that matter. It is encouraging, however, that Congress, and the nation, seem to finally be taking notice - I expect substantial progress on the infrastructure front to be made in 2009, especially if we get a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president (although, to the Republicans' credit, all major infrastructure proposals in Congress to date have been largely bipartisan).

Racism!

BABY MAMA?!?!? Are you fucking kidding me?!

I've actually been watching Fox News a lot recently, especially in the mornings, because my roommate is a conservative extraordinaire. Their blatant racism, sexism and ignorance is mind-boggling. This just takes the cake though. I can't write a well-thought out response to such ridiculousness. Judge for yo' selves.

And For What?

Email I received at work, from a fellow employee:

Colleagues,

This past Easter Sunday (March 24^th) an IED explosion in Sadiya, Iraq killed 4 soldiers of the U.S. Army 3^rd (combat) Infantry Division. They were collectively the 4,000^th killed since the start of the war. The lone survivor was Sgt. Steve McCoy, who was able to make it back to the States to be treated at Brooke Army Medical Center, the premier burn unit for the military. Sgt. McCoy was my son’s “battle buddy” - they were both on their second tour in Iraq as platoon leaders. They were vey close and shared a bond that only a combat veteran could appreciate. Likewise our families have become close as part of an ‘extended family ‘ that comes with military service.

Despite a tremendous fight and the best medical treatment available, McCoy died yesterday. America has lost another son.

McCoy leaves behind a young wife Tabitha and twin 3 yr. old boys – Landen and Ryley.

Yours,
XXXXXX

And here's a nice graphic:

Yesterday in Congress

2 major highlights in Congress yesterday:

A bill was introduced to honor Toby Keith's commitment to the armed forces.

And:
H.RES.1258 : Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Sponsor: Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] (introduced 6/10/2008) Cosponsors (1)
Latest Major Action: 6/10/2008 Introduced in House

Hell yeah.

Infrastructure Financing Solutions

The other day I wrote about the infrastructure problem America faces. I attended another hearing on infrastructure today in the House of Representatives and heard testimony from a few representatives about possible solutions.

One solution, proposed by Representatives Ellison (the guy from Minnesota who put his hand on a Qur'an when he was sworn in) and DeLauro, is to establish a national infrastructure bank that would act as a specially-chartered federal entity charged with investing in major infrastructure. Robert Goodspeed writes of the proposed infrastructure bank,

1. An infrastructure bank would solve solves the short-sighted funding problem, and creates a new body to fund large projects beyond existing programs, expanding capital for infrastructure. However as planners are well aware, not all transportation infrastructure is self-supporting. The interstate highway system, many bus and subway lines, and an intercity transportation network would not exist today if each of their parts were required to be self-supporting, but that doesn't mean they are bad investments. I worry it would create additional funds for high-visibility projects, leaving the rest to fight over a limit pool of money.

The bank's funds would come from direct subsidies, direct loan guarantees, long-term tax-credit general purpose bonds, and long-term tax-credit infrastructure project specific bonds, with an aim of making the entity self-sustaining in five years. It's a good idea, and one supported by Barack Obama, but I think proposals for the infrastructure bank need to be more ambitious in terms of funding. If required infrastructure improvements alone are estimated to be $1.6 trillion, $60 billion for the bank is not nearly enough. It's also not enough to fund these "large" projects - most infrastructure projects of even moderate size run well into the tens of billions of dollars.

Representative Blumenauer proposed establishing a commission to assess the nation's infrastructure needs and draw up a national vision for infrastructure. He said that this vision should be tantamount to FDR's massive infrastructure plan, and I think that's a good idea. The problem is, Blumenauer's plan doesn't address funding, which is the major impediment to initiating federal infrastructure projects. Hiking up the gas tax is unreasonable andpolitically unpalatable. It is also a conceptually bad idea, as the emphasis should be on reducing driving; if that is achieved, revenue from a gas tax won't be enough to effectively fund infrastructure projects. Indeed, it already isn't - the Highway Trust Fund (which is funded by the gas tax) will go into deficit in 2009 for the first time ever.

