This summer has gone by really fast. I have only two weeks of work left. Then I come back to the B-lo for a week and then classes start up again. Craziness. I can't wait to come home. I really need to. After a while of not being home, I just start to miss it. It is almost as if I need to charge up my battery. It'll be nice to see everyone and hang out, but it sucks that I will miss the Mike/Terry extravaganza. I'll be one day too late. I don't know. I don't really have much to say. I really should go be productive and write a cover letter and update my resume for a new internship, but we'll see if that happens. Stay out of trouble.

TGIF. (on a side note did you know there are more Applebees than TGI Fridays, which I think is wierd as it seems that I see so many more fridays)

Anyway, I'm glad it is friday. Not that this week at work has been particularily stressful, it wll just be nice to relax this weekend. I only have two more weeks left of my internship. It is sort of good and sort of bad. In the sort of good column, there is the fact that when it is done it means that I will get to go home for a week, which I really want/need to do, and it will be nice to be done with work, and it means class is about to start and I will get to see all my friends again, some of which I haven't seen in over a year as I was abroad and then they were abroad. It should be rockin. On the bad column: my internship was good paying, prestigious, and not that difficult so it will suck when its done- especially having that much access around the White House (what other job could you walk out of your building, pass the West Wing and see Karl Rove). It being done also reminds me that I have yet to find a fall internship because I am a goddamn slacker. It also reminds me that I have yet to receive financial aid and don't know whether I will be able to get my work study position that is great back. (I really should call them today - they never respond to emails). It also reminds me of the fact that they did not offer to keep me on in the fall. I don't know if my office has a policy of not keeping interns (though my boss interned there for a year before she started working there) but I know of other interns that were offered to stay on in the fall. It is not that they should offer, but it would be nice and it is kind of a bummer to think that I was not good enough of an intern to ask to stay on - even if I couldn't do it cause of my schedule. Irregardless of all of that - 2 more weeks of my internship.

I got the movie Sid and Nancy from Netflix and I watched it last night. Don't waste your time. I could not care any less about two whiny bitchy punks than I did watching that movie. After sticking it out for over an hour and a half hoping that it would get better, I turned it off knowing that it couldn't. IT was sooooo incredibly boring

Speaking of movies, the other night I saw Harold and Kumar with my Asian and Indian roommate. It had some funny parts but it was not a consistently funny movie. I even dozed off a few times. It was not worth the $7.50 I paid to see it (that is the student rate too, things are so expensive in DC), but at least I didn't pay $7.50 to see Sid and Nancy.

I guess I should end this now as I took so long writing and catching up on reading journals yesterday that I was almost late for work. Take care everyone.

I guess it is about time I updated. I have been really busy and wanted to update but I couldn't justify it when I should be doing other stuff. It has been a crazy week since I last posted.

First things first. On Thursday I got to go to the South lawn of the White House and watch the President's helicopter land. It was definitely one of the coolest things I have done since I've been in DC. The three identical helicopters all approach in a line and just as it looks like the first one is going to land, it pulls away and flies off. Then the second one approaches and lands as that is the one the President is actually in. Then the third one flies off too. When the helicopter is landing. Everything looks really cool because of how windy it is. All of the plants are flapping around violently but in a very surreal way. Once the propellers stop, a marine comes out of the front door of the helicopter and opens the back door of the helicopter for the president. First Barney, the Presidents dog, came out followed by Bush and Laura, who were waving and every one waved back. Condi Rice and Andrew Card followed but the just went off to the West Wing. The Bushes waved as they walked into the White House. IT was a really cool experience.

On friday we released the MidSession Review (halfway through the year the OMB released updated budget figures; if you have read any newspaper articles about the record deficits or smaller deficit projections lately that is what they are talking about) at work. The morning was madness. Lots of calls and running around to be sure we had everything for the press conference at noon. It was especially crazy because my supervisor at work had to take the afternoon off to move into her new apartment, and she is the one the runs the office and is incharge of setting everything up. There was a lot of running around. We had to escort reporters to the briefing room, bring up the directors statement, etc. During the middle of the conference, I was sent back down to be sure the MSR had been posted on the website (which it hadn't) and as a result reporter after reporter was calling to ask where it was. Luckily it finally went up. After that, the rest of the day was incredibly slow.

