Today I am in Chicago. I just got home from running the Shamrock Shuffle 8K and guess what? PR!!! Finish time by my watch was 49:19. Now to put into perspective what a big deal this is, my time last year was 53:09 and my previous PR was 51:53, set in 2005. I bested last year's time by ALMOST 4 MINUTES. So this is a big deal, indeed, and I'm actually a little emotional about it. Running gives me an inner (and outer) strength that I didn't have 5 years ago....I have done this on my own, for myself, with no one telling me I can't or that I won't succeed. You know, it's so easy to look back on times when you wish you had been stronger and think about how different life could have been if you had only felt this way then. But I have to believe that I am in this moment because of the things that I have experienced and that part of the reason it means so much and that I have tears of joy running down my face right now is that metamorphosis.
It's because of where I have come from that I can truly appreciate where I am.
UPDATE: official time was 49:18.
http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=35132307&rsID=60459
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Saturday, March 29
Today I am in Chicago. I can't believe it's the end of March.
Today I had one of my best runs of all time. A few weeks ago I "discovered" an awesome 4 mile loop in my 'hood - I say "discovered" because I have run portions of this loop for about two years, but never in this specific sequence so as to create the perfect 4 mile run. Anyway, I set out this afternoon to do the 4 miles. I didn't used to wear a watch for these types of runs, but today I decided to time myself and try to finish in 40 minutes. For me to run a couple of 10-minute miles isn't really a big deal, but to run 4 of them averaging 10 minutes/mile is a step faster than I'm used to. But....I figured this would be a good test of fitness and mental resolve, both of which are important in my new focus on thinking and living like an athlete.
(By the way, let me interrupt myself and say that I simply love running down the stretch of Chicago Avenue from Ashland to Western...it is full of people in high spirits (or maybe just high) who always say hello and tell me how fetching I look in my running tights - well, they don't use the word "fetching," but you get my meaning. There is also the occasional staggering drunk to run around so it keeps me on my toes.)
Once I got halfway down Western, I knew was going to make the 40 minutes so I started thinking maybe I could finish in 38. That would mean 4 miles at an average of 9:30, a full minute faster than my typical pace. I got to the last 100 yards or so and was practically sprinting, but I made it just in time!! 4 miles, 38:00. I was so pleased that I stayed positive and focused and used that to push myself beyond what I thought I could do. What a great feeling of accomplishment and pride! Hmm...perhaps if I think about it long enough I might find a little life lesson in there somewhere.....
Today I had one of my best runs of all time. A few weeks ago I "discovered" an awesome 4 mile loop in my 'hood - I say "discovered" because I have run portions of this loop for about two years, but never in this specific sequence so as to create the perfect 4 mile run. Anyway, I set out this afternoon to do the 4 miles. I didn't used to wear a watch for these types of runs, but today I decided to time myself and try to finish in 40 minutes. For me to run a couple of 10-minute miles isn't really a big deal, but to run 4 of them averaging 10 minutes/mile is a step faster than I'm used to. But....I figured this would be a good test of fitness and mental resolve, both of which are important in my new focus on thinking and living like an athlete.
(By the way, let me interrupt myself and say that I simply love running down the stretch of Chicago Avenue from Ashland to Western...it is full of people in high spirits (or maybe just high) who always say hello and tell me how fetching I look in my running tights - well, they don't use the word "fetching," but you get my meaning. There is also the occasional staggering drunk to run around so it keeps me on my toes.)
Once I got halfway down Western, I knew was going to make the 40 minutes so I started thinking maybe I could finish in 38. That would mean 4 miles at an average of 9:30, a full minute faster than my typical pace. I got to the last 100 yards or so and was practically sprinting, but I made it just in time!! 4 miles, 38:00. I was so pleased that I stayed positive and focused and used that to push myself beyond what I thought I could do. What a great feeling of accomplishment and pride! Hmm...perhaps if I think about it long enough I might find a little life lesson in there somewhere.....
