I Just...I Mean...Wow

As a soon to be Bostonian, I am officially offended.  You know, between fits of hysterical laughter.  I love the part where the British were taking our guns and Paul Revere came at them with "papers".  I'm not sure if she made it all up or is mashing together the right to bear arms and the story of Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses.  (I'm TOTALLY betting it was the Theses mixup.  Sarah is just so likely to know about that).  The "shots and bells" part is another classic.  And not to be outdone by their feckless leader, Palin supporters then went on Wikipedia to change the page on Paul Revere to more accurately reflect Sarah's account.  Oh Sarah, how I have missed you since the 2008 election.  Welcome back Beauty Queen, Welcome Back.

Aaron Sorkin Should Have An Office In The White House

 I don't know why I felt the need to share this video clip today.  Maybe it's because it seems like not a day goes by without The Christian Right (the extremists, not everyone, don't send me hate mail) using The Bible to take someone's rights away, or hurt good people.  I think this clip from The West Wing shows that knowledge is power and sometimes you have to fight haters with their own words.  I'm also frustrated because I feel like no one is standing up to them.  Oh, and I will heretofore refer to these haters as The Ignorant Tight-Ass Club.

Second Base

So, apparently there is a big "scandal" right now with airport security. And please picture me doing air quotes when I say "scandal". You know, the kind of "scandals" that FOX News creates and then backs up in its future broadcasts. It seems that some people are offended by the "enhanced pat down" procedures. Yep, more air quotes. I experienced these new procedures when leaving Dulles to head home from the rally in D.C.

Here's the story. The TSA agent (a cute guy about my age) "randomly" selected me for a screening. (Just get used to the air quotes. It's how I express my irony). I say "randomly" because it became clear that he just wanted to chat me up. So I was put in plexiglass prison for about five minutes while he asked me what my sign is (not really that line, it's not the 90's, but you get the point). From prison I went to the "formal pat down area" with a female TSA agent. The pat down took about another 3 minutes, about equal to the time it takes me to put my shoes back on after the security check. I have to put them on standing up and inevitably end up doing the sideways hop trying not to fall down while simultaneously tying my shoes. Don't judge, you've done that dance.

Anyway, during the pat down I asked cousin Karen to take a picture of me. The picture was supposed to be funny, but I'm considering sending it to FOX News as "evidence" of "molestation". Can't you just see the pain on my face?

My point - and there is one - is that the complainers should grow up, grow a pair, suck it up, put on their big girl panties, and put things in perspective.
Not necessarily in that order. "Thank You".

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow

I didn't post anything for Veteran's Day this year, I just had a lot to do. It's not that there are no Veterans in my family, there are quite a few, I just had a lot to do. Perhaps I would write something tomorrow or the next day.

Tonight on the NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams interviewed the newest Medal of Honor recipient, Sgt. Giunta. Giunta said that his fallen comrades were the real heroes because "they gave up all of their tomorrows".

I don't like these wars or who started them or who funded them. I don't like what they have done to yet another generation of American men and women.

Despite all of that, you can't deny that many people "gave up all of their tomorrows".

I sometimes think of comedian Mike Birbiglia, who in his act said that he respects the troops because "without them, I would be the troops".

Here are a few of my troops. They made it back. And I have more tomorrows to come.

July 1945.  My Grandfather and Grandmother on the Rockefeller Center Roof Studio.  He was on leave and had not yet met his 11 month old son.  His son went on to serve as well.  

January 1931.  My Great Grandfather who, at 14 years old, forced his mother to forge his papers so he could join the Navy and fight in WWI.  He went on to serve in WWII and in Texas law enforcement.

A Post Rally Tour Of Our Nation's Capitol

After the rally Javan, Karen and I grabbed a much needed lunch at Union Station. Once we had refueled we decided to go on a double decker open top bus tour of D.C. That seemed like the best way to see as much of the city as possible without using our aching legs any more than absolutely necessary. That turned out to be one of our better decisions on the trip. We rode around the city and saw everything from Ford's Theatre and the National Archives to Georgetown and Embassy Row.

We hopped off the bus at the Lincoln Memorial, one place on the tour that I wanted to go inside for photos. We had obviously seen the Washington Monument earlier in the day, but seeing it at night and mirrored in the reflecting pool was spectacular. We went up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which was much more crowded than I had expected, and on the way passed the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech. We were walking in the footsteps of history. Somehow, the interior of the memorial was just as I had pictured it. The seated statue of Abraham Lincoln, luminous white against the golden stone around it, was breathtaking in its solitude.