Friday was also eventful as my roommate Sivram had to go to the hospital. He was riding his bike, hit a bump and fell off, hitting himself in the crotch and scraping up his knee and elbow. It didn't seem to be that bad, but he was in a lot of pain, especially in a certain sensitive area, so he went home. When he got home, he got into the shower and notice some blood in his boxers. When he checked himself over, he saw that he was cut open and thought he saw a testicle. He then drove himself to the emergency room where they put 8 neon blue stitches in to sew him back together. He didn't see his testicle, it was just a second layer of skin. He is doing okay now though and has to get the stitches out tomorrow. Needless to say, the score is still Sivram - 2; Lance Armstrong - 1.

I have more to say but I have to go to work. I will try to update again soon. Hope all is well with everyone. Talk to you later and all we want is some "Free love on the free love freeway. The lovin is free and the free way is long"

Hey Everyone. I guess it has been a while since I posted. I apologize. These past couple of weeks have been quite busy.

Jill got here last wednesday and left saturday. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we could hang out. I hope the oppressive manner that I make visitors tour DC, which include the constant bombardment of useless trivia about whatever we happen to be near, didn't drive her crazy. It was fun though. We went to two shows. They were good and she seemed to have a really good time. The second show was a bit too wavy-whiney-brighteyes-emo for my tastes, but the fact that we were the oldest people there besides the band more than made up for it. Nothing says a good concert like being hit on by a 14 year old alt/emo rock chick. It was fun.

On to less fun news. My computer died. I guess it was only a matter of time. It was an e-machine with Windows Me. Everytime I boot it up it flashes the windows screen and then stops when it is all black except for a flashing cursor in the top right hand corner. I then manually shut it off and it forces me into safe mode, where I have tried to resolve the problem to no avail. I will try again soon when I feel like dealing with it. Luckily I got a laptop for christmas sso I can use that. It is a used compaq with windows 98, but it gets the job done.

On to more upsetting news that turned out to be ok. So me siv, chris and nate (roommates and friend/former RA) went to chipotle today (It is a mexican fast food chain - think what would happen if you combined subway with mighty taco). And when I went to pay, my debit card was not in my wallet. I had no idea where it was. I paid with my credit card. I then remembered using it when jill siv chris and I went out for mongolian bbq on saturday. When I got home, I called the place and they have it, I just have to pick it up. That was a relief, cancelling that and all that crap would have been such a pain in the ass.

I have to change my life again. I have been slacking off on a lot of things that need to get done and it needs to stop. Things are passing me by and I need to grab on or I will get left behind. I need to get motivated and kick some ass.

In Response to the article in Maureen's journal [inlink]maureen,6[/inlink], I think the fact that Kerry relies on the ABB Dems will hurt him and possibly cost him the election. Politicians may be able to rally the base and raise money by being against something, but that will not bring people to the polls. Look at Howard Dean. If Kerry wants to win he needs to stop responding to Bush's agenda and focus all his energy on laying out his own plan regardless of what Bush is doing. You want your opponent to have to defend themselves from you. You don't win on the defensive. I think I might write my Intellectual Wastebasket article on that. (Another thing I have to do as it is a week and a half late)

On to other things. I am glad for you Ajay that you get to start new. Best of luck to you. I also want to welcome Sqb to the e-strip family. I really enjoy the pictures of your that I have seen. Hmmmm. I guess that is it for now. I hope some miracle happens and my other computer starts working. Until next time. Stay out of trouble.

I want to thank Holly for understanding that my crankiness was not because of her and not getting irritated with my anal retentive ways.

In response to your comments on my article, while I think ideally media outlets would be owned by locals who understand what their community standards are, the reality is that that is not going to happen anytime soon. The FCC of late has encouraged further consolidation by increasing the number of media outlets in one community that one company can own. I don't think anyone in the FCC is going to change their mind soon. I also understand your concerns about making a complex ratings system even more so, but I feel that if we go through the painful process of catergorizing the various obscene things and educate the public about it what all means, they will be empowered to make their own decisions without government making it for them. Thanks for reading the article.

