DC Intern Diaries

The Perfect Man - Heather Locklear, Hillary Duff star in creepy movie

2005-06-17T22:51:00.000-04:00

This is the WP movie review...how absolutely creepy that a teenage girl wrote her mother love letters and "romanced" her...for 8 months!....in the real world story, the daughter actually proposed to her mother!!...pretty sick...interesting how they turned a literal greek tragedy into a fluffy cutesy film with Hillary Duff and Heather Locklear!

"Based on the true story of Heather Robinson, who as a teenager invented an imaginary boyfriend for her single mom and conducted a romantic correspondence with her, "The Perfect Man" is creepy as heck. Not as creepy as the original story, to be sure, but creepy lite. Even Robinson, in an interview in Radar magazine, says she doesn't see how the film, starring the ever-insipid Hilary Duff as the 16-year-old daughter and Heather Locklear as her mother, could possibly be as dark as her own experience and subsequent temporary estrangementfrom her mother was. No, dark it is not. Try boring, however."

Cleary Gottlieb Summer Associate Story - Not True!!

2005-06-13T15:30:00.000-04:00

I have a report from a reputable source....that the e-mail that's going around isn't true. A drunken associate from another firm PUSHED her into the river and had disappeared once the cops figured out what really happened. And she wasn't arrested - they just took her to the hospital to make sure that she
was okay.

How messed up!! Not only was this poor girl pushed into the Hudson River - but then she is disparaged and embarassed (and I have seen emails with her full name) and made into a joke by other NY summers! How cruel!

Cleary Gottlieb Summer Associate Story

2005-06-13T15:12:00.000-04:00

BTW, she is apparently a pre-clerk summer from UVA Law...

FW: First summer associate catastrophe thus far....

I'm sure by now you have all heard the summer-associate most embarrasing-moments stories from past summer classes at your respective firms. See if you can beat this: the other night hundreds of new york summers, including myself, were at a very snooty charity benefit at Pier 60 in Chelsea Piers, put on by a bunch of law firms. Drinks were served in abundance, and it was only a matter of time before some summer associate with a low tolerance made an egregious social faux pas in front of the partners of their firm. What actually took place was better than any of us could have hoped for. In a drunken stupour, a girl from Cleary Gottlieb suggested to those standing around her that they all go for a swim (keep in mind that this was at a restaurant with a deck sitting over the Hudson River, and that once off the deck it was 500 feet back to shore in pretty rough swells of very polluted water). Everyone around looked at her as if she was joking, or crazy. Despite the fact that nobo
dy was willing to join her, she took off her shoes and dress and jumped half-naked into the River, causing, as you can imagine, widespread panic amongst everyone at the party. The coast guard was called in immediately and apparently she was arrested. One can only wonder if that is the sort of behavior that might prevent one from getting an offer at the end of the summer.

Washington, DC bars for older, more sophisticated interns

2005-06-08T16:39:00.000-04:00

I was putting together this list for a fellow intern, who is older and married, downtown, so figured I would share....note this is different than a happy hour list - some of these places have no specials...

Palette
Panache
Mayflower
Round Robin
Mandarin Hotel bar
Helix
Bar Rouge
Topaz
Cloud
Sequioas or Tony and Joe's
Lights
Sky Terrace
Red Sage
Old Ebbitt Grill
Le Bar
Bobby Van's
Shelley's Backroom
15 Ria

Dear Alcohol

2005-06-07T16:03:00.000-04:00

Dear Alcohol,

First & foremost, let me tell you that I'm a huge fan of yours. As my friend, you always seem to be there when needed. The perfect post-work cocktail, a beer at the game, and you're even around in the holidays, hidden inside chocolates as you warm us when we're stuck in the midst of endless family gatherings.
However, lately I've been wondering about your intentions. While
I want to believe that you have my best interests at heart, I feel that your influence has led to some unwise consequences:

1. Phone calls: While I agree with you that communication is important, I question the suggestion that any conversation of substance or necessity takes place after 2 a.m. Why would you make me call those ex-boyfriends/girlfriends when I know for a fact they do not want to hear from me during the day, let alone
all hours of the night?

2. Eating: Now, you know I love a good meal, b ut why do you suggest that I eat a taco with chili sauce, along with a big Italian meatball and some stale chips (washed down with WINE & topped off with a Kit Kat after a few cheese curls & white castles)? I'm an eclectic eater, but I think you went too far this time.

3. Clumsiness: Unless you're subtly trying to tell me that I need to do more yoga to improve my balance, I see NO need to hammer the issue home by causing me to fall down. It's completely unnecessary, and the black & blue marks that appear on my body mysteriously the next day are beyond me. Similarly, it should never take me more than 45 seconds to get the front door
key into the lock.

4. Furthermore: The hangovers have GOT to stop. This is getting ridiculous. I know a little penance for our previous evening's debauchery may be in order, but the 3pm hangover immobility is completely unacceptable. My entire day is shot . I ask that, if the proper precautions are taken (water, vitamin B, bread products, aspirin) prior to going to sleep/passing out face down on the kitchen floor with a bag of popcorn, the hangover should be minimal & in no way interfere with my daily activities.

5. The "hook-up." Need I say more?

Alcohol, I have enjoyed our friendship for some years now & would like to ensure that we remain on good terms. You've been
the invoker of great stories, the provocation for much laughter, and the needed companion when I just don't know what to do with the extra money in my pockets. In order to continue this
friendship, I ask that you carefully review my grievances above & address them immediately. I will look for an answer no later than Thursday 3pm (pre-happy hour) on your possible solutions & hopefully we can continue this fruitful partnership.

Thank you,
Your biggest fan

P.S. THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Innovative
2. Preliminary
3. Proliferation
4. Cinnamon

THINGS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Specificity
2. British Constitution
3. Passive-aggressive disorder

THINGS THAT ARE DOWNRIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY WHEN
DRUNK:
1. Thanks, but I don't want to have sex.
2. Nope, no more beer for me.
3. Sorry, but you're not really my type.
4. Good evening, officer. Isn't it lovely out tonight?
5. Oh, I couldn't. No one wants to hear me sing

Ann Coulter on dating in Washington, DC

2005-06-07T09:56:00.000-04:00

From George Magazine...
By Ann Coulter

The really appropriate setting for writing an article about dating in
the nation's capital would be home alone in my D.C. apartment on a Saturday
night. By chance, however, I'll be in New York this weekend. By chance,
I've been in New York every weekend for approximately the previous 147 weeks,
give or take a few shuttle mishaps. But since all my stuff is in D.C., I
do have to drop in occasionally. Consequently, I've become a minor
authority on dating in Washington. Maybe not on dating exactly but one crucial
element of any date: "the ask."

Boys in Washington don't know how to ask for a date. What they do is try
to trick you into asking them for a date. They say, "I know you're really
busy, so call me when you'd like to go out to dinner" or "Call me when you're
back in Washington" or, my favorite, "Are we ever going to get together?"
What are you supposed to say to such completely insane things? I've never
figured that out, which is why these conversations tend to end in hostile
silences.

"Call me when you'd like to go out for dinner" isn't asking for a date;
it's asking me to ask you for a date. For male readers in Washington, asking
for a date entails these indispensable components: an express request for a
female's company on a particular date for a specific activity. Oh yes,
and the request has to be made to the female herself.

Roughly once every two weeks, I get a woman on my answering machine
asking me if I'd like to go out with some dumb-ass male friend of hers who's
too afraid to call me himself. (For those outside Washington, I'm not
kidding.)

This isn't a screeching, hate-filled, anti-male screed. It Is a
screeching, hate-filled anti-D.C. screed. There's no large sociological point about
relations between the sexes here. It's Washington. I know this, because
while D.C. males are on my answering machine with vague announcements
that they've called, I still get messages from boys in New York saying, for
example, "I have tickets for the opera next Friday. Would you like to
go?"

Males in every other city know how to ask for dates. So it's not me;
it's not feminism; it's not the millennium. I've begun aggressively inquiring
of every female I come across:"Pardon, but have you noticed that boys in
Washington don't know how to ask for dates?" The consistent response has
been a raft of stinging denunciations too numerous to catalog here. If I
were asking something preposterous, like "Say, have you noticed all the
alligator carcasses in the street lately?" I wouldn't be getting such
emphatic affirmations every time.

Recently, I asked a female on Capitol Hill about this, and she said
right off, as if I were a psychic, "We were just talking about that on
Saturday night!" She had been discussing it in a mixed crowd and reported that
the boys began hectoring the girls-C'mon, this is the twentieth century.
You're modern women; you can ask for dates. I asked her if waiting for women to
ask them for dates had worked for these guys. No, they just sit around with
friends, year after year, waiting for their theory to play out. This is
also how government programs are conceived and tested, so it makes perfect
sense that only in Washington are males still waiting for action on the no-ask
dating plan.

In fact, the incapacity of the D.C. male to request a date is the
perfect synecdoche for this whole pathetic city. There is a total absence of
normal civilized conventions in Washington. The customer is always wrong, the
cabs don't have meters, and complete strangers ask for the sports section of
your paper on the subway. In every real job I've ever had, it was a
convention for the boss to give a Christmas gift to the people who work for him. In
Washington, minimum-wage staffers take up a collection to buy Christmas
gifts for the senator and chief of staff.

There's a reason boys asking for dates is a convention of civilized
society. First, someone's going to have to face rejection. It may as well be the
aggressive, testosterone-pumping, hunter male. Speaking for myself, I'll
take 69 cents on the dollar (or whatever the current feminist myth is)
never to have to ask for a date. But the whole point of this convention is to
reduce, if not eliminate, the need for rejection anyway. The entire
dating system runs on implicit understandings. If the hunter male doesn't like
a girl, he doesn't call. That's the end of it. If the hunted female
doesn't like the boy, she's unavailable without a good excuse three times in a
row. No explanations, no hurt feelings. When you start fiddling with a
centuries-old system like this, you're just asking for trouble. If you
can't operate by covert signals, you're going to get horrifying,
misery-inducing explanations.

Second, no one makes any money in D.C. From this, I deduce
that young men should make loads of money. There may be grating aspects
to 20- and 30-somethings earning kazillion-dollar bonuses, but at least
wealth gives them the self-confidence to ask for a date. Third, TV is reality
in Washington. Restaurants close at 8 P.M. A few really, really late-night
places stay open until nine or 10, but even these sometimes close
unexpectedly at eight. (In addition to being always wrong, the customer
is an impediment to the serious business of Washington, which is watching
TV.) So everyone is home watching TV all the time. Like many New Yorkers, I
never had a TV, but I got one when I moved to Washington. The peculiar thing
about watching TV after a long lapse is that you are actually aware of TV
changing your perception of reality. I've started subconsciously associating men
of the cloth with murderous Nazi conspiracies, for example. I've got a
million more television-induced perception shifts, but the relevant one here is
that females are invariably the sexual aggressors on TV. The typical romantic
overture on the small screen is boy meets girl, girl drops dress.

TV hasn't ruined me yet, though. My romantic fantasy is still this: Girl meets
moving-company guy, girl moves back to New York.

DC Intern Guide to DC Happy Hours

2005-06-02T11:44:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post's intern guide sucks this year! Are they just lazy? Or completely ignorant of the fact that young 20-something interns might not go or would feel out of place at fancy, adult places like Mortons over somewhere like Lucky Bar or Tequila Grill?

So here's some intern-approriate happy hours that they missed:

Tequila Grill
Buffala Billiards
Lucky Bar
Rumors
Ozios
Karma
Cafe Citron
Front Page
The Tombs
Red River Grill

Not sure about specials, but cheaper anyway:

Adams Mill
Angry Inch
Madhatters
Politikis

to blog or not to blog?

2005-05-31T16:37:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged in a while. Between finals and working and moving from the suburbs, ie NoVA, into DC, I haven't had much time. But I'm back in DC, my second hometown where I lived for several years before moving to the land of Cheesecake Factories and Crate and Barrells, and I'm interning again this summer downtown in the K Street area. So maybe I will feel some inspiration to jot down my random thoughts...

Inaugural Food Part II

2005-01-19T15:06:00.000-05:00

Swanky Benjamin Harrison served blue Point oysters on ice, sweetbread pate à la reine, breast of quail à la Ciceron, pâté de foie gras à la Harrison, terrine of game à la Morton and pyramid of nougat Renaissance. I can't even pronounce these names.

At President Bush's first inaugural, Bush served an assortment of seafood, lamb with red Swiss chard sauteed with cranberries, mushroom and corn souffle, and apple tart with cinnamon ice cream.

During this inaugural, guests at three Inaugural Balls at the MCI Center, to which donors of between $100,000 and $250,000 were invited, will dine on lobster medallions with orange and grapefruit sections, filet of beef tenderloin with asparagus, baby carrots, potatoes au gratin and Georgia peach crumble with vanilla ice cream. Just think, it only takes the cost of 1-2 Ivy League educations, 1-2 hummers, or 1/3 of a one bedroom condo in Adams Morgan to eat a meal you could get for a couple hundred bucks.

