Slick Willy Visits the North (Hide the Little Girls)

You have to love Bill Clinton. Of course that’s understandable if you’re a woman and have seen him speak. He can even seduce you while talking economic policy flaws of the Weimar Republic. That’s powerful stuff.

Editors Note: I have seen him speak in person and he’s so engaging that I might have a man crush on him.

Today (or yesterday depending on your time zone) he flew on a “private” diplomatic mission to North Korea to check on the condition (and presumably work for the release) of the two American journalists imprisoned there since April. The Washington Post has a full story of the first day of the trip here.

While reading this I decided to check out the “comments” section on the article and was not surprised to read the usual bickering from both the left and the right regarding Obama and Bush and Carter and even a couple of digs at Nixon (everybody loves a Nixon dig now and again). But what I observed was that we were arguing over our Government’s decision to go to North Korea. Actually arguing over a country that if were citizens there, we couldn’t even have a negative thought about the government less we run the risk of getting dragged off in the middle of the night. It speaks directly to our great country and the freedoms we enjoy.

I highly recommend reading Howard Fineman’s new book, “Thirteen American Arguments” for its insight into this exact situation and why our arguments/discussions/differences make this country so great.

But back to the article and the comments section. After reading everybody’s thoughts I decided to leave one of my own. I end today’s entry with my posting on the Washington Post’s comment board.

The great thing is we (both right and left) can argue for different sides of how to "deal" with the situation in NK. This argument underscores the differences between the US an NK in that we have the freedom to argue (and even deride) our leaders' decisions. Try doing that over in NK and see how fast they drag you away.

It is my opinion that anybody who doesn't believe that the WH/State Dept didn't have a hand in this trip is foolish and short sighted. It's very clearly a "government" trip but with a representative in Clinton who is respected by the people he needs to negotiate with. He is clearly there for the journalists and not to negotiate over nukes. If this trip is successful and the NK’s come back to the table to discuss nukes then that’s a bonus.

The bottom line is we cannot be isolationists to any country any more and our current administration is working hard to remake America’s image abroad which has been (and there is virtually no room for discussion here) tarnished in a post 9/11 world. I applaud this diplomatic mission as it is hopefully a beginning of meaningful dialogue between two nations who share this world.

Lastly a note to people who criticize the Obama administration: take a step back and think before you speak. That’s not to say you are not entitled to your opinion (you most certainly are) but part of the reason we (the country) is in such the mess right now is the constant splintering and bickering. Let’s try to find some common ground both in our national debate and the WaPo discussion boards. I’ll even buy the first round.

John....Leon...What’s the Difference and Miss Kitty (is dead).

See I’m not the only one. Mrs. Bloggerman swears that I can’t remember the difference between Leon Panetta (CIA Director) and John Podesta (Chief of Staff to President Clinton). She’s right. However I’m not the only one. In today’s DC Examiner we learn that Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) has that same problem. Plus he has the additional problem have having his name sound a lot like another former New Jersey-ite, Bill Parcells. But on with the story. Rep Pascrell was introducing Mr. PANETTA at a Capitol Hill luncheon last week and refereed to him three times as “John”. Now call me stupid (ok you can stop now) but even the most burned out, drugged up, drunken heavy medal guitarist can remember what city they are in (as in “Kalamazoo, Michigan, you rock!”) by simply taping the name of that stop on the neck of their axe. A sane person might think that Mr. Pascrell would have thought to write down Mr. Panetta’s name on an index card to reference, especially seeing how close it is to Mr. Podesta. He didn’t and now we laugh! HA HA HA. Ok that’s enough.

Don’t some pets have it bad enough with out being called something really stupid (again...comments about Bloggerman’s pet is not necessary)? While some of you are at least creative or sentimental there are plenty of lazy pet owners who name their dog, Rex, Scraps, Rover, or even Mr. Fluffy Tail. Feline owners are no better with Paws, Scratcher, Wiskers and the like. However even with that vomit inducing lineup there is at least one person out there who is so bad that they need to be stopped. I submit for you Thomas Shad of Miami, Florida who’s cat went by the name of “Miss Kitty”. Well Mr. Shad, if you weren’t already out, now would be a good time to take that big, bold step out of the closet! This is normally the point where I start really laying in to Shad and the rest of his insufferable bunch but the only reason I know of his cat’s name is because Miss Kitty is dead along with several dozen other cats at the hands (supposedly) of Tyler Hayes Weinman, 18 who was arrested yesterday on multiple charges of stealing and mutilating cats in his neighborhood. All I can say his I really hope that he did do it and the justice system finds him guilty and he’s put away for a long time. There is a certain sick personality trait needed to perform these kinds of crimes and I’m not sure that whatever time he gets behind bars will be enough. So help him if I get my hands around his neck. I think that might cure him (and us) of the evil that men do.

Lastly as a bonus, I want to thank Alfred Rava who in his ultimate “jerk-dom” and “douchewaffle-ness” helped boost the daily readership of Nobody Likes a Jerk into the triple digits. It turns out that we are among many front page Google results for Mr. Rava.