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday, March 28
Today I am in Chicago after flying back from Memphis this morning. Here is the political quote of the day:
"Senator Clinton has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to. As far as the delegate count and the interests of a Democratic victory in November go, there is not a very good reason for drawing this out. But as I have said before, that is a decision that only she can make." -- Sen. Patrick Leahy
"Every right, but not a very good reason" - I love it.
"Senator Clinton has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to. As far as the delegate count and the interests of a Democratic victory in November go, there is not a very good reason for drawing this out. But as I have said before, that is a decision that only she can make." -- Sen. Patrick Leahy
"Every right, but not a very good reason" - I love it.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday, March 27
Today I am in Memphis and am presently sitting in the Northwest Airlines lounge near to The Loudest Woman on Earth. I'm sure you've heard her: she of the piercing voice and constant giggles, lacks any mechanism to assess personal volume, when laughing she claps and flails back in her chair in a convulsive manner that makes me worried for her physical well-being.
Today is one of those days where I am sitting in the airport, delayed and bored, which inevitably leads to a rather mundane and bitchy series of observations as to what is going on nearby. Case in point: The Loudest Woman on Earth is now sitting next to The Loudest Sneezer on Earth. He just let one rip and it made me jump. I think situation calls for NW Club wine. Since the time I started writing this paragraph he has sneezed an additional 6 times and it's starting to freak me out.
I'm scheduled to run 10 miles this weekend in prep for the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon (http://www.runsantaynez.com/index.htm) which I am running on May 10. Hard to believe that in a little over 6 weeks I'll be doing another 1/2 marathon in a place I've never before seen. I've also entered the Soldier Field Ten Miler, the Bolder Boulder (10K in Boulder, CO), and, of course, the Chicago Marathon! I'm planning to run the Big Sur Half Marathon, which is actually in Monterey, not Big Sur, and is taking place on my birthday! It's weird to think that I have an actual race calendar (though it's not especially thought out, except that I want to do halfs about 2 months apart and run the marathon this fall). All part of thinking and living more like an athlete.....
Today is one of those days where I am sitting in the airport, delayed and bored, which inevitably leads to a rather mundane and bitchy series of observations as to what is going on nearby. Case in point: The Loudest Woman on Earth is now sitting next to The Loudest Sneezer on Earth. He just let one rip and it made me jump. I think situation calls for NW Club wine. Since the time I started writing this paragraph he has sneezed an additional 6 times and it's starting to freak me out.
I'm scheduled to run 10 miles this weekend in prep for the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon (http://www.runsantaynez.com/index.htm) which I am running on May 10. Hard to believe that in a little over 6 weeks I'll be doing another 1/2 marathon in a place I've never before seen. I've also entered the Soldier Field Ten Miler, the Bolder Boulder (10K in Boulder, CO), and, of course, the Chicago Marathon! I'm planning to run the Big Sur Half Marathon, which is actually in Monterey, not Big Sur, and is taking place on my birthday! It's weird to think that I have an actual race calendar (though it's not especially thought out, except that I want to do halfs about 2 months apart and run the marathon this fall). All part of thinking and living more like an athlete.....
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Sunday, March 23
Today I am in Chicago. Here is the political quote of the day (it was actually yesterday, but very late at night):
"Three weeks ago, my girl Tina Fey, she came on this show and she declared that bitch is the new black. You know I love you, Tina. You know you my girl, but I have something to say. Bitch may be the new black, but black is the new president, bitch." -- Tracy Morgan
Oh my - I can't envision a time where I won't think that is some seriously funny shit.
And on a related note, I just read a fantastic article on Politico.com about the reality of the Democratic race. Thank the lord someone in the media will finally admit that this race is all but over and that Obama will be the nominee. It's not as compelling of a story, but it's reality. Read on:
Story behind the story: The Clinton myth
By: Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen
March 22, 2008 06:43 AM EST
One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.
Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency.
Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.
People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet.
As it happens, many people inside Clinton’s campaign live right here on Earth. One important Clinton adviser estimated to Politico privately that she has no more than a 10 percent chance of winning her race against Barack Obama, an appraisal that was echoed by other operatives.
In other words: The notion of the Democratic contest being a dramatic cliffhanger is a game of make-believe.
The real question is why so many people are playing. The answer has more to do with media psychology than with practical politics.
Journalists have become partners with the Clinton campaign in pretending that the contest is closer than it really is. Most coverage breathlessly portrays the race as a down-to-the-wire sprint between two well-matched candidates, one only slightly better situated than the other to win in August at the national convention in Denver.
One reason is fear of embarrassment. In its zeal to avoid predictive reporting of the sort that embarrassed journalists in New Hampshire, the media — including Politico — have tended to avoid zeroing in on the tough math Clinton faces.
Avoiding predictions based on polls even before voters cast their ballots is wise policy. But that's not the same as drawing sober and well-grounded conclusions about the current state of a race after millions of voters have registered their preferences.
The antidote to last winter's flawed predictions is not to promote a misleading narrative based on the desired but unlikely story line of one candidate.
There are other forces also working to preserve the notion of a contest that is still up for grabs.
One important, if subliminal, reason is self-interest. Reporters and editors love a close race — it’s more fun and it’s good for business.
The media are also enamored of the almost mystical ability of the Clintons to work their way out of tight jams, as they have done for 16 years at the national level. That explains why some reporters are inclined to believe the Clinton campaign when it talks about how she’s going to win on the third ballot at the Democratic National Convention in August.
That’s certainly possible — and, to be clear, we’d love to see the race last that long — but it’s folly to write about this as if it is likely. It’s also hard to overstate the role the talented Clinton camp plays in shaping the campaign narrative, first by subtly lowering the bar for the performance necessary to remain in the race, and then by keeping the focus on Obama’s relationships with a political fixer and a controversial pastor in Illinois.
But even some of Clinton’s own advisers now concede that she cannot win unless Obama is hit by a political meteor. Something that merely undermines him won't be enough. It would have to be some development that essentially disqualifies him.
Simple number-crunching has shown the long odds against Clinton for some time. In the latest Associated Press delegate count, Obama leads with 1,406 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 1,249. Obama’s lead is likely to grow, as it did with county conventions last weekend in Iowa, as later rounds of delegates are apportioned from caucuses he has already won.
The Democratic Party has 794 superdelegates, the party insiders who get to vote on the nomination in addition to the delegates chosen by voters. According to Politico's latest tally, Clinton has 250 and Obama has 212. That means 261 are uncommitted, and 71 have yet to be named.
An analysis by Politico's Avi Zenilman shows that Clinton’s lead in superdelegates has shrunk by about 60 in the past month. And it found Clinton is roughly tied among House members, senators and governors — the party’s most powerful elite.
Clinton had not announced a new superdelegate commitment since the March 4 primaries, until the drought was broken recently by Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) and West Virginia committeeman Pat Maroney.
Clintonistas continue to talk tough. Phil Singer, the Clinton campaign’s deputy communications director, told reporters on a conference call Friday that the Obama campaign “is in hot water” and is “seeing the ground shift away from them.” Mark Penn, the campaign’s chief strategist, maintained that it’s still “a hard-fought race between two potential nominees” and that other factors could come into play at the convention besides the latest delegate tally — “the popular vote, who will have won more delegates from primaries [as opposed to caucuses], who will be the stronger candidate against McCain.”
But let’s assume a best-case scenario for Clinton, one where she wins every remaining contest with 60 percent of the vote (an unlikely outcome since she has hit that level in only three states so far — her home state of New York, Rhode Island and Arkansas).
Even then, she would still be behind Obama in delegates.
