DRAFT WESLEY CLARK FOR VP 2008!!! HE CRUSHES MCCAIN'S MILITARY EXPERIENCE!!!
Republicans do not have a monopoly on military force, only on foolish and reckless military force. Generals like Clark, Zinni, and many others who opposed the War in Iraq are now coming out for Obama. They needed a voice on military issues who can set the agenda, and they found that voice in Wes Clark.
The good general Wesley Clark is correct in his criticism of John McCain, "I do not think that riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down qualification for being president." It is admirable, and Mcain is a hero for it, but the political capital involved in getting shot down and has been cashed-in long ago, in helping secure McCain's seat the Senate, supporting the invasion of Iraq. Being a president takes more than war hero status, sympathy and admiration. Clark mentioned judgement and communucation skills as well: it's been a long eight years without them.
As a prospective VP candidate, Gen. Wes Clark understands the non-military aspect to the War on Terror, and this was a central message of his campaign in 2004. I was on the executive committee of Clark's NJ campaign in 2004, and I would be totally resplendant to have him as the VP, or even president should anything happen to Obama.
Having now witnessed the series of classless, degrading, even scary ("Bobby Kennedy", "scumbag" comments) gaffes as Obama snatched the Clintons' throne, the only thing that worries me about Gen. Wesley are his ties to the Clintons. Throughout the nineties, and during the '08 primary, they had their gnarled and grotesque tentacles fully around Clark. And with Clark around, Obama might need a food taster just as if Hillary were VP. Were Obama to fall into some trajedy, Clark would become president and could be free to make Hillary his vice president. This would set her up for another run in 2012 or 2016, but this time, with no rock-star Obama around to stop her, she would win.
But if the rise of the House of Obama, does in fact signal the end of the Clinton's control over the Party, I feel a lot better about Clark being VP than anyone else, even Jim Webb of Virginia. Clark demonstrated a sign of good faith and loyalty during today's appearance on national TV when he totally emasculated John McCain's military credentials. Who else could pull that off besides a four star general who was supreme allied forces commander of NATO and graduated first in his class at West Point before a Rhodes Scholarship? Only Clark could pull off. That is why I love Clark as a VP candidate - he is SO trump on military, and no one can touch that. He even trumps McCain.
The guy is a total dominator in every way imaginable. I am gullible enough to enjoy that what I just saw on Face the Nation today was a sufficient pledge of loyalty Clark. I am certain the Clintons would love ot if Clark would betray Obama, and they proably have already joked in a half-serious way about it with their lawyer friends.
What a top-notch leader and candidate for VP Clark is! Flawless on paper, and even better in debate, Clark is a total genius (Rhodes scholar) who went against the war like Obama, and his political capital just soared. Keep an eye on this guy.
DudeX Crushes a Huge Steelhead Despite Adverse Conditions
I just got back from the hardcore fishing trip of a lifetime. We fished 15 hours a day despite rough weather, and explored new species and techniques. I landed a hard fighting fish against all odds, and created a fish story that will not soon be forgotten. On Saturday, a guide named Justin and I (right, l to r) rowed all over the place and only landed only one brown trout all day, about four pounds. We were chasing steelheads though, and Sunday was the day.
Our Plan
Four guys I hadn't fished with in a while invited me to join them (Adam and Erik MIllers, John Salzman, and "Tippy" Tom) on a fishing trip to Pulaski, NY, a small town on the southeastern coast of Lake Ontario. We ventured four hours north of the NJ motherland to catch Steelhead Trout during their annual spring migration to spawn in the tributaries that feed the big water. We planned to fish the legendary Salmon River during the best weekend of the year, but God had a different plan.
God's Plan
He wanted us to have a challenge, because He knew we were up for it. God made the normally clear, calm rivers into class three rapids the same color as chocolate milk. A vicious rainstorm attacked in the stealth of darkness at 3 AM, two hours before we met our guides Saturday morning. God laughed. As a reslt, the power company that controls the water flow through the hydroelectric dam 12 miles up the Salmon River opened the flood gates wide to compensate for excess runoff water, running an obscene level of 5,800 cubic feet per second (3,000 is considered a lot).
So, we had to get creative and work hard for our fish. We perservered with the same tenacity and determination of a steelhead swimming upstream. Despite the obvious frustration, no one surrendered or complained except me and John. We each anticipated hardcore fish story but, we surrendered to the fact that we'd have to try fly fishing in remote creeks instead of the usual spots. We patiently left the results up to God, and He delivered! Victory, redemption!
Fly FIshing for Our Pride Back
On Sunday, Erik, Bill (the guide) and I opted to use fly tackle rather than spin-fishing, finding it an interesting challenge and something different. Because it's much harder to land a steelhead on the fly, there is a unique pride to it. I find it more fun than using conventional tackle. I need to start tying flies again.
The picture below is a purple version of the pink pattern we threw all day on 7 weight Diamondback fly rods. We only managed to hook a few fish on them, but landed none. They always cleverly jumped off the hook, and so our anticipation built. We persisted with the fly gear, and I didn't catch the above fish until late in the day, using spinning tackle. I dropped two other ones using flies before. The challenge of landing one on fly fishing gear is an elusive feat.
Our guide, Bill, a nice guy who strongly resembled Ths Simpsons' Ned Flanders, lead us to perhaps the only clear water in the area. We hiked through cow pastures about a mile to an amazingly clear, narrow creek where the steelheads migrated to spawn on remote gravel beds uninterrupted by fishing pressure. We had the place all to ourselves.
