Are now considering abolishing weekend night service on
the metro, and instead creating some sort of strange night bus route. Please read more to find out why this is the worst idea EVER.
Myriad reasons this plan is awful, but two important ones: drunk driving will increase, and it endangers people, particularly women. It seems to be much more likely that people will opt to drive into or across DC, rather than attempt to navigate an insanely complicated bus system. Anyone who has ridden the metro after bars close on weekends will attest to the fact those folks should not be driving themselves home. Additionally, people who do not have cars, or who opt to take the bus, will have to wait on street corners instead of inside a monitored and well-lit metro station, and transfer in unfamiliar (and probably sketchy) areas of town. This makes people easy targets for violence.
Click here to send a comment to WMATA, letting them know that this plan is stupid and puts folks in danger.
Here's the comment I sent to them:
The recent proposal to eliminate the weekend metro service will endanger the community. Many people, particularly younger bar patrons, will opt to drive into the city rather than attempt to navigate lengthy and confusing night bus routes. This will increase the amount of drunk driving that occurs.
Additionally, the fact that metro stations are well-lit, monitored by metro employees, and are centralized waiting locations makes them a safer form of late night travel, particularly for women. Forcing women who choose not to drive into DC, or who do not have access to a car, to wait on street corners at bus stops that are often poorly lit and in dangerous areas of town will increase the propensity for violence, such as rape, mugging, and physical assaults.
I urge you to figure out other cost-saving methods in order to protect the citizens of Maryland, Virginia, and DC.
Monday, August 6, 2007
The zany, zany folks at the DC Metro
Short media memory
The media has been in a tizzy since Ken Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon, two CRAZY LIBERAL SOCIALIST THINK TANK HIPPIES Brookings Institution scholars published an interim report saying that the increased troop presence was working in Iraq. OMG, the media says, if Pollack and O'Hanlon, who have been "highly critical of the war," say it's working, the left is in trouble!
Ken Pollack was a leading liberal hawk leading up to the invasion. He made his case in the enormously popular bookThe Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq. He was on every Sunday morning talk show ever hyping the invasion.
Yes, since then he has decided the war went badly, but his criticism has been of the strategy and tactics of the invasion, not of the ideological justifications for going in. And he, like everyone else, has a vested interest in being vindicated by history. In this case, Pollack isn't a flip-flopper. Even though I categorically disagreed with him in 2003, and I categorically disagree with him today, he's been remarkably consistent on Iraq throughout his career. He wanted Saddam gone. He advocated a specific invasion strategy. He criticized the administration for botching the job. Now, he's hopeful something good can come out of it.
Folks on the left thought it was stupid, dangerous, and a tragic misalignment of priorities to invade. We thought that what happened in the wake of the invasion was predicable and tantamount to crimes against humanity. We now believe it is highly unlikely that US troop presence will do anything more than prolong the sectionalism, destruction of infrastructure, and incite more ethnic cleansing to throughout the region.
Pollack is a smart man, and a scholar worthy of respect. But his report is not indicative of folks on the left switching teams.
I don't know much about O'Hanlon, but I'm sure he's fine too.
Enjoy your Monday!
Friday, August 3, 2007
Cool thing of the day (Updated with more coolness!)
I don't know if you know this...
But 2/3 of the Clancy siblings are kind of a big deal. Ben's band Bridges is playing at Ruta Maya tonight in Austin, and merited a listing in the Austin Chronicle.
Also, Lincoln Davis (D-TN) and I just had a lovely conversation, and he called me "a remarkable young woman."
I'm not sure what Tommy's up to, but 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
If you're in Austin, go see Ben's show!!!!!!!!!!
Update two:
I just realized that mentioning Ben's emo band indie-band-that-sounds-like-Brighteyes* in the same post as my dealings with Congressfolk may have just decreased his coolness factor by about a million points. Let me assure you (although I'm stating the obvious) that Ben is, far and away, the coolest Clancy, and my political dorkdom has in no way rubbed off on him.
Although I do have a political story about Ben. In 2000, Ben's 5th grade class had a mock election on the same day as the real election. [Full disclosure: I swapped my vote with a friend in Florida - they voted for Gore, I voted for Nader. I was one of the Nader voters that helped the problem, or at least tried to].
Because Ben loves his big sister, he was the only person, not just in his class but in the entire school, to vote for Nader. He was also the only person, not just in Austin, but in all of America, to be surprised and angry when Nader lost. I remember vividly that his homework was to color in a map of the US as states were called for Republicans or Democrats. He created a separate category for Nader (green, of course). Everytime a state was called blue or red, he would get so angry that he'd throw his cute little colored pencils across the room.
Anyway, go hear him play.
*Changed as per request of the band.
Ode to Ron Ziegler
When I worked for the Nixon Project at the National Archives, I had to read every press conference Ron Ziegler ever gave.
During that time, I became somewhat obsessed with the man. I was planning to write his biography, I kept a running list of my favorite quotations, I even had his picture framed above my desk and as my photo on myspace.
It was kind of a joke, but not really.
I realized on my way to work this morning that my crush on Ron Ziegler would be exactly like my kids having a crush on one of the following men: Ari Fleischer, Scott McClellan or Tony Snow.
I don't know which is worse...the thought of mathgimp with HER or the thought of my son/daughter crushin on Ari.
So, that's surprising...
I gotta say, I didn't expect this. After the jump, people I now have crushes on.
This was written by Danica McKellar, who was in 80 episodes of The Wonder Years, and a few of The West Wing. Who knew TV stars knew anything about the Ising model (of which the Potts model is a generalization).
Also, apparently Mayim Bialik, the star of Blossom, has a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA.
