Won't you help to sing these songs of freedom?

To the people reading this blog - I don't know your personal politics. You're probably one of my friends, so I have a good feeling, but I am trying to be far from presumptuous.

I am reasonably certain that you don't like war though, especially needless wars fought almos entirely for naught and at the cost of tens of thousands of lives around the world. Only scary people wars like that.

If you find yourself in this bad war-hating, peace-loving, humanity-embracing category of good folk, I suggest that you come out to the GIGANTIC RALLY TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ in DC tomorrow afternoon and evening. Highlights to include - the largest protest and march during the entire conflict, a bunch of great speakers including Cindy Sheehan, great bands during the accompanying concert, and JOAN BAEZ. Come on, Joan Baez, it's our chance to be hippies! If you want to be part of a movement much greater than yourself that actually shows this administration and the world that we will not be silent any longer, COME OUT TO THE RALLY!!

For more information, go to
www.unitedforpeace.com
www.operationceasefire.com

Sappy music for all!!

It was been a hectic couple of days. The fall Board meeting season has come to a close, thank God. In case you didn't know, I am responsible for my company's Board of Trustees meetings. These are day-long meetings in which the richest, testiest, and smartest people I have ever met get in a room together and look to me for guidance. They don't know what's going on, I am supposed. I make sure there's a room and an agenda and food and a reason for them all to take a day out of their busy lives and pay attention to Rare. It's a whole freaking lot of pressure, proceeded by a big, fancy schmoozy dinner. The kind of dinner that I hate a try to avoid. Instead I had to go to and run it all.

I'm proud to say, it all went swimmingly. All of the worrying and fretting was for naught. The dinner was at Nora, an organic four star restaurant in DC, and it was delicious. The meeting was productive and went off without a hitch. The presentations all worked, the roof didn't cave in, nothing went wrong. Fantastic. Then I came home and slept, because I figured I had been working for about 48 hours straight and deserved a nap.

The weekend was filled with Courtney, Katharine, my new favorite show and product of humanity House, some good Bollywood, and the Maryland Wine Festival. It was so much fun to play college again. We hung out, got chinese food, and spoke in the language that only college girlfriends understand. That was my college experience - generally just being with my friends, talking for hours. I think this is different from the common college reminisence. I don't wistfully remember keg parties or that trust beer pong. I have mostly fond memories of the debauchery, but I have incredible memories of the friendship. The circumstances are different now. It takes a little longer for us to get together, a little more work, but the heart of it is still the same. That's nice.

Tonight is Lizzie and Brendan's modified Thanksgiving dinner and it's time to make the stuffing - so off I go.

Sappy songs to you all!

The Head of FEMA should really have some experience

They always say that internships will get you far in life. Looks like it worked out pretty well for Michael Brown, our bumbling head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Turns out the extensive "disaster management" experience he claimed while serving as Assistant City Manager prior to his post at FEMA was actually less on-the-ground and more administrative than he and the President that hired him had originally let on. Turns out that he was actually the Assistant TO the City Manager, giving old Brownie (President Bush's term of endearment for the poor guy so over his head he resembles Jefferson Parrish) a position slightly lower than MINE.

"The Washington Post reported on Friday that five of eight top FEMA officials had come to their jobs with virtually no experience in handling disasters. The agency's top three leaders, including Brown, had ties to Bush's 2000 presidential campaign or the White House advance operation.

Former Edmond city manager Bill Dashner recalled for Time that Brown had worked for him as an administrative assistant while attending Central State University.

"Mike used to handle a lot of details. Every now and again I'd ask him to write me a speech. He was very loyal. He was always on time. He always had on a suit and a starched white shirt," Dashner told Time."

There are very few words to describe the damage and loss that Bush's arrogance and cavalier attitude towards leadership have caused this nation - "tragic" just doesn't seem enough.

In response to the First Lady's recent comments that criticisms of racism aimed at her husband's administration were "disgusting," I'd suggest Mrs. Bush take a look at the bodies floating in the streets, the despair on the faces of a nation whose government couldn't shorten its vacation to take care of the largest natural disaster in its history, and the smirk on her husband's face as he goes to bed every night knowing that he got away with it all. That's truly disgusting. Your politics kill people, lady, it's time you faced up to that.

For full stories -
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&u=/nm/20050909/pl_nm/brown_dc_1
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/08/katrina.laurabush/index.html

Hungry Like the Wolf

It's 8:30 and I'm not at work yet - in fact, I'm sitting on my bed in a towel, revelling in the non-workness of it all. It's fantastic. I have to head into the city to visit the World Wildlife Fund this morning for Board meeting prep. Perhaps they will give me something with their panda logo on it. That'd be sweet! Unfortunately, Lisa, the assistant I'm meeting, and I don't get along all that well because I think she's bad at her job and she doesn't like to respond to emails for months at a time. When this kid is telling you you're bad at your assistant job, it's dire straights.

Actually, that's not true, as I'm told over and over again, I'm really good at my job. Which will make leaving it in two years all the more enjoyable. It's wonderful to be totally and utterly missed when you leave a place.

That's about all for this morning. I think I am going to start a new blog that will just cover the impending marathon training, jeez that starts this Saturday. Yikes. Please give me money and your knees!! I'll update later with the address.

Really need to get dressed, Lisa deserves better than a towel. Oooh! Martha on Today!