There are 566 pledged delegates up for grabs in upcoming contests. Those delegates come from Pennsylvania (158), Guam (4) North Carolina (115), Indiana (72), West Virginia (28), Kentucky (51), Oregon (52), Puerto Rico (55), Montana (16) and South Dakota (15).
If Clinton won 60 percent of those delegates, she would get 340 delegates to Obama's 226. Under that scenario — and without revotes in Michigan and Florida — Obama would still lead in delegates by 1,632 to 1,589.
The only remote possibility of a win in delegates would come if revotes were held in Florida and Michigan — which, again, would take a political miracle. If Clinton won 60 percent of the delegates in both states, she would win 188 delegates and Obama would win 125. Clinton would then lead among pledged delegates, 1,777 to 1,757.
The other elephant in the room for Clinton is that Obama is almost certain to win North Carolina, with its high percentage of African-American voters, and also is seen as extremely strong in Oregon.
Harold Ickes, an icon of the Democratic Party who is Clinton’s chief delegate strategist, points out that every previous forecast about this race has been faulty. Asked about the Obama campaign’s contention that it’s mathematically impossible for Clinton to win, Ickes replied: “They can’t count. At the end of it, even by the Obama campaign’s prediction, neither candidate will have enough delegates to be nominated.”
This is true, as a matter of math. But even the Clinton campaign’s own best-case scenario has her finishing behind Obama when all the nominating contests are over.
“She will be close to him but certainly not equal to him in pledged delegates,” a Clinton adviser said. “When you add the superdelegates on top of it, I’ll think she’ll still be behind him somewhat in total delegates — but very, very close.”
The total gap is likely to be 75 to 110, the adviser said. That means Clinton would need either some of those pledged delegates to switch their support — which technically they can do, though it would be unlikely — or for the white-dominated group of superdelegates to join forces with her to topple Obama.
To foster doubt about Obama, Clinton supporters are using a whisper and pressure campaign to make an 11th-hour argument to party insiders that he would be a weak candidate in November despite his superior standing at the moment.
“All she has left is the electability argument,” a Democratic official said. "It’s all wrapped around: Is there something that makes him ultimately unelectable?”
But the audience for that argument, the superdelegates, will not easily overturn the will of the party’s voters.
And in fact, a number of heavyweight Democrats are looking at the landscape and laying the groundwork to dissuade Clinton from trying to overturn the will of the party rank and file.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has not endorsed either candidate, appears to be among them. She told Bloomberg Television that superdelegates should "respect for what has been said by the people.” And she told ABC’s “This Week” that it would be “harmful to the Democratic Party” if superdelegates overturn the outcome of elections.
A Democratic strategist said that given the unlikelihood of prevailing any other way, Clinton now must “scare” superdelegates “who basically just want to win.”
The strategist said Clinton aides are now relying heavily on the controversy over Obama’s retiring minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to sow new seeds of doubt.
“This issue is the first thing that’s come along that I think is potentially fatal to his electability argument,” the strategist said. “They’re looking ahead and saying: Is it possible this thing is just going to drip, drip, drip, drip — more video? Where does that leave us if he’s our presumptive nominee and he’s limping into the convention and the Republicans are just read to go on him, double-barreled?”
The strategist also said Clinton’s agents are making more subtle pitches. “I’ve heard people start to say: Have you looked at the vote in Ohio really carefully? See how that breaks down for him. What does that portend?” said the strategist. “Then they point to Pennsylvania: In electorally important battleground states, if he is essentially only carrying heavy African-American turnout in high-performing African-American districts and the Starbucks-sipping, Volvo-driving liberal elite, how does he carry a state like Pennsylvania?”
Her advisers say privately that the nominee will be clear by the end of June. At the same time, they recognize that the nominee probably is clear already.
What has to irk Clintons’ aides is that they felt she might finally have him on the ropes, bruised badly by the Wright fight and wobbly in polls.
But the bell rang long ago in the minds of too many voters.
Avi Zenilman contributed to this report.
