tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53867349762020682712025-12-11T09:49:30.145-05:00The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice. (Mahatma Gandhi)Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-29557897316370580122008-08-25T14:56:00.006-04:002008-08-26T23:14:02.809-04:00

I came across this article and couldn't help but chuckle. It just underscores how important it is not to take everything you see/read as truth - on either side of the political spectrum.A Rough Summer, Factually SpeakingBy Bill Adair, CQ StaffIn the presidential campaign, truth has been a casualty of summer. We’ve rated more than 600 claims on our PolitiFact Web site since the campaign began, and

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-1255707527019207142008-08-22T01:23:00.003-04:002008-08-22T01:28:49.592-04:00

I almost forgot the biggest news of all: I get to go to the Republican National Convention this year!!I am beyond excited. It's something I've always wanted to do and I can't wait. It will be tough navigating the ethics mess (with rules like you can serve bagels and muffins for breakfast but not eggs lest you actually feed people), but I figure there will be a lot of people in the same boat

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-65993446441509476012008-08-21T23:32:00.013-04:002008-08-22T01:22:15.565-04:00

It's hard to believe August is almost over! Man, oh man. It feels like the month just started. Which isn't good because I have a lot of work to do before recess is over.I spent the first day of the month, which was the last day the House was in session, reading the Politico blog and wondering what the heck was going on on the House floor, then traipsing down there with my coworkers to watch

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-45166764555863129982008-08-19T16:32:00.002-04:002008-08-19T17:37:11.807-04:00

This was, I thought, a very insightful perspective on the Olympics and the country hosting them, courtesy of one of my favorite writers, George Will (in a mostly unrelated piece on the respective responses of the two presidential candidates to the crisis in Georgia). If you watched the opening ceremony, you know what he's talking about:"For only the third time in 72 years (Berlin 1936, Moscow

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-23371253686663612862008-08-01T12:21:00.003-04:002008-08-01T12:51:00.243-04:00

Well, we here in Congress are officially on a five-week vacation as of 11:23AM this morning, despite the myriad issues that have yet to be resolved, and only having passed one appropriations bill (even though that's the only job expressly dictated to Congress by the Constitution).So in the spirit of the frustration that accompanies most of the Members heading home today and the staff left behind

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-42251933183753583102008-07-20T13:40:00.004-04:002008-12-13T00:28:34.653-05:00

I'm actually really enjoying this summer in DC. It's the first summer I've really felt completely at home here, and not like a wide-eyed tourist pretending to be a local. I actually feel like a local now. I'm even getting used to the humidity. I know, it was a shock to me, too. I didn't really notice it until I realized that I didn't really notice it. Still not a fan of the random

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-8506154551181064412008-07-08T22:46:00.002-04:002008-07-27T23:03:50.130-04:00

Here was the view from our front yard at our awesome Fourth of July party last weekend. I love this city!

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-48437743367431668862008-06-09T23:47:00.003-04:002008-06-10T00:08:30.205-04:00

I learned the hard wayThat they all sayThings you want to hearAnd my heavy heart sinks deep down under you andYour twisted words,Your help just hurtsYou are not what I thought you wereHello to high and dry

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-79473547849293333782008-06-08T19:39:00.003-04:002008-06-08T19:48:20.955-04:00

Think alike. Sound familiar?Fresno voters say no to another baby boomer mayor By Jim Boren / The Fresno BeeJune 8, 2008There was a generational change that occurred in Tuesday's mayoral election that didn't get a lot of attention. The next mayor -- Henry T. Perea or Ashley Swearengin -- will be in his or her 30s. Fresno voters rejected several baby boomers in favor of Perea, who will

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-74611997701452841652008-06-07T13:11:00.003-04:002008-12-13T00:28:34.818-05:00

Tom Boyajian, long time city councilman and mullet/foo man choo combo sporter (who finished 5th in the race for Fresno mayor this week), as quoted in the Fresno Bee:"Fresno deserves better. We all deserve better. Neither Ashley Swearengin, nor Henry T. Perea has the integrity or the capacity to bring Fresno forward and this is why neither of them will receive my vote in November despite the

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-70949078232214918312008-06-04T23:16:00.005-04:002008-12-13T00:28:35.051-05:00

Congratulations, Fresno. It looks like the voters there have finally seen fit to usher in a new generation of politicians. They did so by narrowing the mayor's race down to Henry T. Perea and Ashley Swearengin - two candidates who are anything but status quo - to compete in the November runoff.And not a moment too soon.Fresno is at a tipping point, as Ashley Swearengin has so articulately

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-88054428463861740832008-06-01T21:07:00.020-04:002008-12-13T00:28:36.563-05:00

Last weekend, Brian and I flew out to California for a badly needed mini-vacation. We stayed in Huntington Beach and spent the day laying on the beach, walking on the pier, and watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.It was a perfect day. Exactly what we needed.I love the beach. I could absolutely spend every day laying on the beach, completely forgetting that there is a world out there

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-41465635790318310542008-05-18T20:58:00.002-04:002008-05-18T21:03:39.985-04:00

I'm going to be archiving my old MySpace blog on here, just FYI in case you get a slew of new posting emails tonight. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience.

