Meanwhile, at DC Mayor Fenty's Office

DC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier is getting her review from Hizzoner:

Fenty (holstering his second Blackberry): So, Chief, how do you think you've done?

Lanier: Well, we're really cleaning up the city, sir. Our second sting operation to ticket cyclists was a complete success.

Fenty: What were you ticketing them for?

Lanier: Going the wrong way down a little used street. I felt it was a great way to show how we're cracking down on cyclists in the wake of the garbage truck running over a biker in Dupont Circle. We really needed to send the cycling community a message, and we've done that.

Fenty: Good work, kiddo! Speaking of that tragic accident, have you concluded your investigation? Made any charges?

Lanier: Um, no.

Fenty: Well, that's okay. Sometimes these things can be tough. Can only do what you can do, right?

Lanier: You got that right, sir. I mean, look at the Wone case. We haven't been able to solve that murder in years. Oh, I suppose I could put more resources on it, but I get faster results by waving down cyclists and issuing $25 tickets.

Fenty: True. And I suppose it's better to target cyclists rather than motorists.

Lanier: Except when they're driving into certain neighborhoods, like Trinidad. Then we need to stop them and interrogate them about their business and decide if they have a legitimate reason to be there. Moving about the capital of the free world is a privilege, not a right!

Fenty: Yes, I suppose so, though maybe you could have some of your officers get out of their cars and patrol the neighborhoods, get to know the people and do some tough police work?

Lanier: Sir! It's summer, and have you seen how out of shape our force is? It would be a health risk to send some of these officers out of their air conditioned patrol cars into the DC summer heat. What if they had a heat stroke and had to rely on city emergency services? I shudder to think!

Fenty: True. Hey, I when I was riding one of our new Smartbikes across town I noticed a Fed Ex truck on 14th Street parked in the bike lane -- even though there was a clearly marked vacant loading and unloading zone right there at the curb. Are you ticketing those guys?

Lanier: Well, sir, in this tight fiscal time I can only do so much....better use of my resources to have an officer stand at a corner and just let the moving violations come to him. That's why the bike sting worked so well. Besides, the bikers can just go around those trucks, and cabs and Metrobuses who block the bike lanes. As long as they look carefully behind them, they're probably not in any danger from having to swerve into traffic.

Fenty: Well, I've got to say Cathy, heckuva job. Heckuva job.

Jesus

Did someone slip him on the ballot when I wasn't watching?

"There are gray areas in war."

Ya think? Shepard Smith didn't get the "Russians are evil" party line from this girl and her aunt that he interviewed after their escape from Ossetia. The U.S. has no business getting mixed up in this -- it's not our fight. Tell that to the McCainiacs who refuse to let go of their Cold War thinking. They continue to be stuck in the past. Russia is not the Soviet Union and Putin, anti-democratic thug he may be, is no Stalin.

There's gray areas in war...unless you're John McCain. Then it's all back and white, whatever we do is good, (i.e. in the 21st century nations don't invade other nations, unless you're us). Whatever they do is bad. And our only response is to flex US military might and if anyone questions the wisdom of that course they are unpatriotic saps.

The Polls and McCain and Obama

Someone asked me today my thoughts on the tightening of the polls. Here's my take:

I think the polls are wildly inaccurate in this election. Two reasons:

As George Will has pointed out, the polling models don't take into account the new voters Obama will bring. Remember, most polls are predicated on "likely voters" which is based on past elections. 2008 will not be like past elections.

Countering that is the number of people who won't vote for Sen. Obama because of his race. I know people, back where I come from, who are life-long Democrats who have never voted for a Republican but who have said they are voting for John McCain. That factor is also unlikely to be picked up by the polls.

Do these trends balance each other out? Dunno.

The Surfer My Friend, is Blowin' in the Wind

In case you need proof that wind surfing in a tropical storm is a bad idea...

Obama's Nomination Night -- and I'm In!

I finally was able to get - through a friend and colleague -- credentials for Thursday night of the Dem National Convention when Barack Obama makes his acceptance speech.

I know some of you are skeptical of him but think about it from a historical perspective -- this will be a night to remember.

And I'll be there. I'm excited.

Roof Tops

I like pictures of roof tops. I don't know why. I've always been drawn to them. Perhaps because we're so used to looking at our cities from the bottom up. Or perhaps they are some unconscious metaphor about how life looks different if you come at it from a different perspective. Or maybe it's just meaningless.

Anyway, I've been experimenting with taking my own photos of rooftops. Here's one from Harper's Ferry this weekend:

I like the different textures here, in the shingles, the brick and the stone wall. The perspective interests me as you have the roof in the far left so close to the ground. The three chimneys and the lampost make a rough arc. And the colors, with the red, green and white, are vivid.



Here's another, from Cusco, Peru. I like this one because the rooftops of Cusco are themselves framed by a roof-shaped window. The roofs stretch into the distance until they blend into the mountains, the roof of the world, if you will.

Anyway, this is all pretty silly, I guess. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Irony Watch -- Playing with Fire

The LTR and I went to Harper's Ferry, WV this past weekend, renting a small cabin at the KOA, a rainbow excursion to the Redneck Riviera. Usually we camp primitive-style but in this case we were looking for an easy escape.

Accordingly, we bought assistance for starting our fire. Normally we start our fire the hard way, by rubbing two dry cliches together.* This time we bought this product:










Little did we know, like the unsuspecting city-folk we are, that this product might actually work! See the small print (click to enlarge and read):









*I wish I could take credit for the "rubbing two dry cliches together" line, but I'm stealing it from Robert A. Heinlein where he used it in Glory Road, one of his, I think, under-appreciated books.

Look for Me in Gitmo

I just had a house guest who is Lebanese. The LTR dropped him off at the airport this morning and I just looked at his email address he left for me.

It starts "beirutbomber@..."

I'm so waterboarded.

Those High Tech Alleys in Alexandria

They are really going high tech in Old Town, Alexandria, despite the name.

I don't think John McCain would get this.

Jay Brannan; Housewife

I love this Jay Brannan (Ceth with a "C" from Shortbus) song. I wanted to go see him when he was here in DC at the 9:30 club but it was Eli's first day and besides MattyDale didn't seem to interested in going.

Anyway, I just saw this the "official" video, which is well done. I dedicate its place here to Zac.

John McCain in the 21st Century!

John McCain's lecturing, well, the world, on proper behavior in the 21st century is just, well, wrong.

Being a self-made man, rising from a single-parent, bi-racial background to be Harvard educated, first black to be president of the Harvard Law Review, a constitutional law professor, best selling author, successful legislator, strong marriage with a self-made woman, first black candidate for president of a major political party in America: now that's 21st century.

Using family connections to get into the Naval academy and favorable treatment from your captors in Vietnam, never using the Internet, ditching your first wife to marry into money to finance your political career : soooo 20th century.

"Nations Don't Invade Other Nations"

"You might want to stop that...you look ridiculous." (Hat tip: EB)

McCain. And Mary.

Joe Klein gets it just right. Sadly.