For a few hours he taught us the intricacies of fly-fishing for steelheads and how to spot them in different stages of the spawning process. He pointed out a few male and female fish on their beds, and we put hundreds of casts right on their noses, only managing to jump a few off, but never land a single one. Frustrated, but encouraged by Bill's instructive style, and the overall coolness of our experience, we resolved that we had learned a lot, and would come back to fish another day. Then, we'd crush 'em, when the weather was better.
Steelheads 101, Taught by Ned Flanders
I needed to catch a steelhead before I went home. As we walked back to the truck after our educational tour of Skinner Creek, I had this vision in my mind of the first set of spawning steelheads we spotted on our way in. Previously, I had casted flies to them literally hundreds of times unsuccessfully. The spawning ones would not bite, but I presisted. Erik and Bill ate lunch as I threw another hudred or so flies perfectly placed right in the feeding zone of the spawning couple.
I feared these fish simply didn't share Seinefeld's George Castanza's propensity for sex and eating. So, I called over Bill and asked his opinion: was it my fly? What the hell? I had made every cast perfect. How could we get them to eat? What is the move here?
Reinvigorated by his lunch break, Bill said, "I'll show you how to hook one of these damn fish," and he grabbed the spinning outfit and selected a pink-dyed cluster of real steelhead eggs as bait, and tied them into a cluster, using a translucent nylon sack. This is meant to replicate the actual membranes which hold the eggs into "sacks". He opted for a size eight hook (small), and hooked the female on the first cast. But, he had clumsily foul-hooked her in the back. Because of guide's honor, he broke her off, which left the larger, and more colorful male vulnerable to my imminent domination.
I was glad he didn't hook her because I wanted to hook one myself. And now that the male wasn't focused on spawning, the lone fish was more likely to crush my bait. And on the first cast, the male ate. Recalling all the lessons I learned about these picky and tough warriors throughout the day from Bill, and from dropping a few, I was more careful in hooking him this time. Here began the battle to the death between me and a large, male steelhead trout.
The Battle of Skinner Creek
I pulled up on the long, mid-flex rod's tip slowly and set the hook in the corner of the fish's hookjaw (called a "klite"), which is a part lucky, perfect hookset. He immidiately burned 50 yards of line off the reel in a downstream charge reminiscent of hooking a lightning bolt: there was no stopping him. I chased him downstream reeling in line when I could, and running as fast as I could in my neoprene waders, jumping over rocks, ducking under trees, and still keeping the fish under control. I had no chance of stopping the run, so I had to chase him down. I could not see his size under the water. This fish was extremely strong and had a lot of endurance. It felt like I was hooked to the bottom at times, because I could not move him at all. So I positioned myself downstream from him and hoped to exhaust him eventually using the current to my advantage. Then, he adapted and started swimming upstream, which would eventually wear him down.
Now I knew about the legendary fight of a large steelhead. This fish was the whole reason we made the long trip, wasted all our time and money. I was not about to lose it by making a careless mistake. I cannot remember being more focused at any other point in life.
Bill came over to try to coach me how to "beach" the fish by pulling him upstream, and I started getting pissed because that was impossible. I knew intuitively that I needed to get a net on him in the middle of the stream by muscling him into exhaustion and using the current to tire him out. It is harder to swin upstream. I told him, "That is impossible, and if I try to do that, I will break the line." He continued persistently, and I told him, "Give me the f#$*ing net!"
Bill angrily said, "OK," threw the net on the ground, and walked away.
Erik laughed and rushed across the river all grins to assist in the epic battle of death between me and the mighty fish. Once Erik entered the stream, the fish decided to make another charge downstream for round two of the battle. He found a hole (behind me in the picture) in which to hide from us, and Erik wisely positioned himself with the net about five feet downstream from the hole, and I was about five feet behind him angling. After a few minutes of stalemate, I managed to get a few turns of the reel on him, using the stream's current to my advantage.
Any gain I made against the strong fish was offset by a head-first furious run into the deep hole. This fish was not tired every time we thought he was. Whenever I got him out of the hole a few feet, we could only see his powerful tail propelling him back into the dark depths where he disappeared and hid. I got him inches away from Erik's netting distance a dozen times, and whenever he realized he was about to get netted, he took off again, back into the fortress of the hole. I had to battle him out carefully because of long tree roots on which the line could have been tangled, and probably would have if I wasn't extremely focused.
An angler of lesser prowess would have lost the fish, and a hundred things could have gone wrong. My pride was on the line, and my long-time fishing buddy stood by alertly with the net for his final chance, which he successfully took after a half hour of heated battle.
This above fish, who I have named "Ditka" will be immortalized on my wall when I pick him up at the taxidermist next year on my Salmon River trip. He was measured at 32 inches and 13.5 pounds, after drying out and losing some weight for 2.5 hours. The guide recommended a taxidermist, Maggie Rathje, who does award winning work: http://fishwish.homestead.com/
Is there a difference between Steelheads and Rainbow Trout?
Yes, and no. Steelheads are genetically identical to rainbow trout, but they are anadromous, meaning they migrate from salt walter to fresh water to spawn, which causes changes in their appearance, size and bahavior. The scientific nomenclature for both fish is oncohyncus mykiss, meaning they are the same species. From a fisherman's perspective, a steelhead is more desirable because they are a much hardrer fighing fish, and are large more often than the non-migratory variety. Often thought to be a different species, the true difference in the fish is how they fight.
Why then do some rainbow trout make the decision to travel hundreds of miles and return to the waters of their birth to give new life? That is a lot of work, and it separtes the steelheads from the rainbows. Among icthyologists and fishermen alike, there is much speculation explaining the phenomenon of migration which differentiates them.
Bill, our guide explanied that glaciers landlocked the the originally sea-running species into two forms with identical DNA. To that I replied, "Hmmm," stroking my chin.
