Jul
19
Disconnect
July 19, 2010 | 4 Comments
There must be something in the water here that my body has developed an immunity for: Overall, the 1,011 people surveyed nationally have a very pessimistic take on the direction of the country. Only 27 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, compared with 61 percent who think the nation is on [...]
Apr
16
My ten minutes at the Tea Party
April 16, 2010 | 2 Comments
I had a couple of hours to kill between work and my Knights of Columbus meeting, so I decided to relax for a bit in Farragut Square Park and light up a stogie – one I had leftover from last week’s meetup with a certain blogger. A few minutes later I noticed a couple of [...]
Apr
8
Slow and clueless DC residents frustrated by slow and clueless tourists
April 8, 2010 | Comments Off
This article was one of the most enjoyable reads I have come across in quite some time. It’s just so rich in snark and ironic snobbishness. What makes it so delightful is that DC residents themselves are as guilty (if not more so) of being as annoying and slow as the tourists they’re bitching about. [...]
Feb
11
The aftermath
February 11, 2010 | 2 Comments
So how much snow did we get in the end? A lot. That was just after the snow stopped falling on Saturday, I believe. We got lots more. That was yesterday. We got a lot more snow over the weekend, but the wind and the overall conditions were worse for part two Tuesday night and [...]
Feb
10
Snow Day Part Four
February 10, 2010 | 1 Comment
Yep, the Feds are closed again tomorrow, so that means another snow day for me. I don’t expect too many of you to have much sympathy for those of us who are basically getting a week’s paid vacation without actually using any vacation time, but it would be nice to be able to leave my [...]
Feb
8
The Snowpocalypse
February 8, 2010 | 5 Comments
I am the first to mock the proclivity of DC area residents to go bananas at the mere hint of snow. Local residents flock to the stores and gather up as much tp and bottled water as they can find. Judging by the amount of tp that is ripped off the shelves, snowstorms evidently cause [...]
Feb
3
SNOW!!!!
February 3, 2010 | 6 Comments
What the heck is going on? We’re only supposed to get one substantial (more than a dusting) snowfall per year. Today was our fourth storm of the winter – we may have had snow on a couple of other occasions, but I’m only counting the ones that make me have to go out and actually [...]
Feb
2
Race and Politics
February 2, 2010 | 1 Comment
The local morning talk show guy played a soundbite from a Democratic strategist who argued that Maryland is not likely to go the way of Massachusetts because of the higher proportion of black people in the state. Indeed the percentage of the Maryland population that is black is roughly five times that of the Bay [...]
Jan
27
State of the . . . oh just please shoot me
January 27, 2010 | 6 Comments
Evidently there’s some sort of speech being given tonight around these parts. Oh, it’s the State of the Union address, America’s annual ritual of self-torture. You couldn’t pay me to watch this thing – okay, who am I kidding. If some mag wants to throw a few bucks my way to liveblog the thing, I’d [...]
Jan
22
Fight for Life
January 22, 2010 | Comments Off
Today is the March for Life, an event I hope to attend at least some of later in the day. It is also the 37th anniversary of one of the most atrocious Supreme Court decisions ever handed down by our Overlords in black, and Red State has a terrific editorial today that is a definite [...]
Jan
12
The Daily Caller
January 12, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tucker Carlson comes in for some ribbing by folks on the right, and I would never have placed him at the top of my favorite conservative media personalities. But I saw him speak about five or six weeks ago, and came away impressed with his wit and personality, and also by his fairly keen political [...]
Jan
6
This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence
January 6, 2010 | Comments Off
Somehow this doesn’t surprise me though. A team of independent safety inspectors was nearly hit last month by a Metro train that appeared to be traveling at full speed and made no attempt to slow, as required by agency rules. A report released late Wednesday by the body that oversees Metro says the inspectors “experienced [...]
Dec
21
Let it snow
December 21, 2009 | 1 Comment
With the Federal Government closed today, that means so is my office. Love that snow, even when it’s piled up like this. That was actually taken Saturday, before it piled up real high. And I gotta say, there’s nothing like shoveling the driveway, turning around, and seeing that another inch has already accumulated. again, this [...]
Dec
3
Friday Morning at the Pentagon
December 3, 2009 | Comments Off
A friend passes along this story. It is an incredibly touching and must read account of a little known tribute to injured soldiers at the Pentagon.
Oct
7
Another exciting local race
October 7, 2009 | 3 Comments
One of the great joys of living in suburban DC is that I am privy to the ads not just for the local Maryland races, but also for all of the always thrilling Virginia ones as well. It’s hard to top the lovely Webb-Allen Senate campaign from 2006 in which, by the end, I wanted [...]
Sep
2
Idiot Councilman employs ahistorical non sequiter to rebut Archbishop
September 2, 2009 | 3 Comments
Bravo to Archbishop Wuerl. Wuerl sent a letter to 300 local Catholic priests Tuesday reminding them about the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage, and he launched a round of media interviews to bolster the church’s presence in the debate. Naturally this has upset the pro-gay marriage crowd, especially At-large Councilman David Catania. Catania is DC’s [...]
Aug
31
A tale of two Kennedys
August 31, 2009 | 9 Comments
Kathryn Lopez links to an excellent (no, really) Ross Douthat column that puts into perspective the different lives of a pair of Kennedy siblings. For abortion opponents, cruel ironies abounded in this sibling disagreement. Because of Eunice Shriver’s work with the developmentally disabled, a group of Americans who had once been marginalized and hidden away [...]
Aug
11
Further reflections on DC
August 11, 2009 | 6 Comments
New Yorkers understand that their city is naturally the center of the universe. We (and being a native New Yorker I can say “we” here) like to remind others that where they live is just not as cool and hip as the greatest city in the world. We’re kind of like Texans in that way [...]
Aug
10
A reflection on DC
August 10, 2009 | 12 Comments
This week marks the eighth anniversary of my move from New York City to Washington, DC. I guess that means I am term limited out. Well, after eight years of living in the DC metropolitan area, I do have a greater affinity for term limits, but I’ll get to that next time. This landmark occasion [...]
Jul
21
And yet driving would be worse
July 21, 2009 | 4 Comments
I guess the next time I’m stuck in the middle of a Metro tunnel, waiting expectantly as the train prepares to move again “momentarily” (Momentarily in DC jargon meaning approximately before the end of the week), I can just thank my lucky stars that I’m not on the road behind the most dangerous drivers in [...]