HAVE GONE

FREE FALL

2012-01-26T15:52:00.013-05:00

"People always want to sit next to me on a plane." - Vesna Vulovic

Exactly 40 years ago today, Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant on JAT Flight 367, became the sole survivor falling 33,000* feet after a terrorist bombing that tore her plane apart.

Here are two good sites that explain what happened: (website1) and (website2). Website2 is in Spanish but easily translatable. The following excerpt is from Website1:

"While passing over the city of Srbska-Kamenice, the explosive device detonated. The DC-9 was torn into pieces, and the plane’s wreckage, along with its 28 passengers, fell through the sky for three long minutes before striking a frozen mountainside.

A German man, upon arriving at the crash site, found all of the plane’s passengers dead, save one. Vesna was lying half outside of the plane, with another crew member’s body on top of her, and a serving cart pinned against her spine. The man had been a medic in the second world war, and did what he could for her until further help arrived...

...Her good fortune in surviving the accident is most likely due to her low blood pressure, which caused her to pass out quickly and prevented her heart from bursting. But despite her positive outlook on life, Vesna does not consider herself lucky. Thirty years after the crash, she said to Philip Baum in an interview, 'I’m not lucky. Everybody thinks I am lucky, but they are mistaken. If I were lucky I would never had this accident and my mother and father would be alive. The accident ruined their lives too.' It’s a valid point, along the same lines as arguing that the event wasn’t a 'miracle,' given that there were 27 people who didn’t survive. The assertion that 'it could be worse' is small comfort to the pragmatic, because certainly, it could also be much better."

Vesna is alive and well today, and fully recovered from her injuries. Apparently, according to this New York Times article, "she admits she enjoys watching airplane crash films."

*Years later, however, further evidence revealed that her fall may have been well below 33,000 feet; as the plane was much closer to the ground when it broke apart. The evidence also suggests that it may not have been a bomb. The plane may have been shot down as it was being forced to land in what was then Czechoslovakia. But 40 years later, does that even matter?

OOPS

2012-01-18T20:04:00.002-05:00

Photo: DigitalGlobe

Thoughts and prayers to all the victims.

NAUGHTY GENERAL

2012-01-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Behold, General Tso's Chicken Wings. A completely unhealthy new take on a Chinese "classic." There is no real reason for this post. Terrifically unhealthy eats are good once in a while... maybe... as a way to celebrate the end of the Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann presidential campaigns. There. Reason enough.

Happy New Year to us all!

This is the takeout version of General Tso's Chicken Wings from Peking Garden in DC.

BEST NEWS PHOTO OF 2011

2012-01-01T19:03:00.001-05:00

This Pete Souza picture of the White House Situation Room during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden is unquestionably the most note-worthy news photo of 2011.

Happy New Year.

RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY

2011-12-10T10:48:00.002-05:00

"FREE AND EQUAL IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS"
Delivered by Secretary Clinton
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
===================================
On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a historic speech at the United Nations in Geneva declaring that LGBT rights are human rights and human rights are LGBT rights. The full transcript of the speech can be found here.

Related.

"A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY"

2011-12-07T16:34:00.000-05:00

In honor of the 70th Anniversary... check out these two sites (website1) and (website2). They've got some rare pictures of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor - and the aftermath.

Including this incredible color photo:

ONE STEP FURTHER

2011-11-30T18:08:00.006-05:00

This is directly related to the post SABOTAGE... kind of.

I received one of those fundraising emails from the DSCC today. It was technically from Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), and bits and pieces of the letter appear below:

“If Republicans held the Senate right now, just imagine what we’d be watching: Passage of the Ryan Plan, Bush-era efforts to privatize Social Security, and more tax cuts for billionaires while the middle class would be left holding the bag.

And make no mistake: That’s exactly what will happen if Republicans take the Senate in 2012.

No wonder Republicans refused to compromise and instead deadlocked the Supercommittee. They're banking on holding all the keys in 2013.