It's quite obvious that funding from the federal government will not be able to sustain infrastructure projects alone, which is probably why Ellison's proposed national infrastructure bank is so modest in its funding proposals. One idea, put forward by DeLauro and supported by Representative Mica, is extensive public-private partnership programs. In such a program, which was said to be "more like a business deal," by Mica, the government and the private sector would jointly raise capital for an infrastructure project, with the government assuming a portion of the risk. User fees, usually taking the form of tolls or fees for ridership, are another solution to making infrastructure investment more viable. Regardless, more federal funding is needed, and fortunately Congress will now probably be more willing to release more money for infrastructure, especially transit.

There are also minor funding proposals, such as the container fee on incoming cargo proposed by Representative Calvert. This is a good idea, and a solid incremental step in securing additional infrastructure funding, but a more comprehensive national funding program, such as establishing a national infrastructure bank, is needed to ensure proper funding both for new infrastructure projects, and for infrastructure repair.

In sum, Congressional progress on this issue is encouraging, but if tax hikes are necessary to ensure sufficient funding it will be interesting to see if Congress' mettle holds up. Regardless of the political situation, massive funding increases are required in order to secure America's infrastructure future, especially considering the need, in face of higher gasoline prices and global warming, of a much more extensive nationwide transit system.

Damn.

This is an incredible song:

[Lupe Deep Voice]
Little Terry got a gun, he got from the store,
He bought it with the money he got from his chores,
He robbed candy shop told her lay down on the floor,
Put the cookies in his bag took the pennies out the drawer.

Little Kalil got a gun he got from the rebels,
To kill the infidels and American devils,
A bomb on his waist,
A mask on his face,
Prays five times a day,
And listens to Heavy Metal.

Little Alex got a gun he took from his dad,
That he snuck into school in his black book bag,
His black nail polish, black boots and black hair,
He's gonna blow away the bully that just pushed his ass...

[Lupe Fiasco]
I killed another man today,
Shot him in his back as he ran away,
Then I blew up his hut with a hand grenade,
Cut his wife's throat as she put her hands to pray,
Just five more dawgs then we can get a soccer ball,
That's what my commander say,
How Old?
Well I'm like ten, eleven, been fighting since I was like six or seven,
Now I don't know much about where I'm from but I know I strike fear everywhere I come,
Government want me dead so I wear my gun, I really want the rocket launcher but I'm still too young,
This candy give me courage not to fear no one,
To fear no pain, and hear no tongue,
So I hear no screams and I shed no tear,
If I'm in your dreams then your end is near.
Yeah

[Chorus - Nikki Jean]
Little Weapon,
Little Weapon,
Little Weapon
We're calling you
There's a war
if the guns are just too small for you
You find you're something small to use
Little Weapon, Little Weapon, Little Weapon
Yanked you now, pow

[Lupe Fiasco]
Now here comes the march of the boy brigade
A macabre Parade of the toys he made
And in Shimmer shades who looks half his age
About half the size of the flags they waved
And Camouflage suits that made to fit youths
'cause the ones of the dead soldiers hang a little loose
And AK-47's that they shooting into heaven
Like they're trying to kill the Jetson's
They struggle little recruits
Cute Smileless, Heartless, violent
Childhood destroyed, devoid of all childish ways,
Can't write their own names or read the words on their own graves
Think you gangster popped a few rounds,
These kids will come through and murder a whole town,
Then sit back and smoke and watch it burn down,
The grave gets deeper the further we go down

[Chorus]

[Bishop G]
Imagine if I had the console,
The family of those slain,
I slain on game consoles,
I aim I hold, right trigger to squeeze,
press up and Y one less nigga breathe,
B for the Bombs press pause for your moms,
Make the room silent, she don't approve of violent games,
She leaves resume activity,
Start and blew hearts with poor harsh wizardry,
On next part I insert code
To sweeten up the purses of murder work load
I tell him he work for
CIA with A
With operative, I operate this game all day
I hold a controller connected to the soldier
With weapons on his shoulder he's only seconds older than me
We playful but serious, now keep that on mind
for on line experience

[Chorus x2]

Lupe Fiasco's Little Weapon.