McCain has a vastly different view from Obama about foreign policy, taxation, health care, government action...you name it. He has lots of experience; it is always shocking to remember that this time four years ago, Barack Obama was still in the Illinois State Legislature. Apparently, though, McCain isn't confident that conservative policies and personal experience can win, given the ruinous state of the nation after eight years of Bush. So he has made a fateful decision: he has personally impugned Obama's patriotism and allows his surrogates to continue to do that. By doing so, he has allied himself with those who smeared him, his wife, his daughter Bridget, in 2000. Those tactics won George Bush a primary--and a nomination. But they proved a form of slow-acting spiritual poison, rotting the core of the Bush presidency. We'll see if the public decides to acquiesce in sleaze in 2008, and what sort of presidency--what sort of country--that will produce.

The new book about Obama being promoted by Mary Matalin is making me bite my tongue about Mary. I was at the RNC when she arrived courtesy of Lee Atwater. My first encounter with her was in front of the vending machine which she was beating up and cursing. My impression of her went downhill from there. And it keeps heading that direction.

A Little Michael Phelps

Between Ranger's death and all the politics, things have been a little grim around here. The LTR and I, usually avid Olympics watchers, haven't been able to see any of it so far. So here's a little gratuitous Michael Phelps.

If only he had stretched up just a leetle more...

And what exactly is the gentleman on the far left looking at?

I do beleive that Mr. Phelps has now replaced Matthew McConaughey as the most photographed chest in American culture.

A Missing Name in the Draft Democratic Platform

No, not John Edwards. Jon Rauch points out the platform calls for the repeal of DOMA (which it did not in 04). But he also points to this ommission:

From 2004:

We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families.

And 2008:

We support the full inclusion of all families in the life of our nation, and support equal responsibility, benefits, and protections.

Some will view that with suspicion given the rift between Howard and the gays. My gut reaction is agreement with the commenters that as long as "all" really means "all," it is a positive development.

Quote of the Day

I wouldn't believe McCain actually said this if it hadn't been in a reputable newspaper like the Post:

I'm interested in good relations between the United States and Russia," he said. "But in the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations.'' -- John McCain

W.T.F.

Please don't let this man be president.

Another Maureen Dowd Hillary Smackdown

Marueen Dowd chastises Team Obama for letting the Clintons getting away with murder at the convention, including adding language in the platform that blames Hillary's loss on sexism, thus dampening the "dreams of our daughters." MoDo says the plank should have state this:

A woman who wildly mismanages and bankrupts a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar
campaign operation, and then blames sexism in society, will dampen the dreams of
our daughters.

The rest of the column is equally genteel.

Meanwhile, let's hope Barry comes back from Hawaii recharged and ready tobe more the candidate he was this winter.

The Discourse: McCain v. Obama

I'm disappointed.

Almost everyone thinks the country's headed in the wrong track (pollster talk for "we're going to hell in a hand basket") and the two presidential candidates are arguing over who is the bigger celebrity.

I'll blame McCain for taking us there with his Paris Hilton ads, but Obama went right into the gutter with him. Why couldn't he have responded with a message something like:

John McCain wants to talk about Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears. I
want to talk about how we can come together to solve the big problems facing
this country -- the problems that affect Americans in their daily lives.
We've got some work to do, from getting out of Iraq to defeating Al Queda to becoming energy independent. I have plans to address those issues. So let Sen. McCain focus on Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. I want to focus on how we can
keep America the greatest nation on Earth. I'm serious about going to work
for the American people. I'm serious about uniting this country
again. I'm serious about tackling the big issues that we can only solve
together. Because together, we can.

Maybe the Obama campaign tested that type of response and it didn't work. I don't know. But this current exchange is a school yard spat. We deserve better. And the crying shame is that Obama is capable of "better." I just don't know what happened to it.

McCain and Saakashvili

All well and good for McCain to declare "We're all Georgians." Except that it raises Georgians expectations that we will help them fight the Russians:

This morning Saakashvili told CNN: "Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, 'We are all Georgians now,'" Saakashvili said on CNN's American Morning. "Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it's time to pass from this. From words to deeds."

McCain is acting irresponsibly. Thank God he is not president.

What a Difference a War Makes

If Iraq hadn't happened, I would be cheer leading John McCain's bellicose reaction to the Russian invasion of Georgia. Not now. I've been a hawk as long as I can remember. But I now know there are limits to hard power and I simply don't trust a Republican administration to 1) tell the truth about its intentions and 2) wage war competently and 3) act in accordance with with basic human rights.

So I am alarmed by McCain's saber rattling (do we really want to get NATO involved in this?) and reassured by Obama's measured and dispassionate approach.

Apparently there are some Republicans who haven't quite gotten the lesson of the last eight years. Kevin Ivers, posting at Citizen Crain, is disappointed Obama didn't get all riled up:

Where was the passion we (thought we) saw in Barack Obama's primary campaign as the man who would right the wrong-from-the-beginning U.S. policy in Iraq? Where was the man so brazenly adopting the suit and posture of John F. Kennedy on the home stump and in the capitals of Europe? Where was the moral foundation in a man who dared to tell the whole world they could rejoice if he was elected leader of the free world, because he would answer the call of freedom's destiny?

It's almost as if Ivers wants Obama to return to Berlin, re-rally the masses and march into the Russian motherland. As I recall, someone else from Berlin tried that once.

Reason, not passion should rule here. I'm not an isolationist and don't think we can ignore the invasion. But we need something smarter than threatening Russia with NATO.

Cooler heads are cleverer heads. If cooler heads had prevailed a few years ago, Georgia might not find itself under attack today.

Steve Clemmons offers a bit of history at the time the US was pushing for recognition of Kosovo's independence:

When Kosovo declared independence and the US and other European states recognized it -- thus sidestepping Russia's veto in the United Nations Security Council -- many of us believed that the price for Russian cooperation in other major global problems just went much higher and that the chance of a clash over Georgia's breakaway border provinces increased dramatically...

At the time, there was word from senior level sources that Russia had asked the US to stretch an independence process for Kosovo over a longer stretch of time -- and tie to it some process of independence for the two autonomous Georgia provinces. In exchange, Russia would not veto the creation of a new state of Kosovo at the Security Council. The U.S. rejected Russia's secret entreaties and instead rushed recognition of Kosovo and said damn the consequences.

Can it be any clearer that a vote for John McCain is a vote for more war? Iran...Russia. Will the list grow longer?

Carly Simon to Bill Clinton

You're so vain, you probably think this convention's about you.

Maureen Dowd sings along.

Tribute to Ranger (January 1993 -- August 9, 2008)

From MattyDale:

Over the past few days, I have been working on a tribute to Ranger. She is a wonderful, brave girl - she has always been a faithful companion and a loyal friend. This is just a small tribute to how much she meant to Scott and Dave, their family, and their friends. I am posting this at Scott's request as a tribute to Ranger and her companions.

A Gift

The weather has broken here in Washington, D.C. August is usually our most unbearable month in terms of heat and humidity. Instead, tonight, the temps are dropping into the low 60s and there is a gentle breeze out of the north. We opened the house up.