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-41943150693907833082008-05-16T00:10:00.000-04:002008-12-13T00:28:36.631-05:00

Since I'm sure most of you have heard by now (it was the top Google News story all day) that the California Supreme Court is at it again - this time rewriting the definition of marriage against the will of 61% of the electorate - I won't bore you with much on the decision itself (here is an interesting analysis if you're interested). In fact, I won't be discussing the underlying issue at all.

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-15819687507231527342008-05-04T00:31:00.003-04:002008-12-13T00:28:36.824-05:00

This is an incredibly fascinating look at the evolution of the social divides that exist in America. A definite must-read. Also, Fresno got a shout-out.Demography is King - New York Times (By David Brooks)"...Over the years, different theories have emerged to describe the educated/less-educated divide. Conservatives have gravitated toward the culture war narrative, dividing the country between

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-34141144933072177172008-05-01T17:03:00.001-04:002008-05-01T17:05:11.754-04:00

Classic. I heart the Onion.Dying Newspaper Trend Buys Nation's Newspapers Three More WeeksWASHINGTON—A recent glut of feature stories on the death of the American newspaper has temporarily made the outmoded form of media appealing....onion_embed {background: rgb(256, 256, 256) !important;border: 4px solid rgb(65, 160, 65);border-width: 4px 0 1px 0;margin: 10px 30px !important;padding: 5px;

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-51020007462233311672008-04-28T23:31:00.004-04:002008-12-13T00:28:37.036-05:00

I'm now a hockey fan. Brian and I got to go to a Caps game for the first time the week before they made it to the playoffs, and we ended up going to 3 games in a row after that. I had never been to an NHL game before, and it was awesome (not that Falcons games aren't fun, but this was seriously the most fun I have ever had at a pro sports event). They ended up losing to the Philadelphia Flyers

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-10784630406538084062008-04-28T23:10:00.008-04:002008-12-13T00:28:37.276-05:00

Wow, squeaking one in after just under a whole month! Here's an interesting observation from Dan Walters of the Sac Bee about California's voting patterns. So much for Democrats being the party of the poor.Blue counties are the greenest, as in moneyState tax officials are still processing millions of personal income tax returns for 2007, but they’ve released data about California’s widely

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-19583150897358882922008-04-01T10:45:00.004-04:002008-04-01T10:53:16.026-04:00

I thought this was slightly awesome. And yes, I am officially a nerd.

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-77746403731821033822008-03-24T23:03:00.004-04:002008-05-19T01:04:35.132-04:00

Lots been going on for the past few weeks. I won't bore you with all the details, but here's a quick recap...-- A California court ruled that parents are breaking the law if they teach their children at home without a credential. This one's actually a pretty big deal to me personally, having been home educated K-12 in California (by non-credentialed parents who did a damn good job, thank you

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-71428655112515412692008-03-19T17:21:00.000-04:002008-03-19T19:24:00.481-04:00

So much for cutting down on the number of earmarks. This should make for a great Politico/ HOH story tomorrow...(From the House Appropriations Committee online submission website)"As a result of the massive influx of requests being submitted today, the Appropriations Committee website is experiencing unavoidable access and processing delays. In order to accommodate Member offices attempting to

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-11690316975166319012008-02-21T22:18:00.104-05:002008-12-13T00:28:57.034-05:00

Here, at last, is the visual documentation of the most difficult, stressful, and rewarding project I've ever undertaken. We started the renovation on October 1 - the day after we closed on the house - and the bulk of the work was completed by mid-January. There are still a few more projects left, like replacing the front door with an authentic reproduction, installing stairs from the upstairs

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-82804570017686720362008-02-18T15:34:00.003-05:002008-02-18T15:43:02.469-05:00

How much I love being at home on a rainy day, wearing pajamas, listening to opera, drinking tea, playing the piano, cleaning my house, and completely forgetting that I have a job I have to go back to tomorrow? It's pretty much amazing.

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-11315763716534951492008-02-13T23:58:00.003-05:002008-12-13T00:28:57.230-05:00

I almost forgot that last week was my birthday. I officially hit the quarter-century mark. And there was much rejoicing.It was actually a great day, even though it fell on a Wednesday while we were in session, and even though my mom decided to leave me a message in which she informed me that she was 25 when she had me and wasn't that so crazy! Geez, Mom. (I love you!)Brian sent me a dozen

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386734976202068271.post-46739125816144373092008-02-12T17:41:00.000-05:002008-02-12T17:46:47.641-05:00

Finally, someone comes out and says it. All this earmark nonsense is just that. Nonsense.The talk that you can reduce federal spending by eliminating earmarks is flat wrong.For years, lawyers and analysts have tried and failed to come up with a standard definition for “earmark.” But there is no dispute about one thing: All an earmark does is allocate part of the funds being appropriated. That

Carolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483180131451063445noreply@blogger.com0