I would also like to thanks you for including that story on John Kerry's package. [inlink]holly,72[/inlink] MMMMMMMMM political porn.

In response to Lisa's entry [inlink]lisa,66[/inlink]. I do the same thing- wonder about what happened to ex-girlfriends. It is not one of those things where you want to date them or think your life would be better with them. I just wonder what happened to them and what they are doing now. I don't think it is weird because it is a person that, at one point, you shared a lot of things with. And though you are beyond it now, the curiosity makes you wonder.

That is all for now. t-minus one day until Jill comes for a visit. Wooo Wooo. SHould be fun. Hope all is well with everyone, and they all enjoyed their vacations. Take care of yourselves

[inlink]ajay,52[/inlink]
I totally agree with you ajay. It is a purely a political move to try to mobilize the christian right to get out and vote. I want to apologize for the Washington Times bias in the article. The only reason that I used the Washington Times article is that is where I found the story. I prefer the Post by far, but they did not report on it.

My question is, should the names of homosexual aides be released because who they work for votes for the amendment? Should they be held accountable for who they work for? Or are their personal and professional lives seperate?

Because I am a sheep:


I don't know how I got that one. I didn't care much for the choices on some of the questions though.

On to other things. Shameless selfpromotion 3.0. I've got a new article up on my friends website Intellectual Wastebasket . It is about the FCC, censorship, and my belief that more regulation - not less - will allow for less government censorship. Give it a read and let me know what you think. It is under the News and Politics Section, entitled "The Three Fs"

I was also wondering what everyone thought about this article from the Washington Times:

By Greg Pierce
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 12, 2004
'Outing' lawmakers
As part of their denunciation of the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, some homosexual activists are waging a campaign to "out" homosexual lawmakers and aides who work on Capitol Hill, Roll Call and the Washington Blade report.
Homosexual activists Mike Rogers and John Aravosis are leading the campaign, and there are nearly 20 Capitol Hill offices now on a target list, the Washington Blade reported Friday.
Mr. Rogers already alerted Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, that one of his aides is openly homosexual outside of work, Roll Call reported Thursday. Mr. Inhofe supports the marriage amendment, which is up for a Senate vote this week.
And an ad in Friday's Blade issues a "final call to conscience" to Capitol Hill lawmakers who support the amendment, their aides and members of the administration. "If you are gay, end your silence," the ad states. "Stop aiding and abetting those who would make us second-class citizens."
The ad was sponsored by DontAmend.com and Mr. Aravosis' Web site, DearMary.com, which aims to convince Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary, to urge her father to drop his support for the amendment.
The ad addresses "all the Mary Cheneys in Washington, D.C., and beyond" as well as "all those who claim to support our community but devote their careers to politicians who attack and demonize us," and "all those who are self-loathing or self-serving." It warns, "For years our silence has protected you. Today that protection ends."
Mr. Aravosis and Mr. Rogers also claimed in the last week to have "outed via the Web" Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland Democrat, and Rep. Mark Foley, Florida Republican, the Blade said.
Days after Mr. Aravosis claimed on his Web site that Miss Mikulski is a lesbian, she issued a statement saying she will vote against the marriage amendment, the Blade reported. And although Mr. Foley said months ago he will vote against the marriage amendment, the Blade reported, Mr. Aravosis "purported to out Foley as well, taking him to task for supporting President Bush," who has endorsed the amendment.
The aide from Mr. Inhofe's office who was targeted by Mr. Rogers told the Blade, "The agenda behind this outing seems to be kind of fascist. It says to me: Because you don't subscribe to our personal idea, because you don't choose to push sexual politics over environmental, we're going to punish you."

Do you think aides to lawmakers should be outed if the lawmaker supports the amendment banning gay marriage, as they are aiding those who support it? Or do you think that just because an aide works for a legislator, that doesn't mean that they have to share the same views as the legislator and should not be outed because of their boss's views? Let me know cause I am really curious what people outside of "The Beltway" think of something like this.

That is all for now. Stay out of trouble and let me know what you think.

