progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital
I know I flog to death the issue of bicycling as a form of transportation. Particularly in our fair city. Well, it turns out I’m not the only zealot. I got into a conversation with DC Councilperson Tommy Wells about this just last Saturday at the DC for Democracy picnic. Wells is very serious about using biking to reduce the congestion and pollution in the District.
He did have an important observation about his participation in Bike to Work Day last Friday. His commute down Pennsylvania Ave would have been dangerous if he weren’t in a pack. And, of course, it’s not always possible to call up 5-10 of your closest friends so you can have the protection of large numbers. The main thoroughfares, and I’m thinking of Wisconsin and Connecticut in particular, are a deathtrap during rush hour. Yes, I see people biking on both streets, but they’re taking their lives in their hands. This is a problem.
But, that’s not what I wanted to talk about. It turns out that at the moment I was talking to Wells some dude I’ve heard of was making the case for biking in DC in his own fashion:
If you found yourself doing a double take along the Potomac Saturday, that really was Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes biking the C&O Canal towpath into Georgetown, reports the Reliable Source’s Amy Argetsinger. The Hollywood twosome made a weekend trip to Potomac to visit Redskins owner Dan Snyder and wife Tanya, Snyder spokesman Karl Swanson confirmed yesterday. The two couples (with at least two bodyguards) biked down to Georgetown and hung out at the waterfront park, where they drew a crowd. TomKat graciously signed autographs and posed for photos…. They stopped off to dine at the Old Angler’s Inn on the way back.
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— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
You can try Counter Culture coffees at: - Baked and Wired, 1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, 202-333-2500; www.bakedandwired.com [Link]
In sum, we concluded that the evidence showed that Goodling violated both federal law and Department policy, and therefore committed misconduct... [Link]
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A 22-year-old bicyclist was struck by a garbage truck and killed just north of Dupont Circle today, authorities said. Police and fire vehicles converged on the scene at 20th and R streets NW, snarling Connecticut Avenue traffic during the morning rush. [Link]
We're asking you to put some of the money you plan to give Obama "in escrow" until he demonstrates progressive leadership on the issues we care about, like warrantless wiretapping. [Link]
The report notes that the administration has gone to “unprecedented lengths to control and suppress information about the human cost” of the wars. [Link]
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It appeared to confirm for the first time in an official examination many of the allegations from critics who charged that the Justice Department had become overly politicized during the Bush administration. [Link]
"After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be ans [Link]
It gives me a terrible mental image of the whole country linking arms and goose-stepping in unison, with the politicians out in front doing a straight-armed salute. [Link]
BOULTON: There are those who would say look, lets take Guantanamo Bay, and Abu Ghraib, and rendition and all those things and to them that is the complete opposite of freedom. BUSH: Of course, if you want to slander America. [Link]
In a subsequent e-mail to the employee, Cargol described himself as “a rub-your-belly, grab-your-balls, give-you-a-hug, slap-your-back, pull-your-dick, squeeze-your-hand, cheek-your-face, and pat-your-thigh kind of guy.” [Link]
Democracy Now! Radio and TV News [Link]
Let's take a look at how the Los Angeles Times covered the new Senate Intelligence Committee report on the claims made as part of selling the Iraq war, and compare it to how the editorial page of the Washington Post, by which I mean Fred Hiatt, sees the e [Link]
Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated "political propaganda campaign" led by President Bush and aimed at "manipulating sources of public opinion" an [Link]
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May 23rd, 2007 at 11:22 am
It might help the cause more if we could get Tom Cruise to come out against biking instead. Similarly, I’m glad that the LaRouchites seem to have changed their focus from advocating the impeachment of Bush and Cheney to spreading the word that global warming is a hoax.
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:20 pm
I hadn’t thought about that angle. Let’s see if we can a statement from TomKat against voting rights for DC.
May 26th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Maybe they can do a joint announcement with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez. That should put the kibosh on any Republican filibuster or veto plans. I’d consider inviting Osama bin Laden, but Bush’s relationship with him is more complicated.