Right now, the Democratic firewall means their extreme agenda doesn’t stand a chance. Their plan all along has been to take the Senate in 2012 and then just pass that agenda into law...

Obstructing every effort at fairness these last two years was Part One of the GOP plan. Part Two is happening right now – their attempt to take the Senate and knock down our firewall. ...” -- Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

I like where this letter goes... and I think it could have gone one step further...
(after the jump)

Sure, he says that one of the GOP's goals in 2012 would be to win the majority in the Senate. To me, though, winning a majority is a goal that would apply to all political parties. Who wouldn't want a ruling majority?

While it hints at Republican obstruction, Senator Kerry's letter doesn't fully dive into how the Republicans altered the way the filibuster is used (like never before) in the Obama Age; and how Congress' failure to act on key bills - via this filibuster maneuver - has in turn helped to turn many of the nation's current challenges more challenging.

Take the first paragraph above...

If Republicans held the Senate right now, just imagine what we’d be watching: Passage of the Ryan Plan, Bush-era efforts to privatize Social Security, and more tax cuts for billionaires while the middle class would be left holding the bag.

This statement is not true.

If Republicans held the Senate right now, the Democratic minority would be threatening to filibuster any extreme - Personhood-style - right wing bill that the GOP brought to the floor. One hopes.

... but would Democrats threaten to filibuster all or most of the bills that the GOP tried to pass?

Though this is a question I am not eager to have answered as I obviously prefer the Senate to remain D; I propose instead - and again - an alternate line of questioning:

Why, in the Obama Age, has the filibuster been transformed from a negotiating tool into an obstruction tool, killing most of the Obama Agenda; including most of the "American Jobs Act" - elements of which enjoy overwhelming public majority support?

Of course Senator Kerry would never admit in his letter that there really is no need to worry, folks... because if the Democrats lose the majority, they too will have the handy filibuster at their disposal to stop the GOP from passing their mandate.

Is this the kind of stalemate America wants?

Can we afford another legislative session that is nothing more than a series of "check mates" that results in a lot of inaction?

I think those are the questions that need to be asked.

That said, the debate to watch at this very moment is whether or not the Republican senate minority will threaten to filibuster the bill to extend the payroll tax cuts, set to sunset at the sunrise of 2012. If the GOP threaten to filibuster a bill that would cut the average family's tax burden by $1000 next year... then the minority obstruction will have reached new heights... or new lows, depending on how you're looking at it.

It appears as though Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) may be willing to let the payroll tax holiday continue for another year; having announced as much at a press conference on Tuesday, November 29, 2011.

This is great news.

This is news that gives one hope that we may see less and less of the filibuster, as the Republicans begin to embrace the idea that the best way to win elections is on ideas... not on hoping the other guy falls flat on his face.

Meanwhile, at Obama for America... a completely different type of fundraising email:

"If you win a seat at the next dinner with three other supporters and me, you'll get to bring a guest. I thought I'd bring one, too -- so I invited Michelle. She's in." -- Barack Obama

PRACTICALLY WHILE DRIVING A CAR

2011-11-18T17:17:00.008-05:00

"Well, he read in the strangest way. I mean, I could never read unless I'd have a rainy afternoon or a long evening in bed, or something. He'd read walking, he'd read at the table, at meals, he'd read after dinner, he'd read in the bathtub, he'd read - prop open a book on his desk - on his bureau - while he was doing his tie. You know, he'd just read in little, he'd open some book I'd be reading, you know, just devour it. He really read all the times you don't think you have time to read...

He was just always reading, practically while driving a car."

- Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, 1964

John F. Kennedy would have loved the iPad. Listen/read the Second Conversation of Mrs. Kennedy's oral history to get a better idea of what I mean. The man not only read frequently; he read multiple books concurrently. Fabulous.

Quotes are excerpted from transcripts of Mrs. Kennedy's interviews with Arthur Schlesinger in 1964. Incidentally, that is the hand of the late Steve Jobs holding the Photoshopped iPad in the JFK picture above.