NJ Steelheads?
Upon researching the word "anadromous", I discovered that the correct etymology describing the variety of steelheads in the Great Lakes is actually "potamodromous," because these fish migrate from a body of fresh water to another to spawn. They never enter salt water for a second of their lives. The theory that steelheads are unique because they reach salt water as a phase of their development is null and void, then. They just migrate - that is the difference.
Does that make the rainbows in the Pequest River, which migrate up the river to the feeder stream at the hatchery every fall steelheads? Based on the reasoning above, I submit that it does! Steelheads are in Jersey!
They certainly fight hard like a steelhead, and much harder than the local rainbows. I got the fish mounted. Why the hell not?
Dude(s), I am almost there, you know, at the breaking point in my job. God is making moves on letting me climb out of the cave, and into His light after having worked a year and a half in HSBC's Interest Rates Group. Yes, I will quit a really nice paying position at the world's local bank (and probably most insulated/diversified from U.S. market volatility) when right before a recesion, and after dropping fifty G's on an MBA in finance. What the hell am I thinking? I am thinking F Wall Street. The people who work there are motivated by pure greed, or those paralyzed by the fear of being poor. In fact nearly the whole financial services is driven by fear and greed, from the micromanaged daily operations to the managerial strategies and the story of the little guy's cut-throat road to the top (The Art of Happyness). I am good, really. Not interested. I have learned a lot, and was never really cut out for this, as anyone who knows me would agree, even those at work. Not that I don't perform well, that is not it at all. I work too swiftly, and am usually left with excessive hours of the day to kill with reading or writing about politics, or doing homework. I litterally get all my work done in two hours and spend the rest of the day entertaining people, and doing research. So, coworkers ask me why I don't get into politics, law or writing. What next, then? Non-profit, my original move. I renegged on it after a semester at NYU in a masters program, and got my financial logos in order. Finding it lacking in purpose, an instrument to be used strategically in public policy and social justice, I now seek to balance the scales of wealth. Used to benefit the rich only, financial instruments cause a perrennial Marxist class struggle that contradicts the Adam Smith theory of the mutual win-win of capital markets: the rich dominate this system. Citizens not invested in capital markets are left standing by the wayside as the markets move, and usually the young, poor, and uneducated people are not engaged in investment. These are my targets for change. Graduating college today with soaring student loans and housing costs is scary. It feels like the American Dream is a lost cause sucked up by the footprint of the baby boomer generation's explosion of capital markets. How does God play into this? Where is Adam Smith's "invisible hand" now, amidst the complex trading systems on Wall Street with derivatives markets and the globalization of debt financing? That could be interesting work - to use an MBA not to get rich, but to help bring back the original intent of capitalism: equilibrium and growth. A new question arises though: can capital markets in their current status not get dominated again by the sly, greedy wolves who are only in it for themselves? Is there a fuckin thing that can be done to change the fact that the world is "run by money"? This question is extends into the realm of the environment as well. Globalization and capital markets have left a deep footprint here as well, and finally, people are seeing the two linked, rather than as a tradeoff. Alternative energy financing and fish conservation (farming) are just two examples of sustainable development being proliferated by responsible businesses and banks globally. The recent Nobel Prize awarded to a microcredit bank (Grameen, and its founder Mohamed Yunus) shed light on where our most cutting edge markets, and I, are headed. Whereas previously the frontiers in the American ethos were found geographically as the West expanded, now those invisible lines sweep acreoss the nation and call us to change, to edify, to modernize and reengineer ourselves in the manner of Roosevelt's New Deal. I could seemlessly work in an Obama pitch here, but I will refrain. New York Times
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/04/07/cb.non.profit.jobs/index.html
I have always loved the word Hoboken. Say it! Its hilarious, and mysteriously wonderful. I now live here, which is the same as or better than basically anywhere else in the 5 boroughs. What a chilled out place! I've been living in Manhattan for six months, and moving out was supposed to suck. However, it has been the best thing for me. All this hype about New York is simply the arrogance of a City whose culture is dying. My commute increased by 15 mintues, which was supposed to be miserable: but, it means I can read the paper, and disengage from the breakneck pace of New York, the City where no one says hi, ever. People in Hoboken are mildly nicer: classy, but young and trendy, usually successful types with decent careers. It reminds me of a college halfway house, an experimental life launch testing ground for new graduates. Hoboken is New York without all the inasnity, a trial version for suburbanites with its own culture and a small neighborhood feel. Plus, the view from this side of the Hudson River is much better:
No bull, that is the view from my apartment in Hoboken, looking East. Looking West, you see the moon setting:
I have not written in a while becuase I have been playing guitar in my spare time, and moving which is such a pain in the ass - and IKEA is a smiley Sweedish nightmare. I will not even waste my time writing about it, and honestly, I have learned to live IKEA. I love the furnitire, and the names of them, and the way you can cut through the entire store and avoid the maze if you make a left at the kids section. I probably like the latter part best.
Windy as hell today, and I think steelheads and stripers are just around the corner. And that means I will be catching them all in a few weeks as the spring warms up. Going to the Salmon River in a few weeks to catch steelhead trout and monster browns. Can't wait.
The Salmon River feeds Lake Ontario, so the fish it are bigger than normal sized compared to their brethren in other streams of the continent. Here's a pitcure of a generic steelhead on the Owsego River, 23 miles from where I'll be:
This next photo is office golf. When I heard the sound of people lightly clapping coming from behind me, in the HSBC corporate headquarters, I instinctively recalled someone making a nice putt. They had, and it was Anthony Perronne.