Some special inaugural treats:
Reagan: jelly beans (they invented the blue one for him!)
Clinton: brocooli
Coolidge: pickles

The sparest inaugural meal: vegetable soup and crackers served to Lyndon Baines Johnson aboard Air Force One.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17547-2005Jan18_2.html

Snow day for everyone...but me

2005-01-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

While my friends who work at nonprofits and lobbying shops and other varying DC places and at government agencies are going home between 1-3 pm, I am stuck here at work! Argh! Oh well, at least I have tomorrow off. Looking forward to going out tonight and partying! Hopefully it will have stopped snowing. (I hate weathermen - they are the worst type of men - because they are always wrong!)

Man Threatens to Blow up Van by White House Right Before Inauguaration; Creates Traffic

2005-01-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

From the WP: A man who threatened to blow up a van a short distance from the White House waged a standoff with law enforcement authorities this evening, snarling downtown traffic for blocks and leading police to evacuate several blocks of downtown as a precaution. The man was upset about a family matter and the episode did not appear to be related to terrorism or Thursday's presidential inauguration....The incident began just before 4 p.m. at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Police said the man, who was driving a cargo van, claimed to have 15 gallons of gasoline inside along with a triggering device.

This guy must be nuts. Who is stupid enough to do something like this when there are hundreds of snipers and armored vehicles and police and troops around????

Traffic today at 5pm downtown was just awful. It took me double time to get where I was going on. My cabbie was NOT happy about crossing town.

I used to intern at one of the buildings they evacuated. That must have been scary. They evacuated a few times when I worked there because of threats. It always freaked me out. I wasn't getting paid enough to deal with that stress.

Inaugural Party Food

2005-01-18T11:24:00.000-05:00

When it comes to party food styles, they've ranged from simple under Carter ("peanuts and pretzels" balls with tickets costing no more than $25) to the hearty spread laid out for Buchanan's ball in 1857: 400 gallons of oysters, 500 quarts of chicken salad, 1,200 quarts of ice cream, 60 saddles of mutton, 8 rounds of beef, 75 hams and 125 tongues, plus $3,000 worth of wine -- about $63,000 worth today.

At the Palm, the lobbyist hangout and downtown landmark, the Long Island Iced Tea has been remade into the Capitol Iced Tea, with iced blue Curacao stars.

The menu for Wednesday's sold out prestigious Black Tie and Boots Ball:
Bartenders will serve Lone Star and Shiner Bock beer, among other drinks. The hotel is getting ready to feed 12,000 people during the ball, plus serve a sit-down, rib-eye steak dinner for 950. Buffet offerings will include southwestern Caesar salad (add jicama, spice up the dressing) and mesquite grilled jumbo shrimp (marinate in lime and cilantro, add chipotle) and Texas rice.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6506-2005Jan13.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10734-2005Jan14.html

3rd Season Apprentice "Book Smart" Lawyers Not Impressive

2005-01-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

They all attended T2-T4 law schools. I'm not too impressed. Basically anyone with a crappy GPA and LSAT score with a heartbeat can get into these law schools.

Alex - Seattle University of Law

Bren - University of Memphis Law

Erin - Villanova Law

After reading the "book smart" profiles, I think the lawyers are the least impressive, as lawyers and as possible corporate whatevers for the Trump organization. Jennifer was MUCH more impressive in both law and business. I really was expecting under "book smart" some Yalies, Harvard grads, Columbia, etc. No one even has an impressive undergrad. Is this to level the playing field with the non-bookies?

I'm glad we don't have royalty in this country

2005-01-15T00:19:00.000-05:00

(CNN) -- Britain's Prince Harry has apologized for wearing a Nazi uniform to a party, admitting he made a bad choice and saying through his publicist, "I am very sorry if I caused any offense."

The apology was released on Wednesday by the Clarence House Press office: "I am very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize."

The press office said, "Prince Harry apologized tonight after he was pictured on the front page of The Sun newspaper in a Nazi soldier's uniform which he wore to a fancy dress party."

An image of the front page of Thursday's editions was released to the media late Wednesday.

A large headline reads, "Harry the Nazi."

Next to it stands the prince, who is wearing slacks and a short-sleeve shirt, both beige, with a red Nazi insignia on his left arm.

Prince Harry is third in line to the British throne after his father, Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince William.

DC Restaurant Week Review: Palette

2005-01-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

Palette's bar area and drinks gets 5 stars. Soft lighting, nice colors, fresh red roses, large martini glasses. Not enough seats though. And the actual taste of the martinis was just so so. I would recommend the Willard, Ozio, Eleventh, Bar Rouge, Helix, Mandarin Hotel, and Topaz for martinis over Palette.

Palette's restaurant week menu was a good bargain, good choices. Saved probably around $20.

Now the food. The steak wasn't very good. It was rather chewy and fatty. The chicken was excellent and juicy. The sweet potato soup was excellent. The crab cakes were very good - tons of crab, not much filler. Deserts were pretty bad. The chocolate cake was dry and stale. It wasn't sweet enough. The apple tart was dry and burnt. It could have been an apple cracker. The wine was great and priced well. The service was very good and attentive. Our table sucked though and was in the corner and practically on top of the people next to us. We could barely hear ourselves until they left. The cotton candy while waiting for the check was the best part. What a cute idea.

The Bush White House Christmas Tree - a Gay, Pagan Celebration?

2005-01-03T12:05:00.000-05:00

While walking around the tree on the ellipse last week, I noticed that there were several large logs burning. According to the sign, they were there to symbolize a "gay festival" back in the times of Thor.

When did the Bush White House begin celebrating gay festivals and pagan Gods??

I'm surprised the Christian Coalition hasn't taken some action by now.

Not So Much Solitude

2004-12-29T23:22:00.000-05:00

So, I was wrong. Went to see the tree with J tonight and thought we'd go to Old Ebbitt Grill. Man was it packed! Lines of people waiting out the door. So even though 60% of DC is gone, all the tourists are here so good tables without reservations aren't as easy to come by. Don't tourists know they're supposed to come during the summer? Or before/during Christmas? So it's a half-victory. So I get a seat on the metro, but I can't walk down the street without walking into some slow walking tourist who's walking and stopping and talking and staring at a map all at the same time in front of me.

The Solitude of December in DC

2004-12-28T13:21:00.000-05:00

DC feels so empty this week. I have gotten seats on the metro to and from work, which never happens!! This morning I chose to stand on the metro and there was tons of room (despite sending a 4 car instead of typical 6 car train). So of course a guy stands right by me, practically on my toes. Seriously dude give me my personal space back! Ughh...that just annoys me. There were so many other places to stand rather than intrude in my corner!

If I had time or money after all my Christmas shopping, this would be a great week to go to dinner. Since there aren't that many people in DC, it would make it easier to get reservations and to get actual service without having to be a Senator or lobbyist or Republican.

Commenting on Lunch and Courtesy

2004-12-27T20:58:00.000-05:00

It always sorta annoys me when people walk by and say things like "that doesn't look appetizing" about my low calorie frozen dinner lunch. I don't generally comment on things other people's food. I cwouldn't tell something what they are about to eat looks "unappetizing" or "gross", etc. I mean they're about to EAT it. It's because it's frozen right? I mean if I made a crappy looking sandwhich or brought leftovers I cooked, would people feel as free to comment?

I hear stuff like this all the time. Probably 1 time out of 3 when I am eating a frozen dinner for lunch, someone in the office says something negative about it.

Personally, I'm proud of myself for ignoring the yummy fattening lunch delights of ABP (their sandwhiches all seem to be 500+ calories, and their salad dressing has 200-300) or getting a cheeseburger, pizza, or fat filled burrito. My lunch has 230 calories, and I'd be eating at least 500 calories if I went to ABP, Baja Fresh, Cosi, our the other assorted sandwhich, hamburger, taco, and pizza places. And I'd feel full and tired after.

I shouldn't have to feel embarassed about my lunch at work, right?

Inauguration Parties and Events

2004-12-27T17:15:00.000-05:00

Which party to attend? Creative Coalition's party with Macy Gray sounds fun, but $1000 is certainly out of my price range...

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2005 VENUE EVENT DURATION
SALUTING THOSE WHO SERVE The MCI Center 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
CHAIRMANâS RECEPTION Mellon Auditorium 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
YOUTH CONCERT The Armory 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2005
CHAIRMANâS BRUNCH Mellon Auditorium 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
A CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM The Ellipse 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
CANDLELIGHT DINNER #1 Union Station 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
CANDLELIGHT DINNER #2 The Washington Hilton 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
CANDLELIGHT #3 National Building Museum 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005
ST. JOHNâS CHURCH SERVICE St. Johnâs Church 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
OATH OF OFFICE CEREMONY US Capitol 12:00 p.m.
INAUGURAL PARADE Pennsylvania Ave. 2:00 - 4:30 p.m.
CONSTITUTION BALL Washington Hilton 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
FREEDOM BALL Union Station 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
INDEPENDENCE BALL Convention Center (A) 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
TEXAS WYOMING BALL Convention Center (B) 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
LIBERTY BALL Convention Center (C) 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
DEMOCRACY BALL Convention Center (D) 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
PATRIOT BALL Convention Center (E) 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
STARS AND STRIPES BALL Convention Center Ballroom 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF BALL National Building Museum 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2005
NATIONAL PRAYER SERVICE National Cathedral 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Michael Moore Goes After Easy Targets

2004-12-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

FDA and pharmaceutical bashing is becoming a sport. Before the Vioxx scandal I think the only people concerned about the FDA were big business and lobbyists. Now even Moore is interested. I wonder what he'll find that Congress and the regular media won't. There seem to be plenty of information already exposing the FDA's shoddy follow up and that they're in the pockets of lobbyists and big business (what government agency that regulates an industry isn't???) I'm just surprised that this is considered such "new" news that FDA officials might speed up processes to help out their big business pals and that big companies might fudge or hide data. Where does all this confidence in big business come from anyway to begin with?

****
The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that at least six drug companies have released internal communications telling employees to be wary of filmmaker Michael Moore.

Moore's targets have included General Motors ("Roger & Me"), the gun lobby (the Oscar-winning "Bowling for Columbine") and President Bush ("Fahrenheit 9/11").

Moore, normally seen sporting a beard and a ball cap, has now set his sights on the health care industry, including insurance companies, HMOs, the Food and Drug Administration and drug companies.

Aww...Poor Rummy

2004-12-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

Rumsfield admitted yesterday that his feelings got hurt when people accused him of being insensitive to the fact that he arrogantly sent his troops into a sinkhole of carnage - a vicious, persistent insurgency - without the proper armor, equipment, backup or preparation.

His disgraceful admission that his condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq were signed by machine - "I have directed that in the future I sign each letter," he said in a Strangelovian statement - is redolent of the myopia that has led to the dystopia.

By the way, strangelovian is my word of the day. Problem is, I can't find a definition of it. I particularly love the sentence "is redolent of the myopia that has led to the dystopia." Love it.

Washingtonienne

2004-12-22T16:57:00.000-05:00

In response to my post about being bored at work, someone posted the Rosen article "Your Blog or Mine" about Washingtonienne...like my blog is even nearly as spicy as Washingtonienne's...not even close!!! And I'm not on the Hill anymore, so my life isn't as gossipy and I'm not as noticeable. The Hill is the most bizarre frat because it has all the qualities of a frat plus gossip, naked ambition, pretentiousness, extreme sucking up, stepping on anyone you can, politics, wonkiness and dorkiness all mixed in. It's much harder to remain unnoticed and anonymous outside of that environment. And at this point, I try to avoid it as much as possible. I used to be in love with the Hill, but seriously the competitiveness and the fratiness just were to much for me. I'd rather be somewhere where my hard work, and not "who you know" or "who you are sleeping with" is valued.

Another difference - Washintonienne told her friends about the blog. I haven't told the vast majority of my friends. What if I want to gossip about them?

I also don't gossip about work. I wanted to when I started this blog, and then I read the whole Washingtonienne thing, and I've worked WAY too hard to get fired. Sure there are plenty of tidbits I'd like to chat about, the comments I've heard from Congressmen, gossip about federal agency leaders, etc. But, I'd be shooting myself in the foot to be to descriptive about work. And probably violating all those documents they made me sign about confidentiality during most of my jobs since much of that information I learned during my job. Unlike Washingtonienne, I am extremely ambitious, and being a Playboy centerfield is not my idea of ambition or having a career. Sure she has money now, but at what price? I plan on making money the good old-fashioned way - working my butt off to get into elite schools and then getting a high paying job at an elite firm.

Some similarities in personalities though. We were both in gifted programs as children and have very high IQs. I do have a steady boyfriend that I love but sometimes feel "bored" with, even though I can't rationally explain it. Because like Jessica, I am bored constantly. I am also attracted to men with power and money. I also enjoy money. I never had it growing up; one of the most awful moments in my life was when I was beat up and pushed into the mud (down a muddy hill actually) in junior high because I only had one pair of old hand me down jeans that I wore all the time, and it feels great to be able to buy stuff and have several pairs of jeans in my closet (although of course only one pair fits well).