© 2007 Capitol News Company, LLC
"Three weeks ago, my girl Tina Fey, she came on this show and she declared that bitch is the new black. You know I love you, Tina. You know you my girl, but I have something to say. Bitch may be the new black, but black is the new president, bitch." -- Tracy Morgan
Oh my - I can't envision a time where I won't think that is some seriously funny shit.
And on a related note, I just read a fantastic article on Politico.com about the reality of the Democratic race. Thank the lord someone in the media will finally admit that this race is all but over and that Obama will be the nominee. It's not as compelling of a story, but it's reality. Read on:
Story behind the story: The Clinton myth
By: Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen
March 22, 2008 06:43 AM EST
One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.
Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency.
Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.
People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet.
As it happens, many people inside Clinton’s campaign live right here on Earth. One important Clinton adviser estimated to Politico privately that she has no more than a 10 percent chance of winning her race against Barack Obama, an appraisal that was echoed by other operatives.
In other words: The notion of the Democratic contest being a dramatic cliffhanger is a game of make-believe.
The real question is why so many people are playing. The answer has more to do with media psychology than with practical politics.
Journalists have become partners with the Clinton campaign in pretending that the contest is closer than it really is. Most coverage breathlessly portrays the race as a down-to-the-wire sprint between two well-matched candidates, one only slightly better situated than the other to win in August at the national convention in Denver.
One reason is fear of embarrassment. In its zeal to avoid predictive reporting of the sort that embarrassed journalists in New Hampshire, the media — including Politico — have tended to avoid zeroing in on the tough math Clinton faces.
Avoiding predictions based on polls even before voters cast their ballots is wise policy. But that's not the same as drawing sober and well-grounded conclusions about the current state of a race after millions of voters have registered their preferences.
The antidote to last winter's flawed predictions is not to promote a misleading narrative based on the desired but unlikely story line of one candidate.
There are other forces also working to preserve the notion of a contest that is still up for grabs.
One important, if subliminal, reason is self-interest. Reporters and editors love a close race — it’s more fun and it’s good for business.
The media are also enamored of the almost mystical ability of the Clintons to work their way out of tight jams, as they have done for 16 years at the national level. That explains why some reporters are inclined to believe the Clinton campaign when it talks about how she’s going to win on the third ballot at the Democratic National Convention in August.
That’s certainly possible — and, to be clear, we’d love to see the race last that long — but it’s folly to write about this as if it is likely. It’s also hard to overstate the role the talented Clinton camp plays in shaping the campaign narrative, first by subtly lowering the bar for the performance necessary to remain in the race, and then by keeping the focus on Obama’s relationships with a political fixer and a controversial pastor in Illinois.
But even some of Clinton’s own advisers now concede that she cannot win unless Obama is hit by a political meteor. Something that merely undermines him won't be enough. It would have to be some development that essentially disqualifies him.
Simple number-crunching has shown the long odds against Clinton for some time. In the latest Associated Press delegate count, Obama leads with 1,406 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 1,249. Obama’s lead is likely to grow, as it did with county conventions last weekend in Iowa, as later rounds of delegates are apportioned from caucuses he has already won.
The Democratic Party has 794 superdelegates, the party insiders who get to vote on the nomination in addition to the delegates chosen by voters. According to Politico's latest tally, Clinton has 250 and Obama has 212. That means 261 are uncommitted, and 71 have yet to be named.
An analysis by Politico's Avi Zenilman shows that Clinton’s lead in superdelegates has shrunk by about 60 in the past month. And it found Clinton is roughly tied among House members, senators and governors — the party’s most powerful elite.
Clinton had not announced a new superdelegate commitment since the March 4 primaries, until the drought was broken recently by Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) and West Virginia committeeman Pat Maroney.
