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October 30, 2005
We Were Going to Change the World
November 2nd has a totally different meaning now. That date is quickly approaching, but it has a different year following the date. Sometimes things are exactly the same as they were a year prior, other times things are completely different. There’s been a world of difference in my life since the election. Job, city, love-life – all completely different.
I feel particularly introspective about this right now because of the music I’m listening to – Autolux. I listened to their album Future Perfect nonstop through the campaign. It’s amazing the power of a song to take you back to a moment. To a feeling. To an emotion.
One year ago, I was going to change the world. I could taste it within my grasp. I really felt like I personally was going to change the world. It was the greatest feeling I’ve ever felt. I was going to not just make my world better – I was going to make everyone’s world a better place. There were thousands of us who were working on the campaign, but I was working as if I was going to be the one to make the difference. This is not meant to take away or discredit the work of all the people who stood alongside me – I know that it wasn’t me that would’ve made the difference. But it FELT that way.
I’m a little over half done with Franken’s book – but he talks extensively about the campaign in the beginning. There’s only one region of the country he mentions in the book – the I-4. Where I was. Reading that was like another punch in the gut.
It was all a year ago – the campaign, the Red Sox winning the series. It feels like yesterday. The sleepless nights, the beer, the pizza, the exit polls. And the feeling as the real numbers started coming in. The “victory party”. The Tequila. The realization we’d lost. The tequila.
The concession speech – I couldn’t stand to listen to the whole thing. I had to leave the room. The office was already completely dead. The difference was palpable. I broke down the last of the electronics, and I was the one to lock the door the last time. It was a terrible feeling.
And yet we rebuild. Starting in January I was interviewing for different campaigns. This was something I realized I wanted to do, despite the outcome of election 2004.
Where does that bring me now? Looking back I know there was nothing I could’ve done differently. I often need to remind myself that I did everything I could, but that the course of history was out of my hands. It wasn’t I who was going to change the world. WE were going to change the world.
A lot of the bitterness from those days that followed has gone away. It’s been replaced by jadedness and schadenfreude. But there’s still some optimism that perhaps we can make a difference, perhaps we can make things better. It’s telling that I’ve looked at the indictment of White House officials with a sense of glee. These fuckers are finally getting their comeuppance. But I haven’t fully digested that the Vice President’s Chief of Staff and the House Majority Whip have been indicted separately.
I got an e-mail about a former Kerry staffer meetup on Wednesday night to mark the anniversary. It’ll mostly be DC people – but a few of the I-4 staff will be there. Between the Kaine Campaign and my new job, Kerry had felt like a lifetime ago. But my iPod’s steady diet of Autolux has brought me back to my tiny office on Mills Avenue.
I suspect there will be Tequila there.
Posted by MikeSager at 11:21 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 28, 2005
Fitzmas Eve
We're almost there. It's Fitzmas Eve. Indictment parties to commence afterwards. I just hope Father Fitzgerald brought me the Rove Indictment I've been asking for (even if the New York Times says it's just Libby)...
Posted by MikeSager at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 24, 2005
The Music Issue!
Every now and again, I feel the urge to allow my musical pretentiousness come out. I’m definitely a snob when it comes to music – nothing is good if other people like it. Anyhow – the following albums have graced my iPod recently – this is the soundtrack of my travels through the District.
Say Hi To Your Mom – Ferocious Mopes
A lovely discovery on FEC filing day, the album cover should grace any Wiki entry about homemade indie rock. The album is very well crafted, and the lyrics are intelligent with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The second to last track, “Poor Pete is a Bit Self-Conscious” is the story of every lonely goth male – it reminded me of my old self a little bit too much.
The Cardigans – Super Extra Gravity
Alright – I don’t actually have this album yet – it’s on order from amazon.co.uk. That’s right – in order to get this record I had to order it from British Amazon. Sometimes I definitely feel like I’m the only Cardigans fan let in the States, even as Lovefool is used in a Nissan commercial. Then again, we’ve discussed using good music in car commercials previously on this blog. From what I’ve heard of the record (which include the iTunes samples I can listen to from the Swedish store…) it seems like this is going to be a return to the style of Gran Turismo. I am especially addicted to the single – “I Need Some Fine Wine, You Need to be Nicer”. This song has the same intensity as My Favorite Game. Their last album Long Gone Before Daylight, while a good record, was missing some of the grittier elements that have made the Cardigans so interesting for so long. I’ll update once I get the record (apparently it’s shipped from the UK). Though I will say it is likely that The Cardigans, like so many other good bands, will be relegated to the realm of iPod DJ night and the soundtrack of a tv show.