After leaving the memorial we decided to go find some dinner. We ended up around the corner from G.W. University at a fun bar/restaurant. A drink and burger each later, we wound through the streets toward the Metro station. A pre-Halloween Metro ride in the G.W. area certainly was interesting. It's not often you can say you rode the subway with Chilean Miners, Alice in Wonderland, Vampires, The Cat in the Hat, and Death. We took the Metro back to Virginia where Liz's mom picked our tired butts up and took us home. It was late and we were tired, but not too tired to recount our day for the others and live it all over again.

All in all it was a great trip and I feel lucky to have gone with these amazing people.

The Capitol Building

The dome in profile

Karen and Javan

Overlooking Rock Creek Park, where all the murders on crime shows based in the D.C. area take place

This sums up their personalities perfectly

Sunset over Georgetown

National Cathedral

I've got mad picture taking while standing and in motion skills

Washington Monument and reflecting pool

The inscription above Lincoln's statue

Our 16th President

The Rally To Restore Sanity - It Was Insane!

We woke up early on Saturday morning ready to get on the road, after some coffee at least. Liz drove us (me, my cousin Javan, his wife Karen, and Liz's boyfriend Pablo) to her friend's apartment in the Dupont Circle area of D.C. After getting a bit lost, my iPad map had us back on track. We left the car at the apartment, picked up a handful more people, and left for our long walk to the National Mall. It's a 4 to 5 mile walk, but was good to get to know our new friends and see a bit of D.C. at the same time. My legs weren't so happy the next day though. Once we hit about 7th street at Constitution we got separated from the rest of the pack. Javan, Karen and I stuck together and headed up the Mall toward the Capitol Building to find an area to stand. The crowd was spectacular. Roads around the Mall were closed off to cars for blocks and there was an absolute sea of people. We slowly worked our way up the Mall and found a relatively good spot to stand where we could see one of the Jumbotrons and could hear pretty well. We were right by the Smithsonian and it was cool to see the number of people watching from the steps of the museum, or on the roofs of other buildings. We saw some cool signs, watched a few guys climb trees (with people chanting "yes you can, yes you can!" as they climbed), and waited for the show to start.

I won't detail every moment of the rally, you can watch the entire thing on Comedy Central, but I will give you a few highlights. Doing the wave as commanded by the Mythbusters was pretty cool. We were all just lemmings at that point, doing whatever ridiculous thing they said. The music was great (The Roots, Sheryl Crow, The O'Jays, Cat Stevens, Ozzy Osbourne, and Tony Bennett). The Ozzy/Cat Stevens bit was particularly funny. Then came the moment we had all been waiting for, Jon Stewart came on stage. The crowd went absolutely wild, but in a very civilized way. Then Stephen Colbert made his appearance via an underground elevator a la the Chilean miners. It was spectacular. From then on we watched in awe as those two went through their bits, as we listened to a poem from Sam Waterston, and other great guests too (like Anderson Cooper's tight black T-shirt). And just like that the rally was over. Looking back, the most amazing part of the entire rally was how civilized everyone was. In a crowd of 250,000 - 300,000 people (or 75 angry, stoned, drunk, white guys if you listen to Fox news) you would expect to have some bad behavior. However, from everything I could see, everyone was pretty well behaved. People were polite, I heard lots of "pardon me" and "could you move your sign please? Thanks!". If someone started to irritate me (like the woman trying to push an enormous stroller through the packed crowd) I remembered why we were all there and it's not sane to be a jerk. I am so glad that I get to say I was there. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Our view, with awesome signage

Countdown to Sanity

Me and Karen

I also saw "God Hates Figs"

View of the stage

This lady saw me trying to take a picture of her sign and made sure people were not in my way.  Sanity.

The steps of the Smithsonian

The stage up close

Javan and Karen

A rally sign referencing NPR, perfect.

Next up: A Post Rally Tour Of Our Nation's Capitol.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?

Let's see, where should I start? The beginning, I suppose, is most appropriate. Thursday was my last day at work, which I guess means I'm starting at the end. It felt amazing and weird at the same time when I turned off the lights in my office for the last time. I jumped in the car, turned up my music and smiled all the way home. That feeling helped me know that I had made the right decision in leaving. It's moments like that, when we turn our brains down and let our hearts speak to us, that we see the truth.

I went home and started packing for my trip to Washington D.C. for the Rally to Restore Sanity. Because of the timing and nature of this trip I didn't have time to over-think or over-plan, which for those of you who know me, know it's unusual. It was very freeing to barely know my itinerary and not care if I didn't pack perfectly. Anyway, I left Sacramento around noon Pacific time and arrived at Washington/Dulles at about 11pm Eastern time. Definitely a full day of travel. My iPad was a huge help on the flights. But more than that, I enjoyed the alone time. I could talk to an interesting fellow passenger if I wanted to, but could stick in my ear buds and close my eyes and feel completely alone as well.