Like Jessica, I have left, and once been asked to leave, a menial job. It's hard for intelligent people with high IQs to answer phones all day. I know you have to work your way to the top, but I worked throughout college (30-45 hours a week) and earned good grades, and I thought that it would get me above 20k or a legislative correspondent job on the Hill at least. And I too was frustrated after college, where I earned honors from a top school, to only find low level, low paying jobs where I was treated like a secretary, even though that was not my job title or in the job description (which was much more policy and legislatively focused). Unlike Jessica, even though I had interned several times on the Hill and for several Members I couldn't get an entry level staff position. I was "too qualified" for staff assistant and "not qualified enough" for "legislative assistant." And so on it went until I decided to quit and go to school again. I think I would have been a great staff
er. I get "A"s (which is like top 5-20% depending on the prof) in all my legislation and administrative law classes because I'm good at it.

Anyway, this article too is a great source of Washingtonienne gossip -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54736-2004Aug10.html

Is the Don, Donald Trump a democrat or republican?

2004-12-22T15:07:00.000-05:00

Because I'm such a big Apprentice fan and it's over, I have to find something to occupy my time. So because I like politics, I thought I'd look at Donald Trump's political contributions.

2004 Presidential Election - even money for Kerry and Bush in the primary - playing it smart and hedging bets....doesn't sound as risk-taking and determinative as the Don likes from his candidates...sounds pretty wishy-washy to me, and on the Apprentice the Don doesn't seem to like wishy-washiness...even if for political expediency...this one is dissapointing...

2004 Senatorial races

Spector (R-PA) - but he's pretty moderate, particularly on the Judiciary Comm
Schumer (D-NY)
Daschle (D-SD) - interesting that the Don tried to keep Daschle in power....didn't think he was as good for
big business
Kenendy (D-MA) - hmm...helped the bleading heart liberal
Dodd (D-CT)
McCain (R-AZ) - no surprises here, McCain seems like someone Trump would have on the Apprentice
Reid (D-NV) - always a good investment to invest in leadership

2004 House Races

Kelly (R-NY) - a relatively moderate woman
Rangel (D-NY) - liberal NY democrat
Shaw (R-FL) - hmm...don't know about this one...personal friend? seems sorta random
Kennedy (D-RI) - he likes those Kennedys
Lobiondo (R-NJ) - NJ...hmm...
Foley (R-FL)...another Florida Republican
Fossella (R-NY)

Groups:
25,000 to the DSCC - the Don supports a democratic Senate
1000 to the Reform Pac - not sure what this is

In the past, in 2002, the Don gave money to Americans for a Republican Majority, the RNCC, the DSCC, and a variety of Democratic Senators, including The Hillary, Bowles, Biden, and Hollings.

In conclusion: The Don isn't as decisive in the realm of politics and takes the safe stance of hedging his bets on the presidential election. BUT, he appears to support a Democratic Senate and a Republican House, although he has a few Democratic House favorites, mainly New York incumbents (don't want to piss them off) and Kennedys. Interesting that he would go for a divided Congress. So in his ideal world, the Republican House passes all the tax plans and corporate deals that are helpful to him, while the Senate deliberates and applies democratic policies to things like international affairs and judicial candidates.

The tyranny of boredom

2004-12-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

When will work end?? There's nothing to do during the day during the holidays b/c no one's around! It's like everything stops. I mean, I even had a place to stand on the metro this morning that wasn't under someone's armpit!! The past couple months when I had spare time I'd read for class or look at the law firm websites I was interested in and try to make a decision on which one to go to (which I did a few weeks ago now), and in the past couple weeks I would study for exams, but since my last final was last week (yeah!), I have nothing to do. Except order classic novels on Amazon, look at vocab websites, read more blogs and blawgs then I ever have, check out boots on sale at Nine West, and read the Washington Post cover to cover.

Apparently I'm not the only person who can't get decent housing in DC....

2004-12-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

Jenna Bush and three girlfriends, with whom she wants to share a home, coveted a 4,500-square-foot, four-bedroom house in the charming Cleveland Park section of the city. But they were rejected.

The owners? New York Times Paris bureau chief Elaine Isoline and her husband, lawyer Andrew Plump.

They had no political problem with the young Republican. But reports of Jenna's partying while in college was not a big plus for the Paris-based pair, our source claims. The necessity for a Secret Service presence with electronic surveillance may not have been a hit either, the source adds.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/263729p-225816c.html

Associate Clobbered on "Apprentice" Finale

2004-12-21T19:11:00.000-05:00

I was so hoping for a female lawyer to win....

New York Lawyer article, available at: http://www.nylawyer.com/news/04/12/122004j.html

"In the end Jennifer Massey didn't just lose, she got slaughtered."

And on and on it went, as Massey's abrasiveness and weak win-loss record came back to haunt her. The 30-year-old associate from the Palo Alto office of Clifford Chance was forced to watch her own dismemberment on a TV monitor, her fixed smile wavering only a little. The drubbing got so bad that another contestant objected to her getting "thrown under the bus" during the three-hour show, part of which was held before a raucous audience at Lincoln Center in New York City."

My Christmas List

2004-12-21T18:58:00.000-05:00

1. Diamonds
2. Beamer convertible (silver)
3. Something from Kate Spade, Coach, Dooney, Louis, Gucci, or Fendi
4. Manolos or Jimmy Choos
5. World Peace

Think that covers it...

2004 Judicial Hellholes

2004-12-21T17:09:00.000-05:00

1. Madison County, Illinois
2. St. Clair County, Illinois
3. Hampton County, South Carolina
4. West Virginia (entire state)
5. Jefferson County, Texas
6. Orleans Parish, Louisiana
7. South Florida
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
9. Los Angeles, California

"Judicial Hellholes are places that have a disproportionately harmful impact on civil litigation. Personal injury lawyers seek out these places because they know that they will produce a positive outcome â an excessive verdict or settlement, a favorable precedent, or both." - ATRA

I generally do not buy into many of the tort reformers claims, I think that there are serious problems and deterrence issues with limiting damages and limiting plaintiffs ability for their day in court. However, some of the medical tort reform is necessary at some point - because I agree with the conservative think tanks that too much medical litigation is driving the cost of insurance too high and driving doctors out of those regions - which is very harmful to the citizens of those areas. As ATRA points out, Philadelphiaâs court is driving physicians out of Pennsylvania. In 2001, 704 medical school residents stayed in Pennsylvania after completing their residency training. In 2003, that number fell to 285. One orthopedic surgeon who left Philadelphia for Maryland, which has limits on damages saw his insurance rates fall from $103,000 to $8,000.

The common good of having doctors in a region is ultimately more important that one plaintiff making $10 million in punitive damages from a doctor. However, I think that punitive damages still serve an important role in the legal system and shouldn't be capped so much as to be worthless and ineffective.

2004 DC state of the legal market

2004-12-21T03:09:00.000-05:00

The Washington DC region has rebounded and now exhibits a much better legal job market than 2002 and 2003. Of course, some practice groups are doing much better than others and the firms are still demanding to see candidates with strong academic credentials and solid experience.

The region still enjoys one of the lowest, if not the lowest, unemployment rates of any major region in the United States. But the legal job market has not enjoyed the incredibly low unemployment rate seen in other sectors. In fact, it is said often that the current high unemployment rate has been more severe on white collar workers, such as lawyers.

The last three months have certainly shown an increase in demand for well-credentialed lawyers. In fact, we have had more job orders from law firms and more candidates interviewing during the month of December in 2003 than 2002. January got off to a roaring start, and we believe it will continue for the rest of 2004.

As detailed in our last state of the market report, the creation of a new federal agency, the enactment of the Medicare Bill, and the recent crises in the energy market has caused firms to look for candidates with specialized expertise. But the engine of the legal market recovery has been litigation and securities law practices. We have multiple listings for commercial litigators and those with enforcement and regulatory experience in securities law. Again, most of the firms demand strong academic success and solid experience. There are several firms looking to add insurance coverage litigators as well. IP litigators with electrical engineering background are still sought after.

Because of the unique position of the DC legal market, which is home to various government regulatory agencies, certain practices have begun to see more of a demand for strong candidates, including healthcare, energy and, again, securities law. There also is some interest in employee benefit lawyers. International trade lawyers with experience on representing foreign entities will find their services are also in more demand than in recent past.

Although corporate and M&A associates will still find the market challenging, openings in these areas have started to trickle in. Because there so few jobs in these practice areas, firm can afford to be highly selective and would only entertain hiring someone who has an outstanding resume.

One practice area we have had success in placing people in recently is internet privacy law, which has been a part of the trademark practice in the past. This is a specialized field and only those with actual experience, in addition to academic success, are being considered by firms.

Of course, partners with a significant book of business are always in demand. We have some firms who will consider partners with $500,000 or less in business. Of course, partners with at least $1,000,000 in portable business will find a firm of their choice. In some practice areas that are currently experiencing difficulty attracting work - such as corporate, M&A, capital markets, project finance, and telecommunications - the required book of business is quite modest. Because the trend in the law firm marketplace is consolidation, we would suggest that now is the right time for those partners inclined to move to do so.

practicing my new years resolution

2004-12-21T02:45:00.000-05:00

I want to improve my lagging vocabulary. I find myself speaking and writing and find it hard to believe I am the same person who earned an 800 on the verbal section all those years ago. Work and post-college schooling have made me dumber, more terse and concise and unimaginative in my writing, and more focused on politics and law, rather than well-rounded, scholarly, and intellectual, as I was in high school/college. Damn my elitist college for making me think I could actually be an intellectual or creative or think in the real world!

So my resolution is to start thinking again and find time to read non-school related books - classics (I like 20th and 19th century Brit and Russian lit, I am going to try to get into some French lit as well) and some philosophy. It may seem like more studying on top of next semester's courseload, but damn it, I am going to find my brain again!

Another part of my resolution is to start working on my vocabulary, buy one of those Princeton Review or Webster vocabulary guides and use a new word a day. I think it's deleterious to allow my former mastery of english vocabulary and grammar to fritter away and I will be tenacious about recovering it.

This week's practice word is importune: to plead or urge irksomely, often persistently.
Ex: I importune my boyfriend to be more romantic.
Ex2: I importune my boyfriend to buy me diamonds for Christmas.
Ex3: I importune my boyfriend to....well you get the point.

Things to Do Before Bush's Inauguration

2004-12-21T01:55:00.000-05:00

http://trebz.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=347

1. Get that abortion youâve always wanted.
2. Drink a nice clean glass of water.
3. Cash your Social Security check.
4. See a doctor of your own choosing.
5. Spend quality time with your draft age child/grandchild.
6. Visit Syria, or any foreign country for that matter.
7. Get that gas mask youâve been putting off buying.
8. Hoard gasoline.
9. Borrow books from library before theyâre banned: Constitutional law books, Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter, Tropic of Cancer, etc.
10. If you have an idea for an art piece involving a crucifix, do it now.
11. Come out, then go back in: HURRY!
12. Jam in all the Alzheimerâs stem cell research you can.
13. Stay out late before the curfews start.
14. Go see Bruce Springsteen before he has his âaccident.â
15. Go see Mount Rushmore before the Reagan addition.
16. Use the phrase, âYou canât do that; this is America.â
17. If youâre white, marry a black person; if youâre black, marry a white person.
18. Take a walk in Yosemite without being hit by a snowmobile or a base-jumper.
19. Enroll your kid in an accelerated art or music class.
20. Start your school day without a prayer.
21. Pass on the secrets of evolution to future generations.
22. Learn French.
23. Attend a commitment ceremony with your gay friends.
24. Take a factory tour anywhere in the US.
25. Try to take photographs of animals on the endangered species list.
26. Visit Florida before the polar ice caps melt.
27. Visit Nevada before it becomes radioactive.
28. Visit Alaska before âThe Big Spillâ.
29. Visit Massachusetts while it is still a state.

Inaugural party details tomorrow

2004-12-14T16:44:00.000-05:00

The Presidential Inaugural Committee plans to announce the bands that have been selected tomorrow (although we already know Virginia Tech and a DC school are included) tomorrow along with such inaugural celebration details as the theme, the schedule of events Jan. 18-20 and the locations of the nine official inaugural balls.

Inauguration treats for rich republicans

2004-12-14T12:08:00.000-05:00

I'm sure all those poor red state "faith" based voters will be enjoying these inauguration festivities. Oh, wait. Those people were stupid enough to vote against their economic interests so that the people who actually benefited from Republican policies could stay for $150k at the Ritz for the party.

***
Several of Washington's leading hotels have put together packages catering to inauguration attendees, ranging from a lavish $150,000 stay at the Ritz-Carlton to a more modest $5,000 visit to the Hotel Monaco.

The Ritz-Carlton package includes travel on a private jet, a new set of Louis Vuitton luggage, a personal butler and massage therapist, two tickets to one of the inaugural balls and an Hermes tie and scarf for him and her each month through the next inauguration.

"We expect anyone who purchases this is a Washington-insider type -- a person or couple who wants to have the ultimate experience of an inaugural in Washington, D.C.," said Colleen Evans, a Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman.

Just down the road from the Ritz, the indulgences continue at The Fairmont hotel, which is offering a $10,000-per-day package that will land you in the Presidential Suite, which will be stocked with Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon. Also included is a Rolls-Royce with a personal driver and two bodyguards acting like Secret Service agents.