SABOTAGE

2011-11-03T23:48:00.008-04:00

This post had been a mere sidebar to the post "MINDING THE TORCH" from about a week ago. I thought I'd bump it into its own post because cracks have suddenly appeared on Grover Norquist's iron grip on Republican lawmakers not to raise any taxes. Have a look...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Key GOP congress members - in both chambers - have this week shown signs that they may just be willing to break their pledge to Norquist. It's a long shot, but it is one important sign that the UberBuster (see below) might become a thing of the past. (Episode: Thursday, November 3, 2011.)

ORIGINAL POST: 30 October 2011
(after the jump)

It's not really what you think it is. This is not Obama-phobia, as many often like to call it. It is instead a systematic attack on the president's potential to bring about true change. It is bought and paid for by special interests who are protecting the status quo. And in the U.S. Senate, the Republican minority have been engaged in a particularly effective strategy to keep things stalled: The UberBuster, aka threatening to use filibuster to the nth degree, killing all bills.

And for the first time in the history of US presidential politics, one candidate has inadvertently revealed that this strategy should be considered acceptable practice. It's not. It shouldn't be. In her stump speeches and in a couple of the debates, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) makes a point of having to win a 60-seat majority in the Senate in order to enact her agenda. The only reason she cites 60 seats as the new magic number is because her party in the Senate - along with a fistful of cleverly cloaked Democrats - have threatened to filibuster virtually every bill under this president.

Constitutionally speaking, a simple majority passes a bill in that chamber. Prior to the Obama age, the filibuster was classified as a negotiating tool. Senators would threaten a filibuster to demand attention, with the end goal of improving a bill. Under this president, however, the Republican senate minority has been using the threat of a filibuster as a way to stop important bills from passing outright. As a result, hundreds of crucial bills of the Obama Agenda have not been brought to the floor for an up or down vote. It's a shrewd move by Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) part. Voters, however, ought to ask themselves why - in a body where a majority vote passes a bill - is one of the GOP presidential nominees going on about a 60-vote Senate majority?

In a nutshell, we've got a president who entered the White House with a large mandate... but, due to the UberBuster, has been unable to govern as he was elected to. And now you've got one GOP candidate stating that the goal post has been moved to 60 seats. Okay... DSCC, I hope you're listening.

Peace.

MISTAKES ARE MADE

2011-10-31T22:07:00.001-04:00

A quick Halloween post for the heck of it. Perry wins for most scary.

Strangely compatible with Paul Lynde.

The headline above is a quote from McCain-Palin survivor, Steve Schmidt, who said that this evening on "The Rachel Maddow Show" (MSNBC), to describe the Perry campaign.

Boo!

MINDING THE TORCH

2011-10-30T03:34:00.020-04:00

As we approach the same point in the Obama Administration at which the Kennedy Administration came to its sudden and tragic end, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take stock.

[after the jump]

First, in the process of honoring President Kennedy, it is hard to overlook how the rest of that decade unfolded - for America and for the world. It is hard not to think also about the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, just five years after Dallas. The three men were leaders of movements that challenged the status quo. And their work is not finished. Their work inspires generations to know that the power to direct the nation towards peace, justice and equality lies within each of us. Yes, we can. And their legacy lives on symbolically as a torch passed recently to the Obama generation.

So, as we take stock, let us acknowledge the unprecedented nature of the obstacles faced by President Obama in his attempt to deliver true and lasting change. In the face of legislative resistance, the few victories have been sweet. No matter what he does, however, he can't seem to convince Congress to allow votes on much of his agenda. Republicans, congressional ones in particular, are squarely in irrational opposition to the president (and popular opinion) on just about every issue. The GOP are admittedly entrenched in their goal of turning him into a one term president. (More on that here: SABOTAGE.)

Believe it or not, there was a time when our public servants could find compromise, not just fake outrage.