This is what happens when we get bored and no one is looking: we begin to putt around.
OK SO WHEN IS HILLARY GOING TO DROP OUT? I absolutely cannot wait to hear her concession speach, if she has the dignity to give one. She will more likely sue. She is the kind of person who gets kicked out of a party and calls the cops. And, she is destroying the Party every minute she pretends people want her around anymore. Its over, bitch!
This blog covers my previous few weeks of life. Take a look.
1) Photos
2) Moving to Hoboken
3) On Obama V Clinton
Here're some photos that tell the story of my past few weeks:
You'll see a funny shot of some vandalism (which I did not commit) in the East Village.
Right, top, is the cafe on MacDougal Street where I do homework - I took that from where I am sitting now.
Middle, middle-eastern dudes slice away at monolithic layers of fatty lamb spam and pass it off as kabobs. It tasted exactly like ass. Gross!
Bottom, my pal Kailin jams away on stage last Friday with her band. Her voice is now ringing above the chatter of the coffee house through someone's iPod amplified over the speakers (song title "How we Broke Down,"). www.myspace.com\kailingarrity
LOOK OUT HOBOKEN!
Moving to Hoboken tomorrow, and it's been over two years since I've had my name on a lease. To quote the overused Jerry Garcia phrase, "What a long, strange trip its been!" I'm packing all my stuff and crossing the Hudson bright and early.
I'll be glad to settle down into an amazing 2 br apartment with a doorman that has a view of the Manhattan skyline and the sweet, precious sound of silence at night!!!! Praise God, after six months of trucks beep beep beeping their way through the night as they made deliveries to Roosevelt Hospital across the street. Without a doubt though, I'll soon return to my nomadic ways. See below about my upcoming trip to the Far East.
ON OBAMA V CLINTON
Also, I have been slumping emotionally from the high of Obama, and somewhat emotionally recharged to see him weather a round of non-superhuman outcomes by kicking Hillary's ass in Wyoming tonight.
Her net gain in delegates since winning Ohio and Texas is now negative.
The truth is that Hillary Clinton's total experience since before being elected in 2002 (two years before Obama) amounts to: 1) A miserably failed healthcare plan; and, 2) a very strong critique of the world's finest wines. Thereafter, she voted for the Iraq War and did essentially nothing else important since. OK Obama, tell the story!
Countless studies show that people remember negative politics better than positive - most people are not in the intellectual bubble. His base will not expand into Hillaryland unless he crushes her decitful provocations and launches efective counterattacks calling into question exactly what experience she refers to as "35 years" long. It certainly is not policymaking experience. I know it includes a stint on the Wal-Mart board; one as senior partner of Arkansas' most powerful law firm; shady real estate transactions; staying with a cheating husband (it's fair game, speaking of Jerry Springer); and lots of trips to sip wine in foreign countries. She has only two more years than him as a lawmaker in Washington, and not a single day of her time as a first lady counts. Obama's years as a legislator in Illinois should count for something. Clinton's campaign is fueled by the very kind of experience Obama's supporters want to shed and jettison.
Anyways, enough politics. God bless!
I do not know if you understand how good it feels to have my name on a lease. I know its basic, and hard to believe that I ahve been bouncing around this much. Hoboken's comfortable for me because it's halfway between New York and my NJ homeland. I kind of always wanted to live there.
Some of them are things he has done, some he has pledged to do. YES WE CAN is the mantra of his campaign. To set the record straight for any pundit who is still on the wrong side of hope and change, or if you were just confused, you can check out all his positions, which are very clearly presented below. The following is my commentary about the election:
The final score will be OBAMA 2050 CLINTON 1800, or something else. Clinton's brain hurts - sore loser.
She has become totally schizophrenic: one minute she is hugging him, and the next, she is saying "shame on you...". Clinton is also too cocky, and never saw Obama coming. She knows he is a superior candidate now, and she is scrambling for anything she can grab, finding only air, and losing points for being bitchy. She has clearly not accepted her imminent defeat yet, and she is going to be in horrible shape emotionally and psychologically after this election. She may jump, and I don't mean in the polls. She should have divorced BIll in 1999 and earned her candidacy, then men would not call her a lesbian.
Her never-ending hole of power is insatiable. No man could satisfy her. She is a dominator.
While that sentence is not backed up with serious journalism, I am publishing it here as a matter of historical record and breaking news (even though most people just kind of "know"). It is not a mysogynistic attack against female equality either, nor is it libelous provocation or dirty politics - it's just a reasonable idea congruent with surrounding history. Moreover, it is a highly logical story I have heard from every reliable pereson I know who is close to the Clintons. And, they were not kidding.
I don't give a damn that she is a lesbian, but she is not being honest with the American public (sound familiar? [hint: bill _linton]), and is hiding more than that in her closet. McCain and the GOP machine will make it all come out (in more ways than one) if she actually wins the nomination somehow. She could never win the presidency once people discover her sexual orientation is being misrepresented. She is on the same level as the Jerry Springer show.
She may hurt hope for future women candidates by being a bitch. She needs quality time with her inner V.
After she loses, (and she will to either Obama or McCain) she will have lost all dignity. She may just have a McGreevey moment thereafter, announcing herself as a "Gay American" but it will not be a suprise to you. If she doesn't we will all still know the truth. She ought to consider dropping out now in order to save the eventual candidate, Obama any undue stress, save money, and keep a fleck of dignity. She is an embarassment to the female gender if she continues on her failing conquest of the penis-dominated political realm despite her inner craving to impale vadges.
Here is what I know:
1) An anonymous dude I know in the Secret Service was her chauffeur for over a year, and he swears Hillary had a romaitic relationship with another woman. "An attractive lawyer woman would often sleep over and touch Hillary in romantic ways", he commented.