For breakfast: fried eggs on bagels
For lunch: tomato, mozarella, pesto sub
For dinner: Curry Noodles (with soy chicken, brocolli, edamane, carrots and potatoes) at Java Green

I Love

Copy and paste, because it makes it seem as if I have done much more work than I have.

I just completed a 6 page report on current legislation dealing with alternative energy in an hour by copying and pasting. And received effusive praise for it. Yessss

Tomatoes

I love tomatoes.

For breakfast today I had two bagels with goat's cheese, tomatoes and black pepper. And for lunch today I had a sub (from a liquor store oddly enough) with mozzarella, tomatoes, and pesto.

P.S. Vegetarianism has its benefits. I went to a restaurant with a friend of mine and ordered garlic fries and asparagus. The (very cute) waitress gave me the most ridiculous look in the world, and then commented on the book I had with me (The Omnivore's Dilemma), so I told her that I was trying to be a vegetarian. She sat down and talked (read: flirted) with us for quit a while (well, with me - my friend was too high to even talk so he just sat there and pretended to participate). The reason I became a vegetarian, in a nutshell.

Why

Is it so hot?

Has my unpaid, 1 hour lunch break turned into an unpaid 20 minute lunch break followed by 40 minutes of unpaid work?

The End.

P.S. It's way too fucking hot!

Family Leave

There are only four countries in the world that do not offer some form of paid maternity or parental leave, those being Papau New Guinea, Lesotho, Swaziland and the United States. Besides this being an overtly feminist issue, it is also an economic one and one that, I think, would be beneficial to examine.

The first matter that should be addressed is the one of efficiency. If paid family leave is not provided by firms voluntarily - that is, if in a free market with no governmental mandate, paid family leave is not provided, it is assumed that family leave is inefficient. Market theory espouses that in such a situation, the costs of paid family leave outweigh the benefits. Therefore, mandating paid family leave would result in a situation that is not socially optimal. Mandated paid family leave can be efficient, however, if it corrects a market failure - and a market failure does arise in the externalities associated with raising children. Studies have shown that children are healthier and more successful when they are well-cared for, and when their parents raise them (as opposed to a nanny). Healthy and productive children grow up to become healthy and productive adults, accruing benefits for society - thus, there is a positive externality associated with taking good care of children: it is under-provided by the market, and must therefore be subsidized in some manner by the government. Mandated paid family leave is just such a subsidy.

Also, adverse selection is a problem addressed by mandated paid family leave. If only certain firms offered paid family leave, the individuals most likely to work at such firms will have a higher probability of taking advantage of the benefit, and thus the cost of the benefit to the firm will increase. This will result in lower wages, which further worsens the problem of adverse selection, since the only workers willing to work for the lower wage would be the ones most likely to take advantage of the paid leave benefit. Adverse selection results in a lower than optimal number of firms offering paid family leave. Government mandated leave fixes this problem - there will be no downward wage cycle associated with adverse selection if every firm is forced to offer paid family leave.

The most prescient question regarding mandated paid family leave, in my opinion, is one of wages. If mandated paid family leave has a substantial negative effect on wages (particularly woman's wages) then the externality it corrects might not be worth it. According to economic theory, mandated family leave would shift the supply curve for labor to the right (the attractiveness of the benefit will draw more people into the workforce) and the demand curve to the left (as a result of an increase in costs for the firm). This unambiguously lowers wages, but the true result of mandated paid family leave is not so simple. Wages could increase as a result of paid family leave if it encourages longer job tenure and increases the potential for an individual to move up in the company. So, the net effect of paid family leave is somewhat ambiguous.