This is a picture of Ranger laying in the hall between the kitchen and the dining room tonight, a place where she can feel and enjoy the outdoor breeze, a cool breeze unheard of in DC in August. I know she likes it. One final gift.

John Edwards and the Affair

So will "I had the affair but I didn't love her" become the new "I didn't inhale?" defense of 08?

The crusader for the downtrodden cheats on his wife who is battling deadly cancer.

The Edwards affair may make interesting tawdry reading but is not very meaningful.

Mountain Ranger

I was never certain why I named her "Ranger." I wasn't going for a gender-bender. I was driving a Ford Ranger at the time but didn't purposely name her after the truck.

It turned out to be the perfect name for. She enjoyed free ranging walks and runs. She loved hiking with us. She loved the mountains. She loved everything about the outdoors except water.

Above all, she had free range of my heart.

God this is hard.

The Republican Convention

Word from the RNC hospitality folks is they have plenty of rooms available.

I guess they're having a hard time finding enough Republicans who want to go.

Business Casual

I'm not a fashion maven, by any stretch. But to the guys who think "business casual" means wearing a suit and taking off the tie: Wrong. You don't look casual. You look undressed. Especially if you're wearing a shirt with French cuffs.

Going to the Democratic National Convention?

I am. If any of you are going to be there as well perhaps we can meet up somewhere.

Leave a note in the comments if you're going and have any interest in meeting.

I'm also going to the GOP convention (work related, both cases) and I make the same offer there, though I'm doubting I have any readers who might be going.

Police Dog Shooting Incident Gets Nastier

UPDATE: Mayor is calling for a federal investigation. Says it's too early to think about monetary compensation.

The story about the Prince George's County police who burst into the Mayor of Berwyn Heights' home in a drug bust and shot his two dogs -- one of whom was running away -- gets worse.

1) the police didn't have a "no-knock" warrant, meaning sending a SWAT team bursting into the Mayor's house was not covered by the warrant they did have. Oops.
2) They HAVE arrested someone: a deliveryman. Who doesn't have anything to do with the Mayor or his household.

Police Chief Melvin High (ironic name, dontcha think?) told the WaPo that most likely the Mayor's family were "innocent victims."

Yeah. Of the police department.

Meanwhile, people like me who spend time commenting on this stuff in the blogosphere have been demanding retribution and encouraging lawsuits.

The problem with suing Prince George's County is that any settlement is going to come from the taxpayers (or is the County insured for stuff like this?)

At the very least, someone should be fired. As more details emerge it becomes clearer that the police really screwed this up - and as a result a family lost two beloved pets.

The Anthrax Scientist

I'd like to think the FBI got their man in fingering Bruce Ivins as the one responsible for the deadly anthrax attacks after 9/11. The evidence certainly portrays him as psychotic, going back a long time.

But wait a minute. How'd the guy get a security clearance from the Army, who employed him? This crazy guy who made death threats about poisoning people was given access by our government to some of the most dangerous substances known to man?

Or, to put it another way: You can be denied a security clearance if you love someone of the same sex. But threaten to poison your girlfriend? Hey -- here's the anthrax!

Why I Like Living in DC

Because places like this are just a few minutes by bike from my front door. It's on the C&O Canal towpath. This is the canal built along the unnavigable upper Potomac and the photo is one of the many locks and lock houses you see along the way.

And of course this is also just a little over an hour from my doorstep by bike.

Jacksonville FL, 1993

There was a dog pound on the West Side of the City.

The West Side of Jacksonville was not the favored side of the town. Wrong side of the tracks...actually, wrong side of the river. Everything west of the St. John's River north of JTB was suspect. It was here I rented a one bedroom apartment on the Cedar River, a tributary of the St. John's after the LTR and I split...after I lost my job in DC after the 1992 election. To lose one's partner, apartment and job in a single month (November, 1992) well, to borrow from David, I was careless that year.

I had a difficult new job. My past experience was politics and government work. Now I worked for a stodgy corporation and it was stifling. Unlike DC, socializing after hours with co-workers was actually frowned on. I knew no one. I could go entire weekends without speaking face to face with another human soul except a thank you to the check out clerk at the grocery store.

There was also a gay bar called Edison Street on the West Side of Jacksonville. There I met Jay, muscled, blonde, sexy. And a drug addict. One night he asked me to hang out. I was lonely. He was attractive. And attentive. And so I did.

This went on for a while. I remember, vaguely, Jay telling a dealer about the expensive stereo equipment I had. I remember wanting Jay, but he kept himself out of reach, except when it came to getting high, drugs bought with my money.

I was desperate. But not entirely stupid. I knew I had to end it.

There was a dog pound on the West Side of the City.

And so I found myself there. I had had a dog as a kid. She -- Candy -- had been my friend during those awkward pre-teen years.

There was a dog pound on the West Side of the City.

She was there.

A puppy, around six months. Infested with fleas and ticks and, the vet cautioned me, Lord knows what else. He warned me not to expect too much until we knew her true measure.

Her measure was that of the bestest of best of friends.

"You had me at hello." It's a cliche but it's true. She was joy wrapped in fur when we met. For the rest of her life -- until this last year when old age clouded her memories -- she would look at me with a look that said, "you saved me."

After she adopted me I never saw Jay again. Nor did I feel as alone. My partner and I got back together. She adopted him too.

There was a dog pound on the West Side of the City. It saved my life. She saved my life.

"You saved me." I can only hope this outcast dog from the wrong side of the river in Jacksonville, Florida saw that in my eyes too.

Because it's true.

I'm going to miss my friend.

The Obama Swing?

There seems to be a swing cycle at play in Obama's candidacy. Remember last summer when everyone felt he was under-performing in the polls, and people were asking when the campaign was going to get traction? Then Obama took Iowa, expectations soared and pundits declared Hillary was "toast." Then New Hampshire and Nevada and a seeming Obama slump...to be followed by South Carolina and his string of victories in February. And then he closed out the primary season with lackluster results.

Now, people are asking why he hasn't taken a sizable lead? Maybe it's the swing factor again (and if there is a swing factor, I'm not sure what causes it, though I think one contributing factor is that the Obama campaign gets cocky).

But I think other things are at play here too. People, like my parents, are too uncertain of him and wary of anyone that younger people go ga-ga over. That's the point of the "celebrity" attack and it plays to older, rural, middle of the road voters.

Obama has got to find a way to get these people over their doubts about him. If he can, I think people will stop being willing to overlook McCain's shortcomings and move to Obama.

Is McCain Losing It?

No, not the election -- he seems to be doing fine, according to recent polls. I'm talking about his marbles. At what point do all the vacant stares and mis-statements stop looking like a politician's occasional gaffe and seem more like the looseness of mind that comes with old age?