I stopped in Las Vegas and Denver, but I actually like layovers rather than non-stop flights. Plus, if I hadn't stopped in Denver, I wouldn't have met one of the coolest 8-year-olds ever. Annika and her family were also flying from the Bay Area to the rally. When she sat next to me she told me her name and that she was "a big talker". Her poor father looked, well, like he had been flying with an 8-year-old all day, so I pulled out my iPad and let Annika play with it. We played games for about three quarters of the flight until I took a break to read a book. Her father nearly gave me a medal as I left the plane and Annika told me I was her new best friend. Oh, I failed to mention why Annika was so cool. She was going to the rally dressed as a zombie tea partier. How awesome is that? If she is the future of the country, I'm not worried.

I met up with my cousin Javan and his wife Karen at baggage claim at Dulles and then we waited to be picked up by our host, Liz. We all took over her house in Virginia, which was awesome. The icing on the cake was her dogs. I kept threatening to take Sergeant, the 14-year-old beagle home in my bag. My cousin tried to do the same with rowdy heeler Capone. After getting settled, we went to bed early. Early in the morning that is. Around 1am. Again, it was great to let go of how many hours of sleep I needed or what my schedule was. Liz and I talked much of the evening away and came to the conclusion that we were separated at birth. New city, new friends, new experiences, new priorities, new Meghan.

Flying into Denver

Multi-purpose bathrooms at the Denver airport

 Karen and I outside Liz's house

Sarge

Capone

Next up: The Rally To Restore Sanity. It Was Insane!

Arrow Voted. Did You?

Grab A Martini, It's Gonna Be A Long One

Oh my goodness, do we think I can update y'all in one post? Well, let's find out.  Lots has happened since I last posted.  First off, something I mentioned in my last post, I resigned from my job.  My last day is October 28th.  This had been coming for quite a while.  Obviously I'm not going to go into detail about why I am leaving, but I can tell you that I feel 100 pounds lighter.  Then after I gave notice I got a yicky bug.  I'm sure stress made me more susceptible and it's going around, but it kicked my but for four days.  Now I'm dealing with transitions, lots of transitions.  Transitions at work, transitions after I leave, and grad school looming large on the horizon.  But let me instead mention a few good things.  I recently did two paid photography gigs.  Pretty cool for my portfolio and my wallet. The photos from one of these events may be featured in a magazine soon, and I will certainly keep you posted on that.  Here are a few from the events.

There is also an exciting event coming up for me that involves a trip to our nation's capital around Halloween.  Anybody know what I'm talking about?  That's right my liberal lefty friends, I'm flying out to go to Jon Stewart's Rally To Restore Sanity on October 30th.  I'm meeting my cousin and The Girl Wife Who Is Way Too Good For Him (you remember them from last year's wedding) and staying with her family friends.  I have never been to Washington D.C. before and am so excited to be a part of this event with these cool people.  I know Jon will get some great guests and speakers.  I'm sure I will have tons of amazing photos for you when I return.  In the meantime, I hope to be able to blog a little more frequently.  The least I can do is give you some pictures.  The problem is that when I am stressed, my motivation to take my camera everywhere with me goes down.  And when I do have it, I often don't have the energy to get it out and use it.  I can tell you that there is a Richard Simmons-esque Arrow photo waiting for you in the near future so stay tuned.  Thanks for hanging in there.  Now back to work!

Remembering

Because forgetting history has gotten us into much of the trouble we are in today. Let us think of a quote from one of our founding fathers.
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" - Benjamin Franklin

Health Care Reform

I have been asked by several people recently about my views on the new Health Care Reform Bill.  

I have to say that I have not read all 2000+ pages of it, and am no expert in the field.  

Here are my basic feelings about the arguments surrounding the bill:

1. It is not socialism in the way that the Tea Baggers are talking about.  Go read up a little on socialism and see how many parts of the American government and public works are "socialized".

2. Children cannot be dropped from coverage for a preexisting condition.  Most of the children I work with were born with a preexisting condition.  There was never a time in their life when this condition did not exist.  They are the ones who need healthcare most.  These children will be much better cared for under this new law.

3. "The government is going to get between me and my doctor."  Okay, here are the three scenarios now: 

a) You have private insurance: that insurance company is between you and your doctor.

b) You have MediCare or Medicaid: the government is between you and your doctor.  

c) You don't have insurance: you probably don't see a doctor. 

There is always going to be someone that has to deal with the economics of healthcare.  The hope is that if we can limit the power of private insurance companies, who employ people solely to turn down claims, then maybe the system will work better.  It is not perfect.  There is never going to be a time when you can walk into a doctor's office, tell them where it hurts, walk out with some pills and no paperwork needs to be done.  It is a necessary evil.  