Studies have shown that paid family leave not in excess of 3 months results in an increase of 3-4% in women's employment relative to men, and no decrease in wages. Paid family leave programs in excess of that amount of time (and especially in excess of 9 months), however, have shown a noticeable drop wages, albeit increased women's employment.

The ambiguous economic effects notwithstanding, having mandated paid family leave is clearly something that is beneficial - if not to wages, then to society. The most obvious reason is to correct the externality of raising children, but paid family leave also works to create a more hospitable work environment for women, something that is certainly needed.

Ultimate Justice

Che Guevara, iconic icon of hipsters' tshirts, is an enigmatic historical figure. He was an ardent foe of capitalism and ultimately died in his extremism. But not after he had murdered thousands and associated himself with brutal dictators.

There is something, I think, to be said about moral relativism, and also something to be said about the revolutionary movement. Both are important, and blindly turning away from them in a manner of moral black and whiteness often glosses over the intracies of human society and causes more harm than the good it is reputedly defending. An example would be George W. Bush's foray into Iraq - he too simply viewed the world as one between "good" and "evil," thinking that invading an "evil" country such as Iraq was simply moral good sense. Guevara's brutal tactics, viewed with a sympathetic eye, were the inevitable product of disastrous American economic imperialism in Latin America. He then becomes champion of the poor, downtrodden, victim of irresponsible capitalism. A beacon of revolutionary hope in the face of a powerful and self-interested machine.

Nevertheless, allowing oneself to forgo morality and embrace relativism allows for some pretty horrific things. Hitler's actions can be portrayed, in this sense, towards achieving some type of greater good, if you believe in that sort of thing (and hate Jews). Discarding our moral compass results in immorality. Guevara, bluntly, was a murderer. Forgiving his murderousness because he was working towards some sort of greater good allows for more murder in the future. The means really do matter, because they are the standards with which we judge ourselves as a people. If we allow murder as an acceptable means to an end, we become murderers. Unless we wish to alter our moral code and embrace murder as acceptable, murder can never be used, regardless of what end it achieves. Therefore, we must reject Guevara, regardless of the noble vision he might have had, or the beautiful world he wished to create. He was a murderer, murder is not acceptable, and therefore Che Guevara is not acceptable.

It is with delicious irony, therefore, that America's capitalism has ultimately defeated Guevara in the best manner conceivable: not by killing him (which it did), but by immortalizing him, and best of all, by making money off of him. Guevara is the ubiquitous face of overpriced tshirts the world over, and that is the ultimate justice for Guevara's atrocities.

Tasty and Delicious

I was craving a late night bagel with tomatoes, mozarella and pesto but did not have any pesto. I used hummus as a substitute, with some black pepper, and it was great. The key is not to overdo the hummus - just enough to taste it.

For dinner I went back to Java Green and had a orange soy chicken dish, with organic rice, brocolli, jobche noodles, cabbage, carrots and kale. It was really good.

My Love for America in Image form

Robert F. Kennedy

Today, 40 years ago, Robert F. Kennedy was assasinated - 2 months and three days after Martin Luther King Jr. was assasinated and four and a half years after Robert's brother John was assasinated in Dallas. Today, on the precipice of a general presidential campaign that features for the first time a black man, we are still in our nation faced, or perhaps a better word: beset, by questions. Questions such as, Will he be shot? Or, Can America elect a black man as their leader?

It would do us well, in this time of questions, to harken back to the words of Robert Kennedy on the day of MLK's assasination. Kennedy, who was running for president at the time, arrived at a political rally to a jubilant crowd: they did not know that King Jr. had just been killed. The speech that followed stunned the mostly black, poor crowd into silence, and then rapturous applause. The speech spoke to a nation, and hauntingly, speaks to one still - a nation still struggling with its identity, with its politics and with its future. It is fitting, then, that the person best suited to lead our nation forward in the midst of these struggles is a black man.