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo sees a pattern:

Let's be frank. On the campaign trail this cycle, McCain frequently forgets key elements of policies, gets countries' names wrong, forgets things he's said only hours or days before and is frequently just confused. Any single example is inevitable for someone talking so constantly day in and day out. But the profusion of examples shows a pattern. Some of this is probably a matter of general unseriousness or lack of interest in policy areas like the economy that he doesn't care much about. But for any other politician who didn't have the benefit of years of friendship or acquaintance with many of the reporters covering him, this would be a major topic of debate in the campaign. It's whispered about among reporters. And it's evidenced in his campaign's increasing effort to keep him away from the freewheeling conversations with reporters that defined his 2000 candidacy. But it's verboten as a topic of public discussion.

Then there's this clip where Andrea Mitchell and company speculate that McCain's campaign is keeping him in the dark and manipulating him ("manipulating" is my word).

Which would help explain why McCain was unable to articulate his campaign's major charge that Obama was playing the race card last week when asked about it a presser in Florida (I am trying to locate that clip to post).

Update: Here's the video of McCain having a...well, senior moment. Keep in mind that the reporter is not asking about some obscure policy or federal program, or quizzing the Senator on the economy which he has said he doesn't know much about. No, the question is on a major charge made by the Senator's own campaign against Obama just days before this press availability.

Peru

I'm finally getting around to organizing my pics from Peru. We went last year for almost two weeks, and took a five-day trek in the Andean mountains that included a stop at Machu Picchu. More soon. But I may throw out a few teasers, because as I look back on the trip I can't beleive how much fun I had.

Men and their Bike Shorts

Um, guys?

More Life as an Introvert

UPDATE: My friend and I were able to get together Sunday afternoon. All is well. thanks for the support.

Someone found my blog today by doing a search on The Google for "Gay Introvert."

That's me. As you all know.

The defining characteristic of an introvert is that they need time alone to recharge. I have been at that point for several days now.

I'm proud of the fact that I parented a three-year-old all by myself from last Friday through Wednesday. Other than putting him with the babysitting service at the gym for an hour here or an hour there, I was on. He and I had a great time, but it was still draining (Listen, if you think it's easy coming up for answers for endless series of questions like, "Daddy, why is it called the 'sky'?"you must be a philosophy major. With no kids.).

And recent loss is draining as well.

This month I lost a friendship. I'm still scratching my head, still puzzled, as to why someone I thought a great friend would just shut me out and refuse to be in my life anymore. I know I offended him, but even so, no chance to say I'm sorry? No opportunity to discuss it? But, friends are fickle. Still, I miss my friend.

But the hardest one of all is the looming loss of my old friend, Ranger, my 15 year-old dog. She has been failing rapidly over the summer, and we have come to the conclusion to end her life next Saturday. Yesterday I bought the shovel we will use to dig her grave and the stones to place over it. I fought back tears yesterday morning watching Eli get down on the floor, wrap his little arms around her, kiss her and tell her goodbye. I wonder if he will remember her? I know I will never forget that moment. I would have cried all the way to the airport over saying goodbye to Eli and also over the coming loss of Ranger had not the LTR spazzed out over traffic on the way. So, fortunately, I was able to be irritated instead of weepy.

An extrovert would welcome company and the chance to talk it out if confronted with some of these issues. An introvert would more likely deal with it on his own.

So, today, at the last minute I canceled an evening of plans with a friend. Unfortunately it's a friend not easy to make a rain date with, but I hit my wall this afternoon and knew I needed the night to myself. Selfish, yes. But I guess I gave in to my inner three year old. "I want it NOW!" is something Eli said often, and he wouldn't be satisfied with "later." Three-year-olds don't understand later, they live in the now. The downside of that is the tantrum that comes when they don't get what they want "now." But the upside is they put their entire being into the now. If you want to know what I mean, listen to a child laugh. That child's laugh takes over his entire existence and there is nothing else in his universe when it is happening.

So I needed -- wanted -- my "Introvert" time tonight. I know my friend is not happy, and I regret letting him down. I hope he will understand. For days now I have been pushing back tears. When I opened Eli's lunchbox, and saw the empty packages of fruit snacks. When I saw him give Ranger that last hug goodbye. When I stripped the sheets of his bed this morning. When I heard "If I Loved You" last night at the concert. While I'm writing this paragraph.

I'm sorry, my friend, for canceling on you. I just needed to be alone tonight. I will be strong tomorrow.

The NSO and Their Showtunes

The concert with Emil de Cou, the National Symphony Orchestra and Rogers and Hammerstein show tunes was fun last night, especially for the companionship of Matt, Chad (left) and Ben.

The orchestra provided the original score under clips of great moments in Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. It was thrilling to see Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner dance across a wide screen in vibrant color while a live orchestra glided and thumped underneath ("Shall we dance? Thump thump thump." I love it).

The orchestra under de Cou kept a right balance with the singing on the movies and provided subtle underscoring during dialog scenes. I thought the most musical moment was "If I Loved You" from Carousel but I've always been partial to that song. I searched for a good You Tube clip of it but couldn't find one I liked -- even a Mandy Patinkin version I found seemed lacking. That's a song that needs plumbed to its depths, containing longing, hope, fear, and irony. My favorite version is Holly Near's, of all people, and I gave that recording away and have not been able to replace it. But I digress.

I've conducted ensembles to recorded media and, as de Cou says in a Metro Weekly interview, it is tricky. And it tricked them up last night, as every medley had moments that were off, most glaringly in the climax to the Sound of Music.

The only discordant note I thought (and my friends disagreed) was in a comment that de Cou (who is gay) made about the bright purple and orange cowboy shirts in Oklahoma. De Cou said he was used to seeing cowboys like that when he used to live in San Francisco. It wasn't a bad line, but I winced, as in that setting in the hate state of Virginia, it almost seemed like de Cou was subtly saying, "I'm one of you, let's laugh at them." The point of the joke was poking fun at a Hollywood convention, still, it rang sour in my ears.

Still, it was an immensely enjoyable evening. Tonight the NSO with de Cou does the same gimmick with Hitchcock movies. It should be an entertaining night.

One delightful surprise last night, stemming from an outdoor concert, was the impromptu chorus of crickets that accompanied the evening. A human and insect duet making music in the night.

I wonder what the crickets thought?

Are You There Internet? It's Me Scott

Wondering if you can see this -- I can't open the blog on Internet Explorer (I get a helpful error message that says "IE cannot open the Internet site http://.....").

But I can open it on Firefox. weird.

Since It's a Broadway Night

My favorite version of this song.

My Big Fat Gay Evening

As if going to the National Symphony Orchestra's salute to Rogers and Hammerstein at Wolf Trap tonight wasn't enough, I invited two of my gayest friends (I mean that affectionately, boys) to join me: Thoroughly Modern Mattie and Chad, Baroness Von Bubbles.

And if that weren't enough they are bringing cute little Ben.

Tomorrow I will do something that gets dirt under my nails. But tonight it's I'm as gay as a daisy!*

*bonus gay points if you can pinpoint Rogers and Hammerstein show "gay as a daisy" comes from.

More Mayor of Berwyn Heights

Here he is on the local news. Can anyone spot a reason why Prince George's County Sherriff's office found it necessary to send the Surge into this guy's house and murder his dogs? Wouldn't just a normal search have worked?