Clintonistas continue to talk tough. Phil Singer, the Clinton campaign’s deputy communications director, told reporters on a conference call Friday that the Obama campaign “is in hot water” and is “seeing the ground shift away from them.” Mark Penn, the campaign’s chief strategist, maintained that it’s still “a hard-fought race between two potential nominees” and that other factors could come into play at the convention besides the latest delegate tally — “the popular vote, who will have won more delegates from primaries [as opposed to caucuses], who will be the stronger candidate against McCain.”
But let’s assume a best-case scenario for Clinton, one where she wins every remaining contest with 60 percent of the vote (an unlikely outcome since she has hit that level in only three states so far — her home state of New York, Rhode Island and Arkansas).
Even then, she would still be behind Obama in delegates.
There are 566 pledged delegates up for grabs in upcoming contests. Those delegates come from Pennsylvania (158), Guam (4) North Carolina (115), Indiana (72), West Virginia (28), Kentucky (51), Oregon (52), Puerto Rico (55), Montana (16) and South Dakota (15).
If Clinton won 60 percent of those delegates, she would get 340 delegates to Obama's 226. Under that scenario — and without revotes in Michigan and Florida — Obama would still lead in delegates by 1,632 to 1,589.
The only remote possibility of a win in delegates would come if revotes were held in Florida and Michigan — which, again, would take a political miracle. If Clinton won 60 percent of the delegates in both states, she would win 188 delegates and Obama would win 125. Clinton would then lead among pledged delegates, 1,777 to 1,757.
The other elephant in the room for Clinton is that Obama is almost certain to win North Carolina, with its high percentage of African-American voters, and also is seen as extremely strong in Oregon.
Harold Ickes, an icon of the Democratic Party who is Clinton’s chief delegate strategist, points out that every previous forecast about this race has been faulty. Asked about the Obama campaign’s contention that it’s mathematically impossible for Clinton to win, Ickes replied: “They can’t count. At the end of it, even by the Obama campaign’s prediction, neither candidate will have enough delegates to be nominated.”
This is true, as a matter of math. But even the Clinton campaign’s own best-case scenario has her finishing behind Obama when all the nominating contests are over.
“She will be close to him but certainly not equal to him in pledged delegates,” a Clinton adviser said. “When you add the superdelegates on top of it, I’ll think she’ll still be behind him somewhat in total delegates — but very, very close.”
The total gap is likely to be 75 to 110, the adviser said. That means Clinton would need either some of those pledged delegates to switch their support — which technically they can do, though it would be unlikely — or for the white-dominated group of superdelegates to join forces with her to topple Obama.
To foster doubt about Obama, Clinton supporters are using a whisper and pressure campaign to make an 11th-hour argument to party insiders that he would be a weak candidate in November despite his superior standing at the moment.
“All she has left is the electability argument,” a Democratic official said. "It’s all wrapped around: Is there something that makes him ultimately unelectable?”
But the audience for that argument, the superdelegates, will not easily overturn the will of the party’s voters.
And in fact, a number of heavyweight Democrats are looking at the landscape and laying the groundwork to dissuade Clinton from trying to overturn the will of the party rank and file.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has not endorsed either candidate, appears to be among them. She told Bloomberg Television that superdelegates should "respect for what has been said by the people.” And she told ABC’s “This Week” that it would be “harmful to the Democratic Party” if superdelegates overturn the outcome of elections.
A Democratic strategist said that given the unlikelihood of prevailing any other way, Clinton now must “scare” superdelegates “who basically just want to win.”
The strategist said Clinton aides are now relying heavily on the controversy over Obama’s retiring minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to sow new seeds of doubt.
“This issue is the first thing that’s come along that I think is potentially fatal to his electability argument,” the strategist said. “They’re looking ahead and saying: Is it possible this thing is just going to drip, drip, drip, drip — more video? Where does that leave us if he’s our presumptive nominee and he’s limping into the convention and the Republicans are just read to go on him, double-barreled?”