Here is Kennedy's speech:

Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening. Because...

I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.

For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.

We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.

But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

(Interrupted by applause)

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

(Interrupted by applause)

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much.

John McCain Older Than Previously Believed

"I believe that people are interested very much in substance," McCain said, contrasting himself against Barack Obama's charismatic style. "If it was simply style, William Jennings Bryan would have been president."

Seriously, Johnny? William Jennings Bryan? If you will recall (just kidding, of course you won't), Bryan ran three times for president - in 1896, 1900 and 1908. McCain is just asking for people to call him ancient.

McCain also has a new ad running that stoops to new lows, calling Obama a "street organizer" instead of his proper title of community organizer. Come on John, you can do better than that. Just call him a slum lord next time, or perhaps even more revealingly, black man.

On the long, long road to November...

Uh-Oh

I didn't know we were so screwed. I attended a hearing in the House on the state of infrastructure and transit in the USA, and boy are we in trouble. Our infrastructure is in complete disrepair and we have absolutely no cash with which to fix it. We also don't seem to have the political awareness necessary to make any headway on this problem.

According to Representative Jim Oberstar, from Minnesota (if you recall the Minnesota bridge collapse from a couple years ago, you'll realize that perhaps Oberstar has some perspective in this area), "Many aspects of the nation’s highway infrastructure were constructed in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and are reaching the end of their useful design life and will require significant rehabilitation and reconstruction." Compounding this problem, freight traffic increased from 1990 to 2005 by 52.4%.

Now, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) funds maintenance and repair on the Interstate Highway System, and is funded by the federal gasoline tax, set at 18.4 cents per gallon. This price was set in 1990 and has not been adjusted for inflation, which severely curtails highway maintenance and repair. Considering also that the price of steel has increased by 60% in the last five years and the price of hot mix asphalt has increased by 28% in the last five years (the overall price of construction has increased by 60% in the last five years), you'll see pretty clearly that the HTF is in big trouble. Indeed, it is projected to go into deficit in 2009. So if our highways are in disrepair, and we have absolutely no money to fix the problem, we are pretty screwed. Highways, and I imagine I’ll receive unanimous support here, are fairly important. Of course, John McCain is proposing a federal gas tax "holiday." McCain has already gone through one divorce, and he's going through another one now: with reality.

In today's current political climate, the mere mention of increasing taxation is met with horror. But higher taxation is what is going to be needed to fix our nation's massive infrastructure problem. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the total cost of fixing the nation's infrastructure at $1.6 trillion. Gasoline tax holiday, huh? Every single witness at the hearing cited the need for more federal support for infrastructure and transit.

Speaking of transit, this came as a surprise: the increased price of gasoline isn't helping. Since our transit systems are in such disrepair as well, increased ridership (as a result of people not driving their cars) has resulted in massive strain. It has been said that increased gas prices are good because they force people to use public transportation, but we have to make sure that our public transportation systems can handle this new influx first. That requires more federal funding.

The bottom line is, if the federal government doesn't help out soon, we're in big trouble.

NASA and Pad Thai

The NASA hearing was interesting. It was a markup of the NASA Authorization Bill, with three amendments being introduced. In these hearings, all the Republicans are seated on the right and all the Democrats on the left. There's a very collegial atmosphere among the Congressman (within their own party, of course), and lots of joking around.

Congressman Hall, from Texas, was the longest-serving Rep in the committee, so he got to talk a lot and he was a funny old guy. He looked like he was 90 years old and wore a baby-blue suit. He told stories. A lot of them. Every point he tried to make he'd relate to some story he had, most of them about Texas.

One of the amendments was proposed by a Republican from Georgia named Gingrey, who had a thiiiiick southern accent and looked like a good ol' boy who liked to throw back a couple cold ones after work. But that's just conjecture. His amendment, if it passed, would stipulate that NASA could waive their obligation towards section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act, which states that no Federal agency can purchase alternative fuels that have greater carbon footprints than conventional fuels. (Which seems like backward reasoning, doesn't it?)