That is craziness MK. [inlink]mk,110[/inlink] I especially enjoy the parts of my journal that they mention. "Kiss our e-strip ass Kevin Bacon. ...young?' and 'Sex with a minor, don't go there'" That is great.

So I was supposed to go wave goodbye to Bush when he leaves the White House in his helicopter on the south lawn tomorrow, but the person in my office who got the reservations can't go anymore so that is off. Oh well. He said we would reschedule, and at least now I don't have to be at work by 7 when I don't work until 1.

Hope all is well with every one. Wish I could be partyin' hearty with you all. Oh Well. Next time. That is all for now, but always remember what the coaster says: "Sex with a minor, don't go there"

Nothing too exciting has been going on with me lately.

I lost the bet and was the first one out. I lasted a week. In the end, I gave up because I had to get some work done. I procrastinate so badly in everything that I can find anything to distract me. I was avoiding writing an article and all I could think about was sex, so I gave in. I guess the cheap bastard is not as powerful as my "natural urges"

I saw the fireworks on the Mall for the 4th. It was really nice. There were no gaps between fireworks, they were one after the other. I especially liked one where it looked like a normal firework but sparkly. Once it explodes, each dot of light, then swirls creating this really cool effect. It looks like a dandelion when they have gone to see. My favorites are still plain and simple ones that are really really big. I have to admit though, the noise still makes me jump a little. When I was younger, I had to plug my ears the whole time because I couldn't take the loud noise. The tortures of being a sensitive guy.

Interesting sighting. Today when I got out of work, I was walking from my building past the West Wing of the White House and there is this guy standing alone across the street. He looks sort of familiar but I don't say anything. The exit we usually leave was locked so we had to tur around and go the other way. We passed him again and my boss whispers to me: that is Karl Rove. It was pretty cool. He was getting into his Jaguar at the time. It was neat being that close to him and being able to just walk up to him and say hi if I wanted to. I know I am a poli-sci nerd and normal people don't know/care who he is (here is a bio from the Left one from the Middle and one scary Rove Website from the Right *note these were just the first few things that came up in a google search, I scanned them but I have no idea if they are the best sources), but I am and that is why I am in DC and working in the "White House" (at least next to it).

In continuing with how I am a poli-sci nerd and my obsession with political porn, here is my latest installment.



This was at the Drudge Report under the headline: "Kerry Picks Mate"

That is all. I'm sad that I missed Ben Folds, the Goo Goo Dolls and Ani. It sucks that I am missing the Taste of B-lo this weekend too. I will just have to break out some Salen's hot dogs from the five pound bag in my freezer that I brought back with me.

In honor of the reinvigoration of election year porn, here is a classic from the 2000 race. If you know me, you already know what it is and what sound is to be made in conjuction with its viewing. Here it is. Enjoy!

• obnoxious slurping/sucking sound

I want to apologize in advance for this post. I am kind of in a cranky mood so if I snap at you, I don't mean it.

I would just like to start off by saying, the NY Times reporters are the most self-righteous full-of-themselves assholes ever. This fucker calls the office this morning and whenever a reporter calls I have to tell my press secretary what he is calling about so he can be sure he has the info he needs to respond near him. When I answer he gives me his name and that he is from the New York Times. I ask him if our press secretary knows why he is calling (most reporters get the hint that I want to know what topic it is on). He says "no." I then ask him, what are you calling about? He answers me, "I'm writing an article (no fucking shit sherlock, you are a reporter and you are calling a communications office, that is pretty much the only reason our office exists). I then ask him, "What is the article about?" He proceeds to tell me in the most condescending I'm-from-the-New-York-Times-you-know-the-greatest-and-most-important-newspaper-out-there-we-only-print-"all-the-news-that's-fit-to-print" tone of voice, "It is a very complicated issue, and I don't want to have to explain it twice" I just wanted to tell him off. Fuck him. He is a reporter, his job is to make complicated issues simple so that people can understand them. Plus, I work there. I know what reporters are asking about. I talk to 30 a day. I was not looking for a goddamn essay, just a simple - "its about Iraq funding" or "its about the Midsession review" I don't really care what you ask about, it is my boss who wants to know. I won't be answering your question. I just went in and told my press secretary that I wouldn't be able to understand the issue so I don't know what he wants.