Associates at the elite NYC firms get lucky

2004-12-14T11:10:00.000-05:00

New York-based firms have gotten into the holiday spirit, rushing to hand associates fat across-the-board bonuses.

But San Francisco Bay Area-based firms don't seem to be in any rush to match them -- at least, not yet.

The bonus boom started in October, when Sullivan & Cromwell announced it would pay associates an interim bonus of $10,000 to $20,000. Last week, Sullivan threw in additional bonuses of $20,000 to $30,000.

Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett came back with bonuses ranging from $30,000 for first-years on up to $60,000 for senior classes. Cravath, Swaine & Moore is also paying out bonuses between $30,000 and $50,000.

Consultants say big bonuses reflect rising revenues as well as renewed worries about hanging on to talent.

"I think the bonuses are strong, and it is a sign that firms are feeling confident about next year," said Peter Zeughauser, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based consultant. "It is a sign they are optimistic about the future."

"For some of the smaller and mid-sized firms, this isn't welcome news," added Blane Prescott, a shareholder with Hildebrandt International in San Francisco. "There are certainly segments of the profession that aren't doing as well.

"What you are starting to see now is a segmentation. There is a top end of the market that competes with the biggest firms ... and there are more firms that recognize they can't afford to compete."

Supreme Court Survivor

2004-12-13T16:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.chander.com/survivor/survivor.asp

Blog of the Week - Anonymous Law Professor

2004-12-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

http://anonlawprof.blogspot.com/

Is this guy for real?? Seems to me he's probably some pissed off 1L or bored 3L.

Leiter comments on the absence of Yale and Chicago Law

2004-12-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

I believe I'd posted before about my surprise at the results, particularly the absense of Yale (although I hadn;t noticed Chicago) although as Leiter points out, obviously they are going to be skewered to larger schools like Georgetown and schools that send students to biglaw.

http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2004/12/law_schools_who.html

Weekend Recap

2004-12-13T15:05:00.000-05:00

Friday night:

Went to Holiday Party 2, my summer employer's party. Very swanky, expensive place. Great food. Only one of the higher ups was there, the rest were on business or vacation elsewhere. The one I spoke with told me he was very busy and would love help with his work. Oh oh. I feel like I promised myself to some of the other higher ups.

Went to Holiday Party 3, J's other party (last weekend's was his FT job, this is where he is a consultant occassionally). Expensive restaurant, swanky table and menu. Didn't get to enjoy it though, because I wound up wasted by 10 pm. I know, that's VERY sad. I'd only had about 4 glasses of white wine between the 2 parties (about 4.5 hours). I can normally handle my alcohol, although realistically the days of splitting an entire bottle of raspberry vodka with female roomies before going out to the bars and doing shots and drinking several beers is over. I apparently was a wreck. I apparently couldn't hold my fork and kept annoying J, who sent me in a cab around 10:15pm home. I don't remember embarassing myself at least. And the president of the company drank so much he vomited, so at least I wasn't the drunkest one at the party.

Saturday night:
Finals next week, so low key night. Also was extremely hung over all day. We rented Dodgeball and I made dinner and we had a bottle of wine. J and I had some relaxing time together, which was nice. I never have relaxing times between work and school and trying to have friends and get to the gym, etc.

How romantic...and yet sadly ironic since it was for nothing...

2004-12-13T14:35:00.000-05:00

Marine sacrifices finger to save wedding ring

VICTORVILLE, California (AP) -- When Marine Lance Cpl. David Battle learned he'd either have to sacrifice his ring finger or the wedding band he wore, he told doctors at a field hospital in Iraq to cut off the finger.

The 19-year-old suffered a mangled left hand and serious wounds to his legs in a November 13 fire fight in Falluja. Battle, who is recovering at his parents' home in this desert city 130 kilometers (80 miles) northeast of Los Angeles, came under attack as he and fellow Marines entered a building. Eleven other Marines were wounded.

Doctors were preparing to cut off Battle's ring to save as much of his finger as they could.

"But that would mean destroying my wedding ring," he said. "My wife is the strongest woman I know. She's basically running two people's lives since I've been gone. I don't think I could ever repay her or show her how grateful ... how much I love my wife, my soul mate."

With his approval, doctors severed his finger, but somehow in the chaos that followed, they lost his ring.

Although Battle was disappointed, his wife, Devon, said she was honored.

"I can't believe he did that," she said. "At first I was mad when he told me, but then I realized how lucky I am to have him in my life."

The couple, who met in the eighth grade, were married in June, just two weeks before Battle left for Iraq. He hopes to eventually return to the Marines, and to replace his wedding ring, but that will have to wait until he recovers.

How romantic!?!?

2004-12-03T17:41:00.000-05:00

Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, 55, is finally giving up bachelorhood, having made up his mind about the woman he wants to marry: Julia Hart, 39, who works in the Republican-controlled Senate's interparliamentary services office. They were engaged last week after dating since August 2003. "I've spent 55 years trying to figure things out, and I guess I've figured out that you can't really know what attracts you to somebody," the Rhode Island senator told the Providence Journal. "She is the right person at the right time." Asked her political affiliation, Hart relied on an answer supplied by Reed's press secretary: "Catholic."

Okay, I can think of 100 better answers than "you can't really know what attracts you" and "she is the right person at the right time". What about she's my dream woman, the love of my life, my soul mate, even the trite and corny she completes me?? I mean come on how embarassing for her that that's what he said instead.

When did Catholic become a political affiliation? Most Catholics I know, both pro-choice and pro-lifers, are Democrats.

Local man competes to be next Arafat

2004-12-03T14:52:00.000-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29870-2004Dec2.html?nav=hcmodule

Solomon Amendment Thrown Out - Law Schools Can Now Ban Military Recruiting

2004-12-03T14:51:00.000-05:00

I think that the 3rd Circuit was right about finding the Solomon Amendment unconstitutional. It does restrict universities academic freedom. But I agree with Dionne's column today about letting the campus recruiters on campus. I read that Harvard law is going to start banning military recuiters now. Other elite schools will follow suit. I'm shocked U Michigan Law wasn't the first.

That's just wrong. Law students are entitled to make their own choices whether to apply for a JAG position. If every liberal lawyer boycotts the military than there's no one inside the military to advocate for change. Lawyers should be proud to join the military and support our country - not barred from interviewing. I think "don't ask don't tell" is stupid, but it shouldn't be the roadblock to the military getting the quality lawyers it needs.

The comment that "our all-volunteer force, for all its many virtues, is not representative of American society" seems a little misplaced in the article. How many Americans attend elite law schools??? So if we add 2 Harvard law and 1 Yale law graduate than the military would be representative, at least in the context of this article?? I think this statement relies on the assumption that elite law students are all upper middle class or richer and "privileged," which comes after the statement. This is an overstatement and incorrect for some proportion of the student body. I know I certainly am not rich or privileged. But I thank Dionne for saying so. I feel better knowing that I am considered privileged even though I worked my ass off to get where I am.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30182-2004Dec2.html

Even Bush's own people want to get out of the administration

2004-12-03T13:36:00.000-05:00

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned today. Which makes how many people willing to stay under a Bush presidency? Not many.

The Bush administration has seen the resignations of Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Education Secretary Rod Paige, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. And John Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, announced he will leave his post in January after less than seven months on the job.

Is it the awful six figure salary? Is it the constant explaining to Bush difficult concepts in fourth grade terms? Is it the get out now before your legacy goes to hell feeling?

Now if only the American people could leave the Bush administration too.

More on Missing SpongeBob

2004-12-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Burger King really wants its SpongeBob inflatables back, and the burger chain is even willing to offer a one-year's supply of free Whoppers, salads or any other item on its menu as a reward for information leading to their safe return.

Anyone with information about the missing SpongeBobs is asked to call (305) 378-3998. If the tip leads to the safe return of the inflatables, the reward will be paid in "Burger Bucks," good for a year's supply of original Whopper sandwiches.

However, the reward only applies to SpongeBobs that were 'Spongenapped' in the month of November, the company said.

Is is surprising that 1 in 10 women is nuts?

2004-12-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

WP: "One in 10 American women takes an antidepressant drug such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft, and the use of such drugs by all adults has nearly tripled in the last decade, according to the latest figures on American health released yesterday by the federal government."

Me: I bet this number is 1 in 3 in DC.

Princeton Review 2005 law school rankings

2004-12-01T17:36:00.000-05:00

Interesting that of the most competitive students, there's only one top tier law school. Is that because students at lower tier schools need to work harder to compete for jobs? Or do they need more time to study (since competitiveness as defined is a function of how many hours they study)? Or do they not have lives? You'd think you'd study a lot and have a lot of serious competition at a top school, but apparently not.

In schools that lean to the left, I was surprised that Berkeley was not there. Georgetown was in the top 10, which is interesting considering how many Republican corporate lawyers it produces and that it is a Catholic school. I would have probably put GW before Georgetown.

The "best career prospects" was very surprising. Chicago was number one. And Georgetown, ranked 14 by US News, beat out higher ranking schools Yale, Duke, Cornell, Stanford, Berkely, UVA, and NYU. The fact it was ranked higher than Yale and NYU is a bit baffling. Boston U was number 4 which was also surprising. It not only beat out higher ranked schools, but two higher ranked schools in its own state - Harvard and BC.

The stupidest men in Maryland

2004-12-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

SpongeBob SquarePants wasn't doing anyone any harm.

A six-foot blow-up version of the Nickelodeon cartoon character had been perched on the roof of a Burger King in St. Mary's County for three days, his skinny legs dangling over the edge, his fists triumphantly in the air, smiling that goofy grin of his.

He was only trying to promote his animated feature film, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," and maybe sell a few watches and kid's meals.

Then along came Steven Simon and his buddy Conrad "C.J." Mercure Jr., both 18, with no car and no clue what to do with themselves in the early hours of Nov. 19.

Mercure said he wondered aloud, "Hey, what if we were to steal that SpongeBob on top of the Burger King?" Seeking to do what others said couldn't be done, he and Simon set out to kidnap the giant cartoon sponge.

"We were like, 'That's gotta be a first -- stealing a giant SpongeBob off of the top of Burger King,' " Simon said.

Actually, it's not.

Burger King officials say stealing the inflatables from atop restaurants in the middle of the night has become something of a nationwide trend. Similar thefts have been reported in 10 states, they say. "And the number is going up every day," said a Burger King spokesman in New York.

Some of them are returned, but some have turned up on eBay, selling for up to $1,000. In one case, after a SpongeBob was stolen from atop of Burger King in Little Falls, Minn., workers found a ransom note: "We have SpongeBob. Give us 10 crabby patties, fries, and milkshakes."

The SpongeBob inflatables started going up Nov. 11 across the country, according to Burger King, which said just over 4,700 inflatables were ordered by franchise owners.

Simon said he went with Mercure to the Burger King in the 21600 block of Great Mills Road in Lexington Park about 2 a.m. Nov. 19. He said they went to the restaurant's dumpster area and used a trash can and several pallets to get to the roof.

Then it was just a matter of unplugging SpongeBob's air valve.

"We flipped him down on his back so no one could see him deflating," Simon said, adding that he and Mercure cut the ropes that held down the inflatable. He said the whole process took about an hour. "I was sitting there smoking a cigarette most of the time," he said. "When we got down, we were like, 'Yeah!' "

For their getaway, Mercure and Simon did what any other person who had just stolen an inflatable cartoon character from atop a Burger King would do: They called a cab.

Even police laughed about it. "They had to pay for three fares, not just two," said Cpl. John Shoemaker of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office.

Soon, Mercure and Simon -- along with a bundled-up SpongeBob -- were on their way to Mercure's apartment in Lexington Park. "After we got it, we gave it to a friend's sister, and she gave it to her boyfriend . . . for his birthday," Simon said.

Bill Cocimano, general manager of the Burger King, said he was initially incensed when he found out that his SpongeBob was stolen.

He said that the next day, an employee said "somebody is running his mouth at Great Mills High School that he has SpongeBob in his bedroom. I told them, 'You get me a name, I'll give you 20 bucks.' " He said he soon turned over Mercure's name to police.

Within three hours, police had SpongeBob, Cocimano said. "They said, 'We have one of your employees down here. Come and get him.' " Cocimano said that when he tried to restore SpongeBob to his perch Friday, the inflatable was too badly damaged to hold the air.

Simon and Mercure were arrested Friday and charged with misdemeanor theft of goods worth less than $500 and released pending a court appearance Dec. 15, authorities said.

Although the offense is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $500 fine, Simon and Mercure said they're proud of their achievement.

"Once we got caught by the police, we were like, now we can tell everybody," Simon said.

Said Mercure: "It was a fun experience. I'm loving the attention."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23502-2004Nov30.html?nav=rss_metro

Celebrities and their bizarre kids names

2004-11-30T11:23:00.000-05:00

Does naming your kid Phinneaus or Heavely Hiraani Tiger Lily count as child abuse???