Metric – Live It Out
This album did the exact same thing that the last Metric album did – I was disappointed at first. I’d bought the first album after listening to Combat Baby as an iTunes freebie. When I listened to the rest of the record, I was under whelmed. But my friend Brian was really into them and that made me give the record a second full listen – a low and behold it turned into one of my favorite albums. The second record has a decidedly different feel from the first – there were less straight-forward songs like Dead Disco, or Succexy. But once you crack the exterior of this record and give it 10 thorough listens, it really starts to reward. Highlights include Too Little Too Late & Patriach on a Vespa. You’ve got to give this record a few listens to really sink in – but once it does, it rewards.
I may do this more regularly in the future – we’ll see.
Posted by MikeSager at 1:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
Metro Tips for Out-Of-Towners (and a few for locals too...)
The original bit I wrote for this was a little too…how do you say…profanity laced and non-helpful. It was like a cathartic release of deep-seated anger I hold towards tourists. Living in Florida and DC for any length of time will do that.
Anyhow, I do feel that there is value to guiding those who are not from the area in how to use our city’s subway. This time, I will attempt to be helpful.
1. Stand to the Right
This is perhaps the most important rule of riding Metro. The system’s efficiency requires the easy movement of people. If you stand on the left on an escalator, you’re blocking not just one person behind you but a hundred people behind you. The system used to have signs on the escalators requesting you do this, but they have since pulled them for unknown reasons.
2. Move into the center of the car
Standing right by the doors is only acceptable if there is no room in the interior of the car. Or if there’s just one or two of you – but anymore and you’d better fill in.
3. No Eating or Drinking
Washingtonians take a lot of pride in our subway – we have a deep-seated belief that it is the cleanest in the country. That’s why we’re ok with the transit police arresting you for eating a French Fry – we nominated a guy who tried that to Chief Justice after all.
4. Don’t Talk Loudly
The morning commute is a sacred time of peace & quiet. We’re all tired. Don’t disturb our quiet with your inane story – if it’s interesting and you can’t keep your voice down, it can wait until you’re out of the train.
5. Ask for Help – Don’t Try to Figure It Out Yourself
We Washingtonians are a helpful bunch – if you take the first step to admit your weakness in this foreign system/city we will be glad to drop what we’re doing and help you. In fact, we’ll even make ourselves late – but the point is you have to ask us. If you don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re unwilling to request the assistance of a local then you rightfully earn our ire. There’s nothing wrong with admitting you don’t know where you’re going, or that you don’t know how to use the farecard machine. But if you don’t ask us for help, but sit there and fuck with it in some lost hope of making it work without admitting you’re in unfamiliar territory, you deserve every angry stare & rude comment that you earn.
6. If It Didn’t Work The Second Time, It Won’t Work the Fourth
Trying your farecard over & over, or using the same method over and over doesn’t make any sense – if it didn’t work after the second try, it’s not going to. Ask for help – if not a fellow traveler, than a Station Manager.
7. Children/Oversized Items/Carts Belong on the Elevator
Escalators increase the efficiency of the traveling public. This is disrupted when you insist on taking Junior up the Dupont escalator and you’re blocking the whole way. If they require a stroller or a harness, use the elevator – you obviously have the time to spare and I’m already late. Same thing goes if you’re returning from one of our Safeways – take the cart on the elevator.
8. Don’t Force the Doors
The doors on the Metro are…how do you say…fragile. Do not EVER try to force them open. This will damage the sensor on the doors, and then the driver will not be able to continue and the whole car will have to empty and it’s all because you had to be a jackass.
9. This Isn’t Disney World
There may be many attractions, and a lot of interesting things to do in DC – but it’s still a working city. People here are pleased to help you if you need it, but we’re not here for you. When you’re on vacation, be respectful of our city – stay out of our way, recognize that you may have to take an extra thirty seconds to let a commuter get past you.
10. Control Your Liquor
This message is just as much for the locals as it is for the tourists. Yes it’s a great time to go get blasted in Adams Morgan. But that doesn’t give you license to turn into a drunken douche bag at 2 am on the Orange Line. Learn how to control your liquor, or take a cab. But being drunk doesn’t give you license to be a jackass, and falling onto the tracks and killing yourself will just ruin it for the rest of us – and you’ll be dead.