The thing failed though, with all Democrats voting in opposition and all Republicans voting in favor. The funny thing was, when the bill was introduced by the Chairman of the committee at the beginning of the hearing, the bipartisanship of the bill was lauded. Bipartisanship indeed.

Regardless, the bill as a whole was approved by the committee and "recommended favorably," whatever that means. It will now go to the House floor for debate. I'm learning a bunch.

Lunch today was the hardest thing as a vegetarian I have yet done. I decided to eat Thai, which is a problem, because two of my favorite dishes in the world are Thai and they both have meat. Alas, I could not have the chicken satay or the Green Curry, but settled on spring rolls and pad thai with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snap peas, cabbage and corn. It was pretty good.

Only in D.C.

Riding on the METRO to work this morning I saw a guy in a dirty t-shirt, painter's pants with paint splotches all over it, and big dirty work boots. What was he reading? The Congressional Daily, which is a daily account of the goings-on of Congress.

I had another one of those Eggs Florentine things at Starbucks - eggs, cheese and spinach on an English muffin.

I'm off to a House hearing on NASA.

A Note on Today

After the months we've endured of the Democratic primary, Obama's "clinching" of the nomination today seems anticlimactic. Thinking about it today, this is a pretty big fucking climax. A black man --A BLACK MAN!-- has won the nomination of the nation's most popular political party. It is the first time in our nation's history that a black man has been the nominee of any party. That's pretty damn good. The Civil Rights Movement has a helluva long way to go, but who would have thought on April 4th, 1968 (the day King Jr was assasinated) that 40 years later a black man would head a major party's ticket.

It's considered taboo and uncouth to say --or admit-- that race plays a factor in one's decision to support a candidate, but I'm admitting it here. Part of the reason I support Obama is, indeed, his race. The benefits to American race relations, American foreign policy and American progressivism that would come with the mere fact that a black man is President are enormous and were probably incomprehensible just a few years ago. So while race is not my primary motivation for supporting Obama (McCain is a nutjob would most likely be numero uno), it certainly plays a part.

I'm starting to deviate quite a bit from the stated purpose of this blog, but fuck it - I love politics and I'm in Washington D.C. I'm going to talk shop.

Awkward Dining at The Grille

Today I started my job on Capitol Hill. My boss soon asked me if I wanted to come to lunch with her at The Capitol Hill Club Grille. Yikes. I said, of course, yes, but was worried that either my grand design would be ruined on day 3 or I would starve.

Luckily I found a mozarella, tomato and pesto panini on the menu and ordered that, not mentioning to my steak-salad-eating boss that I was a vegetarian. She then proceded to tell me about all the awesome burger joints, Mexican restaurants, and delis in the area. I thanked her profusely for this knowledge, realizing that I would have to start bringing lunch to work.

The restaurant itself was really interesting. It's the semi-official club of the Republican party on the Hill (which I've learned to call it), and is oftentimes frequented by Republican members of Congress and high level Republican Congressional staffers and the like. My boss told me that there is a Democratic club similar to the Capitol Hill Club, but it's much smaller and much less swanky. Makes sense.

Interesting anecdote: members of Congress all wear pins denoting their membership. So in order to take advantage of that, many men who work on Capitol Hill will put similar looking pins on their lapels in order to make people unwittingly think that they are Congressmen. I looked around the restaurant and indeed, this seemed to be true. I'm beginning to learn that in D.C., image and perception is everything.

I did some other interesting things today - I took a tour of the Capitol Building and sat in on debate over the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill. Seeing Joe Lieberman, Barbara Boxer and John Warner go about their business was really exciting, I'll have to admit. I was able to hear Boxer speak for a few minutes in support of the bill, and then heard some random Republican drone on about the jobs that would be lost as a result of a cap-and-trade system. As if allowing the climate to change unabetted would not result in lost jobs. But I digress.