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis are the parents of Rumer Glenn, Scout LaRue and Tallulah Belle. Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer Chris Martin recently begat Apple. Sylvester Stallone sired Sage Moonblood and Sistine Rose. Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette are the proud parents of Coco. Singer Erykah Badu -- herself on the celebrity all-name team -- has a child named Puma. John Travolta and Kelly Preston named their boy Jett. Christie Brinkley's youngest is a girl named Sailor. The late rock star Michael Hutchence named his daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. Long-ago rock star Bob Geldof calls daughter Fifi Trixabelle to dinner. Soccer star David Beckham and Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams's brood includes Brooklyn, Romeo and a soon-to-be wee one who reportedly may be dubbed San Miguel. Supermodel Claudia Schiffer has a girl named Clementine, as does Cybill Shepherd. Rob Morrow, of "Northern Exposure" quasi-fame, dubbed his baby Tu, as in Tu Morrow.

Restaurant Review: Ten Penh

2004-11-23T14:41:00.000-05:00

Excellent food. Service was very good, although better at other tables with older and stuffier guests. Highly recomended. Worth the expensive price. Some reasonably priced wines too and fabulous exotic martinis.

Congress wants to limit porn and education on porn addictions

2004-11-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

Doesn't Congress have something better to do???

Comparing pornography to heroin, researchers on Thursday called on Congress to finance studies on "porn addiction" and launch a public health campaign about the dangers.

"We're so afraid to talk about sex in our society that we really give carte blanche to the people who are producing this kind of material," said James B. Weaver, a Virginia Tech professor who studies the impact of pornography.

Internet pornography is corrupting children and hooking adults into an addiction that threatens their jobs and families, a panel of anti-porn advocates told the hearing organized by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on science.

Brownback, a father of five, said when he was a boy, the typical kid's exposure was limited to occasional peeks at dirty magazines illicitly obtained by a buddy.

Now, he said, pornography seems pervasive. Children run across it while researching homework on the Internet. Vulgar ads arrive unexpectedly by e-mail. Some of his middle-age male friends limit their time alone in hotel rooms to avoid the temptation of graphic pay-per-view movies, Brownback said.

Mary Anne Layden, co-director of a sexual trauma program at the University of Pennsylvania, said pornography's effect on the brain mirrors addiction to heroin or crack cocaine. She told of one patient, a business executive, who arrived at his office at 9 a.m. each day, logged onto Internet porn sites, and didn't log off until 5 p.m.

Layden called for billboards and bus ads warning people to avoid pornography, strip clubs and prostitutes.

The panel discussion ranged from hardcore, violent pornography to audience complaints

Republican = Party of Fiscal Responsibility - What a JOKE!!

2004-11-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress sent President Bush an $800 billion boost in the federal borrowing limit on Thursday, spotlighting how the budget has lurched out of control in recent years and how hard it will be to afford future initiatives.

The House approved the measure by a near party-line 208-204 vote as White House and bipartisan congressional bargainers moved to the verge of agreement on a year-end spending package expected to total $388 billion. Negotiators said just a handful of issues remained unresolved, and a package might be ready for votes by late Friday.

With the government facing imminent default because it has depleted its authority to borrow money, the debt limit bill would pump up the federal borrowing cap to $8.18 trillion. That is 70 percent the size of the entire U.S. economy, and more than $2.4 trillion higher than the debt Bush inherited upon taking office in 2001.

"The president commends the Congress for passing the debt limit increase," the White House said in a written statement that did not mention the magnitude of borrowing involved or its causes. "Passage of this legislation was important to protect the full faith and credit of the United States."

Slipdisk, one of my fave bands to listen to in the DC area is splitting up

2004-11-19T10:01:00.000-05:00

This is so sad! Going to see Slipdisk play at Clarendon Grill has always been a guaranteed good time. Always a good crowd, everyone I know shows up, they play music that's fun to dance to...there's truly no fun, cheesy live music left now in DC...This is the email Slipdisk sent...

Dear Slipdisk fans,

Today is a wonderful, yet sad day in the story of
Slipdisk. As of January 1st, 2005, we will be hanging
up our blue suits and Slipdisk, your favorite hip-hop
cover band, will call it a day. We've had an
incredible run for the past five years, and have loved
every minute of it. We just feel it is time for us to
move on to different things, be it personally or
collectively.

The reasons for this ending are many, but mainly we
feel that we have done all that we can in the current
format. We've enjoyed our time and would like to go
out with a modicum of dignity, rather than push it any
further and burn out with a substandard product. That
wouldn't be fair to us or to you, our fans.

We'll still be selling the Slipdisk CD "Ruckus"
through CD Baby and our website. You may want to grab
a few more before they become collector's items!

Also, a few of us have discussed the possibility of
regrouping sometime next year with an all-original,
more Philly soul-influenced project. If and when that
ever materializes, we'll notify you through this list.

And so ends the party. We hope that we can still call
every one of you friends, and we could never explain
what your support, encouragement, and loyalty have
meant to each and every one of us. We'll keep in touch
and let you know periodically how we're doing.

But we're not dead yet!! We still have seven shows
left this year, including the big pre-Thanksgiving
party at Clarendon Grill, and our New Year's Eve Party
at Sonoma's, which will double as our farewell. This
will be your last chance to catch the hip-hop covers
so make sure you make your plans now

what would the country look like if the blue states left the morally zealous red states?

2004-11-18T16:31:00.000-05:00

http://www.bluestater.net/'

Do the blue states have a way to secede from the Union? According to the Slate, it doesn't look like so...
http://www.slate.com/id/2109317/

DC Weekend Review - Saki

2004-11-17T16:44:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday night I went to Saki in Adams Morgan. Cover charges and lines are never fun, but can be avoided before 10 pm. The light show downstairs is neat, with the lights on the walls changing the mood of the room from yellow to blue to red and green I thikn. The dance floor is small, but packed, and the music is an eclectic mix of 80s, old school hip hop, and "weird stuff". Not a place for interns, frat guys, or meat market lovers, but good for a group of girlfriends or party. Age range was mid twenties-mid thirties. The women were very attractive, the men not as much. Drinks are expensive, but that's par for a nice place in DC, and were somewhat watered down. Despite being "known for their martinis" they didn't have a martini menu! Will definitely go again sometime.

Drink Quality/Price: One Star
Meat Market: One and half Stars
Martinis with the Girls: Four Stars
Service: Two Stars
Overall: Three Stars

Harriet Miers replaces Gonzalez as White House Counsel for President Bush

2004-11-17T15:15:00.000-05:00

I guess you don't need a top law degree or even top tier degree to do something impressive...or maybe you just need to be from Texas and suck up to W...

Harriet Miers received both her undergraduate and law degrees from Southern Methodist University. She worked at the firm of Locke, Purnell, Rain & Harrell from 1972 to 1999, rising to the position of president. In 1985, she became the first woman president of the Dallas Bar Association; she also served as a member-at-large on the Dallas City Council.

In 1992, Miers became the first woman president of the Texas State Bar. Most recently, she was co-managing partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp, LLP. From 1995 until 2000, Miers was chair of the Texas Lottery Commission. She was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for Bush until her recent appointment.

rated illegal

2004-11-17T15:04:00.000-05:00

As part of its campaign, the MPAA "is offering a free software tool that people can use to identify and delete all file-sharing programs and illegally copied movie and music files on their computers. The software will not report evidence of illegal content back to the studios, the association said. The tool will be made available at www.respectcopyrights.org, a site run by the MPAA," washingtonpost.com reported. Yeah, that'll be a hot download...

Washingtonienne is coming out with a book in June 2005

2004-11-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

http://www.wonkette.com/politics/dc/index.php#washingtoniennes-novel-speaking-a-language-washington-understands-025709

jobs and my life

2004-11-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

I'm going to accept an offer today. I've put it off because I've had great firms and great people give me offers. But I've decided to go with my first offer. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble just saying yes. I like the firm, I'm just freaking out about my future. This is not where I thought I'd be. Last year I couldn't beg a firm to let me be their secretary or unpaid intern, now I have offers from some of the biggest and best firms. I always thought I'd work at a firm that does more policy and regulatory work, which is what my interests are and what my coursework in undergrad and law school has focused on, and now I'm going to be something not entirely related. Where will this take me? Will it take me anywhere?? I always thought I would like to work on Capitol Hill or for the Administration, if only they weren't run by the wrong party.

This is really the best time to SELL OUT and go for the big firm money and represent wrongdoing corporations. I can work hard, make some bucks, put a prestigious firm on my resume, and see whether the Dems can take back power or not. There's no way I'd go work for the DOJ or something like that and make Bush look good. Working on Cap Hill or a liberal association right now would be like beating my head against the wall all day. Bush is going to steamroll his legislation through Congress without looking back at the Dems.

So I'll call today and accept my sell-out status. There's really nothing else I could do anyway....

Obese airline passengers are a costly load

2004-11-09T15:18:00.000-05:00

Now the airlines, too, want us to lose weight. They've joined doctors, nutritionists, animal-rights activists and spouses in nagging us to eat less and better.

The airlines have a good reason: The extra fuel it takes to airlift obese, portly and merely chubby people around the world is getting really expensive.

Major airlines say that the average American weights 4.5 kilos more than a decade ago, and that the fuel to get off the ground and stay airborne while carrying that extra weight costs $275 million U.S. per year.

Some airlines are fighting back. SouthWest, for one, requires obese passengers to pay for two seats. Meanwhile, the Canadian government wants to be sure that average body weights, used to calculate total aircraft loading, are up to date. Transport Canada blamed just that kind of miscalculation for a crash last January that killed 10 people.

These seem like reasonable measures. But we just wish we could shake the nagging suspicion that concern about passenger plumpness may explain the alarming quality of so much airline food - we might pig out on the ground, but airlines seem determined to make sure nobody eats much while up in the air.

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=249e8217-ad15-4207-838c-7b0d2765cc95

The Truth About Men in DC Is a Tough Pill to Swallow

2004-11-09T15:04:00.000-05:00

From Reliable Source...........

* Guys, rejoice: Washington is the No. 1 place to find "babes." So claims Men's Health magazine, which ranks America's sexiest cities in its November issue. This city boasts "the highest percentage of young, single, college-educated women," according to the editors' analysis of U.S. Census info.

But while the mag christens us the "Dating Capital," there's very bad news for those ladies: Washington ranked No. 2 among 101 cities in erectile-function diagnoses and "the number of Cialis, Levitra and Viagra prescriptions dispensed per capita," Men's Health reports. Washington also ranked second in doctor visits for male-pattern baldness and sales of Rogaine.

But hold on! Whatever their other deficiencies, the men here stay in good physical shape. They score high for "best abs" and low for body mass index. "It may be the home of pork-barrel politics," the mag says, "but D.C.'s male population is far from porcine."

Hmm. Have those editors frequented any lobbyist-heavy steakhouses lately?

Ode to election 2004

2004-11-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

I cannot sit still,
I cannot delay,
I wants to go home
it's election day!

I must sit by the tube
not a second to lose
to watch the returns
and drink some good booze!

Oh the day does not end
the time goes so slow
I want to go watch CNN
and drink some merlot!

The paper it says
final decision may not be today
so I will go home
and drink anyway.

2004-11-03T17:56:00.000-05:00

I waited on line for two hours today
I am now out a few hours of pay
That wouldn't matter,
that my wallet's less fatter,
if my state didn't always go one way

I wish that my vote did count
that the obstacle wasn't impossible to surmount,
but the south of my state
carries more weight
and of democratic NOVA they take no account

My voting experience today

2004-11-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

I was watching the poll coverage before I went to go vote myself and then go to work. The lines at my polling place were much longer than the lines showing on air this morning in DC and other places. I had false hopes that I could actually vote in 1-1.5 hours. There are only FIVE polling booths at the polling place I went to! We watched people eventually give up because they couldn't afford to be so late to work. (I personally lost a few hours of my salary by taking leave without pay to vote). It is a travesty that it takes so long and that those people who tried to vote my not come back. I predict the evening rush will be much much worse. Who knows how many people will leave the line then?

How cellphone dependency affects the election

2004-11-02T20:01:00.000-05:00

This has been my own hunch, and I see it has been confirmed by someone who has more knowledge than me, or at least their own website. I myself don't have a landline. Neither do the vast majority of my twenty-something year old friends. And they are all voting for Kerry, and some of them actually live in states that count. Perhaps I am sheltered, but I don't personally know a single person around my age without a landline who is voting for Bush. Then again, statistically no one cares about us and who we want to vote for because we vote less often than old people with landlines.

From http://www.electoral-vote.com/
"As I have discussed repeatedly, normally people with a cell phone but no landline are not polled. Most of these are in the 18-29 year old group. Up until now, no one has known how their absence from the polling data might affect the results. Zogby has now conducted a very large (N = 6039) poll exclusively on cell phones using SMS messaging to get a feeling of how they will vote. The results are that they go strongly for Kerry, 55% to 40%, with a margin of error of only 1.2%. If they all vote tomorrow, the pollsters are going to spend the rest of the week wiping egg from their faces. But historically, younger voters have a miserable turnout record, so the pollsters need not yet stock up on paper towels."