Posted by MikeSager at 11:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 19, 2005
Technical Fowl
I was having some issues with the upgrade to MT 3.2. It should be working now. Please feel free to comment again. :)
I will have a new post later in the day. I'm thinking it will be my guide to being a tourist on the DC Metro (or how to not be in my way).
Posted by MikeSager at 9:14 AM
October 18, 2005
The Girl on the Metro Redux, Simple Pleasures
So last night I was heading home from my favorite coffee house in Clarendon (details below). I’m still out in the way out burbs at the moment (or at least it feels that way). So as I went down the Clarendon escalator, and hitting the landing – this really cute girl looked at me, smiled and said hi. It didn’t click until I was on the next escalator that it was CUTE METRO GIRL!!! After a moment’s hesitation, I turned around, and went back up to street level, but she was already gone. Damn.
Speaking of my coffee house, I love Murky Coffee. This has been my post work stop – there’s nothing quite like kicking back with the laptop, enjoying the free wireless and the music that ranges from Jazz to Queens of the Stone Age. This is definitely my kind of place.
Posted by MikeSager at 8:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 15, 2005
Godwin's Law Comes to Virginia
The recent stupidity shown by the Kilgore campaign in airing an ad that tries to equate Tim Kaine with Adolf Hitler reminds of the South Park episode where Cartman comes to school dressed like Hitler. The teachers pull him out of class, and show him a video that ends with a giant bear saying these words to live by: "Remember Kids! Dressing up like Hitler in school is not cool!" A lesson so blatantly obvious - leave Hitler out of it - how could Kilgore's staff have missed this?
Furthermore, debuting this ad an hour before Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur began allowed it to run for a full 24 hours without hearing outrage - very clever, but it doubles the pushback from the Jewish community. The ad would've been incredibly effective and put Kaine on the defense if they'd followed the simple advice of the bear! Instead, they overdid it and once again find themselves on the defense!
But nonetheless - shame on you Jerry Kilgore. Jewish culture teaches that life is sacred - he who saves one life saves the world entire. This is why so many Jews are ardently anti death-penalty. To try to pervert the history of the Holocaust for political gain is reprehensible. 6 million people did not die so that you could run an attack ad.
Posted by MikeSager at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
Lawyer Party
So I went to a party on Saturday night that my good friend Erika and her roommate Ellen held. A nice little party with good beer and intelligent conversation - the kind of environment where I can talk to many different people and thrive. But this party was especially amusing...
Early in the evening, I was talking to several friends of Ellen who had worked with her at a summer camp. They are currently undergrads at Georgetown. The topic of campaigning came up (something I consider myself as much an expert on as the next guy) and they mentioned with a laugh "Yeah - there's this guy at Georgetown who's 22 and a freshman and he worked on the Kerry Campaign." Now who did that immediately remind me of? Nick Deane! So I texted him "Are you the only 22 year old freshman at Georgetown who worked for Kerry?" He wrote back "As far as I know." To which I responded "You're famous!" I followed up this cryptic text with a phone call the next day.
A little later I was throwing out Futurama quotes with some of the other party goers (including one of my favorites - "Why couldn't she have been the other kind of mermaid, with the fish part on the top and the lady part on the bottom!") At one point, one of them made a reference to a law firm in the District - the law firm my uncle works for. I asked them if they knew him. They said he worked in the office next door to them, and they knew him quite well. Then they pointed out the family resembleance.
I was also excited to discover that Harris Teeter carries Otter Creek - a fantastic Vermont beer that I was introduced to while in Vermont. An appropriate place for that.
Posted by MikeSager at 7:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 7, 2005
Endings & Beginnings
Over: The 2005 baseball season (for me anyways). At this point - who cares what happens? Both of my teams have fallen out of contention. If I cheer for anyone, it'll be the Angels first and the Cardinals second (though if the White Sox are playing the Yankees, I will cheer for the White Sox)...
And as baseball is something that will no longer be dominating my time, it's fitting I begin planning what will dominate my schedule shortly. The best idea I've come up with yet is college - I got my acceptance letter from George Mason today. I actually knew I got in already since I'd recieved a "Transfer Credit Worksheet" that said "Once again, we'd like to congratulate you on your acceptance to George Mason." It will be difficult to balance a full time job with a decent course-schedule, but I'll find a way to do it.
In other, far more important news - Snakes on a Plane. This is incrediable. I ordered a t-shirt. Oh yeah - nothing is cooler than dressing up your dog like a bee. Seriously. Wow.