Prince George's County Dogs Beware if Your Master's a Pothead

We're lucky the Sherriff's department in nearby Prince George's County Maryland are such humanitarians.

According to WaPo, it went down this way: The Mayor of Berwyn Heights ' home was raided by a SWAT team who forcibly entered his house and shot his two labs. One of the dogs, if I read the account correctly, was running away from the SWAT team into another room. The Mayor's "alleged" crime? He had a 32 pound package of marijuana delivered to his house (that is a lot of pot).

But before you can say "excessive force," a spokesperson for the Sherriff's department offered these reassuring words:

"We're not in the habit of going to homes and shooting peoples' dogs," Ellis said. "If we were, there would be a lot more dead dogs around the county."

So, like, we could if we wanted to. But we don't so you all should be grateful for how restrained we are.

They handcuffed the Mayor and his mother-in-law and interrogated them for hours as their dogs' bodies lay bleeding on the floor.

Summer Days

Is there any better way to pass a hot summer day than with a garden hose? These pics weren't taken today, but were taken during Eli's visit here this month which ends tomorrow. The LTR is taking him back to Hawaii on Friday. This is the second time I have been left behind when he returns and I'm dreading it. These pictures...and others I'm going to post...remind me of the happy visit we had.

"Daddy?" "Yes?" "I love you."

Heaven.

Like a back yard, a hot day, and a garden hose.

Gay Marriage Advances Again in Massachusetts

The MA House of Rep. voted to repeal the 1913 law preventing out of state couples from getting married there is their marriage at home is not legal. The Senate earlier agreed to this and the Gov. said he would sign it.

This means gay couples from anywhere can be married legally in the Bay State. This was an expansion of marriage rights enacted not by court mandate (aka "activist judges") but by the people's duly elected representatives. If California voters reject their proposed constitutional amendment against same sex marriage this fall that will be another electoral victory and yet another sign that legalizing same sex marriage doesn't mean sudden death politically.

So, let's review the bidding. We have:

• A possible 60 seat majority for Democrats in the Senate - meaning Republicans couldn't filibuster without Democratic defections
• The electoral expansion of same sex marriage rights elsewhere in the country
• A possible Democratic president who has said states should decide the marriage issue for themselves
• A DC mayor and city council that is on record in favor of same sex marriage

You'd think the time would be right for DC to recognize gay marriages.

Won't happen, though. Gay marriage will be legal in Mississippi before it is here in the capital of the free world.

Newt Gingrich Attends Gay Friend's Funeral

Today Eli and I went to a memorial service of an acquaintance. I didn't know the deceased, but I know his partner of 23 years.

After I sat down I noticed the man sitting next to us looked familiar. And indeed he was. It was the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Turns out he was friends with the departed and his surviving partner. Enough so, that he gave special remarks during the service. Enough so that he choked up delivering those remarks.

Before he stood up and walked to the front to speak, he said to his companion sitting next to him, "I didn't see anyone here who mattered?" And looked to her for confirmation.

Hmm. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he meant someone he should acknowledge, like another Member of Congress. Uh, no. Clearly, in his grief, he wasn't forgetting to be political...although I don't know what he said in his remarks that could have possibly caused any more stir than the mere fact that he was at a gay friend's Memorial Service.

Yes, Right Wing Conservative Republicans have gay friends. They can shed tears for them but they just can't cast votes for them in Congress.

I've no doubt Newt was there because he valued his friendship with the two men. I just wish he would reconcile his personal life with his public life, and tell his friends on the right that their anti-gay policies are a house of cards built on a foundation of hypocrisy.

Gay Men and their Women

What is it with gay men and their idolization of women?

I clicked on the Washington Blade this morning and a banner ad for an apartment screamed: An Apartment Carrie Bradshaw Would Love.

Clearly targeted at gay men. Because we love Carrie Bradshaw.

The recent (sad) death of Estelle Getty from the Golden Girls is another reminder. "Which Golden Girl are you?" used to be a question commonly heard, as "which Sex and the City character are you?" was recently.

As gay men we aspire to emulate snarky older women or swanky Manhattan dames?

Where are our male role models?

As I consider the question, I'm glad the gay men on TV aren't role models as they are all mostly gross caricatures. And now typical that the character most often emulated from Will and Grace aren't the men (thank God) but Karen. I can think of one gay character from TV worth admiring -- Keith, from Six Feet Under -- so it's not like there is a lot to choose from.

And it's not like I'm immune. I've played the which Golden Girl are you game (Dorothy, alas) and I like Sex in the City (Miranda -- at least I identify with the lesbian).

So what is it us gay men and our female role models? It's like we objectify women in our own way. While we don't view them as sex objects, we look at them as personality objects.

I don't get it.

In the meantime, I'm going to go watch some old Steve McQueen movies. And I'm skipping the cosmo.

"Cooper's Corridor"

Remember Cooper's Corridor?

It was all a lie. Via Curtis.

Richard Simmons Testifies Before Congress

And the Post's Dana Milbank has the, um, skinny.

(warning: this WashPo video is like a train wreck, you know you shouldn't watch but you can't help yourself. Video starts after a 13 second commercial).

How Do You Spell Irrelevant?

"M-C-C-A-I-N"

Conversations with Eli

Eli and I have been having some cool conversations, including one the other night when he told me he wanted to be an astronaut when he grows up so he could go visit other planets -- but he would have to ask Mommy first. Which made me visualize some future launch where the flight controller is going through the pre-launch checklist on pressures and temperatures and the like and someone yells "check" after each one. Finally, the controller yells out, "Commander Eli's mom?" and this little gray haired lady knitting in the corner yells "check!"

Then we had the following conversation.

He wants to ride a motor boat and I told him we used to have one. When? He asked. Before you were born, I said. When I was a glint in Mommy's eye? He asked Yes, I said.

Why? He said.

We had the boat before you were made, I said.

There was a pause, and he said, "Daddy, when will I die?"

I didn't see that one coming. First, so much love, hope, planning and effort went into his creation that his -- and I am pausing here to even write the word -- death is unthinkable. In fact, like all parents, I assume I will never have to face it, knowing the odds are great that I will meet death first. Second, I'm amazed that a three-and-half year old would be asking these questions. And while at 44 I've lost the hubris of youth that assumes indestructibility, I certainly don't comprehend death. I know it happens, I know it will happen to those I love and I know it will happen to me. Beyond that I'm clueless.

Daddy, when will I die?

I said not for a long, long, long time.

He asked, will I go to Heaven?

This was an even tougher one. It's hard for me to tell him sincerely he was going to a place I'm not sure I believe in. But it sure is a nice, convenient construct for moments like this and I took it, allowing myself one caveat.

I said, "lots of people believe in Heaven and you will go there and be very, very, happy."

The next day he asked a related question about life after death and I tried to BS my way out of it. And I could tell he knew I was BSing. Why couldn't we talk about the birds and the bees? At least I believe in that.