Funny: BigLaw Firm Life

2004-11-02T02:08:00.000-05:00

"As an newly minted JD you will be tempted to join a biglaw paying $125,000 with a with a starting bonus, consisting of ten to thirty thousand in cash. As a first and second year associate you will need to work long hours to make your billing goal because the firm is writing off so much of your time as "training". No one will ever look at your work product or give you feedback, although the bills to the client will reflect significant training time.

In your third and fourth years the partnership will remind you that they wrote off a boatload of your time in the first and second years, so you will need to work long hours to repay them for their investment in training you. If you fail to make your billable goal, then they will fire you. If you make the billable goal, then they will not harp on you. If you exceed your billable goal, then they may elect to pay you a bonus. If you significantly exceed your billable goal, then they may offer you a concubine. However to save money, firms only offer mid-level associates concubines of the same gender. Therefore, you have to be gay or bisexual to accept this benefit, or arrange for a swap with an associate of the opposite gender.

In your fifth and sixth years the partnership will remind you that you are entering the partnership window, so you will need to work long hours to demonstrate that you are partnership material. If you fail to make your billable goal, then they will fire you. If you make the billable goal, then they will not harp on you. If you exceed your billable goal, then they may elect to pay you a bonus. If you significantly exceed your billable goal, then they may permit you to swap your same-gender concubine for one of the opposite sex. Also, if you are a stellar performer, then the firm may help pay for your divorce.

In your seventh and eighth years you will either make partner or be fired. The partnership decision will be based on important criteria like, for example, are you a white male who belongs to the appropriate golf and tennis clubs and lives in an appropriate section of the city. Also, make sure you are fat and out-of-shape when you come up for partnership. If you are thin and in-shape, the partnership will assume that you have not been working enough, and they will reject you. This is critical, because the partners are too lazy to bother checking your hours. Nor will they check your work product if you have been with the firm for a long time, because it might expose the fact that they failed to train you.

If you make partner, then the firm exchanges your concubine for a trophy wife. She will be ten to fifteen years younger than you with beautiful hair and nails, and large, perfectly formed breasts. You will never know whether they are real. She will love diamonds, BMWs, and professes to love fat, middle-aged attorneys. She plays a killer game of both golf and tennis, and looks great in a swimsuit. She was a tri-delt in college, and majored in art history. You will get to learn about art. Unbeknownst to you as a junior partner, the firm pays for her to maintain a lover, who poses as your gardener. The firm exchanges your 1994 Honda Accord for a new BMW 5 series. Your trophy wife gets a Land Rover to take her across the rugged terrain of the city streets to wilds of the country club.

After about ten years in the partnership you will discover the secret account the firm uses to pay for your wifeÃÆÃâÃâÃâs lover. By this time you are so invested in the firm, so fat and gross, and so estranged from your wife and family that you no longer care. If you have sufficiently high originations, the firm will open the secret account to pay for your mistress, who will be fifteen to twenty-five years younger than you. She will energize you to lose weight, buy a hairpiece, and get a convertible, or even a Harley, which you will ride exactly twice. You will carry on this affair for two to three years, then she will dump you. You will gain forty pounds and start drinking Vodka at the office.

You are now nearing retirement. You are eighty pounds overweight with a fifty-two inch waist. You are trapped in a sham marriage with a forty-something year old wife who still looks great in a swimsuit and would not let you touch her with a ten-foot pole. She is entitled to half your assets and she knows it, so she has got you by the nads. You no longer care that you see the same gardener pull in every day in your rearview mirror of your BMW 7 series as you leave for work. And who the hell are these teenagers around your house anyway? And why do they despise you? And why do you have to pay for their college when they look just like the damned gardener? And why is your face always as red as a fire engine?

This is about when you receive the group email from the firm announcing that you have informed the executive committee of your decision to retire at the end of the year. You go to the managing partner to ask what the hell is up with this, and before you can say anything he jumps up, shakes your hand and tells you how much you have contributed to the firm. They hate to see you leave, but they understand that its time for you to enjoy your life a little. The place just will not be the same without you. Blah, blah, blah. They agree to keep you on as counsel for another year in a small satellite office out in the suburbs to avoid a lawsuit. You are fifty-five years old.

Then you are done. You waddle your fat ass around your house for another two or three years until you die in your sleep of a heart attack from being so fat or from cancer from smoking. As your life passes before your eyes while you draw your last breath, you ask yourself what made your life worth living? Fortunately you expire before you realize the question was rhetorical. They have to bury you in a piano crate."

Teresa Heinz Kerry Comment About Laura Bush Not Having Worked/Job

2004-10-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

Teresea Heinz Kerry's comment was NOT a big deal. Laura Bush quit her job and profession basically when George proposed to her and exchanged her teaching degree for an Mrs degree. She hasn't held a job in about 30 years! What kind of role model is she for young women? My mother and my grandmother and their generations fought hard for me and other young women to have the opportunity to be a law partner, CEO, business owner, doctor, accountant, etc, and not have to stay at home with the kids and not go to college simply to get an "Mrs degree." Staying home to raise kids is hard work, but it is not a "job." There are no clients, bosses, paychecks, deadlines, documents, lawsuits, board meetings, powerpoint presentations, billable hour requirements, competition from peers, etc!! By calling staying home a "job" it discredits the hard work that young women do to try to become equal to men in the business world. Women have to work even HARDER than men to prove they're not on "mommy t
rack" in law firms and companies or to prove they're not going to just quit as soon as a man proposes to them. Teresa Heinz Kerry has a job and has worked hard. Laura Bush has worked hard, but has not a job for thirty years.

The Bachelor TryOuts in Washington DC

2004-10-20T16:07:00.000-04:00

The Bachelor held auditions yesterday in Washington DC yesterday at Ozios. I was there with one of my girlfriends. The crowd was mostly mid20s-late 30s women, with about 10-20% of the crowd being male, mostly African-American. The women selected to fill out a form and be on tape were ALL BLONDE! No kidding - not one brunette, redhead, Asian, or African-American the entire time I was there. The women were mostly late twenties looking, darkish blonde haired, with C cup breasts. Most were average looking, a few were attractive, but shockingly, the women picked weren't gorgeous or even the best looking at the bar. They all were the same type though.

One man asked me what I thought about not being selected. I told him the straight truth, when it comes to being blonde with big boobs I lose - BUT if The Bachelor, or whoever, is looking for an attractive, size 2, former cheerleader and promotional model, with fashion sense, who went to a top undergrad and graduated with honors, who's in a top graduate program, and making six figures - at my age and without even having graduated grad school yet!, and who did it all themselves (no family money, connections, etc) then I am the whole package. Unfortunately, or fortunately, shallow men looking for blondes with boobs are going to miss out.

Rest of US can get flu while young Congressional staffers get flu vaccines

2004-10-20T10:25:00.000-04:00

While many Americans search in vain for flu shots, members and employees of Congress are able to obtain them quickly and at no charge from the Capitol's attending physician, who has urged all 535 lawmakers to get the vaccines even if they are young and healthy.

YET federal guidelines call for this season's limited supply to go mainly to the elderly, the very young, pregnant women, long-term-care patients and people with chronic illnesses.

I'm sorta okay with Members who are visiting elderly people getting flu shots. But staffers??? So staffers should get flu shots and the rest of us working in DC shouldn't? Like Congress will collapse if some 22 year old House receptionist has a runny nose? Please!

Congress makes one rule for the rest of the country and their own rules for themselves. They can pay interns less than minimum wage while arguing for an increase in the wage. They can raise their own salaries while the gap grows between rich and poor, etc.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46325-2004Oct19.html

Payback on K Street

2004-10-12T15:31:00.000-04:00

This is why being a democrat on K Street is such a problem! I'll never
be able to be a lobbyist or make millions on K Street as long as I am a
democrat. If the MPAA's Glickman, a former member of
Congress, can't do it, no democrat can! (Other than maybe the Clintons).

Payback on K Street

THE CORPORATE tax bill that Congress has sent to the White House
rewards just about every special interest that retains a lobbyist in
Washington. Makers of sonar fish finders stand to gain, as do importers
of Chinese ceiling fans, dog-track operators who cater to foreign
gamblers, and Native Alaskan whaling captains. But one lobby did not do
so well, and its identity is revealing. The Motion Picture Association
of America, Hollywood's trade group, had been hoping for $350 million a
year in subsidies, which were written into the Senate version of the
bill as partial compensation for the loss of a bigger export subsidy
that the bill repeals. But the Senate's largesse was cut back to around
$100 million in the final bill that emerged from the House-Senate
conference, leaving the movie industry as the biggest net loser from the
legislation.

Why did the movie studios, which usually lobby with the best of them,
lose out? Perhaps because three months ago they had the temerity to
choose Dan Glickman, a Democrat, to head their trade association. The
congressional Republican leadership, which had the final say on the tax
bill, made no secret of its fury that a plum lobbying job had not gone
to a Republican: Grover Norquist, a close ally of House Republicans,
called Mr. Glickman's appointment "a studied insult," adding that the
movie industry's "ability to work with the House and Senate is greatly
reduced." Commenting on the movie moguls' comeuppance last week, Rep.
Jim McCrery (R-La.) told Brody Mullins of Roll Call that "it's a good
idea to have someone who can communicate with those who are in power,"
and that "[i]t's a consideration that any organization hiring a lobbyist
should take into account."

This suggests that Congress is corrupt not only in the manner in which
it awards prizes to favorite lobbyists, but also in the manner in which
it denies such prizes. By punishing the movie industry for giving its
plushest Washington job to the opposite party, the Republicans are
saying that they want such jobs reserved for their own side, partly so
that they can vacuum up the campaign donations that trade associations
make and partly so that members of their own party can spin through the
revolving door into millionaire nirvana. A few years ago, congressional
Republicans claimed to stand for free-market principles -- for the idea
that government should get out of the way and allow the economy to
reward the innovators and entrepreneurs who fuel progress. But power has
corrupted the party. Now that they are the incumbents, they skew the
economic playing field so as to reward their friends and fill their
campaign treasuries.

The bill that Congress has produced is monstrous in just about every
way. Designed to close a $5 billion-a-year export subsidy that violated
international trade law, it ended by spraying out $140 billion in
business breaks over 10 years. It absurdly rewards tobacco farmers, and
absentee tobacco landlords, without imposing even the minimal regulation
on tobacco that the nation's biggest cigarette maker had agreed to. In
Friday's debate, President Bush said he would discipline Congress in
order to reduce the budget deficit. If Mr. Bush cannot bring himself
to veto this terrible bill, it will be hard to take him seriously.

Oh the Guilt

2004-10-12T13:10:00.000-04:00

The point of this article is that basically women should just stay home and raise kids - if they choose to have them AND want them to be normal. If you try to be a successful professional woman and have kids, as teenagers they will be lost and you will never bond with them and they will be like strangers to you. Yeah. I read this stuff and I ALREADY feel guilty for the imaginary children I don't have whom I won't see while I am working as a fulltime professional - b/c there's no way I am quittting my profession and the position I worked so hard for to stay home just so I can drive my whiny brats to soccer practice, ballet lessons, SAT tutoring, the mall, etc all day. According to articles like these, as a full time working woman, I am already a failure as a mother of teenagers!! I just thought the guilt would be about their first few years and sending them to daycare - now it includes their teen years as well!!

Washington Post: A Time to Come Home - Some Parents Quit Working to Be Around More -- When Their Kids Are Teens, Not Toddlers. That May Be Good Timing, Experts Say

When Pat Kloehn, 49, a Silver Spring mother of two, quit a job she enjoyed at CNN to stay at home with her children, the lifestyle change had a certain familiarity. It was the second time Kloehn had stepped off the career path to become an at-home mom.

Kloehn, whose children are 13 and 17, says, "The first time, I did it because I felt I wasn't having any quality time with my daughter. I didn't spend enough time with her to even know her likes and dislikes. I wanted to have another child, but I wanted to be the one to raise them, not a virtual stranger."

After several contented years at home, Kloehn returned to work when the kids reached school age. But a year ago, she decided it was time to come home again.

"With two wars, September 11, a sniper and a hurricane, my husband [also a CNN employee] and I were working 24-7," Kloehn says. "My son came home to an empty house every day."

Though it is generally regarded as acceptable to leave children home alone at age 12, Kloehn's son felt lost. "He was lonesome all the time," Kloehn said. "When he talks about that period of his life, he calls it, the 'deep blue' days."

"With teenage children, missing out on quality time seemed much scarier" than when they were younger, Kloehn said. "Without direction, I felt my kids were at risk for some really dangerous behaviors that could affect their adult lives."

Takoma Park mom Diane Mac-Eachern, 52, worked when her children were young, building a 35-employee communications and advocacy firm. After 14 years, she said, she was drained from the constant demands on her time and feeling that she was never giving her best to her clients, her employees or her family. Three years ago, MacEachern sold her share of the business and is now an at-home mom to her children, ages 14 and 16.

"I think that the middle school and high school years are much more challenging for a child than preschool or elementary school," she said. "And it's harder for parents to stay in touch with their children during the teenage years. As I looked at the challenges, I really felt like this was the time to be there for them."