Posted by MikeSager at 9:13 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 3, 2005
Nationals Post-Script, Why Davanon Sucks
Despite the fact that we were pummeled, it was a great day at the stadium. The team sure seemed to appreciate us, and we certainly appreciated them. But the question now begs - what am I going to be doing with my time?
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You Suck, Davanon was an in-joke from a couple of the guys in the next section. It's a shame - a line like that had such potential. C'est la vie.
Posted by MikeSager at 7:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 2, 2005
Fan Appreciation Day Pregame (or YOU SUCK, DAVANON!)
Heading out to Fan Appreciation Day shortly. They're giving stuff away today - always nice. Then again, after winning my Modell's Gift Certificate (which I have not used yet) I suspect my luck for the year is used. But at the same time, they're giving away a car - one can only hope.
There's this guy who sits in the next section who we keep hearing shout "You Suck, Davanon!" A Google search on the phrase netted no real result. Any idea what this is in reference to? There is no Davanon on the Phillies, so far as I can tell.
Posted by MikeSager at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 1, 2005
A Diatribe About Poverty, and a Thank You to Mayor Williams
With Mayor Williams not seeking a third term, this marks an end of an era here in Washington. And while normally I find myself writing about National and International affairs, I find myself needing to comment on Mayor William’s leadership of the city that I call home.
Alright, technically I don’t actually live in the District. But I’ve given people directions here, so by those standards I can call this city home. The biggest criticism of Mayor Williams that I’ve heard thus far is that he didn’t do enough to address the issues of the city’s poorest residents. One hears the tales of the decrepit state of the city’s homeless shelters (I’m reminded of the joke my grandfather used to tell about the restaurant – the food is terrible and the portions are so small). I personally see the lines at the soup van in McPherson Square almost everyday as I go from the office to the Metro. I am not blind to these problems, and to the trap that the poorest of the poor often fall into.
The reality remains that the District of Columbia is woefully unequipped to handle the problems of poverty. Washington does not receive any revenue from people who work in the city, but do not live there. The biggest employer does not pay any taxes to the city for its staff or for the land that it owns. Washington needs as many “Yuppies” as it get to keep the Police Stations, Fire Stations, and Schools open. Yes this pushes people from their homes, and I recognize that many of these people rent and don’t own, and therefore don’t receive real compensation for the fact that the value of where they lived suddenly and dramatically rose.
The chaotic exodus that results from a change in land values happens whether those values skyrocket or plummet. Those old enough to remember know what happened to the major cities of this country in the 1950s. Many call it “White Flight”. But I don’t think it’s that simple – it’s “Middle Class Flight”. The Middle Class African American Community left the District at the same time, many of whom went to places like PG County, but also to Reston (A fact about my hometown which makes me very proud that in a time of true racial strife, we opened our doors to our friends and neighbors). Only the truly wealthy and the poorest of the poor remained in the cities afterwards. This concentration of poverty led to the failed 60s experiment of high rise housing projects – let’s pile the poor on top of each other. The resulting disaster that befell every major city is still being felt today. But it taught us one thing – trying to control crime by sweeping the poor into ghettos magnifies the problem.
The best solution we have to deal with this is to do what we can to spread out the poor so that they live in economically mixed neighborhoods. We do this with a proverbial carrot – not a nightstick. We offer housing benefits, but only a limited number in an individual jurisdiction (so as not to tip the delicate balance). We provide for better schools in all districts in the region. We make both physical and mental healthcare affordable for everyone, but especially those that need it most. And most importantly, we make sure that jobs and job training are available.
Education is the silver bullet. Education will always eviscerate poverty and crime. But we also need to eliminate ghettos and help these people move into real neighborhoods where they’ll have a real chance at a real education. If people are presented with a real opportunity, their inherent distrust will placated by the desire to make a better life for themselves. We will never eliminate poverty, but we can at least reduce it and make sure that there are services available for those people that truly need it the most.
Mayor Williams had been in a unique position where he the leader of a city that has no state. He has no course of action with a local entity, and because of the continued lack of voting rights for citizens in the Nation’s Capitol, he has no course of action with the federal government despite the fact that their offices dominate our city. Every other big city mayor has some help. Mayor Williams has been on his own – and for that alone he earns our respect. But Mayor Williams also made strides to eliminate the rampant corruption that marked the Berry years, attempted to improve the schools, got the potholes under control (at least in places like Downtown & Golden Triangle), eliminated the Control Board, oversaw a massive renaissance of many neighborhoods including Downtown, U Street, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Capitol Hill. And finally, Mayor Williams brought us baseball.
Hey Tony – thanks.
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