Fortunately, although three-and-a-half year olds have big questions they can also have short attention spans and I was able to change the subject.

The picture was taken by a friend at a dinner party we went to last week, an evening of laughter and fun with friends who are really family and a part of Eli's life. Hopefully, for years and years to come.

Bob Novak Hits a Pedestrian and Drives Away

They don't call him the Prince of Darkness for nothing.

“I didn’t know I hit him. ... I feel terrible,” a shaken Novak told reporters from Politico and WJLA as he was returning to his car. "He's not dead, that's the main thing." Novak said he was a block away from 18th and K streets Northwest, where the accident occurred, when a bicyclist stopped him and said he had hit someone. He said he was cited for failing to yield the right of way.

The bicyclist was David Bono, a partner at Harkins Cunningham, who was on his usual bike commute to work at 1700 K St. N.W. when he witnessed the accident.

As he traveled east on K Street, crossing 18th, Bono said "a black Corvette convertible with top closed plows into the guy. The guy is sort of splayed into the windshield.”

Well, from reading some of his columns it's always been clear he couldn't recognize a fact if it stared him in the face.

Mrs. Paul's Fish Pedicures

The latest in pedicures? Let tiny fish eat the dead skin away, instead of having it scraped off by Madge. According to this AP report filed from Alexandria, VA

Ready for the latest in spa pampering? Prepare to dunk your feet in a tank of water and let tiny carp nibble away.

To which a co-worker asked, "How do they know when to stop?"

Zakaria: McCain is the Foreign Policy Unrealistic Idealist

A must read from Fareed Zakaria today:

Ironically, the Republicans now seem to be the foreign-policy idealists, labeling countries as either good or evil, refusing to deal with nasty regimes, fixating on spreading democracy throughout the world and refusing to think in more historical and complex ways. "I don't do nuance," George W. Bush told many visitors to the White House in the years after 9/11. John McCain has had his differences with Bush, but not on this broad thrust of policy. Indeed it is McCain, the Republican, who has put forward some fanciful plans, arguing that America should establish a "League of Democracies," expel Russia from the Group of Eight industrialized countries and exclude China from both groups as well.

Obama's response to McCain's proposals on Russia and China could have been drafted by Henry Kissinger or Brent Scowcroft. We need to cooperate with both countries in order to solve significant global problems, he told me last week, citing nuclear-proliferation issues with Russia and economic ones with China. The distinction between Obama and McCain on this point is important. The single largest strategic challenge facing the United States in the decades ahead is to draw in the world's new rising powers and make them stakeholders in the global economic and political order. Russia and China will be the hardest because they are large and have different political systems and ideological approaches to the world. Yet the benefits of having them inside the tent are obvious. Without some degree of great-power cooperation, global peace and stability becomes a far more fragile prospect.

South Carolina: Not So Gay, Just So Stupid

The South Carolina employee who authorized the "South Carolina: So Gay" ads that ran in England has been fired resigned.

The government prefers the Confederate flag to the Rainbow one.

A government spokesperson said:

“In the future, we won’t be able to have those kinds of people acting with that kind of autonomy and latitude,” Edmonds said.

Ah yes, "those kind of people."

What kind of people would those be?

Is it too late to change our mind about that secession thing?

Obama Flip Flops

Uh-oh. More news about Obama and flip-flops:

Obama was dressed casually as if going out to dinner, wearing slacks, a blue blazer and flip-flops.

Flip Flops?

The Fashionista is going to be outraged. Wearing flip-flops with slacks and a blazer? During the primary Obama dressed so sensibly. The former Hawaiian seemed so Ivy League but now he's moving back toward the surfer.

It's Time for Some Campaignin'

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Monsters and McCain

I mentioned the other day that my son avers that only "monsters" are for McCain.

My disdain for McCain notwithstanding, he didn't get that from me. Moreover, I'm trying to turn the page on the past and move beyond the politics of demonization.

McCain is not helping me.

The recent adoption flap is an example. First he's against gay adoption, then he's for it as a last resort. Sean Bugg sums up the hapless Republican candidate's position quite well:

So, an adopted child with stable, employed and loving gay parents is better off than he would be in the gutter, but not as well off as he would be living in a trailer park with unemployed, unstable and disinterested heterosexual parents.

Now, I'm a gay dad but I didn't adopt. Like my hetero cohorts, I chose to bless the world with my genes. And Eli not only has two dads, he has two mommies (long story).

Lord knows what McCain would think about that (to the extent he's really thought about the whole gay thing at all, which I'm guessing given his incoherence on anything gay, he has not). But judging by the right's furor over Mary Cheney's baby, I'm guessing Eli's very existence and the love he feels for his parents would not meet the Republican's "being raised by two gays is better than an orphanage but just barely" standard.

I got a fresh look at it from Eli's perspective today.

We were eating lunch at MacDonalds (I know, I know, I swear the other two meals a day are healthy). It was crowded and we were jammed next to a table of what once would have been called "Meter Maids." One of them in particular took a shine to Eli, and said to him, "You be a good boy for your Mommy and your Daddy." Eli looked at her and said, "okay," then, "and I'll be good for Mama too!" The lady looked confused and said "okay." But Eli wasn't done. "And I'll be good for Pappa!"

I love when this happens. Eli's victims never know what to make of this. The three-year-old is speaking quite literally and simply but it's beyond the comprehension of the adults.

But my point is this: McCain stands for those who would do everything in their power to destroy or prevent the family that Eli loves.

If there is anything more monstrous to a three-year-old, I can't think of it.

That New Yorker Cover

I think it's good satire -- of the ignorance of the people who oppose Obama because he's black/Osama/Muslim/terrorist etc. The images portrayed in this cover are believed (I'm sad to say) by people I know.

It's bad politically for Obama...but I don't guess the New Yorker is in business to elect him.

I don't have a problem philosophically with the magazine for publishing it.

What bothers me more is the speed at which we Obama supporters have to so quickly and ardently deny that he IS a Muslim. To me, Islam, like Christianity, is another religion I don't believe in. I know a great many Christians I admire and call friend. And I know a few Muslims with whom I'd rather break bread with than some Christians. We're often wrong to judge people by the labels we attach to them.

And that's partly what this cover is saying.

To Kiss in the Sunlight

Nothing seems to get the wingnuts more riled up this side of gay marriage than gay kissing.

A kiss can be many things. It can be chaste, a quick sign of affection and familiarity between friends or partners of years. Or it can be steamy...a passionate act of love and lust. A kiss is intimate, eyes, mouth lips and face all coming together as one. A kiss is a tender moment between two people. It's an act of relationship.

Perhaps that's why it gets all the wingnuts so riled up. Consider:

Heinz just pulled an ad featuring a gay kiss between two men clearly in a committed relationship.

A few years ago SLDN held a protest with a kiss-in that was labeled a credible terrorist threat

And at a High School in New Jersey the principal had teachers blacking out a picture (manually, with markers) in the year book of two male students kissing even though there were photos of "straight" kisses.

The gay kiss is a potent symbol.

