Waterboarding Isn't the New Ride at Your Local Waterpark

I have been trying to keep this blog toned more to the general happenings in my life and documenting the move to the East, Peace Corps application, and that stuff. But I do like politics, and I am in the political capital of the country, so I think it's justified to quickly rant about some right-wing things of late.

Ranting Point #1
The first is an absolutely disgusting show of a void of ethics of Rush Limbaugh (and I assume a lot of his followers). I just came across this recently, but apparently last summer Rush introduced a "Club Git'mo" campaign. Included in this are T-Shirts with slogans like "Your Tropical Retreat from the Stress of Jihad," and "What Happens at Git'mo Stays at Git'mo."

I can't even explain my abhorrence of this. I don't think torture is a laughing matter, nor is joking about simulated drowning (up to a reported 266 times for one prisoner). Terrorism is no laughing matter and those guilty of conspiring or carrying out acts of terror should be held accountable for their perverse actions. On that same note, torture and a denial of due process is no laughing matter, either. Those responsible for allowing the United States to commit torture (ahem Bush, Cheney, Condi), should be accountable for their crimes against humanity. If they aren't, how can we as a nation claim to stand on a higher moral ground than our enemies?

Oh and Rush? You're a moron.

Ranting Point #2
The Department of Homeland Security recently released a report outlining potential threats of domestic terrorism, pointing out that groups such as veterans and the anti-abortion camp might be easy recruiters by right-wing extremists. Obviously there has been a huge backlash to this report, and Secretary Napolitano has said the report was not well written. Come on guys, the term "extremist" suggests it's a person on the very fringe of a group, not the collective group as a whole (ie Muslims aren't all extremists). Also, when I think of right-wing extremists, I think of abortion clinic bombers and Timothy McVeigh (a veteran). The report doesn't suggest that all veterans are prone to extremism, but that some who are disenfranchised and severely jaded may move toward extremist behaviour.

Also, where where all of you when Bush was labeling lefties as extremists and terrorists during the Iraq War? We were furious when the Patriot Act was passed (and still are), and that's 100-times more damning than DHS' report.

Beer-Themed Theme Parks

It's Monday morning, and my exhaustion is proof of the very packed weekend. Here in DC it was the first weekend of wonderful spring weather - high 70s to low 80s, and sunny (no humidity yet). Our plan was to head south to Williamburg and ride roller coasters all day at Busch Gardens, conveniently owned by Anheuser Busch and more conveniently located next to a Budweiser brewery. They have a deal for Virginia residents - $60 for a pass good though the beginning of September. We were all over that.

But first: officially obtain proof of our Virginia residency! With the early-morning line out the door, we waited at the DMV for about an hour after getting our licenses. There were some problems with mine, so I ended up not being able to get mine, but Richard and Jillian are now bonafide Virginians (to celebrate this fact, we had fried chicken for lunch).

After the DMV we headed out of town, 90 miles to Richmond then another 60 miles east to Williamsburg. After a morning at the DMV, you'd think we'd be seasoned veterans of waiting-in-line... oh so wrong. Here's an approxmiate play-by-play once we finally parked at Busch Gardens:
1:30pm - Parked
1:40pm - Stood in line for the shuttle and rode to the main gate
1:50pm - Arrive at the main gate and stand in line for a ticket
3:20pm - After three or four changes in line (due to inept people's slowness and ghetto people cutting with problems with their tickets) finally purchase our passes and get into the park.

Yea, the DMV was quicker than getting into Busch Gardens!

Perhaps the greatest thing about the park (besides some of the coasters) was the fact that it was a beer-theme park. As such, they sell beer all over the place, you can walk around with your beer, and they even have a giant Bavarian-themed beer hall. It was delightful.



After the park we headed back to Richmond to catch a band, The Duhks, at a beer hall. The band is from Winnipeg but plays a wide style of music and has a numerous influences including country, cajun, and bluegrass, and a few songs were even in French. We got to hang out with the band a bit after the show and talk with them about their music, their history, and their tour.