The strategist also said Clinton’s agents are making more subtle pitches. “I’ve heard people start to say: Have you looked at the vote in Ohio really carefully? See how that breaks down for him. What does that portend?” said the strategist. “Then they point to Pennsylvania: In electorally important battleground states, if he is essentially only carrying heavy African-American turnout in high-performing African-American districts and the Starbucks-sipping, Volvo-driving liberal elite, how does he carry a state like Pennsylvania?”
Her advisers say privately that the nominee will be clear by the end of June. At the same time, they recognize that the nominee probably is clear already.
What has to irk Clintons’ aides is that they felt she might finally have him on the ropes, bruised badly by the Wright fight and wobbly in polls.
But the bell rang long ago in the minds of too many voters.
Avi Zenilman contributed to this report.
© 2007 Capitol News Company, LLC
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Saturday, March 22
Today I am in Chicago. I realized this morning that today is Colin Murphy's birthday. Colin was my high school boyfriend and why I remember that March 22 is his birthday but I forget to take clothes out of the washer and wind up leaving them there overnight, I will never understand.
So....I love Dan Savage, he of Savage Love, of The Stranger in Seattle and thanks to the miracle of print syndication, of my own Chicago Reader. For the uninitiated, Dan is a relationship columnist of sorts though with a rather in-your-face perspective on things. If you are looking for soothing words, Dan Savage is not your guy. I saw the following post in his column this week about his appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, and had to share - be warned, this post is not for the faint of ideology:
While we’re on the subject of all things Canadian, I said something on Real Time that seems to have upset all those normally placid, easygoing French-speaking Canadians. While discussing the hyper-religiosity of the American electorate, I made this observation: “Australia got the convicts. Canada got the French. We got the Puritans. We’re stuck with them.”
“I was very pleased to see that you are putting French-Canadians on the same level as the Australian convicts,” writes JNR of Montreal. “As a matter of fact, a few of these convicts came from Quebec, from where they were banished after the 1837’38 riot. But please don’t compare us to the Puritans.”
For the record: It was a compliment, Quebec. What I meant, of course, was that Australia was lucky to get the convicts and Canada was lucky to get the French, while we got stuck with the fucking Puritans and their sex-hating, Jesus-freaking, GOP-voting descendants. In fact, I’ll prove how much I love French-speaking Canada by offering English-speaking Canada this deal: The sane people in the United States will happily trade you the Bible Belt for Quebec. We’ll take those contentious secessionist headaches off your hands, and all those bilingual street signs, if you’ll take the 22 percent of our country that still believes George W. Bush is doing a good job.
You get Mike Huckabee and Gary Bauer; we get Justin Trudeau and Antoine Vermette. We get all your hot boys with sexy accents from Montreal; you get all our slope-shouldered, slack-jawed yokels from Mississippi. Do we have a deal?
So....I love Dan Savage, he of Savage Love, of The Stranger in Seattle and thanks to the miracle of print syndication, of my own Chicago Reader. For the uninitiated, Dan is a relationship columnist of sorts though with a rather in-your-face perspective on things. If you are looking for soothing words, Dan Savage is not your guy. I saw the following post in his column this week about his appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, and had to share - be warned, this post is not for the faint of ideology:
While we’re on the subject of all things Canadian, I said something on Real Time that seems to have upset all those normally placid, easygoing French-speaking Canadians. While discussing the hyper-religiosity of the American electorate, I made this observation: “Australia got the convicts. Canada got the French. We got the Puritans. We’re stuck with them.”
“I was very pleased to see that you are putting French-Canadians on the same level as the Australian convicts,” writes JNR of Montreal. “As a matter of fact, a few of these convicts came from Quebec, from where they were banished after the 1837’38 riot. But please don’t compare us to the Puritans.”
For the record: It was a compliment, Quebec. What I meant, of course, was that Australia was lucky to get the convicts and Canada was lucky to get the French, while we got stuck with the fucking Puritans and their sex-hating, Jesus-freaking, GOP-voting descendants. In fact, I’ll prove how much I love French-speaking Canada by offering English-speaking Canada this deal: The sane people in the United States will happily trade you the Bible Belt for Quebec. We’ll take those contentious secessionist headaches off your hands, and all those bilingual street signs, if you’ll take the 22 percent of our country that still believes George W. Bush is doing a good job.