2) Another dudex is a partner of a tremendous law firm in Washington, who addresses the Clintons by their first names, commented that inside the "elites," it is common knowledge that inside the very same white house where her unfaithful husband diddled, inserted, and other choice verbs'ed with another woman, Hillary often did the same.
Just for you to consider. Here are some of Senator Barack Obama's positions:
Opposed the Iraq war from the start.
Voted to end the war in Iraq.
Supports capturing and killing Osama Bin Laden.
Favors a $1000 tax cut for every working American family.
Will implement tax form simplification to reduce filing time.
Provide tax credit for all middle class homeowners.
Provide a tax cut for all families making less than $75,000 a year
Amend NAFTA to protect American workers.
Amend NAFTA to strengthen environmental protections.
Providing Flex Ed training accounts for workers.
Extending Trade Adjustment assistance to service workers.
Supported Patriot Employer Act of 2007 that gives tax credits to large companies that keep workers here in America.
Double funds for basic federal research.
Implement a long term research and development tax credit.
Invest in green technologies.
Reduce carbon emission gases.
Tackle the challenges of global warming.
Create an energy focused youth jobs program.
Create Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Extend the Production Tax Credit.
Expand Broadband into every community.
Keep the Internet tax free.
Expand high speed internet access in rural areas.
Fight for passage of Employee Free Choice Act.
Ensure freedom to unionize.
Would overturn "Kentucky River" classifications of Bush's NLRB
Protect rights of striking workers.
Increase the mininum wage to index it to inflation.
Crack down on predatory lenders.
Provide a universal mortgage tax credit for homeowners who don't itemize.
Sign the Stop Fraud Act to prevent lending fraud.
Mandate accurate loan disclosure.
Create a fund to protect people from foreclosures.
Close the bankruptcy loophole for mortgage companies.
Establish a credit card rating to improve disclosure.
Ban utilateral credit card charges.
Apply interest rate only to future debt.
Prohibit credit card interest on fees.
Prohibit Universal defaults.
Require prompt and fair crediting of cardholder payments.
Protect working people from unfair bankruptcy laws.
Ban executive bonuses for bankruptcy companies.
REquire disclosure of pension investments.
Cap outlandandish interest rates on payday loans.
Implement legislation to drive unscrupulous lenders out of business
Create a bankruptcy exemption for people that went broke because of medical bills.
Double funding for after school programs.
Extend Family and Medical Leave Act.
Encourage states to adopt Paid leave.
Expand the Child Care Tax Credit
Supports ratification of UN Convention Rights of Persons With Disabilities.
Supports independent, community based living for people with disabilities.
Expand educational opportunites for people with disabilities.
Expand job opportunities for people with disabilities.
Strengthen civil rights enforcement.
Sign into law the Fair Pay Act.
Sign law reversing recent SCOTUS rulings that permitted discrimination against women.
Sign law reversing recent SCOTUS rulings that permitted discrimination against racial minorities.
Strengthen federal hate crimes legislation.
Eliminate the sentence disparities regarding crack cocaines.
Establish drug courts for first time, non violent offenders.
Create a prison to work incentive for those transitioning back into society.
Passed a law to prohibit the practice of racial profiling.
Supported reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act.
Opposes all discriminatory barriers to voting.
Helped reform death penalty system in Illinois to protect innocent people on death row.
Voted to ban cluster bombs.
Provide high quality affordable child care to families.
Will quadrulple Early Head Start funding.
Will increase Head Start funding.
Creates early learning challenge grants.
Abolish overly rigid teach to the test curriculum in schools.
Improve accountability in public schools.
Invest in intervention strategies to reduce dropout rates in schools.
Increase funding for afterschool programs.
Supports Step Up program to increase summer learning opportunities.
Support English language learner programs.
Expand college outreach programs.
Create teacher service scholarships.
Requires all public schools to be accredited.
Create teacher residency programs.
Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit for higher education.
Streamline financial aid application.
Introduced legislation to increase Pell Grant to $5,100.
Reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
Confront deforestation.
Promote carbon sequestration.
Accelerate commercialization of plug in hybrids.
Promote development of commercial scale renewable energy.
Invest in low emission coal plants.
Transition to new electric digit grid.
Double science funding for clean energy products.
Create Green Jobs Corps.
Invest in programs to help manufacturers make transition to green products.
Create clean technologies venture capital fund.
Deploy cellulosic ethanol.
Expand locally owned biofuel refineries.
Increase renewable fuel standards.
Establish national low carbon fuel standard.
Increase fuel economy standards.
Invest in solar energy.
Invest in wind energy.
Establish a centralized database to track lobbyist activities.
Appoint an independent watchdog group to oversee congressional ethic violations.
Favors campaign finance reform.
Sunshine on legislation proposal.
End abuse of no bid contracts.
Release presidential records in a more timely fashion.
Prevent political appointees from working as lobbyists within two years after employment has ended.
Reform political appointment process.
Sign ethics legislation that he proposed as a Senator with Russ Feingold.
Obama sponsored a bi-partisan bill allowing regular people to track federal grants.
Take leadership in the global fight against AIDS.
Provide tax cuts to small businesses.
Provide income tax cuts for all senior citizens making $50,000 a year or less.
Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Protect workers from caregiver discrimination.
Increase mentoring programs for beginner teachers.
Provide universal health care for all Americans within 4 years.
Combat fraudulent subprime loans.
Expand Nurse Family Partnership.
Provide automatic workplace pensions for workers.
Expand savings credit for retirement accounts.
Reinstate pay as you go budget rules.