And that was only Saturday. Sunday we were pretty beat (we got to bed at 3am the night before). Richard and I headed out for brunch at an overly kitchy gay bar/restaurant (imagine if a pride float exploded in a bar) where we were lucky enough to be personally welcomed to the DC area by Freddie, the proprietor. Brunch included four mimosas which, on top of already being tired, made me almost fall asleep. But instead of taking midday naps we met up with Anna Kim who was in town with her mom to visit her sister (who is in med school at GWU). We went out to an area called Eastern Market, a giant outdoor market about two or three blocks long. They had a lot of the standards (jewelry, photographs, paintings) and it was fun to be out in the open air with some of the locals. Anna's mom took us to lunch a fancy French restaurant (though I didn't eat because I was still stuffed from Freddie's). When we finished we bode them adieu and walked around the eastern captiol for a few hours, checking out the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, and Union Station.

In all it was an excellent weekend with even better weather. The sun has since turned to rain (expecting about an inch today) but we're already planning next weekend's adventures when the temperatures are again supposed to climb into the sunny 80s.

Live from DC

Greetings from rainy Washington, DC!
The locals say the first day you feel the humidity, it's the beginning of the End. Last Sunday was an exceptionally beautiful day, but also the first day that we actually felt the sultry air. Today it rains, and it is still a bit humid, which admittedly puts an enjoyable spin on the whole rain thing.

To bring things up to speed, our 2-week road trip to the East went better than expected. It was long enough to feel like a true adventure (no breakdowns, and luckily we missed all of the bad weather the entire way), though short enough to feel like we weren't vagabonds. I'm still working on some photos of the sojourn, but highlights included crazy times in Vegas (I won $15 on my first roll at the penny slots!), nearly falling off the Grand Canyon, adopting a slight Southern drawl, and having an 80-year-old Cajun man whose technically spoke English as his second language motor us around a swamp pointing out all of the gators.

And finally, we arrive in Alexandria, Virginia. Tired, broke, and disoriented we only had two days to get our barrings and prepare ourselves for the first day of work.

Work, or Observations After Two Weeks of Working in a Congressional Office
On the road trip I received a call from Rep. Brian Baird's office offering me a $2000 stipend. Sen. Maria Cantwell's office couldn't offer me anything, so I decided to intern with Baird (he represents Southwest Washington). The office is old and small (JFK laid the cornerstone to the building in 1961), but at least we have modern computers that don't require hampster wheels to operate. There are six people in my room (mostly policy advisors and letter writers), two people in the front (scheduler and receptionist), two in the back room (cheif of staff and legislative director), and finally the Congressman's office. If you've seen Charlie Wilson's War, it's a similar lay-out and size.

My boss is very nice and so far pleasant to work with. He took us on a tour up the dome of the capitol building and is very candid with a nerdy sense of humour. The staff at the office have been very nice, and most hail from Washington so no, I will not be developing a Virginian accent.

As for the job itself, my main task is to answer phones and log in constituent mail. I get a lot of cranky old people calling in, and a lot of reactionary-Fox News types, which at least gives me a lot of good content to laugh at during the day. One caller today was literally suggesting that we keep tabs on pregnent immigrant women, so that they can be deported before they give birth (with the hope that the child would not be an American citizen). Yes, these are the people I have to deal with!

I also run random errands, delivering bills to the Cloak Room in the Capitol (bills go in the "hoppa" to be read on the House floor), and getting supplies (ooooh). Here's a photo of me at the top of the rotunda on Friday (3/27/09): http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=15mh9vl&s=5

Highlight of the month of March? I rode the elevator with Geraldo. Yes, his hair is as poofy as it looks (Pert Plus?)

Washington, DC, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Public Transit
My typical commute takes about an hour. Each way. The DC metro is amazing - it's modern, safe, fast, and I haven't seen any graffitti anywhere. I've gotten my metro ride down to about 30-40 minutes each way, but I also ride a shuttle to my apartment so the extra 15-20 minutes of my commute is waiting for that thing. My first impressions of DC were very positive. It was clean, had grand boulevards with massive edifices on each block. There are too many statues to count, and plenty of squares, plazas, and parks. I still think I'm in Europe.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=bhkcia&s=5

We have gone out a couple of times at night to explore the hot spots. Here are the general observations thusfar:

• No one is very attractive.
• Everyone is short (is it the water?)
• Drinks are generally expensive.
• There aren't any cool neighborhoods or concentrated night spots, like Fremont or Capital Hill.

We will continue to endeavour out into the nightlife world, and explore the surroundings, and report back. We haven't had a free weekend yet, and museums close at 5:30, so the goal in the next few weeks is to at least get into one or two Smithsonians.

That's all I am able to write now, I'll update a bit more frequently now that we're finally starting to feel settled and at home.

Miss you all!