I was going to walk to Java Green (the awesome vegan restaurant) for dinner tonight but it was pouring, so I made myself a quesadilla instead. I need to force myself to diversify my food choices, because it's very easy to stick to easy-to-make meals that I am familiar with, especially after a long day's work.

So, here's the breakdown:

Breakfast:
2 Oats and Honey Nature Valley granola bars

Lunch:
Tomato, Mozarella and Pesto Panini
French Fries

Dinner:
Quesadilla with cheese, spinach and tomatoes. With guacomole.

P.S. I'm watching McCain give his speech in Louisiana. What a snarky old bitch. Every time he musters a snide remark about Obama he puts on this shit-eating grin that makes you just want to punch the guy in the face. I'm also convinced that he has no idea what the fuck he's talking about. If Obama isn't able to crush him in November there is something fundamentally wrong with the way the Democratic Party does business. One thing about McCain's speech that I found interesting was when he said (paraphrasing), "No matter who is the next president, there will be dramatic change from current governance." I'm somewhat surprised to hear McCain promising what amounts to, in effect, a dramatic departure from Bush policies. Bush's popularity has sunk so low that even his Republican dick-suckers have to abandon him. Yikes.

P.P.S. Ezra Klein has this to say about McCain's speech:

The content of McCain's speech is basically what you'd expect, but the delivery is really peculiar. His voice is artificially high, he's grinning more frequently then usual, his tone is jumping octaves to soften the end of his sentences. It's a cuddly, almost delicate delivery, as if he were reading a storybook to really young children. It's extremely disconcerting.

My Eats for the Day

I'm going to be keeping track of what exactly I eat, as well as other vegetarian-related tid-bits along the way, so here goes - What I Ate Today:

Breakfast:
Breakfast was had at That Evil Corporation, Starbucks.

I had organic iced green tea and the "Eggs Florentine" - eggs, cheese and spinach between english muffins.

Lunch:
I found an awesome vegan restaurant within walking distance of my apartment called Java Green. I'm thinking this is going to become a lunchtime fixture for me, but it's a little pricey.

I had the "Curry Deluxe" - soy chicken, potatoes and carrots in curry sauce with organic rice, spring onions, cucumbers, brocolli and asparagus. All super fresh and ridiculously delicious. This meal gives me hope that being a vegetarian won't be too difficult.

Dinner:
I went shopping at Trader Joe's for my dinner and bought organic flour tortillas, goat's cheese, tomatoes, baby spinach and guacomole salsa. I'm sure you can figure it out, but I had goat's cheese, tomatoes and spinach in a quesadilla with the guacomole. It was awesome - I'm a fantastic vegetarian Tex-Mex chef, if I may say so myself.

I later went to the Pita Stop and got a whole wheat pita with hummus, tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers and avocado.

So in all, a pretty big vegetable day. Considering that I also jogged for a few miles, this has probably been the healthiest day of my life.

Why I Decided to Become a Vegetarian

After holding vegetarianism in contempt for so long, I finally capitulated and became a vegetarian myeslf. I thought the day would never come. The conversion, I think, symbolizes the fundamental ideological and philosophical changes I have undergone in the last year or so - primarily a dramatic shift towards progressivism. I remain a libertarian at heart, but alas, I am young and naive, and my compassion has tilted my views towards the left.

It is compassion that is at the heart of my decision to go veggie. Compassion for the environment, primarily, which is greatly harmed by the meat industry, but also compassion for the countless animals who are treated inhumanely. Although I am aware that certain meat-raising practices are both humane and environmentally sustainable, I wish to go beyond assuaging my feeling of guilt, I wish to raise awareness to the cause, and I think that is done better through vegetarianism than through selective meat-eating.

So there you have it, my conversion in a nut-shell. Wish me luck.