In all reality, I still don't have a crush on Blossom, PhD or no. But Danica McKellar should call me.
Update:
This was posted before I read nuraido's most recent post. While I don't find Ann Coultier wildy attractive, I greatly enjoy watching nuraido try to keep from vomiting at the thought of her. Thus, my apparent crazy person fetish is really for entertainment purposes only. Of course, if Danica McKellar is a crazy right wing pundit (unlikely because math people are awesome), so be it. She should still call me.
Sen. Leahy left heart broken by Chief Justice
Last Sunday, I accidentally drank an entire 1.5-liter bottle of pino grigio in about 3 hours. No one stopped me, I guess because of the entertainment factor, and we spent most of the night talking of sex with politicians and pundits.
First, I'm going to call out Mathgimp (mostly to feel better about myself): he's got a little thing for Ann Coulter. That thought revolts me to the point that I may never have sex again.
Now, a confession of my own: I apparently (I swear to you, it was only the wine talking), spent the entire night telling everyone how attractive Chief Justice John Roberts is. In the interest of full disclosure, I am told (albeit, by the man who fantasizes about the venemous, evil blonde wench) that I even called John Roberts a "slammin' hottie," which in the world of politics is a label I reserve solely for John Edwards. Now, to my credit, John Roberts wasn't sore on the eyes when he was at Harvard: 
but the thought of my drunk self finding him attractive kinda makes me twitch a little bit (too soon for the seizure jokes, people.)
This morning, I found solace in an unusual place: Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It seems I am not the only one who, when clearly under the influence of mind altering substances, says absolutely idiotic things about the Chief Justice. In an interview with the Politico's Roger Simon, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy says he voted to confirm Chief Justice John Roberts only because he knew he was going to be confirmed anyway and thought a pure party-line confirmation vote would leave Roberts thinking he was "an appointment of the Republican Party."
Leahy admits that it has pretty much worked out that way anyway: Under Roberts, he says, the Supreme Court has become "an arm of the Republican Party."
Um, this is why people hate Democrats. Because our cunning strategy reads like this: We're not going to try to win, so that when those mean ol' Republicans gain power through (uncontested) nefarious means, they'll remember that we were nice, and be nice to us.
Senator Leahy, I've always kind of liked you, but you're seriously a spineless moron. Even though you're messing up the Gonzo bullshit, none of that will ever affect the life of average Americans. Supreme Court decisions clearly have major implications for the lives of American citizens. Voting against Roberts because you thought his confirmation was inevitable would have been a principled stand for the American people who choose to vote for your dumbass every six years. Instead, you proved once again that Democrats would rather be bullied and whine about it later than to take their beatings and cast votes of conscience. Good job.
At least my transgressions against the party are limited to my drunken fantasy life. But maybe that's what serving on the Judiciary Committee is: one long orgy with Republicans.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Friendship and loss
On Tuesday, Sarah got the call that all of us dread: one of her close friends from high school fatally overdosed.
It's been a year and a half since Jimmy died, and I still think about him every day - and I know that's true for everyone who loves him. His birthday is coming up on August 7th, so he's been in my thoughts more often lately.
No one could have stopped Jimmy or Stephanie from making the choices they did...and just about the only thing we can do is to use these experiences to reaffirm our love, loyalty, and dedication to our friends. We need to take care of each other, love each other, and keep each other close -- even (especially) when we're separated by thousands of miles and oceans and continents and busy jobs and insane school schedules.
I love all of you, and I'm very lucky to have you in my life. Keep Sarah, Stephanie, Jimmy, and their families in your thoughts.
Kel
Bridge in Minneapolis
You've probably already heard about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis over the Mississsippi. CNN just dropped the death toll to 4, but that number is expected to rise again as they continue to search the river. Thankfully, all of the kids on the school bus seem to have escaped. The NYT has some fantastic photographs of the scene, and CNN has a video.
Looking at the images of the bumper-to-bumper traffic, the sheer size of the Mississippi river, and the crumpled mess that is the bridge, it's amazing to me only four died...and a remarkable testiment to the ability of the Minnesota rescue workers to respond quickly and effectively to a crisis. Good job, y'all.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Please don't nuke Mecca
Now, I know a few Republicans read the blog. And I love you despite your...misguided political beliefs. And you can stay because we need all the readers we can get. HOWEVER. Your people are crazy. Absolutely crazy.
On the far left, we have Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. If one of them were to become president, we'd pull out of Iraq, send cookies and milk to the insurgents, and all smoke a lot of pot. Oh and of course, throw boulders into lakes. I won't lie. I kind of like both of them, but that's not the point of the post.
On the far right we have...Tom Tancredo. Who thinks we should nuke Mecca. "If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," the GOP presidential candidate said. "That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent or you will find an attack. There is no other way around it. There have to be negative consequences for the actions they take. That's the most negative I can think of."
Osama should really put him on the Al Qaeda media relations payroll...having presidential candidates threaten to *nuke Mecca* is exactly the fodder they want for their insurgent recruiting commercials and videos.
Completely insane. All of them.
My people get cooler and cooler
Despite centuries of brutal British colonial rule, we've mangaged to save civilization,
Daniel Cassidy has a new book out called How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads.
"In a series of lively essays, this pioneering book proves that US slang has its strongest wellsprings in nineteenth-century Irish America. "Jazz" and "poker," "sucker" and "scam" all derive from Irish. While demonstrating this, Daniel Cassidy simultaneously traces the hidden history of how Ireland fashioned America, not just linguistically, but through the Irish gambling underworld, urban street gangs, and the powerful political machines that grew out of them. Cassidy uncovers a secret national heritage, long discounted by our WASP-dominated culture."
Are you feeling inferior about your culture yet? Cause ya should be.