4. Children up to age 26 can stay on their parents insurance policy.  That is huge.  Do you know how many uninsured college students are out there? Imagine not having to worry about going into debt over insurance and health costs while you are trying to pay for college.  It would be an amazing relief for many people.  

My final thoughts: I think this entire HealthCare fiasco could have been handled better if the Republicans stopped throwing hissy fits and the Democrats stood up for themselves.  The religious and racist undertones coming out of the Republican party recently have been appalling.  Clearly for them it is Party before Country.  The Democrats could have gotten the real information out there in a cleaner form.  If you give the people the facts of the bill, then Sarah Palin and FOX news can only twist the info so much.  It is an imperfect bill, but it is damn better than what we have right now.  Hey Republicans, maybe if you had helped a little instead of having your heads so far up your asses it would be a little more to your liking.  The bill was passed while you guys pouted.  I'm sorry the Democrats took "your" Presidency and "your" Majority and your candy, but GET OVER IT AND GOVERN!

Possibly The Most Magnificent Photos I've Ever Taken

This is my second attempt at using the Mad Hatter's telescope as the lens of my camera.  I think it turned out pretty well.

A few more days and the moon will be full.  I can only imagine that the photos will continue to get better and better.

It's fascinating to enlarge them and take a look at the individual craters and mountains.  If you look at a map of the moon you can see the exact spots that our astronauts landed and where the original flag is planted.  It's absolutely amazing.  Anyone who thinks that NASA is an unneeded drain on the economy should take a look at these pictures.  We were charged to go to the moon and we did.  We should continue to race toward the stars.

8 Years Ago Today...

8 years ago today I woke up sick and decided to stay home from school.  It had been one month exactly since we left Texas.  I was only a few weeks into my Senior year at my new school.  

I turned on the TV to watch the Today Show like any other morning.  And that's what it was.  

Until it wasn't.  

On that day it became obvious what our lives would revolve around for a long time.  Sometimes heart wrenchingly, sometimes frustratingly.  The yearbook from my senior year is full of 9/11 photos and memories.  

My dad's boss sent him home that day.  I didn't really understand why until I heard the estimated number of dead.  

3,000

My parents lived through the assassinations of JFK, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.  They watched the Vietnam War and John Lennon's death on TV.  

My generation didn't have that.  

We had vague recollections of the first Gulf War.  And papers about Bosnia from school.

Those who know me or read this blog to any extent know that I am fiercely Liberal.  I am not a "flag waver" and I don't think that the US is the best country in the world.  I think all countries have value.  I do think that this is an amazing country and I feel blessed to live here.  

I have a relative who fought in the Revolutionary War.

My Great-Grandfather signed up with the Navy at 14 (thanks to forged papers) and shipped off to fight in WWI, marking his place in history as the youngest American to fight in a foreign war.  

I think that all of us -  Conservative and Liberal,  Religious and Atheist,  Young and Old,  Rich and Poor can agree that some very brave people fought fires, corralled traffic, and died on 9/11. 

I think they would want us to appreciate this country without forgetting that we all have a lot of work to do to make this place better.  

Let's take this day to remember but also to look forward.  

Let's create a tomorrow that we can all be proud of.  

One that would make them proud of us.

  

No Words Necessary

Impossible To Say "No" To

This is the very first post with a picture from my new camera. You likey?

PS. I think that we can all agree that in losing Senator Ted Kennedy we have lost a true statesman. Thanks Senator. In lieu of flowers, pass health care reform.

Right Wing Nut Jobs

Dear Obama-hating, Death-panel-believing, Town-hall-screaming, Sarah Palin-loving idiots,

Please shut the fuck up.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Americans With Brains

Oh My Eyes! My Eyes!

For the love of all that is holy, if you have a farmer's tan that makes you look like Barack Obama wearing a t-shirt made out of Joe Biden, please cover it up!  

Wake Up Wasilla

Rumor has it that Sarah Palin is thinking about her own talk show.  May I suggest The View Of Russia From My House.

A Gift For America On Independence Day Weekend

Sarah Palin has resigned.  

IOU

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

The citizens of California would really appreciate it if you pulled your enormous head out of your even bigger ass.  Please stop playing politics with people's lives.  If a CEO of a private company acted like you have they would be fired immediately.  I want to see state senators with 5 day old beards sleeping at their desks trying to get this budget passed.  I want to see you in a sleeping bag in your office, not in your enormous home.  I want to see you act like you care about the real people in California instead of your political agenda.  Maybe you should go back to pumping iron because you clearly suck at this.

Thanks for northing.