POTUS, Pets, and Passports

We should have seen this coming. Eight years ago when Bush and Gore were vying for the Presidency, we should have seen this coming. We should have known that every cravat of their lives and those of every other candidate in the future would be probe, prodded, licked, and sucked until a good story comes of it.

The latest comes as a report from the State Department yesterday that Barrak Obama’s passport file was “looked” at three different times by three different people over the last few months. The bulk of the story can be read in the Washington Post, and I really don’t want to delve into the facts too much, but rather I want to focus on what was gleaned from his records.

I don’t know what would be in my “passport file” other then the basics (name, address, dob, ssn, etc.) and the places I’ve traveled. I wonder if Senator Obama has been to the Bahamas or Fiji anytime recently, or if he took a quick jaunt up to Canada last summer to get some R&R?

Really I could care less! What I want to know is do Obama or McCain have pets? I exclude Hillary from this because we know about Socks the Cat (is he still alive?) and Bill’s dog, Buddy. But do Barak and John have pets? Are they pets that are representative of the leader of the free world? I wish somebody had asked this of Bush before the election in 2000.

Even though there are a good amount of Americans (a little over 50%) of them who think that Bush really didn’t win the election of 2000, I think that it wouldn’t have been as close as it was if voters knew and thought about Bush’s choice in pets. A small fu-fu dog (“dinner” as the Mooks likes to call them) is not a pet for a president who so closely resembles Yosemite Sam. Surely Karl Rove or another advisor would have seen this coming…Bush walking solemnly on the West Lawn of the White House with this small ball of hair in tow. I don’t want to go to the other end and say he should have a German Sheppard or a Pit Bull, but certainly a Retriever or Boxer or something would be better.

To close, if we are going to evaluate every word the candidates speak, analyze every person they’ve ever met at a cocktail party, and dig for every bit of dirt that might make a good headline and sell a few more papers, then we should also take the time to evaluate their pets and make sure they properly represent the good ole’ US of A.

Is it Getting Wamer In Here? and Campaign Love

Thanks to all those fine people who don’t believe in Global Warming I’ve had to suffer for the last few days as we here in DC enjoy our annual “2-3 Hot Days in the Middle of January.” The real challenge here is not the warmer then normal weather outside but what to do inside your office where the heat stays on regardless. I’ve taken to rolling up my sleeves and drinking more water then usual. Others use portable fans or wear clothes that you normal wouldn’t find in the Northeast in the middle of winter.

It is this last item that I want to address in today’s entry. There is nothing wrong with adjusting to the temperature by adjusting your clothing. I would never expect you to where a heavy top coat and wool ski hat when it’s going to be 70 degrees outside, but on the flip side there are things that should NEVER be worn to an office setting. It really doesn’t matter if it’s the winter, summer, spring, fall or other season that isn’t officially recognized by the group of scientists and TV weather personalities that decide these kind of things.

The biggest no-no are flip flops, sandals, or other footwear that is backless and attaches my sliding the toes through an open end of fabric. This morning on the escalator up from the Metro I observed a man wearing faded jeans, brown polo shirt, and ratty brown flip-flops. Did I miss the memo that there was a dress down Tuesday today? I don’t think so and I don’t think this guy should have been allowed into his office today. What kind of thoughts go through your head when your in the closest (where you should have stayed) getting dressed? “Hum, well it will be warmer then usual today. I should wear my flip flops with the grey suit. No wait. That doesn’t match at all…I’ll wear the ratty jeans and polo shirt. Yeah that’s the ticket. My boss will be so impressed that my outfit matches that he’s sure to give me that big raise and promotion!” Dumbass!

The DC Examiner today pointed out a great personal ad on Craigslist today. How appropriate that something like this was posted in this over-hyped, over-worked political season. Now if we can just find somebody for Bill while Hillary is out campaigning? Ladies, any volunteers?

Weekend In New England?

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POST # 100 - Did you make my list?

In thinking what to post for #100 (check the archives if you don't believe me) I sat and sat and sat some more (my butt is getting sore) trying to think of what would mark this momentous occasion. I have another post coming today on meeting Bill Clinton last night but I really wanted to express my frustrations with many of the people in my life too so I'm going to put the former on hold for a few minutes and continue to regal the little people out there (that's you) with the

TOP 10 People
Who
Piss Me Off

#10: People who wear costumes to places where they don't belong, usually to illustrate a political or social point

#9: People who drive with a dog (or other pet) on their laps

#8: George Bush

#7: People who park in Handicap spaces (with proper tags) but who clearly don't need it.

#6: People who repeat the question just asked of them to begin their answer

#5: Most Children

#4: The Cable Company (Even though I don't have cable this story makes me hate them)

#3: Metro train operators who change the final destination of the train you are on while in mid route.

#2: Matt Lauer and the rest of his Today Show co-horts.

#1: Bloggers that make stupid lists

Enjoy and keep on looking at the stars (it'll make it easier for me to steal your rims).