I've been listening to and reading Mrs. Kennedy's oral history of her late husband's presidency. In the tapes, she makes a number of political references that shed light on how the game was played - in a different era. Without going into too much detail (thank goodness for the footnotes), Mrs. Kennedy hints at something she refers to as "a jealousy of generations," which was a term an acquaintance of hers used to describe the passion with which some of his rivals detested her husband. It was a term she considered unique to her husband's political career.

"So he incited so many bitter jealousies, and they were the ones who'd say mean things about him."

In those days, Kennedy-phobia manifested itself in people saying "mean things" about the president. The terms "birth certificate" and "death panel" were not yet part of the discussion back then, thankfully.

President Kennedy with Republican Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Cecil Stoughton-AP

The recordings are fascinating as historical artifact, especially with Mrs. Kennedy's memories as fresh as they were at the time. This glimpse into 1960s Washington DC - knowing there were several tumultuous years to come - may just give us renewed passion to ensure that the torch continues its journey today.

"I was so happy for Jack - especially now that it was only three years together that he could be proud of me then. Because it made him so happy - It made me so happy. So those were our happiest years."

Now, about this torch.

For our government to succeed under the Constitution, true and honest debate and an informed electorate are essential. The fight our president currently faces is the battle that will determine the course for America in this next century. That sounds dramatic, but it's also true for Republicans, as they currently are in a battle to determine what kind of party they will become.

Unfortunately, 2012 is not just a battle of ideologies. There is an abundance of smoke and mirrors out there that needs to be exposed. Keep a close eye on lobbying and corporate cash. Connect the dots. Seek truth. Seek truthfulness. Ask questions. Question those who don't. Question those who refuse to debate. Question those who deny media access. Question motives. Discover the consequences of conflicts-of-interest... because your own interests are usually the ones sacrificed. Question those who demonize, accuse and blame in order to change the subject. Let the press do their job.

Let's achieve a level playing field when it comes to truth and facts. Then let the chips fall where they may - at the ballot box - when it comes to questions of ideology. President Kennedy didn't get his second term. Someone saw to that. Smoke and mirrors aside, it is clear that this president needs to.

Mrs. Kennedy: "Oh there were so many things he was going to do. I was just thinking. He was going to get rid of J.Edgar Hoover, who's just been signed up again. The next tape we do, I'll have a list because I wrote them down the other night of - about five or six things he was going to do this time."

Arthur Schlesinger: "Oh was he?"

Mrs. Kennedy: "And you know, they've all been done the wrong way."

Quotes are excerpted from transcripts of Mrs. Kennedy's interviews with Arthur Schlesinger in 1964. Kennedy Inauguration photograph (TOP), Jacques Lowe/woodfin camp.

MARCO... FOOLED YOU

2011-10-21T18:35:00.006-04:00

"...This is the story of the Cuban Exile Community, and it defines what so many of us who are a product of it are. And I know this. No matter where I go, or what title I may achieve, I will always be the son of exiles [huge applause and chant] and will always be the heirs of two generations of unfulfilled dreams."

- Senator-Elect Marco Rubio, Victory Speech 2010

Interesting to revisit the victory speech to see just how he used the "son of exiles" narrative in his campaign. In this speech, the quote above is followed by a long narrative about his dad's fleeing Cuba for better opportunities in the United States. The saga ends with:

"This story I know well, and it verifies to me the greatness of our country.. because tonight, with your vote, you have elected his son to the United States Senate."

Reminds me a bit of Eve Harrington getting the Sarah Siddons Award.

... and there really ought to be two more of each the American and Floridian flags behind him.

FUNNY COMMERCIAL

2011-10-19T16:48:00.000-04:00

This is a few years old. I found it while organizing my computer files. Funny one... for the heck of it. (May take a couple of viewings to hear/understand due to low-ish quality.) Enjoy!

LIGHTS ARE ON... BUT WHO'S HOME?