And as long as our straight friends can enjoy a peck, a bus or a passionate momentary lip-lock in public, we should too. As the song says:

To kiss in the sunlight, and say to the sky: Behold and believe what you see. Behold how my lover, loves me.

So, I'm starting my series "To Kiss in the Sunlight." I'm going to periodically post pictures of gays kissing. I'd prefer real couples as opposed to actors or models, so if you have a picture of you and your sig other you wouldn't mind me posting, send it: ksbarker3064@yahoo.com.

While I have a steady readership it's not large enough to result in a lot of photos, so I will post what I find on the Internets. But I'd prefer the real thing, so send em in!

Shower Ballet

We have a large shower in the master bedroom suite big enough for, well, a lot of people.

Last night we gave Eli the choice of a bath or shower and he chose shower.

What happened then was beautiful -- he danced with the water as it fell on him, moving slowly and gracefully. Eli gave an uninhibited display of human expression in concert with the sensations he was feeling, the soft lighting, the gentle warm and flowing water covering him.

What struck me was the freedom of expression in his movements -- no conscious thought of what he was doing, no judgment about whether what he was doing was masculine or feminine. This was beaten out of me a long time ago and it was a joyous experience watching my son just be.

I hope he never loses that sense of freedom.

When Worlds Collide

DCist has a regular feature when the report on funny things overheard around the area. This one I found particularly amusing:

At the Subway at 21 & K NW, around 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday:

Customer: "Do you have brats?" (as in bratwurst)
Subway sandwich artist: "Que?"

He Likes It

On His Way

Track Eli's Flight.

Ker-Chow!

Eli returns tomorrow. We replaced his crib with a Lightening McQueen bed. When I was his age I was forced to sleep in a bed shaped merely like a, well, bed. Clearly I was abused. This probably explains a lot.

The bed was easy to put together. The stickers, not so much. And Lightening McQueen has a lot of stickers (remember, Sally in the movie calls him "Stickers." If you don't know this you haven't seen Cars a gazillion times. If you want to know what you're missing, come sit with Eli. You'll get more than a chance).

There are a few wrinkles in the stickers. My dad would have been able to put on the stickers wrinkle-free. I got the part of the genes that wants perfection, but not the part of the gene with the patience to achieve it.

I will say this about fatherhood: it makes you appreciate your own father all the more.

Ker-Chow!

FISA Compromise

I don't get the outrage.

Admittedly, I haven't followed this that closely, but reading some analysis, it would appear that the compromise adds protections to existing law that weren't there before. Owen Kerr concurs:

As I see it, the new law takes the basic approach of the Protect America Act of 2007 and adds privacy protections and bolsters the scope of judicial review. On the whole, the new law strikes me as pretty good legislation: It nicely responds to the widely expressed fears last year about how the Protect America Act could be implemented. and it ensures that the FISA Court will play a major role in reviewing surveillance of individuals located outside the U.S. Indeed, it seems to me that the new rules create pretty much the regime that critics of the Protect America Act wanted back in 2007.

So is the hue and cry on the bloggy left simply over the fact that this is seen as a victory for Bush and Obama aided and abetted? Because on substance this seems like a tempest in a teapot. If you think the government shouldn't be wiretapping individuals at all, you won't be happy with this compromise, but it would seem it moved current law a little back towards the privacy end of the spectrum, which is better than nothing. Given a repeal of the Protect America Act is not going to pass it would seem supporting this compromise is a pragmatic position.

I've been arguing with my friends on the right that Obama comes at things from the left but that he is in the end a pragmatic politician. I don't think you can read Audacity of Hope and come to any other conclusion. His support of the compromise confirms this analysis.

Again, I don't understand the outrage. What am I missing?

Andrew Sullivan: Okay to riddicule Mohammad, but don't touch my communion cracker

Andrew Sullivan has got himself worked up (although I usually agree with him about things, we must admit he gets pretty easily worked up) about PZ Myers' plan to publicly "defile" a communion cracker.

Sullivan, the blogger who castigated the European press for not publishing cartoons with the prophet Mohammad because it offended Muslims, says this about Myers' plan:

Calling the Holy Eucharist a "goddamned cracker" isn't about free speech; it's really about some baseline civility.

Really? Free speech has to be about more than just protecting ridicule of the other guy's religion. I'll agree Myers is being crude and intentionally offensive...but would still argue it's his right.

It's not like he's burning people at the stake or anything.

Foul Ball: Nationals Welch on their Rent

Not only have the Nationals baseball team refused to pay $3.5 million in rent owed to DC, they want the ity to pay them $100,000 per day in damages.

And this tid bit is unearthed by Sean:

The Nationals owners have already been through a round of arbitration over ballpark costs, including over a demand that the city pay for the team's uniforms. The arbitrator ruled in the city's favor, but since then some city officials have privately expressed increasing frustration over the family's stands.

Folks, these are my tax dollars we're talking about here. Meanwhile there are dozens of city volunteer arts organizations longing for a public, affordable space to perform in the city, in vain.

Any desire I've had to go see a ball game (admittedly, not that great to begin with) has been squashed.

I hope the city tells the Nationals what they can do with their ball bats. And tell 'em to do it sideways.

First, Let's Kill All the Cyclists

Sorry to keep on this cycling meme, but it's dominated my thoughts these days. Especially after reading this comment from someone on DCist on the thread about the Ghost Bike for Alice Swanson:

It's my position as a driver that until no individual on a bicycle ever breaks a traffic law, no driver should no driver should ever be held responsible for running down any cyclist at any time.

Cyclists should always me mindful of the fact that when I'm making a right-hand turn, or opening my door into traffic, checking my side view mirror is a somewhat difficult thing to remember to do. And if I end up killing you, well, you're engaging in extremely risky behavior.

You might think this is some crackpot but unfortunately this mentality comes through in the way a lot of people in DC drive around cyclists (and DC Metrobus drivers are not exempt!).

Personal Example: I was in the bike lane northbound on 14th Street. One block the bike lane was partially blocked by construction, forcing me to move left closer to traffic. Sure enough, my elbow was grazed by a passing car. The driver stopped (a uniformed Metro security officer) and while swearing at me checked his mirror, never once asking if I was injured (I was not). See, like the commenter above, this driver felt that it was my fault because I was on his road. I deserved to be hit, and woe unto me if I caused any damage to his precious car.

It's pretty obvious what happened to Ms. Swanson...she was in the bike lane heading west on R street, continuing straight across Connecticut. The garbage truck, also on R street heading west, made a right turn unto 20th, running into Swanson in the intersection. Cyclists call this a right hook. And, this morning, it nearly happened to me in the same intersection. I stopped at the stop sign there and the car next to turned in front of me, cutting me off. the driver never checked the bike lane...she was talking on her cell phone.

But damn me anyway for being there on my bike...

Ghost Bike for Alice Swanson

UPDATE: I took this picture tonight at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association's press conference at the accident site.

The cyclist killed by the garbage truck yesterday has been identified as 22 year old Alice Swanson.