Kloehn and MacEachern have discovered what many parents of older children (including Bush campaign adviser Karen Hughes and Judith Steinberg Dean, wife of former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean) have found: that being available for their children when they are older may be just as important as when they are very young.

According to the U.S. Census, workforce participation by mothers fell from a record high of 59 percent in 1998 to 55 percent in 2000. This was the first significant decline since the Census Bureau began monitoring such data in 1976. The figure remained unchanged in 2002. The four-percentage-point decline was mostly attributable to women with infants, but it also included moms who dropped out of the workforce when their kids were older.

Numerous studies have shown that the hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are when kids are most likely to use drugs, engage in sex and get caught up in violence. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America encourages parents to monitor their children's activities during these hours, because "the rewards of monitoring are proven. Kids who are not regularly monitored are four times more likely to use drugs."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25162-2004Oct11.html

married Wilson Sonsini lawyer arrested for sex with 16 year old he paid

2004-10-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

Silicon Valley lawyer arrested for having sex with underage girl

Associated Press

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - A Silicon Valley lawyer allegedly paid a 16-year-old girl hundreds of dollars for sex and propositioned her 17-year-old friend with graphic e-mails, according to court records.

Jason D. Borrevik, 32, of Sunnyvale, had sex at least three times with the 16-year-old San Francisco Bay area girl he met on the Internet, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The girl told police he paid her between $140 and $200 for each encounter.

Borrevik, an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, one of Silicon Valley's most prestigious law firms, was arrested last month on charges of having sex with a minor. He's married and has an infant son.

Borrevik is on administrative leave from his job at the law firm, which represents high-profile clients such as Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computer.

Borrevik's attorney, John L. Williams, declined to comment on the case on Wednesday.

Borrevik allegedly e-mailed the 17-year-old girl graphic photographs to entice her, but instead of meeting with him, she reported the incident to Milpitas police in August.

In a sting operation, a Palo Alto police detective pretended to be the older girl during an online chat with Borrevik, who allegedly admitted to having sex with the 16-year-old.

A clerk at the Palo Alto Townhouse, where Borrevik allegedly met with the 16-year-old at least once, said Borrevik had rented a room there more than 40 times in the past four years and had arrived with an "underage-looking" girl in the weeks before his arrest, according to the police affidavit.

Bush's motto: If it sounds good, say it

2004-10-08T10:53:00.000-04:00

When you spend so much time torturing the truth, it's hard to keep your story straight -- or even remember what you just said.

The most remarkable moment in Tuesday's debate between Vice President Cheney and Sen. John Edwards came when Cheney issued a blanket denial of the obvious.

Edwards, who proved both his value and his loyalty to Democratic nominee John Kerry, declared that "there is no connection between Saddam Hussein and the attacks of September 11th. Period. The 9/11 Commission has said that's true. Colin Powell has said it's true. But the vice president keeps suggesting that there is."

What Cheney said next was, literally, incredible: "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11."

This is the same Cheney who, just minutes before, in the very same debate, had defended the attack on Iraq by declaring flatly that Saddam Hussein "had an established relationship with al Qaeda." Hello? If that is not a "suggestion" of a connection, what is?

Well, this: On Sept. 14, 2003, Cheney said Iraq was at the heart of "the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."

If the Cheney-Edwards debate made nothing else clear, it is that the central issue in this presidential election is becoming the administration's lack of credibility and its tendency to say whatever is convenient to make whatever case it is trying to make.

Day by day, we learn more and more about how the administration led the nation into war by distorting intelligence and twisting facts. A president who once condemned a mentality that declared "if it feels good, do it" has now embraced a related principle: "If it sounds good, say it."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13425-2004Oct6.html?nav=most_emailed_emailfriend

The VP Debate: the 90% casualty figure

2004-10-05T22:52:00.000-04:00

From WP: In a reprise of comments Kerry made in last week's debate, Edwards said the United States has paid 90 percent of the costs and suffered 90 percent of the casualties in the war in Iraq.

The figure is "dead wrong," Cheney replied, adding that the Iraqi security forces have suffered almost 50 percent of the casualties."

They're comparing apples and oranges. Kerry/Edwards is talking about 90% in reference to allies casualties. Compared to the Allies fighting in Iraq we've taken 90% of casualties. Cheney is talking total casualties, including American and Iraqi. Edwards wasn't talking about Iraqis deaths, he was talking about allies (ie traditional allies - Europe, Japan, Australia, etc) and the proportion of American deaths. The WP doesn't make it clear that Cheney's repetitive points are off the topic. I'm sure Edwards recognizes Iraqis deaths, that wasn't the point!

Does Edwards not vote in roll call votes like VP Cheney claimed tonight??

2004-10-05T22:44:00.000-04:00

So I'm watching the VP debate and I hear Cheney say he never saw Senator Edwards before tonight because Sen. Edwards hasn't been to a roll call vote (while Cheney goes to all). I think, can this be true??

While Cheney is exagerating (Edwards at least showed up on June 23rd) and previously before that, according to my research. But the last time he voted in roll call vote - was JUNE 24, 2004!! There have been numerous votes in July and September since then and a couple in October.

According to C-Span, Edwards hasn't voted in any "key votes" in the past few months.

From a NC newspaper:
Edwards has the second-worst attendance record in the Senate, eclipsed only by Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry, according to official Senate records, available on www.senate.gov. Edwards was absent in 64 of the 119 roll-call votes from Jan. 20 through June 16, 2004 (a staggering 54 percent nonvoting record).

For other VP debate Reax see http://www.thenationaldebate.com/blog/archives/2004/10/veep_debate_rea.html#more

Votergasm

2004-10-05T14:03:00.000-04:00

From The Hoya:

Calling all voting swingers!

Votergasm.com aims to encourage young people to exercise their voting rights with sexual incentives. Inspired by low voter turnout among the 18- to 25-year-old demographic in the 2000 election, the goal of the non-profit, nonpartisan organization is to register 100,000 first-time voters for this yearâs election by having them to pledge to vote and hook up only with fellow voters.

Visitors to the site can pledge on three different levels.

âCitizensâ are asked to vote and withhold sexual activity from non-voters during election week.

âPatriotsâ pledge the same, and, in addition, promise to hook up with a fellow voter on election night.

And an âAmerican Heroâ â the highest level and most drastic action for some voters â signs on to hook up with a voter on election night and withhold sex from non-voters for the next four years.

Various action pictorials on the site provide laughs while reminding voters of their rights. These real-life comics feature scantily clad models exploring their sexuality and their rights as Americans.

Like much of the site, the story lines of the pictorials are not to be taken too seriously.

In âHow to Start an Issues Advocacy Group,â swingers worried about tides interrupting sex on the beach form a protest group when their attempts to contact Congress fail. Their protests are successful and, as they wished, Congress blows up the moon to stop the tides.

One can also find out how to vote in his or her home state in âHow to Vote Absentee.â Readers follow a college sophomore as she discovers the joys of absentee voting.

No plans for election night after voting to your heartâs content?

Votergasm parties will spring up all around the country. Those interested in meeting and hooking up with fellow voters in their area can search for parties in their area.

Hoyas who pledge at Votergasm can check out and hook up at the election-night party in Adams Morgan or register their own party. Party planners are instructed to keep the parties sexy without being overly lewd or distasteful.

A featured item at Votergasm is âAss or Trunk?â â billed as âan interactive stereotyping game.â

Set up like âHot or Not,â viewers can judge contestants based on their pictures. Instead of rating attractiveness, viewers have to guess contestantsâ political affiliation, left-wing ass, right-wing trunk and all that goes between.

Those interested in seeing what kind of political vibes they send out can upload a photo of themselves to be deemed an ass or a trunk.

Hereâs a hint: A Polo shirt with a popped collar is bound to be a trunk and men posing in thongs are usually rated asses.

Like any good political Web site, Votergasm has forums for those who would like to express concerns of a political or sexual nature. Recent discussions have covered topics such as why one should vote and if women will follow through with their Votergasm pledges.

Votergasm is another fun waste of time for Hoyas. It humorously raises issues that many young people try to avoid without being overtly educational in the process.

But reserved individuals might want to stay away from this one, as this site is not for the prude of heart.

At Votergasm, those who have not yet registered to vote and desire to do so can, with the added bonus of refusing to hook up with naughty non-voters.

In the midst of the sex and silliness, Votergasm is raising awareness about the importance of voting to young people, which is commendable in itself.

And remember, if the voting booth is a-rockinâ, donât go a-knockinâ.

But reserved individuals might want to stay away from this one, though, as this site is not for the prudishe at of heart.

At votergasmVotergasm.com, those who have not yet registered to vote and desire to do so can, with the added bonus of refusing to hook up with naughty non-voters.

In the midst of the sex and silliness, votergasmVotergasm.com is raising awareness about the importance of voting to young people, which is commendable in itself.

And remember, if the voting booth is a-rockinâ, donât go a-knockinâ.

Shearman & Sterling summer associate fired

2004-10-05T11:06:00.000-04:00

Funny story, from greedyassociates.com:

He showed up at a firm wide diversity lunch with a prepared speech that was misogynist, elitist, and racist (highlights: the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 were a result of diversity policies that put unqualified minorities from bad schools in important positions; the first female air force pilot crashed her f16 because she was incompetent and got her position through terrible diveristy policies; the law enforcement response to 9/11 was deficient and caused more deaths b/c of diversity policies). An invited guest, a major potential corporate client of the firm, was the keynote speaker and opened the floor to q&a. The summer got up and read his speech in an adversarial tone ("wouldn't you agree that... " "how do you respond to ..." ) as a "question."

The person in question also already had a reputation for being a loudmouthed jerk with poor judgement in the departments he rotated through and with his lawschool classmates. He had already made some strange comments at a summers-only diversity training as well. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, in other words.

He was offered the chance to apologize and retract his statements. He refused, insisting that he didn't do anything inappropriate and that he was right, etc. He wouldn't even acknowledge that it was the wrong forum to bring up such viewpoints. Even now he maintains that he was fired because of some insane left-wing conspiracy.

In other words, he is totally wacko and S&S did the right thing.

Davis Polk & Wardwell summer associate fired

2004-10-05T10:56:00.000-04:00

At DPW a summer dropped the N-word several times into his conversation at a summer lunch at a public restaurant with summers and associates. The DPW summer ultimately wound up getting no offer (in fact was told that showing up for the exit interview was not compulsory and he might want to avoid embarrassment by skipping it). DPW always makes offers but this guy blew his chance at 125k. Idiot.

John Kerry up in ice cream poll

2004-10-05T10:09:00.000-04:00

John Kerry has been up and down in the national polls, but he's showing a surge in the District, at least among ice cream consumers. The frozen confection wars began Sept. 1 at Jeff Tunks's three restaurants, where they are gauging who has earned the votes of Washingtonians. The contest: President Bush's favorite flavor, praline, vs. Kerry's white chocolate macadamia nut. The results: Kerry is crushing Bush at Ceiba with 188 to 61, outpacing him at D.C. Coast with 156 to 85 and edging him slightly at Ten Penh with 130 to 92, reports The Post's Juliet Eilperin. Numbers for Kerry improved after the first presidential debate, but Bush can still come back: The count ends Nov. 1.

tweetie birds

2004-09-08T20:24:00.000-04:00

Germans can't say "r"'s. They say "tweetie" instead of treaty...everytime the German graduate student in my class talks and says tweetie I have to hold my tongue....

Americans will believe anything Bush tells them....how sad

2004-08-20T15:05:00.000-04:00

"More than half of Americans, 54 percent, continue to believe Iraq (news - web sites) had weapons of mass destruction or a program to develop them before the United States invaded last year, according to a poll released Friday. Evidence of such weapons has not been found. Half believe Iraq was either closely linked with al-Qaida before the war (35 percent) or was directly involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on this country (15 percent)."

Does anyone learn to question soundbites anymore?? So the president makes something up or alludes to things that aren't true (like linking Saddam and al-Qaida) and a large percentage of our country just suck it up without any thought. Like zombies. These numbers are disturbing. Although the first question is phrased so you only have to think they had a program to develop them, which probably can never be fully proved or disproved (especially depending on how you define "program," the Bush admin probably defines it as a "thought" which would mean they're right, since Saddam probably at least thought about WMD).

Joe Schmo sighting

2004-08-20T14:09:00.000-04:00

I was so excited to find that my bartender last night at Adams Mill in AdMo was none other than Joe Schmo 2 star Tim! No one else on my kickball team really seemed to know who he was but I was so gushy when I spoke to him. I loved the show. And he was rude! And he took 20 minutes to get my female friend one pitcher of beer (while we all watched him pour several others)! I guess stardom goes to your head. Or maybe I'm just not 6 feet tall and blonde so he can't be nice to me. Whatever dude. If he was nice to girls in the bar maybe he could get a date. Now I'm not excited to see him next week.

a large reason why I dislike the Bush admin

2004-08-20T11:29:00.000-04:00

The New York Times and The Washington Post analyzed President Bush's efforts to significantly reduce the federal government's regulatory influence over a wide range of issues of public concern. "Health rules, environmental regulation, energy initiatives, worker-safety standards and product-safety disclosure policies have been modified in ways that often please business and industry leaders while dismaying interest groups representing consumers, workers, drivers, medical patients, the elderly and many others," the Times said. The Times and Post cited a number of regulatory changes that have upset consumer and environmental activists including: barring the public release of auto safety data; weakening rules protecting coal miners from black-lung disease; rolling back environmental regulations limiting mountaintop blasting by coal mining companies; and dropping proposed rules that would have protected hospital workers from tuberculosis, which unions and public health official
s say is on the rise in 20 states.