2011-10-15T21:44:00.008-04:00

With still a few months remaining before the first votes are cast for the race to become the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee, the party's struggle to determine its identity has been playing out like a not-so-interesting episode of "Project Runway"... one day you're in, and the next day, you're out. Only, in this version, Heidi Klum and Michael Kors are replaced with Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Sorry, Heidi... Sorry, Michael.
(more after the jump)

No matter how this all plays out, however, one thing is clear: if Congress fails to act, President Obama will be pushing the American Jobs Act all the way to November (2012, that is); and whoever ends up becoming the GOP nominee will have to address it, as well as address how the GOP has been "governing" lately, especially on the Hill... something none of the candidates has seriously addressed as yet.

This clip from "Politics Nation" with Rev. Al Sharpton (MSNBC) is worth watching for a preview of what the 2012 election debate will (or should) be. It is worth watching, if only for the fantastic monologue (at the very end of the clip) by Jim Gregory of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW), whose job was saved thanks to the auto loan, which was criticized by GOP candidate and former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney with his infamous New York Times editorial, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."

Please watch the clip in its entirety:

Nice.

Mr. Romney's stance on the auto loan will be just one of many uphill battles ahead for him, should he become his party's standard-bearer. Will he "make it work?"

Let the games begin... oh, and Congress, #passthisbill!

THANKS, STEVE

2011-10-06T22:39:00.000-04:00

SANTORUM: IT'S NOT ABOUT SEX

2011-09-23T22:35:00.007-04:00

Aside from the few in the audience who boo'd Stephen Hill (the soldier who asked the question), this video of Rick Santorum (R-PA) is also insteresting because of his answer to Megan Kelly's follow-up question, about whether or not he would reinstate Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) if he were electe... well, if hell froze over...
(more ridiculousness after the jump)

His answer to that question is the more interesting part of this video.

In making the case for his dream of reinstating DADT, Santorum says, "keep your sex life to yourself, whether you're homosexual or heterosexual." The former Senator forgets that the discussion has progressed from there.

One of the comments under the video, from a "franklovesyall," was fascinating:

"Not in my 7 years of service did I ever witness anyone getting booted for being gay. On the contrary, I heard stories of cowards in combat or in hard times perform gay acts blatantly in order to get kicked to avoid going to war using this excuse... which was a slap in the face of the brave gay men and lesbian women who served with honor. I served with gays. They did a fine job."

He says he "heard stories of cowards" who would pretend to be gay just to get themselves tossed out of combat. Were those tall tales? Was it true? Who knows. But it certainly hints of a military that has gone through a lot of "growing pains" to get where it got this year.

Turns out that this Frank guy, as his later comments reveal, is actually a supporter of DADT. But his reasoning is, at best, questionable. See for yourself:

...sex will always be an issue. Think back to your deployment days and general order 1. Females are off limits. Period. If someone so much as seen a male standing in the doorway of a female tent, you can expect to get a stripe ripped from your sleeve and doing extra duty and docking your pay. Nobody ever cried about that though. Gays will be doing extra blood tests and discrimination. That's the whole reason Bill Clinton made DADT was to protect gays.

See. Frank kind of misses the point entirely that it's not just about sex. Really, it's not about sex at all. Which brings me back to Frank's good point: the military IS full of brave men and women. And I bet they would be livid with Rick Santorum's insinuation that all service members are incapable of seeing passed a person's sexual orientation.

Santorum needs to stop using his 2006 talking points.

(video courtesy http://thinkprogress.org)

A NEW HOPE

2011-09-20T02:12:00.003-04:00

The fall has arrived... and the Democrats are stepping it up. The American Jobs Act, along with a fresh push to end the temporary extension of the Bush Tax Cuts, is precisely what the majority of America wants.

(more after the jump)

Of course, the GOP will try to say that the president himself endorsed the Bush Tax rates when he signed the extension in December 2010. Do not forget that President Obama made it very clear why he extended it back in December. The GOP was holding hostage several legislative and fiscal matters; among them: unemployment benefits, the New START Treaty ratification and, of course, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal, in exchange for a two-year extension of the Bush Tax cuts. The president made it very clear that his December signature was for a temporary extension. [Yes, big fat emphasis on "temporary."]

