AN OPEN LETTER TO AL QAEDA , SUNNI INSURGENTS, AND SHIA EXTREMISTS IN IRAQ

Dear Enemy,

Our leadership in Congress has decided to set a timetable for withdrawal. Please take note that the Fall of 2008 is when you most likely be able to conduct your operations without impediment from our forces in the region. We'd like to remind you that until the Fall of 2008 we will still be able to conduct operations as normal, therefore it would be in your best interest to place a hold on your suicide bombings, IEDs, and the like until said date. This would allow you ample time to build up your infrastructure and logistics to a reasonable level in order to complete your goal of establishing a corridor of operations for terrorists, extremists, and the like, in the Middle East. We wish you the best of luck in your endeavours. Sorry we couldn't stay longer. You know, Democrats and stuff.

Sincerely,

The United States

Director James Cameron has several claims to fame including enveloping pushing special effects for The Abyss, winning best director for Titanic, and raising awareness about the increasing deterioration of said ship at the bottom of the deep sea. Now he can claim one more; finding Christ. Cameron, in a Discovery Channel documentary, claims to have  discovered ossuaries (little caskets used to store bones) in Jerusalem that would contradict some of the most sacred tenants of Christianity, that Christ had been resurrected after three days and that he was never married nor produced a child with Mary Magdalene.

 

The ossuaries:

 

Six had names etched into them, which were translated as Jesus son of Joseph, Judah son of Jesus, Maria, Mariamne (thought to be Mary Magdalene's real name), Joseph and Matthew.

 

The Associated Press reports:

 

One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

 

Were this true, that Christ did not ascend into heaven, that he was not crucified and resurrected then he would undoubtedly be the worlds' most famous fraud.  If the claims are that he was a father, a husband, and thus a falliable human then his own admission to be the Son of God should be seen as nothing more than the ravings of a mentally disturbed individual.

 

Pure poppycock.

 

 

 

The top ten reasons I'm an official Washingtonian:

10. Have worn down my mp3 player from using it so much
9. Watched the Federal Government shut down because of 2 inches of snow
8. Completely ignored the walk/don’t walk street signs
7. Have 6 Giant supermarkets within a 5 mile radius of where I live
6. Honked at someone while driving
5. Been honked at while driving
4. Paid too much for rent (over $1000/month for a one bedroom)
3. Left work at 5 p.m. Got home at 6:30 p.m. Traveled 10 miles. Priceless
2. Had a conversation with a homeless guy about the Baltimore Ravens offensive line (he wasn’t a fan)
1. Was asked for metro directions while riding the metro (as if I looked like I knew where I was going)

This past week I spent some time in Shepherdstown, WV for Orientation training for the Presidential Management Fellows program. While the programming had its normal fill of excruciatingly bad ice breakers such as running around with a bandanna tied about your head while making sheep noises (yes I really did that) it did have some particularly bright outcomes. First, I met some great people and was very impressed by the caliber of PMFs, particularly from the State Department. Everyone was open and talkative and had a genuine interest in what others had to say. Second, we conducted a simulation over the period of a day where we had to work together in a fictitious position within an agency in order to respond to a world crisis. The simulation was conducted by the National Strategic Gaming Center from the National Defense University who administer these simulations for all levels of federal and state government. The crisis simulated the introduction of a human-to-human strain of the bird flu virus in the Pacific region and its eventual spread to the United States. We spent a day in our assigned respective agency positions (i.e. State, DHS, DOD, CDC) evaluating ways we could respond and conduct inter agency cooperative measures to combat the spread of the flu in the US. I took comfort in knowing that even at the lowest levels (entry level) we were practicing and learning ways in which different agencies could work together and respond to a national security crisis.

I also spent the weekend in Roanoke, VA with Volldoll. It was a wonderful time especially since we hadn't seen each other for over two weeks. Long distance relationships can be tough but being her, although brief, made it bearable. We spent Saturday afternoon driving along the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway taking in the spectacular view. Enjoy some photos from our trip.

Yesterday was a milestone as it marked my first week of work completed in DC. Overall it was a great experience though for those of you who don't know I already missed my first day of work. On Monday I was sick from something Brent was happy to share with me! But no matter, I got over it and started work at the Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday. I couldn't have asked for a better team to work with. Everyone was very inviting and thrilled to see me. No really, there were thrilled. EVERYONE is retiring in our office and there is a significant age gap between senior leadership and everyone else. Predictably there is going to be a good bit of upward mobility in the near future, which is good for me! There have been some drawbacks though. It's taking 4-E-VER to get my id card made so I have to show the security guards my TN license every time I go into the building. Security is tight because the VP has some staff that works in our same building, which is a block from the OEOB. I do miss seeing those TN mountains but I can console myself with a captivating view of the Capitol Building during my commute. Commuting is another thing. Riding the Metro has been a breeze so far. While riding I have made this observation:

There are three types of Metro riders in the morning:
1. Sleeping riders (they take little power naps and wake up right before their stop)
2. Reading riders (reading the paper or a book)
3. Zombie riders (its way too early for my peeps so I will stare off into the abyss, this is me)


I have had a great time with Brent, Laura and Savannah . Savannah loves to watch Brent and I play video games! I do miss TN and of course all my family and especially Voldoll. But things are growing on me here and once I have a place to live and a good routine it won't be bad at all.

