Interns Love Clinton…(Hillary, That is)

I was chatting with Andy’s younger sister yesterday about the work some of her friends are doing on Capitol Hill this summer. As it turns out, many senators wouldn’t know one of their own interns if they smacked them over the head. Hillary Clinton is not one of them.

Apparently, despite all her present commitments, Senator Clinton still finds time to share with her young staff each week.

I joked that befriending interns seems to be something of a Clinton tradition. But in all seriousness, I admire her dedication to spending time with the young people who spend their summers working in her office.

It certainly bumps her up my list of preferred presidential candidates.

Superior Court Judge Douglas McBroom is a Chauvanist Prick

The money quote from a 2005 rape case in which two prostitutes were raped at gunpoint:

McBroom said the sex acts were against the victims’ will only because they didn’t get paid, and prostitutes were “a far cry from the innocent rape victim” that lawmakers envisioned when deciding the severe penalties for the crime.

Judge McBroom used that deeply flawed and anti-woman logic to impose a lighter sentence on convicted rapist Jeffrey McKee.

Thank goodness that someone saw reason and overturned the defendant’s lighter sentence to clear the way for him to receive the maximum time behind bars.

Prostitutes are people, same as anyone else. Just because they accept money for sex doesn’t mean that they deserve to be raped any more than anyone else.

Going on Vacation!!!

Andy and I will leaving tomorrow on our annual pilgrimage to the Sparrow compound in Long Island, NY. Posting will be light this week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Washington Takes a Big Step Toward Protecting Women

New rules governing the behavior of pharmacists went into effect statewide today. The regulations stipulate that no pharmacist may deny a patient access to their medication on moral grounds. In the past, that argument has been used to deny women access to birth control and emergency contraception.

Planned Parenthood has some interesting resources on the topic for women who have been denied their prescriptions.

Now, I don’t think that any professional should be forced to do something against his or her beliefs. But at the same time, if you accept a job, you accept the job description. You don’t get to refuse to do some part of the job simply because your morals forbid it and still expect to be paid. You do have the right to resign in protest, and that’s what I think pharmacists who disagree with today’s rules should do.

An anti-birth control person working in a pharmacy is like a Muslim working as a pig farmer. Incongruous.

Halberstam’s Parting Shot at a Beleaguered White House

I was first introduced to David Halberstam during my freshman year United States Foreign Policy class. His War in a Time of Peace was required reading.

I’ve never been quite so impressed with a writer of nonfiction as I was with Halberstam. Despite my profound distraction from academics during that turbulent year, his incisive prose stuck with me. That’s why I immediately snatched up August’s Vanity Fair when I saw the words “David Halberstam’s Last Dispatch: How the White House Flunks History” printed on the cover.

I was not disappointed, in his wonderful article The History Boys, Halberstam skewers the Bush administration with a precision that its many other critics often lack.

Life Lessons from Albus Dumbledore: Death is an Adventure

Lesson 3: “After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

Andy has often told me that he would become immortal if given the chance. He doesn’t like the idea of dying without knowing whether or not there is an afterlife.

I’m a bit more circumspect about the whole thing. I’m not confident that there is an afterlife. In any case, I feel that it’s my responsibility to live as if there were no afterlife. Because if this life is all I’ve got, I should try to get as much out of it as I can.

But even if there is no afterlife, I would still not select immortality. Why? Because this life would become boring and torturous if we lived it forever. What’s more, death is the only thing that sustains continued life on this planet. If we could choose to never die, but also to never see a newborn baby, what would we say?

Would we really give up fresh and hopeful new life simply because we are afraid of the unknown? I certainly would not.

Gonzales Hits New Low Point. Why is He Still at DOJ?

Contempt: con • tempt (noun)

1. the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.
2. the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace
3. Law.
1. willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court (contempt of court) or legislative body.
2. an act showing such disrespect.

[Definition from Dictionary.com]

As Andrew Sullivan so succinctly concludes, it’s pretty clear that Alberto Gonzales is in contempt here:

Willful disobedience?

Check.

Open disrespect?

Check.

Disdain?

Check.

It’s pretty clear that this White House has absolutely no respect for the other institutions that govern this country. Does anybody value checks and balances anymore?

Al Qaeda Beefing Up

The other day while I was hanging out with my friends Rye and Tony, Tony suddenly punched my in the face, breaking my nose. Rye laughed and called me a &%@!ing wuss. I responded by slapping Tony in the face, then pummelling Rye into a bloody pump for the next 20 minutes, while Tony laughed hysterically and threw things at me.

I know that seems like an odd chain of events, but we were trying to renact the War on Terror, with Tony as Osama Bin Laden Saddam Hussein, Rye as Saddam Hussien Osama bin Laden, and myself as George W. Bush.

I found out something interesting the other day; not only have we not captured Osama Bin Laden, but Al Qaeda’s bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan are as strong as they were before we attacked. Are we even looking for this guy anymore? Quick question for our readers: do you think we would have captured Bin Laden by now if we had not invaded Iraq?

Things I No Longer Believe

Andrew Sullivan links to a post by Rod Dreher about what he no longer believes after these years at war in Iraq.

What do I no longer believe?

1) I no longer believe in Washington’s ability to rise above partisanship during times of great trial.
2) I no longer believe in the two-party system of government.
3) I no longer believe that reason prevails in the minds of the American people when they think about the future of our nation.
4) I no longer believe that America values pluralism.
5) I no longer believe that the system of checks and balances set up by our nation’s founders is working.