Now, Republicans have a different view. They believe that we should also make permanent the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. I completely disagree with this. A permanent extension of these tax cuts would cost us $700 billion at a time when we need to start focusing on bringing down our deficit. And economists from all across the political spectrum agree that giving tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires does very little to actually grow our economy.

He goes on.

As a result, we have arrived at a framework for a bipartisan agreement. For the next two years, every American family will keep their tax cuts -- not just the Bush tax cuts, but those that have been put in place over the last couple of years that are helping parents and students and other folks manage their bills.

In exchange for a temporary extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, we will be able to protect key tax cuts for working families -- the Earned Income Tax Credit that helps families climb out of poverty; the Child Tax Credit that makes sure families don’t see their taxes jump up to $1,000 for every child; and the American Opportunity Tax Credit that ensures over 8 million students and their families don’t suddenly see the cost of college shooting up.

I can't imagine the president being any clearer: the Bush Tax cuts, for some income brackets at least, will be the subject of much intense debate in the coming months. If the debate is honest - and not filled with demagoguery (like calling it "class warfare"), then this is the Democrats' winning conversation for the 2012 election.

PHOTOS: NYC, SEPTEMBER 2001

2011-09-11T12:58:00.004-04:00

In honor of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I decided to share these previously unpublished photos I took during my visit to New York a couple of days after that tragic day. As a former New Yorker (1992-2000) who was in Washington DC at the time, I was compelled to get myself to Manhattan to see the devastation with my own eyes.

These are the pictures from that visit.
(After the jump)

Click on each picture to get a full size version.

Our walk began midtown, and right away I could tell that that iconic view had forever been changed.

We made a stop at Union Square, one of the places in which a makeshift memorial had appeared. The first photo above is also from Union Square.

This photo is of a mini "twin towers" someone had built using souvenir license plates.

"Stop the Hate." Another "twin towers" replica at Union Square. This one had some words from the Dalai Lama.

More Union Square...

Another "twin towers" replica at Union Square. Notice, someone had scribbled "no war, peace" on the base of the statue in the background. If only we knew what was to come in the next decade.

More Union Square...

Many many many candles.

Remembering the first responders.

More Union Square...

We continued our walk until we arrived at 100 Duane Street, the home of Engine 7 Ladder Company 1. Though they were the first to arrive, all of the firefighters from Engine 7 escaped with their lives.

Engine 7's 9/11 story is notable, by the way, because they were on that day (and for several months prior) being filmed as the subject of a documentary, whose cameras were one of only three known to have captured that first plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Apparently, there is now a permanent plaque that honors Engine 7's 100 years of service to the city (at this location), in place of these hand-written tributes.

So, after that moving stop, it was time to make our way southward.

The closer we got, the more noticable the gaping hole in the skyline.

Finally, from a distance, the first signs of wreckage began to be visible.

Forever changed.

Finally, we took the subway back uptown and I took these pictures at Times Square station. There was not one empty wall.

In the decade since, I have stayed away from lower Manhattan - and away from NYC in general, vowing to return only after construction of the new World Trade Center is completed.

I look forward to that day.

PHOTOS: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR MEMORIAL

2011-09-03T20:09:00.008-04:00

It was an almost-perfect day - in spite of a downpour earlier in the day - to pay my first visit to this fitting memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Clicking on each picture gives you a full size version. Enjoy!

Mount Rushmore-esque, isn't it?
(more after the jump)

This kid was moon-walking across this quote.

Broad view. The "Stone of Hope" (with Dr. King's statue) is on the left, and the "Mountain of Despair" behind it. I look forward to seeing this at sunset and at night... and, of course, when the Cherry Blossoms return next Spring.

Profile of Dr. King, with the Washington Monument in the background.

This was fun. I watched as the man in green urged a few of his family members to pose at the base of the "Stone of Hope." It started with about four of his kids, perhaps. But, before he could take the picture, other family members were drawn in, one by one from different parts of the memorial, until it grew to what you see. Actually, the guy in red is still running in to pose.