I'm having a hard time getting this tragedy out of my mind. It happend on a street corner that has been a part of my DC life for years. Across the street from where it happened is where the LTR worked for nearly 15 years. A sandwich and coffee shop next to the intersection has been a gathering place for me and my friends on many sunny afternoons.

I rode by this morning. A small memorial was taking shape with some boquets of flowers set in a tree box at the intersection. I made a small contribution to that collection. In the median strip on Connecticut Ave someone has placed a ghost bike -- a bike painted all white to signify the death of a cyclist.

The bike lane closely parrelles the crosswalk at that intersection. Eyewitnesses say she was in the crosswalk, but she could have been in the bike lane and appeared to be in the crosswalk. Not that it matters either way, as regardless she would have been in the path of the turning truck.

My heart goes out to her family and friends. What a terrible loss.

Matt's Back

The Where the Hell is Matt? saga continues...and it still brings a smile.

Bicycles vs. Cars

Tragedy in Dupont Circle in DC this morning as a young 22 year old cyclist is run over by a garbage truck and dies.

It was a beautiful day in DC this morning, clear, not too humid yet, and a gentle breeze. A perfect morning for riding. I know exactly how that young woman must have felt as she started out on her ride, starting the day with that free, flying sensation that you can often get from cycling. A day full of promise ending with such tragic finality. As I bike almost everyday near where this happened I'm filled with a "there but for the grace of God go I" feeling. I've had my near-misses on the streets of DC and in fact had one in Dupont Circle yesterday when I misjudged the proximity of a following car and I swerved to avoid a pothole in my path. The driver was accelerating and nearly hit me.

Had he hit me you could argue that it was my fault for swerving out into the middle of the lane (a good reason many cyclists ride in the middle of the lane is to avoid having to swerve suddenly to avoid an opening car door or in my case a pothole). But had he hit me, many would argue he was justified.

The comments in the WaPo article about this morning's accident make it clear that many drivers see them selves as four-wheeled vigilantes set on bringing cyclists to justice under their SUVs. These commenters curse cyclists for breaking the laws when it's clear that many of them don't even know the law when it comes to bikes on the road. And as one commenter put it:

You see why sharing the road with cyclists isn't a great idea? People die! Get off the roads!

Yes, cyclists do run red lights and that's wrong - but that doesn't give you drivers the right to kill them. And we have the same rights -- and responsibilities -- that you gas guzzlers do.

Obama Knows I'm Gay

Okay, so I signed up on Obama's Web site early in the game...also filled out supporter cards in Nevada and Pennsylvania and Ohio at Obama events.

No where, whether on line or standing in line at an Obama rally did I check off "I'm an Obama supporter and I like other guys."

Yet today I get an email from the campaign entitled "Photos: LGBT Pride Events" that begins:

Thanks to supporters like you, we made a big impact during Pride month.

Okay, you all know how I feel about Pride and I was in the mountains playing Brokeback with the LTR during DC's Pride event. And yet the email exhorts me to host my own "Obama Pride" event.

So how does Obama know I'm gay?

As far as I know from my site meter, no one from the campaign has ever been here (nor would I expect them too, wee blogger that I am).

The only thing I can figure is that somewhere along the way I clicked on something gay related on his Web site or in an email his campaign sent. And so I've been segmented. Or Micro-Targeted, to use Mr. Penn's phrase.

Pretty slick.

So, yes, Mr. Obama, I'm gay, as you suspected. I'll think about hosting an Obama Pride event...but you need to think a bit more about this marriage between a man and a woman thing. You're moving in the right direction, and I think you're more sincere than your former opponent on this issue, but recent events have made me a bit wary.

You understand, right? Since others in the recent past have wanted to turn our gay pride into campaign donations and votes? Only to drop us at the first sign of political trouble?

We can overcome this obsolete view of marriage only between a man and a woman, can't we? We can win over enough votes in California and elsewhere to protect marriage equality if we just work together?

Yes, we can.

There Goes the Pre-School Vote

My 3.5 year old tells me today he marched with Barack Obama in the 4th of July Parade in Hawaii (not the candidate himself, but other supporters).

Then he says: "Nobody in the whole wide world likes John McCain. Only monsters."

Although 3 of his 4 parents are Obama-supporters, we swear we didn't put him up to that.

Why Do House Guests Do This?

Our guest bedroom features a four-poster bed. We ofer guests their own full bath complete with a towel rack and hooks on the back of the door for, one would think, towels. Yet the towels always end up where the one is in the picture, on the corner of the bed, in clear view of the main hallway. Every house guest, without exception, does this.

Did I miss the part where four poster beds were for hanging your wet towel?

Death of DC Metblogs?

What happens when all your bloggers quit en masse to start a competing blog?

A bitter, snarky post by the publisher (can't say as I blame him).

"Our Country" -- It's an Idea, Not a Place

NOTE: This is a post from May 2007. It came to mind this morning on this Independence Day. Happy July 4th.


While in Indy I was tasked with managing a business luncheon. arriving early at the luncheon room at the hotel, I met our wait staff person, a middle-aged Chinese woman who has worked at the Hyatt for 30 some years. While waiting for lunch to begin, she told me with obvious pride of her eldest son who serves in the Army Corps of Engineers and who has been stationed around the world, including Afghanistan, and who is now stationed here in DC. She told me how while driving to work she sometimes worries about him, asking God to keep him safe and how three times w/in 15 minutes her cell phone would ring and it would be him calling to let her know he was okay.

When the luncheon was over I was saying my thank yous and said to her, "please convey my thanks to your son for his service to our country."

"Our country." I thought about those words later. Me, this Midwestern white gay boy and this woman from another land and culture, whose family is in harms way for this idea called "America."

Our country really is an idea, not a place, a dream worth emigrating to and defending.

No terrorist can destroy that dream. We can only do that ourselves.

When People Say

"It's me, not you" what they really mean is: it's you.

Tyson Homosexual

You may have heard about the American Family Association's little issue with automatically replacing the word "gay" with "homosexual" on their news Web site. Normally this filter is used to prevent using the word gay to refer to those of us who "practice the homosexual lifestyle."

But when it gets used on a story about runner Tyson Gay (whose last name is, indeed, Gay) it results in copy like this:

Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.

His time of 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday doesn't count as a world record, because it was run with the help of a too-strong tailwind. Here's what does matter: Homosexual qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice he's certainly someone to watch in Beijing.

"It means a lot to me," the 25-year-old Homosexual said. "I'm glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me."

Ahem.

You may have seen this already, but this afternoon via the WaPo I read another AFA "gay" gaffe about NBA player Rudy Gay that made me laugh out loud:

Memphis Grizzlies backers hit the hay hoping that Kevin Love would open things up for Rudy Homosexual in the frontcourt.

Gee. And tonight when I'm practicing my homosexual lifestyle I'll be going to the cleaners, walking the dog, cleaning the guest bedroom and getting ready for work tomorrow, before sitting down to maybe watch more of the John Adams HBO mini-series. Nothing about getting opened up in the frontcourt.

This homosexual lifestyle is boring!