To continue on my bitchyness, [inlink]holly,68[/inlink] I don't mean to be a nitpicker, but the states created the federal government, it wasn't the other way around. I know that is not the point of the entry and I apologize for being such an asshole. It is just one of those pet peeves.

Speaking of things that are annoying me. I have another article due for my friend's website (see my shameless selfpromotion). I know what I want to write it on, but I don't feel like doing it because NOONE reads them. It is understandable because we realy haven't done any advertising for the site and everyone is home for the summer, but it just frustrates me when I put the effort in only to get a total of 3 responses that aren't me from the 3 articles I have written. It is also frustrating to check the views count and see it at 13 and you know 4 of those are you. And when other articles get responses but yours don't. I don't know it is just disheartening.

Ok on to other things, I am sure you are tired of hearing me bitch and I am sorry I am such a downer today.

Here is a well written article on the gay marriage amendment outing controversy from the Washington Post. I am probably going to have to agree with the general sentiment that they shouldn't out gay conservatives. I guess the arguement comes down to does the end justify the means. Call me an idealist, but I don't really think it or anything does. What good are the principles you hold if you are willing to violate them. You aren't really principled anymore. There is some quote that my mom has on our fridge at home about what good is it if you become as evil as the evil you are seeking to destroy. That is enough of the preaching. Here is the article:


Capitol Hill Insiders Irked By Campaign To 'Out' Them

By Rebecca Dana and Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 15, 2004; Page C01

The phone kept ringing in one Capitol Hill office -- hourly, daily, all leading up to yesterday's Senate vote on the constitutional amendm
en
t to ban gay marriage. Mike Rogers was on the line again. He knew something very personal about the press secretary of a Republican House member who supports the amendment, and he wanted to tell someone, preferably someone high-ranking, that the man is gay. Rogers cannot understand this. How can someone help articulate the opposition to homosexual unions when he himself is homosexual?

Rogers, a 40-year-old Washington fundraising consultant, has waged a controversial "outing" campaign in the month leading up to yesterday's vote. He sent out more 10,000 e-mails encouraging and perpetrating outings. He handed out fliers at the gay pride parade in June, asking people to send in names of gay Hill staffers working for senators and representatives who supported the Federal Marriage Amendment. He created a Web log last week listing some of those names.

He made phone calls, day and night, to the offices and homes of these staffers. His message: How dare you?

Rogers's campaign has caused a stir throughout the capital, rallying some gay-rights advocates and horrifying others, for demanding that people who are gay and Republican to defend themselves. Rogers says he plans to continue his campaign despite yesterday's vote -- the amendment was defeated 50-48 but probably will be taken up by the House this fall -- and he will tack on a "fidelity pledge" to expose members of Congress who promote "family values" but have extramarital affairs.

Openly gay since 1986, Rogers views the marriage amendment as a "very personal" hit. Everything he says on the topic ends with an exclamation point. There is "the conspiracy," he fires, "on Capitol Hill!" And "the hypocrisy," he can't believe, "among gay staffers!" He is riled up, energized and organized, using "sources" around the District to identify and expose the homosexuals on the Hill who, he believes, are abetting discrimination aimed at themselves.

"This is the big cheese!" he says. "We are under attack! Gays and lesbians are under attack! It's amazing to me that people don't get that! So what are we going to do? Protect these gay staffers who have influence on policy matters while their bosses spew hate and bigotry?"

No, says John Aravosis, national co-chairman of the activist Web site DearMary.com -- which last week ran an ad in the Washington Blade, the gay weekly newspaper, that read: "For Years Our Silence Has Protected You. Today That Protection Ends." And the Blade itself has published back-to-back front-page stories on the outing campaign, naming senior staffers and two elected officials -- one congressman, one senator -- whose names have been circulating on the Web and in other gay publications.

In an editorial on July 2, the Blade's executive editor, Chris Crain, wrote: "It is 2004, not 1954, and sexual orientation in and of itself is no longer a 'private fact' beyond the pale of inquiry." The Blade, he wrote, "would investigate and report about whether influential Hill aides are gay if facts about their sexual orientation raise highly newsworthy questions of hypocrisy in the stands taken by anti-gay members of Congress for whom they work."