Life Lessons from Albus Dumbledore: It is Our Choices That Show What We Truly Are

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” After Harry learns that he is a parselmouth — that is, he can speak to snakes — he begins to worry that he is a dark wizard. After all, Voldemort was a parselmouth. So was Salazar Slytherin.

I’ve been given countless opportunities to sew discord where harmony once prevailed. I’ve even been sorely tempted a time or two. Most of the time, I feel like I’ve taken a relatively respectable path.

Like most people, I’m capable of doing some truly terrible things. But our choices define us, not what we might or might not do.

My Question for Republican Candidates

Here’s the question I submitted to the Republican Candidates for their debate on September 17:

Incidentally, I thought this was the best question posed to the Democratic candidates tonight:

Life Lessons from Albus Dumbledore: It Does Not Do to Dwell on Dreams…

In honor of the seventh and final installment of Harry Potter, I’ve decided to share all the wonderful things the series has taught me. As I was going through all the meaningful bits of wisdom, it became clear to me that J.K. Rowling uses Professor Dumbledore as her mouthpiece to sum up the big lessons of each of the books.

Lesson One: “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

When Dumbledore catches Harry on one of his late night trips to stare into the fabled Mirror of Erised, he cautions him against becoming too enthralled with the images he sees there. The mirror shows the viewer whatever he secretly desires most. Most of all, Harry wants to see himself flanked by his proud parents, who were killed by the dark wizard Voldemort when he was just a baby.

In this imperfect life, it’s much too easy to dwell on what might have been. It’s too easy to look back on all the things that went wrong and say, “if only.” But as Professor Dumbledore cautions Harry, we are given but one life. There is no sense in dwelling on the paths that did not unfold before us. We must try to walk the path ahead.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I finished my first reading of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and am getting ready to embark upon a second read-through. This is what I do with all Harry Potter books. I tear through them as quickly as I can for the major plot points, then re-read more slowly and try to answer my remaining questions and disappointments by paying attention to detail.

Spoilers after the jump.
Read more

A Discussion Topic: Splitting Birth Control, For or Against?

I’m curious what you guys think.

Should a couple in a long-term relationship that is sexually active and shares an interest in not having babies split the cost of whatever birth control method they decide on?

I’m Ready to Start Making Music Again

A couple of years ago, I wanted nothing more to do with professional music. I had a particularly painful experience with a former bandmate and decided that it simply wasn’t worth all the drama and soul-sucking to strut and fret my hour upon the stage any longer.

To my surprise and delight, I had no regrets. There was no wish to return. There were no furtive dreams about spotlights and clapping. There was simply a quiet sense of relief. I needed a break.

When I was younger, I used music to get the attention I so desperately needed to feel OK about myself. I would get up onstage and sing, and everyone would tell me just how amazing I was. It was a refreshing change from the usual, “Teresa is ugly and stupid and nobody will ever like her,” that was the subject of most middle school discussion about me. It was a refreshing change from the fighting at home and the sudden focus on my parents, their relationship, and the division of my life into “Mom’s House” and “Dad’s House.”

But music as an escape from something more bitter can only last so long. Music isn’t enough. It slowly transitions into meaningless, unprotected sex with complete strangers. It transitions into drug use and heavy drinking and even more bitterness and sadness. Music — wonderful as it is — cannot heal the broken soul unaided.

So I made myself happy. I got down to the business of loving Andy like he’d never known before. I found work that sustained me and interested me. I lived.

But lately, I’ve found myself hankering to make music again. Not because I want to be up in front of people and receive their “atta girl”s. But because I’m really ready to dip into that place inside myself again.

I have an audition for a new band in a couple of weeks. Wish me luck!

Amos Lee is the New Aaron Neville

I grew up listening to Aaron Neville’s impossibly smooth voice flow around impossibly complicated runs like water across a flat surface. His “Ave Maria” (iTunes) and beautiful duet with Linda Ronstadt to “Don’t Know Much” (iTunes) were musical staples around my house when I was little.

Wednesday, on the way back from Quinn’s, Megan put on a song from Amos Lee’s second record (iTunes) and something instantly reminded me of Aaron. Upon downloading the entire record, I can officially say that Amos is the new Aaron. The song that brings it out the most is “Southern Girl” (iTunes).

I’ve been listening to the record almost nonstop, and I’m just about ready to shell out for everything else he’s recorded and create an Amos/Aaron playlist that mixes their complete works into one past-present raspberry swirl of good music.

I Finally Read Harry Potter

For four years Teresa has been trying to get me to read Harry Potter. My dad and my sister have been trying to get me to read them for six. And I always have the same response: I’ll read them before the series is over.

This past weekend, at Quinn’s Hot Springs, I was true to my word. I couldn’t bring myself to read the first five books, since I’d already seen the movies, and I hate reading books when I know what happens (except Ender’s Game, I’ve read that like ten times). I never really thought the movies were very good (more like lousy), but the end of the Order of the Phoenix, which was a rather disappointing movie, left me slightly intrigued. So I decided to read the Half-Blood Prince.

Again, I can’t speak to the first five books, but the Half-Blood Prince was excellent. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and a very quick read. I highly recommend it to everyone, and am planning on reading the seventh and final book as soon as Teresa finishes reading it on Saturday.

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