The push to go to war with Iraq seems to have been dealt some severe setbacks. Meanwhile, the push for a Homeland Security Department may yet fall apart, if only because it is so unwieldy. The TIPS disaster wound up turning into just another gimmick for John Walsh on “America’s Most Wanted.” We were even spared a Medicare prescription drug benefit for seniors.
Not too bad. Maybe I should spend more time in D.C.
In spite of my fairly well developed and firm political viewpoints, I’m not much of an activist, I admit it. I’m more of an armchair philosopher, only instead of philosophizing in an armchair I watch TV on a couch.
But this is a cause even I am willing to take to the streets in support of: Topfreedom now! This much is for certain. I’m going to visit this page regularly to keep abreast of all the latest developments.
The whole point of e-mail, after all, is that it’s plain text. It doesn’t take up a lot of bandwidth and can be read by any computer no matter what kind of software’s on it. By dressing up e-mail in HTML, the whole point of e-mail is defeated.
Worse yet, when I try to respond to an HTML-coded e-mail, it’s almost impossible for me to quote the original writer. I usually wind up deleting the original e-mail, since I’m not going to spend 15 minutes navigating code just to write a response. So for those of you who are sending HTML-coded e-mail, please stop. It’s annoying, and doesn’t do anyone any good. Thank you.
In D.C., not only was I away from home and my soon-to-be wife, but from cable TV as well. Here’s a list, then:
What I didn’t miss: Having to watch the Cubs lose games like this. 9-1. Ugh.
Poor, poor Steve Smyth.
The guy has absolutely nothing. He gets rocked every time out. His first start? Against the San Francisco Giants. Could you imagine the third batter you face in your major-league debut being Barry Bonds. Yikes.
I am happy. I am. I really am. I’m done with college, fully employed, marrying the woman I love, moving out of The Stris’ apartment … I’m excited about what the future holds in store for us. I finally feel so … adult.
And it feels good. The way I figure it, I’ve got two thirds of my life left. I’m looking forward to making them the best I can. Right now, everything after this almost feels just like icing on the cake. But the icing’s always been the best part.
And so I am, by the gummint, no less! A friend of mine from Columbia helped hook me up with a group called the Aviation Integrity Project. AIP is an investigative unit funded by the Suburban O’Hare Commission, a group of 14 suburbs surrounding O’Hare Field that oppose expansion of the airport. So the bills, technically, are being paid by Elk Grove Village.
AIP is headed by Terrence Brunner, who used to head the Better Government Association (a longtime goo-goo organization) here in Chicago and has a lot of contacts in the city’s journalism circles. So while this may be a short-run gig, lasting only for as long as the SOC deigns to continue funding it and the issue of expansion itself stays alive, I hope that it will serve as an entree into my next job. If nothing else, this job will afford me the opportunity to
learn more about investigative journalism, which I haven’t done much of so far.
So, what is AIP investigating, exactly? Well, I won’t bore you with the details — and I don’t want to spoil what we’re working on — but the gist of it is that Da Mare and the city have long favored expansion of O’Hare as opposed to a third airport because the O’Hare is actually a part of Chicago, which means that the city controls all the contracts and jobs that get doled out at O’Hare, many of which aren’t even open to competitive bidding.
What we have, then, are airlines and a region desperate to add capacity, and the city doesn’t want a third airport to happen because it would mean they’d lose all that potential patronage. This sets the stage for lots of dirty dealings, including some juicy campaign finance stuff and more. Classic Chicago stuff. It’s fun, and for some odd reason doesn’t feel nearly as dirty as Washington. Maybe just because I’m used to Chicago; it seems more like harmless fun. Clearly, in both cases there is powermongering at play.
And both Da Mare and Dubya have a way with words. Hmm …
Here’s how the proposed legislation to preempt local control over airport expansion is unconstitutional. The author of that article, by the way, is arguing SOC’s case in court.
Actually, it almost never did. The weather was ungodly hot, hot and humid. But the summer was productive and, at times, fun. Working at KRT really gave me an opportunity to write many different types of stories and it was nice to get a taste of life in Washington.
A taste, however, was enough. Whenever I went to cover a speech or a news briefing or saw the latest politico speak to our group, I couldn’t help but involuntarily feel a little queasy. Somewhere, down deep, I couldn’t help but feel that this person — whatever their intentions — lusted after power over others. And worse yet, the entire atmosphere of that town means those with the most powerlust are guaranteed an eager following of syphocants, including journalists, who know that the most powerful people guarantee the biggest headlines.
It’s hard to explain in a rational way, really. I just know that I don’t want to live and work there right now, and I find it hard to imagine that I’d ever want to. Fortunately, that’s not even an option right now, as Karen likes her job at Midway Games here in Chicago, so we’ll be in the Windy City for a while to come.
Boy, it’s hard to think of a time in my life when I was as happy as when I finished that final exam on Thursday, July 25, meaning I was done with classes, done with the internship, done with the program and finally done with college. It was such a feeling of accomplishment. And in two days, I’d be on my way home to see my baby. Oh, it was bliss. It was bliss. It was bliss.
But I’ve a different kind of bliss to look forward to now — wedded bliss. We’re just about done with all the wedding plans. There are some details to be attended to, still, but for the most part it’s all taken care of. We’re taking some private dance lessons this weekend so that we don’t trip over each other during the first dance. That’s my goal, anyway.
We’re going to San Francisco on our honeymoon. We’ll be staying at a Hotel Monaco there. It should be glorious fun. I’ve been reading up about all the wonderful things to see and do, and I’m starting to get excited. I bought a couple of “underground” guide books so that we’re not just stuck in the tourist traps — though we’ll of course visit those.
We’ve already got tickets to a Giants game (hopefully the players and owners will pull their heads out of their asses and avoid a strike) and an Alcatraz tour.
kboreilly.com 