Crain, in a phone interview, explains his controversial position: "The more these staffers are personally responsible for policies that challenge the basic civil rights of gay people, the more it's our responsibility, as a gay newspaper, to ask them how they justify those positions considering that they're gay."

Rogers, Aravosis and Crain inherited strategic outing as a tactic from the 1980s and 1990s, when several congressmen announced their homosexuality under pressure from others. Republican Steve Gunderson, a former Wisconsin lawmaker, came out in 1994 after threats from both gay-rights activists and House conservatives. In response to a political ad in the Blade and the rumor of a story in the gay magazine the Ad
vocate
, Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) came out in 1996 after voting in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

"The whole outing campaign makes me a little uncomfortable, but I still think it's the right thing to do," says Aravosis, a 40-year-old political consultant. "A line has been crossed. When you talk about amending the Constitution to make me a second-class citizen based on my personal relationship, then you've crossed a line of decency."

Gay organizations on the Hill -- the newly formed Gay, Lesbian & Allies U.S. Senate Staff Caucus and the 10-year-old Lesbian and Gay Congressional Staff Association -- oppose Rogers's tactics, as do the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization of gay conservatives that has offered counsel to the targets of Rogers's outings, and the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay-rights advocacy group.

Lynden Armstrong started working for Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) in 1995, and came out in the office two years later. As administrative director, he manages the senator's five offices -- four in New Mexico, one in Washington. He is a Republican. Being gay, he says, has not been an issue at work. He considers Rogers's campaign a "personal attack" on gay staffers "who haven't gotten to the point, emotionally and psychologically, that they feel that they can come out at work."

"That is a personal decision," says Armstrong, 32, sitting in the office with Fox News playing in the background. A native of Fort Sumner, N.M., now living in the District and co-chairing the nonpartisan Senate Staff Caucus, he declines to comment on whether he supports the marriage amendment. His boss voted for it. "I have to keep in mind that the senator has nothing personal against me or the gay community. He is having to do what he is elected to do -- represent his constituents. And New Mexicans, if you look at the polls, are overwhelmingly supportive of the amendment."

His beef with the Rogers campaign: "What a lot of people don't realize in this whole outing campaign, and one of the bigger problems I have with it, is they're outing people who aren't in the place in their life where they're ready for that to happen. Besides, is outing a staff member going to really affect a senator's or a representative's vote? Is it going to change anyone's position?"

Victor Castillo, a Democrat, has worked on the Hill for 11 years, first for a congressman from San Diego and now as a senior legislative assistant for Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.). Castillo is on the executive committee of the Lesbian and Gay Congressional Staff Association. He opposes both the marriage amendment and Rogers's campaign. "What purpose does it serve? It's misdirected. If anything, his campaign pushes people further into the closet."

The press secretary Rogers has threatened to out, one of more than a dozen staffers he has approached, has been open about his homosexuality for years -- to his family, his friends and his co-workers. For even longer, he has been out as a Republican to the same people, which might be an even more daunting position, especially now. He supports, or more accurately doesn't oppose, the marriage amendment, because if calling homosexual unions " 'marriage' is going to upset the fabric of civil society, to me, it ain't that important."

Friends don't understand this, he says. They don't see how the 38-year-old press secretary, who declined to be named at the request of his boss, feels no inner conflict between his job and his sexuality. This gay man is not torn about the marriage amendment. Like others whom Rogers has targeted, he is the opposite of torn.

"The irony of all of this is that the people who should be among the most tolerant when the tables are turned are those who are the first to condemn and judge," he says. "Often the gay platform is one of accepting every X, Y
and Z. Gue
ss what? That hasn't been my life experience. I have more in common with [my Republican colleagues] than I do with any person off the street that happens to be of similar sexual orientation."

© 2004 The Washington Post Company

I guess that is all for now. To all my friends who are going on vaca, enjoy. I can't wait until you visit Jill. Less than a week left than we shall party hearty. Wooo Woooo. Take care of yourselves and sorry I was so cranky, none of it was personal (unless you are a fucker from the NYT) Bye