Repeal Bush tax cuts for top 1% which led to lower middle class standard of living.
Slash earmarks to pre 2001 levels.
Abolish obsolete wasteful government programs.
Voted against raising the minimum debt in 2006.
Supports wiping out Al Qaeda wherever they may be.
Opposed Kyl Lieberman.
Supports tough attempts at diplomacy with Iran to protect America's interests.
Will work to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Restrengthen NATO.
Passed a bipartisan law with Senator Lugar to prevent smuggling of WMDs.
Introduced a bill with Senator Hagel to reduce nuclear arsenals around the globe.
Supports securing loose nuke arsenals from the former Soviet Union and elsewhere.
Strengthen Non Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.
Expand size of Army by 65,000.
Expand size of Marines by 27,000.
Provide our troops with new equipment and the tools they need.
Provide National Service troops with adequate leave time.
Will insulate the Director of National Intelligence from partisan politics.
Guarantee that health care can never be denied because of a pre-existing condition.
Introduce a health care plan similar to the one members of Congress have and give all Americans access to this plan.
Simplify the paperwork in health care costs.
Make premiums and co pays affordable.
Require mandatory coverage of all children for health care.
Expand SCHIP.
Expand Medicaid.
Reduce costs of catastrophic illnesses for employers and employees.
Support disease management programs.
Require hospitals and providers to have full transparency over costs.
Promote patient safety by requiring providers to report medical errors.
Establish an independent institute to guide reviews + research on comparative effectiveness in health care.
Strengthen anti trust laws to prevent insurance companies from gouging medical providers.
Lower medical costs by having electronic health info systems.
Increase competition in prescription drug markets.
Advance biomedical research field.
Improve mental care coverage.
Reduce mercury deposits to help prevent miscarriages.
Increase funding for autism research.
Cosponsored Healthy Kids Act of 2007.
Cosponsored reauthorization of SCHIP in 2007.
Obama introduced legislation to establish guidelines to monitor fuels from nuclear power plants.
Sponsored a bill with Senator Lautenberg to protect chemical plants from possible terrorist attacks.
Introduced legislation to upgrade monitoring of water supplies.
Introduced legislation to protect localities from radioactive leaks.
Create secure borders with additional personnel and infrastructure.
Remove incentives for people to enter this country illegally.
Crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.
Invest in transitional jobs.
Improve transportation access to jobs.
Fully fund community block grants.
Create an affordable housing trust fund.
Establish a program called 20 Promise Neighborhoods.
Invest in rural areas, especially small businesses, schools, and doctors.
Implement a payment limitation program to help small farmers.
Protect family farms from anti-competitive monopolies.
Implement tough fines for CAFO violations.
Establish country of origin labeling for all products.
Support regional food systems.
Encourage organic farming.
Provide tax credits for young farmers.
Increase capital for small farmers.
Modify FCC so all rural residents have access to modern communications.
Upgrade rural infrastructure.
Supported legislation to reverse 2 billion dollars of agriculture cuts under Bush.
Cosponsored Emergency Farm Relief Act of 2006.
Sponsored a bill to combat the scourge of methamphetamines.
Expand Americorps.
Double the Peacecorps in 8 years.
Expand Service learning in all our schools.
Offer an opportunity tax credit for college students in exchange for 100 hours of community service.
Promote college work study programs with public service.
Expand on the YouthBuild program.
Create a Social Investment Fund Network.
Create a non profit entrepreneur agency.
Protect Social Security.
Reform corporate bankruptcy laws.
Strengthen laws protecting against age discrimination in the workplace.
Ensure heating assistance for senior citizens.
Protect the openness of the Internet.
Encourage diversity in media ownership.
Protect children from Internet predators with strict law enforcement.
Support transition of the internet into the digital world.
Preserve artistic expression.
Keep inappropriate advertising away from programs for children.
Enhance safety standards for toys imported into this country.
Protect the right of privacy of every law abiding American.
Update surveillance laws under the rule of law.
Higher salaries for teachers.
Work with the FTC to cut down on cyber crimes.
Eliminate teach to the test curriculum and restore true learning to the classroom.
Open up government to citizens by providing transparency.
Provide all our schools with broadband technology.
Modernize public safety networks.
Make the research and development tax credit permanent.
Protect intellectual property at home and abroad.
Reform the patent system to encourage innovation.
Allow all veterans back into the VA.
Strengthen VA care for all veterans.
Fight veterans employment discrimination.
Fix the benefits bureaucracy to help veterans.
Expand vet centers across the country.
Obama passed legilsation to slash red tape to help wounded soldiers at Walter Reed.
Introduced legislation to direct the VA and Pentagon to fix its veterans record systems.
Introduced legislation to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Rebuild the roads and bridges that need to be rebuilt.
Will end the genocide in Darfur.
Will restore habeas corpus to America.
Reject torture.
Close down Gitmo.
Pledges to obey the Constitution of the United States.
Will fully implement and enforce the Equal Pay Act.
End tax breaks for US companies sending jobs overseas.
Voted to reinstate 1.15 billion to the COPS program to reduce crime.
Wants to keep drinking age at 21.
Supports grants to local educational agencies.
Voted to protect ANWR.
Voted to protect the Great Lakes from polluters.
Favors labor and trade standards with trade with China.
Opposed CAFTA which hurts American workers.
Voting to give the District of Columbia its proper vote in Congress.
Voted to expand enrollment period for Medicare Part D.
Favors repealing the discriminatory don't ask don't tell policy.
Provide first responders with the health care and equipment they need.
Voted to implement the 9/11 commission recommendations.
Voted to restore money to ports and first responders.
Voted to establish a Guest Worker program.