You get Mike Huckabee and Gary Bauer; we get Justin Trudeau and Antoine Vermette. We get all your hot boys with sexy accents from Montreal; you get all our slope-shouldered, slack-jawed yokels from Mississippi. Do we have a deal?
Friday, March 21, 2008
Friday, March 21
Today I am in Chicago and I JUST REGISTERED FOR THE CHICAGO MARATHON! Wow. Okay. I'm really going to do it this year. The first time I went to the website to check it out I got nervous just thinking about training for it - but now I feel calm about it, and know that I can do it if I train properly. I really want to start thinking and living more like an athlete. It makes me feel good to take care of myself, and running has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. I've made friends, improved my health, maintained my weight, seen lots of cities in ways that many people don't, achieved goals, and increased my belief that I can do the things I say I will do (I'm still working on that last part...). Running makes me a better person.
It snowed about 6 inches here today. I am so sick of this winter - it just won't END.
Here are photos of me in Tucson (I don't know who the people are in the first 4 photos).
http://www.runphotos.com/browse.cfm?race_id=127&bib_number=388
It snowed about 6 inches here today. I am so sick of this winter - it just won't END.
Here are photos of me in Tucson (I don't know who the people are in the first 4 photos).
http://www.runphotos.com/browse.cfm?race_id=127&bib_number=388
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday, March 16
Today I am in Tucson.
THE RACE IS DONE. I haven't really figured out yet how I feel about it, but I think that's mostly a function of how new it is and how tired I am. It was a tough course and we're a few thousand feet above sea level, so there were a couple of moments where I really was so tired I wanted to stop (or at least walk). BUT.....I didn't and I think this experience will make me mentally stronger for future races. I was kind of disappointed with my time - 2:25 - because it was a few minutes slower than Cabo. But again - tougher course and elevation, so I am okay with it and it's still my 2nd fastest half marathon ever. Anyway, glad it's over.
The food here in Tucson is awesome, especially if you like or want to try authentic Mexican food and not the Americanized cheese enchilada version. Yesterday I ate one of the yummiest meals of my life at Cafe Poca Cosa (featured by Rachael Ray when she filmed "$40 a Day" in Tucson). Right now I am craving eggs provencale from Ghini's French Cafe, which I read about yesterday and immediately decided should be my postrace meal. So...I'm off to do that and then head to Memphis!
THE RACE IS DONE. I haven't really figured out yet how I feel about it, but I think that's mostly a function of how new it is and how tired I am. It was a tough course and we're a few thousand feet above sea level, so there were a couple of moments where I really was so tired I wanted to stop (or at least walk). BUT.....I didn't and I think this experience will make me mentally stronger for future races. I was kind of disappointed with my time - 2:25 - because it was a few minutes slower than Cabo. But again - tougher course and elevation, so I am okay with it and it's still my 2nd fastest half marathon ever. Anyway, glad it's over.
The food here in Tucson is awesome, especially if you like or want to try authentic Mexican food and not the Americanized cheese enchilada version. Yesterday I ate one of the yummiest meals of my life at Cafe Poca Cosa (featured by Rachael Ray when she filmed "$40 a Day" in Tucson). Right now I am craving eggs provencale from Ghini's French Cafe, which I read about yesterday and immediately decided should be my postrace meal. So...I'm off to do that and then head to Memphis!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Wednesday, March 5
Today I am in Chicago. It occurred to me today that this is the best field of Democratic candidates we've had in my lifetime and we're going to waste it on this protracted nomination process. Two resulting thoughts:
1. Howard Dean should be fired.
2. Democrats are the new Cubs fans.
1. Howard Dean should be fired.
2. Democrats are the new Cubs fans.
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