In addition, the Post reported that the Administration has used the Data Quality Act, a measure it says was "written by an industry lobbyist and slipped into a giant appropriations bill . . . without congressional discussion or debate, to allow business to challenge government information justifying regulatory action on a variety of consumer and environmental issues. Many observers on both sides of the regulatory debate acknowledge that September 11 and the increased focus on national security has diverted public attention away from many of the regulatory changes that affect people's everyday lives. "Most people are busy just trying to make a living. And with all the focus on Iraq and bin Laden, it gives the administration an opportunity to take a lot of loot out the back door without anybody noticing," said Congressman David Obey (D-WI).

The article is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/14/politics/14bush.html?ex=1093456365&ei=1&en=61a05fb4cff0f626

Politico Sighting

2004-08-19T19:06:00.000-04:00

Boston Market, Wilson Blvd, Arlington VA

Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign manager. Ordered a fruit salad and a healthy sandwhich. Why do I know it was the campaign manager? Because he was carrying a large blue binder that said "Bush-Cheney 2004" and below it "campaign manager" and his name. And the headquarters are probably somewhat close by. He seemed annoyed by the fact that my order was so long and taking a while, but I was ordering a large meal and not just a sandwhich.

More Apprentice News

2004-08-16T17:11:00.000-04:00

So it seems that I won't be the first law student/lawyer that tries out for the apprentice. They've finally added a lawyer to their roster in this season. Unlike me, who would have fit it in the non-Ivy/no real business experience category, she is pitted in the opposite group - the Ivy educated, like Kwame. Which I suppose is actually a different group than the experienced group, like Amy and Bill. Or is Amy in the less experienced but street smart group because of her age? So I guess they're really pitting the lesser experienced, but street smart and savvy v. ivy educated v. lots of business experience.

Hoping for 'You're Hired', Brenda Sandburg, The Recorder
08-11-2004

Someone was sure to recognize Jennifer Massey in NBC's promo for the next season of "The Apprentice." After all, she had a role in a video her former firm, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, produced for an office Christmas party in 2000. In that flick -- a spoof of James Bond -- Massey played a blonde beauty opposite former Chairman Tower Snow Jr.'s Bond. Massey, now an associate at Clifford Chance, didn't return a phone call seeking comment. A firm spokesman confirmed that Massey is an associate at the firm but wouldn't say whether she's on the show.

While NBC hasn't released the names of the 18 "Apprentice" contestants, a former Brobeck lawyer confirmed that Massey is in the NBC ad featuring the players. "The Apprentice" follows a group of young men and women as they try to impress billionaire real estate magnate Donald Trump. Each week, Trump assigns them a business task, and at the end of the episode he calls them into his boardroom and tells one of them, "You're fired." The last one standing gets a job with Trump that pays a six-figure salary. The second season premieres Sept. 9. NBC says the candidates "come from all walks of life, including both Ivy League MBA graduates and street entrepreneurs with no college education." Massey is in the Ivy League camp. She received a law degree from Harvard Law School and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. The odds of getting picked for the show were pretty stiff. NBC's ad says that hundreds of thousands of people have auditioned to be a candidate. But Massey isn't the first Brobeck lawyer to make it onto a reality show. Stacey Stillman was a Brobeck associate when she appeared on the first season of "The Survivor." One of 16 castaways, Stillman got booted off the island in the third episode. She later sued CBS, claiming that the producer had rigged her removal. NBC is presenting "The Apprentice" wannabes as a cutthroat bunch.

Says a male contestant in a promo: "The women in this show will eat their own young."

On Vacation

2004-08-09T21:17:00.000-04:00

I'll be on vacation this week, so no posting : (

Summer Internship is Over!

2004-08-09T18:05:00.000-04:00

So my summer internships is over. I hope I actually contributed something, but it's hard to tell sometimes. I guess I still expect to be treated like a piece of crap secretary, I mean project/legislative/grassroots/staff/etc assistant, like I was before law school, and do meaningless tedious work all the time while the interns get interesting assignments. I think my brain partially melted that year from lack of substance. At least I read a lot that year, and studied for LSATs, which kept my mind sane from lack of stimulation. Summer jobs just seem less substantive than school year jobs anyway, at least 20 hr/wk or more school year jobs. You do actually needed work then, in the summer sometimes I feel they need to make work for the interns, which makes more work for them! Anyway, this summer my bosses seem pretty cool and they're very smart so I'm gonna try to keep in touch. Fall job starts in a few weeks, so only a few weeks to chill and not be an intern. This year will be a first for me - my first PAID internship during the year since that 1.5 semester(s) my senior year in college! Last year was all pro bono and hurt the pocketbook, I mean my ebay purchasing power (I am soooo addicted!! Shoes, belts, flower pins, books you name it!!)

The Simple Life Drinking Game

2004-08-08T21:32:00.000-04:00

Drink every time Paris and Nicole:

*wear something inappropriate for the job
*cheat on their job
*change clothing
*jokingly sexually come on to truckers, farmers, ranchers, crawfish boaters, etc
*ask the son of the family their age and mention it's "legal" or "perfect" if the son is 18 and over

Double drink every time:

*either Paris or Nicole says "love it" or "that's hot"

Alcopops (Bacardi Silver, etc) and calorie count

2004-08-08T21:13:00.000-04:00

Say it ain't so!! I always thought Bacarci "alcopops" had around the same calories as a beer, not double! They're not good enough for the amount of calories...I'd rather have 3 light beers or a Krispy Kreme...

Calories
(per 12 oz)

Smirnoff Ice
228
Bacardi Silver
225
Bacardi Silver Raz
225
Bacardi Silver O3
225
Bacardi Silver Limón
225
Skyy Blue
235
Henry's Hard Lemonade
315
Jack Daniel's Hard Cola
232
Mike's Hard Lemonade
220
Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade
222

Saturday night

2004-08-08T19:18:00.000-04:00

Went to dinner at a really nice place downtown. It was Q's bday and there were like 20 people and he picked up the tab for a 3 course meal, cake, champagne, and drinks. One day...sigh...
We went to Air and sat in the VIP section. Some very hot women at Air. This is #2 on the list of places my bfriend is not allowed without me after 1223 (lots of beautiful women, several grinding on each other, which of course my bfriend finds hot). I don't get why Air doesn't have a VIP bathroom. It took forever to get to the bathroom and back, I would have been happy with a VIP porta potty. We saw a bunch of people jump the fence into the VIP section - I couldn't believe it with all the security. Bottle service has to be the biggest rip off. But being in the VIP section is fun. Still trying to figure out the deal with the couple next to us. The guy seemed to be with his girlfriend and a really attractive blonde girl, they all seemed to be on each other, but the fatter chick was definitely with the guy.

Quote of the Day

2004-08-06T22:47:00.000-04:00

"Law school is for people who are boring and ugly and serious."
Legally Blonde (2001)

I actually thought this statement applied to politics, not law school. I think it was James Carville that once said that "politics is Hollywood for ugly people." Most political people I have met have also been boring and serious. At least the conservative Republicans.

Best Book I've Read This Summer...

2004-08-03T23:27:00.000-04:00

...is Al Franken's book about Liars and the lying lies they tell...it is so fabulous...conservative pundits that ignore the facts and take things out of context and twist the facts piss me off...the idea that if you're a liberal you must hate america is just ridiculous. A person can criticize something without "hating" it. One can criticize Bush and the war in Iraq without "hating America" or committing treason or slander or whatever. Franken is fresh and funny and actually makes his case unlike the Fox News gang and Ann Coulter. I'm still waiting to be convinced by one of their books.

Apply now to be the Apprentice

2004-07-19T14:53:00.000-04:00

http://hotjobs.promotions.yahoo.com/apprentice

Sigh. Has my life really come to this? Do I need a high paying job badly enough to make an ass of myself on national television? Would I have what it takes, coming from DC and all, to out-Omarosa the original?

Kick the Kickball Players

2004-07-15T17:37:00.000-04:00

If I get one more email message from my kickball team I am going to scream! All day long they email about kickball and getting wasted. I'd much rather get wasted than talk about it all day!

Ode to Bosses Makes it on Wonkette

2004-07-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

But you read it here first!
http://www.wonkette.com/archives/what-hath-stephanopoulos-wrought-the-interns-strike-back-017571.php

Hilarious!

2004-07-13T11:55:00.000-04:00

A Reader from Wonkette:
I almost choked on my coffee today at the interns versus staff fight at the Stephanopoulos sighting. Talk about two groups that deserve each other. Interns living on their parents' money partying in Washington all summer have no right to complain about anything. That said, where does your one erstwhile staffer e-mailer think staffers come from? Oh yeah, working class kids in debt up to their eyeballs out of college can really afford to take a 25K job on the Hill. [If they are willing to go anal, maybe! -- Ed.] There are few creatures on earth lower than the Hill rat living on mommy and daddy's money thinking they are important. Yeah, answering letters from old ladies in tennis shoes for Congressman Good for Nothing who gave you the job because your parents had enough money to donate to a winning campaign and also had enough money to pay your tuition at American after you were too stupid to get into GW or Georgetown. Color me impressed.

http://www.wonkette.com/archives/what-hath-stephanopoulos-wrought-017434.php

Dewey Beach Blog

2004-07-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

So me and the girls (9 of us total) went to Dewey Beach this weekend. For once, no drama (last year H told R that S and me were talking smack about her and R got upset) and no vomiting (H puked all over the place and blocked access to the toilet all night)!! I was very excited about that. And wings to go at 3 am. First night, went to Eds, then Rusty Rudder. Had jello shots with whipped cream...danced...chatted with cute boys and the girls...don't remember what comes after...oh yeah, wings. Second night, went to crabs, then Rusty Rudder. Had shots in a tube...danced...chatted with the girls and cute boys...after...wings...sleep. Apparently I kicked M in my sleep, sorry M!

M met a boy. He's not from DC, but I hope he calls her! He wanted to talk. No seriously he did. He made up "make out" stories to tell his friends because he wanted to talk and not actually make out with her. How adorable! R and her boy wound up talking quite a bit too.

I got sorta burned the last day. We didn;t do the trampoline thing on the bay which we did last year and was oodles of fun, particularly when people got stuck on the slide or fell of the trampoline. I got really burnt then anyway, so probably good thing I didn't. I need to reapply about 15 times a day. The few places I only reapplied 3 or 4 times got burnt, including my feetsies! Ow!

Ode to Bosses, From an Intern

2004-07-08T18:11:00.000-04:00

From: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/rnr/35839393.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: anon-35839393@craigslist.org
Date: 2004-07-08, 5:16PM EDT

Ode to Bosses, From an Intern

Oh, bosses, how I hate ye
You are so very stupid

At my job, you sit near me
You yell at me
For being stupid
But today you have brought
Your baby
To work
You are introducing him
Like we care about fawning over your kid

You are the worst things
to happen to Washington
Since the 10 cent metro fare increase
(you are even more useless)

You hide from going out
Like a bunch of old nesting raccoons
Last night at a stop sign
I had to wait 10 minutes
For you to cross
With your walker
You might also shop at
Sears
What are you,
150 years old?

Oh bosses, you are so stupid
Why do you think we even
Care about Wonkette

I have seven words for you

One day I will be your boss

Ode to Interns

2004-07-08T18:10:00.000-04:00

Not the most creative or well-worded ode. Makes me wonder where this guy works. But we can all understand the sentiment.

From: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/rnr/35334998.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: anon-35334998@craigslist.org
Date: 2004-07-02, 12:35PM EDT

Oh, interns, how I hate ye
You are so very stupid

At my job, you sit near me
You get yelled at
For being stupid
But today you have brought
Your dad
To work
You are introducing him
Like a total douchebag

You are the worst things
to happen to Washinton
Since Panda-mania
(you are even more useless)

You roam the streets of Georgetown
Like a horde of wild animals
Last night at a stop sign
I had to wait 10 minutes
For 100 of you to cross
With your stupid Lush bags
You might also shop at
Commander Salamander
What are you,
In high school?

The fourth of July
Will be the worst intern day
In the history of stupid interns
They will take the metro
To the mall, which will be near
Their stupid Hill office buildings

Oh interns, you are so stupid
I bet you have never even
Heard of Wonkette

I have three words for you

Go fuck yourselves

Sweet! No work on Sundays in Virginia!

2004-07-02T10:21:00.000-04:00

Virginia's legislature and governor have accidentally resurrected an archaic law that allows employees to demand Sunday as a "day of rest," throwing many of the state's business leaders into a panic about the possibility that stores, airlines, hospitals and factories might be forced to shut down on weekends.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21059-2004Jul1.html