Voted to increase the minimum wage.
Voted against anti-Constitution radicals Alito and Roberts.
Voted against the repeal of the estate tax that only applies to 1% of the wealthiest of estates.
Supports the first amendment freedom of religion clauses and establishment clauses.
Introduced a bill requiring public companies to give shareholders an annual nonbinding vote on executive compensation.
Protects our schools by opposing voucher schemes.
Introduced Biofuels Security Act in 2007.
Favors closing corporate tax loopholes.
Understands that global warming is a real problem that must be addressed.
Supports civil unions for LGBT couples.
Favors the death penalty in the rarest but appropriate of circumstances.
We arrived on deck around 5:30 after a long week to reserve our spots on the port bow. The weather report foretold a rough ocean with twelve to fourteen foot waves, but there was no wind on the mirror-like surface of the Manasquan River. They are always wrong about the weather before I go fishing. Not that it mattered: we were going anyway.
The crecsent moon and calm wind promised a good night's sleep during our sixty mile run to secret offshore wecks familiar to only the saltiest dogs. The Bogan family was just about the only group salty enough to know: they operated a charter business from Manasquan Inlet long before the Northern Atlantic Bluefin Tuna had become a rare catch.
We were a group of guys from HSBC and Westfield who were friends with Ron Nobile, the most popular guy in America next to Obama. The targeted species were delicious cod and seabass on this 18-hour wreck-a-thon.
There is nothing better for men than to go fishing every once in a while. And I mean in the ocean, like men. Guys drank beer and talked about the Patriots, the Navy, Alaska, and other testosterone-infused topics such as broads and dirty jokes. It had been too long for me, nearly ten years from my days as a mate in Palm Beach.
There's something ominous and fulfilling about the sea for men. Whatever things in one's mind stood between them and God before this trip were left ashore to die.
I had been on offshore fishing aboard the 125' Big Jamaica several times before, so I knew my sleep would result from victory over other claimants to scarce room for bedding. But I had my game plan ready: when the captain opened the cabin doors at ten pm, I dashed in and quickly claimed my spot on the floor with my "camoflague garbage man suit," mattress. I slept soundly the whole way out, which was a treat. I took two dramamine and a unisom for insurance. Dudes on benches above me listened to me snore. ZZZ
The trip recalled simpler days of years past, the revived spirit of New Jersey's coastal heritage. Several of the fishermen resembled Hemingway. That, and pirates.
- DC
THEY SAID THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME www.barackobama.com
In the wake ot the Benazir Bhuuto assasination in Pakistan a few days ago, Democratic voters in Iowa made a statement for liberal democracy on the global stage by electing Barack Obama, a half-Kenyan American born in Hawaii, for President of the United States. Obama's unprecedented Iowa victory was a loud shot ringing for all the world to hear, which caused white Washington veterans Dodd and Biden to drop out of the race (I am pissed about Biden, who was my first choice). Obama's hope has reverberated in undetected echoes unheard since April 4, 1961 (?) in Memphis, when MLK was shot.
The resounding, rippling message is that Americans (white Americans in Iowa) believe a black President Obama is more electable than any other candidate. My grandfathers' generation, whose central struggle was fought in World War II, would not believe a black man could pull that off. No way. Well, believe it. After travelling through New Hampshire for a week before the primary, I have learned a lot about exactly HOW this leader has started a movement despite all obstacles. I hope you like. Shenkui.
This mini-revolution gave his campaign exactly the right turbo fuel it needed, and made a huge statement against the imperial march of the Clinton machine. New Hampshire ended up being Empire Stikes Back, but surely the upcoming primary battles in South Carolina and Michigan will mark the Return of the Jedi. His political masterstroke is that he plays on people's hope instead of their fear, and in this political environment, no prescription for what ails America: real hope in our leaders. Remember leadership?
The shot fired of the Iowa caucus was a starting pistol to America's greatest race, and it echoes like thunder throughout the Granite State even though he lost. Obama is still and positioned for a daft and sweeping blow through the coming contests. But still, the annoying, conservative question lingers: is the nation ready to elect a brown person, regardless of how amazing he is? In response to this prejudice, Obama simply frames himself as a confident, natural winner, and persuades people to acknowledge that. He forces voters to search their feelings and not be betrayed by fearful thoughts that he could lose - this means voting on faith, not fear. After all, The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Obama's recurring themes are unity, change and hope. In his speeches, will use these three themes again and again, not only because they are ingenious tactics in this delapidated political environment in which so many have lost hope, but also because HE IS AUTHENTIC about them. Obama sells himself as the embodiment of real hope manifest. Go ahead and try arguing against the fact of hope.
There is no one better suited to lead this great country away from the quagmire we are in as a result of voting on fear politics. We have chosen our leaders who ran on platforms of fear, playing on homophobia and terrorism, and we ought to have a look at swinging the pendulum in faith's favor this time around. We all (almost all) are united in our admission of the dark reality that for eight years, we were hostages on Bush's wild destructive ride. Doesn't anyone have faith in the American Dream anymore?
His inspirational MLK style of oration in public debate reminds me of true, righteous leadership. That by itself is enough to revive our country in the image of the glory days of FDR after the Great Depression. We need a man behind the curtain inspiring us, leading us, and no other candidate besides Obama has elocuted our nations deep need for hope as effectively thus far. Not even close. Think of the him as leader of the free world, and ask yourself if any other candidate even comes close.
Just get on the bandwagon with clearly the best candidate, and stop trifling. How good of a role model would he be for blacks and whites, and everyone in the world? Could anyone else unite the nation (and world) in that way, by example? So, when hiring a president in 2008, we should be united in the revival of authentic, spirited, even soulful public leadership and speech.