"We shall overcome." The memorial is masterfully designed, with a broad "arc of the moral universe" quite literally embracing the three granite pieces in the center entrance.

This is the other section of the arc, again with the Washington Monument in the background.

Landing airplane.

Love this angle.

By the way, parking is not too tricky around there; but be prepared to walk, as there are not many non-handicapped parking spots near the actual memorial at this time. You'll have to park along the Potomac River (on Ohio Drive, SW), which can mean anywhere from a 800 to 2,000-foot walk. It does, however, appear as though the National Park Service will be adding additional parking areas across the street from the memorial (next to the Memorial Book Store), and over by the Korean War Memorial, which will help.

Two rather subtle waterfalls grace both ends of the entrance.

And here is the entrance. Visitors walk through the "Mountain of Despair." In the center of this photo, you can see the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin. Dr. King is on the "Stone of Hope" in the center, facing the basin.

"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair."

Finally, here is the virtual tour of the memorial.

EVOLVING

2011-06-24T20:20:00.004-04:00

In the clip above from the 1970's sitcom, "Soap," the character played by Billy Crystal, Jodie, is gay. And, in order to move on with his life as a respectable member of society, he has made the decision to get married... to a woman.

That was about 40 years ago.

Evolve already, Mr. President... and the rest of the 46% of you.

Positive thoughts to New York tonight!

UPDATE: Congratulations to New York, whose governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed into law the Marriage Equality Act of 2011. Its final passage was secured in the state senate with a vote of 33-29. Marriage Equality officially begins in New York on July 24, 2011.

Onward.

OUR PATH TO ABSURDITY

2011-06-06T18:52:00.007-04:00

So, how have we gone from this (above) to this (below)?

The Media is to blame.

Not in the way some on the right wing circuit claim. The Media is to blame because the Media is us, the American People. We are the consumers of the Media. We are to blame.

All of this absurdity is our fault.

First, it is important to note here that Freedom of the Press is a constitutional right. There is a reason this is First Amendment stuff! Our founders knew that a free press would be the enemy of those who seek the kind of power and influence that are not in our nation's best interest.

We are the Media because we demand truth. An enemy of the Media is attempting to hide truth. Today, however, we live in a world our founders could never have anticipated. It is a world in which the 'free press' would itself succumb to ideologically motivated and funded manipulations.

And yes, all of it is our fault.

(more, after the jump)

ENLIGHTENMENT

There is plenty of reason to believe that the Alaskan's interviews with CBS's former anchor, Katie Couric (here, here, and here), may well have been the deal-breaker for those who otherwise would have voted for the John McCain ticket in 2008. The television still reveals certain truths about certain people.

Even more revealing is that, after her defeat in 2008, Sarah Palin decided to use a page out of the Nixon playbook and launched a similar fight against the Media.

It is up to us if we enter into this age with blinders, seeing and reading only things with which we agree and refusing to hear all other viewpoints.

Or, will we use our Constitutional right to dig deeper - even as the absurdities intensify around us...

... to find the underlying truth - not the ideological meaning, not the propaganda, not the think-tank-devised solutions - behind what we face as a nation?

This is ours to answer individually.

ARE YOU IN?

2011-04-25T19:29:00.000-04:00

"Grassroots will run this campaign."

ROAD RAGE

2011-04-07T17:22:00.006-04:00

Perhaps this is what the car Justice Antonin Scalia rear-ended the other day looked like.

Wink.

This photo is actually of my car, circa mid 2007-09. The tire cover was stripped off the car and stolen by some New Jersey assholes while parked inside the Cape May ferry in September 2009.

Anyway, I thought I'd upload this picture in honor of the launch of Obama for America, version 2012!

Yes, We Will.

TOO CHEAP TO DREAM BIG?

2011-02-04T16:35:00.014-05:00

Has the United States become too cheap to innovate... to 'Dream Big?' We are all familiar with the 1950s predictions of the future. Improved roads, better health, and an ideal life. What happened? Technology, alas, may not have moved as fast as Mr. Walt Disney thought it would.

