Against All Enemies I borrowed Richard Clarke's book from my stepdad and am reading it now. It's very accessible and the first chapter, which is his experiences on 9/11/01, is very exciting. It's amazing how long ago 9/11 was, but how fresh it can seem--and how unreal it still can seem. You may think you've heard all the book has to say in its media coverage when it came out (I did), but its overview is worthwhile.

Anyway the reason I am blogging about it is on page 89. December 1993 was the 5th anniversary of the Lockerbie Pan Am 103 bombing and Clarke had organized a Scottish cairn to be erected at Arlington in memorial (many killed were servicepeople). At a ceremony, Clinton and a 4-year-old boy whose father had died on 103 broke ground for the cairn, and Clinton whispered something in his ear, which the boy's mother later told Clarke was "My father died before I was born too. Be good to your mom."

Cute story eh? Not like the media cared--their report that night on the Prez was all about Arkansas state troopers, and not a word about Pan Am 103. No wonder people think politicians are assholes. Turns out those who actually interact with them have very different views. Clinton's empathy is well-documented, but when I was in DC last weekend I asked a campaign staffer why she chose to work for Kerry a year ago, and she had a personal story about how well he handled a question of hers when she met him.
¶ 6:18 AM 1 comments

Speaking of dissertations.... did you know the difference between a thesis and a dissertation? I didn't until recently. In a nutshell, a thesis is an idea (hence "thesis statement") and a dissertation is a document. So one writes one's dissertation, which expounds and supports one's thesis. I can't believe I was thinking of doing this without knowing that.

Anyone who wants to buy me the book Shivers recommends is way hired. :)
¶ 6:12 AM 0 comments

Remember me? yeah...slow week for the blog, I know. I have decided that my interest in politics/current events and my interest in obtaining my PhD are not very compatible. So I am trying to unplug a bit from the news cycle...I will try and make it such that when I _do_ plug in, tho, I think to blog about it. Or maybe you will just hear a lot about the pain of writing a dissertation.
¶ 6:05 AM 0 comments

Freudian Overtone of the Day The Rude Pundit: Apparently our President keeps Saddam Hussein's gun, the one he had when he was captured from the 'spider hole,' in a study off the side of the Oval Office. Bush shows it to visitors; he is 'proud of it' because, it seems, or so it is said, it reminds the President of how 'proud' he is of the troops.

That's only a little bit illegal, btw. For all sorts of reasons...

¶ 9:57 PM 0 comments

Yes Yes Y'all I visited my boyfriend in DC this weekend. On Friday I met him at his workplace--the John Kerry campaign headquarters! I had a great time meeting his coworkers and volunteering for the afternoon with the Internet team. Later on John Kerry dropped by to visit me...well OK, for a photo op. (I was standing to his right.) You know how he can look way craggy sometimes in photos? Not in person, at ALL. And jeez, such a better voice.
¶ 8:51 PM 0 comments

It Made Me Laugh U.S. Backs New Iraq Leaders, Says Not Puppets.

not puppets! LOL!
¶ 8:43 PM 0 comments