Who else offers that? An old white guy who is stuck in religious demagoguery and status quo of the Christian right? A President Huckabee would steer us off course like Oddyseus chasing the sirens. We'd end up on the rocks with the boat in the drink. With Obama, however, we'd end up on the boat with a drink on the rocks.
Hillary, you ask (almost comedically)? An opportunistic power hungry woman with an unfunded mandate for unrealistic healthcare reform who would divide the country like nothing ever seen before? Enough said.
A Mormon CEO? Romney sounds like Bush all over again, but he is slicker, more sly about it. And don't Mormons believe in aliens?
Match Obama against any generic candidate, either Republican or Democrat, and you will see the difference goes much deeper than skin color. This is the final frontier in easing racial relations, and the best choice left in the field. His message is inspirational. Can you remember real American leadership? Heros? Faith in government? Real citizenship? And beyond that, he will lead us out of this quagmire of dissent.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BIG APPLE!
This was definitely not your usual Christmas. My Dad, Mom, sister and I drifted through the Big Apple for three days, finding the city inviting and magnanimous. We proved New York is more than just a money-infused amalgm of random opposites: there are also opportunities to chart one's own course through the nuttines and have a very fun and special time together. They were my first visitors, and I still can't believe I call this amazing city home. It was just too big to believe that before, but now it feels a lot smaller, more platonic.
On Sunday, 12/22, the triad of non-New York Curry family members departed from the cold and snowy Christmas card wonderland of New Hampshire and return to the aorta of the American megalopolis bringing the gift of warmth to my new home. I just moved here in September, so it was my first Christmas in the city, and the experience was beyond my expectation. It was a mini-vacation in own home town for me, and for them, a nice break from the quaint norm of Northern New England life.
Just having family come here and explore the more elegant parts of the city that I walk past every day made me appreciate the big picture even more, driving at the forgotten point of the Holiday. We skipped the corny parts like Radio City and the Nutcracker, and actually got time to open the Bible together, which was a first. Although it didn't feel at all like childhood Christmas, but more like a family vacation, being close with family is the essence of the Holiday's meaning nowadays. I am closer to the years in which I will be lying about Santa than believing it. I think my sister wants to move here now =)
As anyone who knows me might expect, I acted as the guide on an adventurous tour of utter radness. I made secret reservations at trendy restaurants suited to the unique tastes of each family member, and planned an evening at Carnegie Hall for Mozart, and at BB King's to see a Beatles tribute band made famous on Broadway. Regardless of my best planning, I ended up enjoying Christmas with my family simply because we were together.
My write-up about our time together is segmented by meals, because that is how we scheduled our meet-ups. Ashley, my sister, stayed at my place, and my parents stayed at a hotel. Sunday through Tuesday we "did" five different restaurants and three performances. I hope this captures it for you.
Sunday, Dinner at Sea Grill, Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink
After my parents got settled at the Hilton, and my sister in my extra bedroom, the family rendez-voused at Rockerfeller Plaza's Sea Grill, which has a panoramic open view of the famous ice skating rink at eye level. The food was standard seafood fare, and was superb. But the best part was the view: we witnessed two couples become engaged on the ice as the whole restaurant hung in suspense and broke out in applause after each proposal, as if the woman might actually say no.
As I watched those couples get engaged, I wondered about their thoughts. Was possible for the brides-to-be to not see it was coming? Was the guy scared she might say no? How much was the ring? Where did he get it? Is this the happiest moment in their lives? Will they get divorced? How many times have they been divorced before?
The grooms-to-be had arranged for the rink to be cleared-out to make the situation as conspicuously romantic as possible (and perhaps to boost his confidence). It was corny and cute, but regahdless of the superfluous suspense, the comedic drama served as great entertainment, and the audience's resolution of dramatic tension was rewarded with a photographic victory lap.
My dad deserves all the credit for picking this sweet restaurant. Discussion about family stuff was great after not having seen them in the flesh for a few months. Something about the air and the ambiance enhanced the conversation.
Monday, a Vegan Lunch at Candle 79, 79th and Lex
Round two on the restaurant tour was to be vegan because I made sure my sister, Ashley, who is a vegetarian, got her fix by planning a meal at Candle Cafe, the city's best vegan joint. I crushed the best paella of my life, and sampled free Argentine chimmichurri presented by the owner of the restaurant, a friendly New Hampsherite woman who went to grad school in Hanover. I had heard of chimmichurri before, and wondered about the word's etymology. Say it: chimmichurri - its fun. It's a DJ word. And of course, it was delicious.
This gregarious female restauraneur who chatted it up with us asked Ashley, who lives in Portland, Maine, to deliver a bottle of wine to her friend in that neck of the woods, which added an outstanding touch to a great dining experience. We were very impressed with this display of friendship and good stuartship over her business. I will definitely go back there again, especially if I meat starts killing me or if I turn hippy again. I can see the signs already: my hair is growing longer, I have sideburns, and I play guitar!
New York Magic - Christmas Eve at Carnegie Hall
After a brief tour through the Museum of Modern Art, we watched some amazing, limber and agile breakdancers, the NYC Transformerz, who are actually professional acrobats in their day jobs (photo coming soon). One guy crawled backwards on his hands under the legs of four others, and a cute girl did an upside-down split with only one hand on the ground, and held it for a solid minute. They were awesome.
Ashley and I then ran home to get changed for dinner at Porter House, and Carnegie Hall to see New York String Orchestra, which is a collection of the world's best classical string music students aged 15-22. They jammed Mozart's First, which he wrote when he was eight, into a nearly flaw