Whenever I see the massive Tysons Corner construction project currently under way in Northern Virginia, it gives me hope. But why, in this age, haven't we seen more? Flying cars are one thing. But why will it have taken 30 years, since Dulles added "Washington" to its name, for the DC metro to reach it?

It doesn't have to take another almost-depression to keep the country on this path of infrastructure improvement and innovation. Indeed, it is the path we continuously must be following.

President Obama outlined what I believe are strong solutions to the country's current economic problems. But, as MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out when he - in the panel discussion following the speech - joked about the lack of specificity in the president's address; the president's role, though central, is actually quite limited.

He has set the stage. Now, Congress must legislate and figure out a way to pay for it. Here we go again.

The United States is right now positioned for a gigantic comeback. Make or break, some would say. And, with all due respect to the people of Egypt who are right now risking it all to have their voices heard; I have to point out that, in my country, it is increasingly difficult to see anything substantial behind the rhetoric on the Hill right now.

Defecit spending? Health care? Again? Still? Good night, nurse.

Fiscal conservatives who complain about the mess we'll leave to our children and grandchildren should stop and look at the mess our grandfathers and great-grandfathers left for us.

What is going on is not a battle about government waste and spending. It is actually a battle between "old energy" and innovation.

The media who give credibility to these fiscal conservative politicians who argue against spending on infrastructure and renewable energy, must also give the public the full story. These so called fiscal conservative politicians are banking it. They are accepting significant amounts of money - thanks in part to Citizens United - from entities that prefer the status quo.

Because we can't live without them; these industries are finding politicians who have a price - not all of them do - to do their bidding. Not only are these politicians making it impossible to pass spending bills that we need to jump-start the economy; they are also standing in the way of bills that would bolster innovation to find cheaper, sustainable sources of energy. In the name of fiscal conservatism - based on a Reaganesque fallacy of government tax and spend - the next century remains at stake.

Heck, at this rate, your bus ride to the airport might be at stake.

There was an interesting study on NPR's Science Friday today. It was a discussion with a couple of doctors who conducted a variety of studies to test brain health. I was fascinated to learn that there is a link to regular walking - I believe it was 20 minutes, 3 times a week, at minimum - and a bigger, better brain.

That doesn't really have anything to do with this post. Except to show that there is so much more out there for people to discover and learn.

What are we waiting for?

Folks, this is our real WTF moment. And that does stand for whether or not we win the future.

It is ours to lose.

WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY, part 2

2010-12-18T16:11:00.006-05:00

The following members of the United States Senate, today, voted against the bill to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, the discriminatory policy that blocked openly gay men and women from serving in the US Military - and forced gays currently serving into hiding.
(more after the jump)

The votes have been cast. The bill heads to President Obama for his signature. The ban has been lifted. The president has kept an important State of the Union promise.

With their vote, these senators join the 'nay'-voting members of the House of Representatives in being on the wrong side of history on this issue.

LIST SOURCE: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00281

HR 2965
SENATE VOTE
DON'T ASK DON'T TELL STAND ALONE REPEAL
NAYS 31
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)

Bennett (R-UT)

Bond (R-MO)

Brownback (R-KS)

Chambliss (R-GA)

Coburn (R-OK)

Cochran (R-MS)

Corker (R-TN)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Crapo (R-ID)

DeMint (R-SC)

Enzi (R-WY)

Graham (R-SC)

Grassley (R-IA)

Hutchison (R-TX)

Inhofe (R-OK)

Isakson (R-GA)

Johanns (R-NE)

Kyl (R-AZ)

LeMieux (R-FL)

Lugar (R-IN)

McCain (R-AZ)

McConnell (R-KY)

Risch (R-ID)

Roberts (R-KS)

Sessions (R-AL)

Shelby (R-AL)

Thune (R-SD)

Vitter (R-LA)

Wicker (R-MS)

THE END.