List of things I have seen or had done to me:

Number of times I have walked by the White House: 6
Number of times I have seen Marine One fly over me (including leaving the White House):
3
Hours spent on my daily commute (to and from): around 2
Famous people I've seen: 0 -- still waiting on that one
Number of times I've been honked at:
4
Number of times I've been given the bird:
1
Number of times I've changed Savannah's diaper:
0 -- not waiting on that one

Update** I got my ID card today. I'm bona fide!

How I voted 2006 style

Bob Corker v. Harold Ford Jr. - U.S. Senate

I voted for Mr. Corker in this one. My reason is simple, I believe the totality of Mr. Corker's experience in the Mayor's office, in private business, and in state government give him the ingenuity and innovation necessary to be a successful Senator. Congressmen Ford turned me off a while back when he called for a withdrawal of troops in Iraq but his most recent behavior is perplexing to say the least. Also his plan for Iraq, to divide the nation into three regions, would unfairly ignore two constitutional referendums and a national election-the entire democratic progress made over three years would be ignored. The plan doesn't take into account how an autonomous Kurdish region would affect the Kurdish population in Turkey and how a Shia region would interact with Iran. Ford is more conservative than most liberals, he is a supporter of the 2nd amendment and also believes marriage is between a man and woman and I liked the fact that he pledged to term limit himself.

John J. Duncan Jr. v. John Greene - U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District

I voted for Democratic candidate John Greene as a protest vote. Congressmen Duncan has not been supportive of the Iraq war since the beginning and has in fact voted against it and supplemental spending bills several times. Plus he's been in office since I was eight years old, that's plenty of time.

Jim Bryson v. Phil Bredesen - Governor of Tennessee

Easy, Phil Bredesen. He is strong supporter of education. He handled the TennCare crisis well and the man is a genuine hunter and conservationist. He works well with both sides of the aisle and seeks consensus and not partisanship. I like him and I wish Democrats would pay more attention to him. He's a dark horse candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008 and if not then a qualified candidate on anyone's cabinet.

Constitutional Amendment 1 - Tennessee state Constitution

Text reads:

Shall Article XI of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language as a new, appropriately designated section:

SECTION 3. The historical institution and legal contract solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman shall be the only legally recognized marital contract in this state. Any policy or law or judicial interpretation, purporting to define marriage as anything other than the historical institution and legal contract between one man and one woman, is contrary to the public policy of this state and shall be void and unenforceable in Tennessee. If another state or foreign jurisdiction issues a license for persons to marry and if such marriage is prohibited in this state by the provisions of this section, then the marriage shall be void and unenforceable in this state.

I voted no and do not support this amendment. I believe constitutions exist to limit the powers of government and protect the rights of individuals. A definition of what marriage is has no place in a constitution but rather as a state law. On the flip side would you define what divorce is? Cheating? If we let the Constitution define the marriage aspect of a relationship why not the end of a relationship. A slippery slope is what I worry about. I support marriage between a man and a woman but if gays and lesbians want to get married go ahead, just call is something else.

The tally adds up to two votes for Democrats and one for the Republicans and a no vote supporting the Marriage amendment.

Random notes: Yesterday we got four phone calls at my parents house asking us to go and vote, one of which was from President Bill Clinton. How sweet of him. I thought I would have a little fun with it and play a joke on my mom and call the house pretending I was him ask for her to go vote. It went something like this,

Phone rings

Mom: Hello?

Me: Hi there sugar this is President Bill Clinton and I just wanted to call and tell you how important it is for you to go and vote. I myself will be supporting Harold Ford Jr. for Senate and would hope you do the same. He's been to a Playboy bunny party after the Super Bowl and boy would I have loved to have gone to that one. Shoot yeah! Ohhah gotta go, Hillary's here. Go vote honey!

Mom: audible laughter. Barrett is that you! You need to let your father hear this!

Finally, I miss those old fashioned lever-action voting machines where you could hear the gears of democracy in action! Electronic voting machines take away the old fashioned goodness out of the voting process. Sigh.

Thanks to everyone for wishing me a happy birthday. We had a wonderful time with friends and family. I'm off to the beach so I won't be able to blog much but I promise to post when I return.