randomduck

Activity: road cycling
Location: Dupont Circle > Mt. Vernon, VA > Dupont Circle
Distance: 37.9 miles (moderately hilly)
Duration: 2:23
Weather: mostly cloudy, 80 degrees
Avg HR: 135 (max 161)
Type: aerobic

A solo ride down the Mt. Vernon Trail to George Washington’s estate in Virginia. The crowds along the stretch of trail closest to DC were thick, but past Alexandria the trail was fairly open. I rode down to Mt. Vernon into a steady headwind, which meant for an easy, tailwind-aided return leg. The security around The Mall was tight and, to my estimate, somewhat overkill and useless. Sure, it’s a dog-and-pony show that makes some folk feel safe. But for locals, it’s a pain and stupid.

Case in point: on my return trip, I decided to go through the secure area to save a few minutes. Getting into the area was easy: no line at Memorial Bridge, friendly security folk, and no traffic on the bridge. Getting out of the secured area on 23rd and Constitution, on the other hand, was not easy. I was stopped by a Nat’l Park Police officer who insisted that I couldn’t leave the secure area until after the fireworks. I calmly pleaded with her to let me out, as I’m a local (the aforementioned address is about a mile from The Burrow), but she kept saying no. I asked to speak with a supervisor, but the officer kept trying to have her way with me. Eventually, after five minutes of waiting, a supervisor was contacted and I was allowed to pass.

If the Nat’l Park Service would simply post at the entrances that it’s not possible to exit before the end of the show, that would be fine, and I would’ve diverted to Key Bridge for my return. But given there was no such warning, I didn’t know that the useless security measures would cause me such grief. And, frankly speaking, the measures taken for security didn’t seem too likely to prevent anything from happening: if somebody had wanted to cause mayhem, it would’ve been fairly simple.

That said, I found it somewhat funny that, less than 20 minutes after I’d made my way home, the NPS evacuated The Mall because of an incoming storm. So all of the people who had dealt with the NPS “security” had to get screened once more.

Later on, sprite and I got on our bikes to ride to a proper viewing area for the big fireworks display. We were a little late getting out of the house, so the fireworks were scenery along the way to the Kennedy Center, where we watched the last third of the show.

Popularity: 49% [?]

Tonight’s Countdown featured Keith Olbermann’s most pointed, focused and necessary commentary on the corrupt folly and danger that is the presidency of George Walker Bush that has ever been set to video or audio archive.

Olbermann’s point: Bush must resign to preserve what’s left of this delicate union we call the United States of America.

And I agree with him 100 percent. And just to make things right: Cheney should resign, too.

And both should be tried for crimes against the United States and the people of this great country.

Crooks & Liars has the full video, as well as a full transcript of Olbermann’s powerful piece, and I urge everybody - Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative, American or non-American - to watch the piece, hear it out, and simplydo something to bring back a true moral center to the United States.

Bush and his theocon friends have so warped the definitions of what “morality” is that it’s no wonder that the United States is no longer held in high esteem by most of the world. Recent elections in France and Germany, and the turnover of power in the United Kingdom, point to this reality: the world is no longer willing to take our word on anything. We are no longer “The Greatest Nation”; rather, we are listing ever closer to the edge of irrelevance on the world political stage.

Since taking office in January 2001, the Bush administration has done more damage to this country than any foreign or separatist power ever managed to do before. The Constitution is in tatters. Civil liberties are mostly a thing of the past. Intelligent reason is damned by the powers that be, replaced by pseudo-religious zealotry and closed-mindedness that borders on the cult-like.

And congress needs to wake up and take action.
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Popularity: 69% [?]

Three things to ponder - not all of them beautiful:

• The cheering section along Park Central Road in Catoctin Mountain Park was reminiscent of a moment in Le Tour. These folks must’ve cheered on every rider on our club ride, and made us all redouble our efforts as we clawed our way to the summit. The shot of adrenaline and dopamine from the cheers makes even the most awful climbs a lot of fun.
• After Sen. Joe Lieberman’s appearance on Face The Nation yesterday where he called for military strikes against Iran, I think it’s high time that Sen. Harry Reid remove him from any and all committee leadership positions. It’s this kind of reckless swinging of swords that makes the United States less credible in the eyes of the rest of the world. Joe: if you want to go against the majority of your claimed “party of allegiance” and side with the same dimwits who think that the war in Iraq is still a good idea, you might as well wear the emblem of the pachyderm, rather than the ass. Why the people of Connecticut sent this clown back for another term is beyond me, as he’s an embarrassment to the state’s political legacy.
• A happy 48th birthday to Hugh “Bertie Wooster” Laurie, comedian and actor extraordinaire.

Popularity: 44% [?]

Since Bush vetoed Congress’ Iraq funding bill - with Congress failing to override the veto - the Dems are in a bit of a tizzy. Some are willing to retreat to the useless and already-proven-pointless benchmarks approach: setting a timetable for the Iraqi government, while continuing an all-military approach toward getting the U.S. out of the war.

But this won’t work. It’ll play into Bush’s hand, and totally betray the will of the American people.

That’s why I really like what RockRichard has to say about a different approach. This approach seemingly gives Bush and the theocons what they want, while dragging them through the mud repeatedly during election season:

Sending the same bill back to the President is a viable option. However, I do not put the President above holding the troops hostage in a war zone without funding so that he can save himself face. Hell, he’s kept us in a war zone for four years just to save face. So this is what I propose: Give the President a “clean” bill with no strings. No deadlines. Exactly what he wants. But the bill should only authorize funding for 45 days. This way, Republicans (usually from rural districts who provide most military recruits, and are most personally affected by the war) who are facing reelection in the other election next Fall will have to go on the record supporting the President and his failed policy. We continue the cycle. Every 45 days we pass a withdrawal bill, and if the President vetoes it, we send a “clean” 45 day bill. Repugs will grow tired of the President dragging their names through the mud. I assure you, we will only need to this twice before we have enough votes to override a veto.

Yes, he resorts to some name-calling, but I like the concept: every 45 days, force the Republican theocons to justify and re-justify their support of the war, and during an election season where being seen as a supporter of the Iraq war is an increasing liability.

It might be worth a shot.

Popularity: 50% [?]

Want proof of a naïve voting populace? Look no further than the zany antics of Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who resorts to non-creative name calling about western politicians who speak truth to power.

Yup - Shurtleff still buys into the beat-to-death and entirely untrue argument connecting Iraq, 9/11 and Al-Qaida. He beats on a tired, worn-out drum, and look like a fool doing so. Let’s face it: he’s no Rocky Anderson in terms of conviction, and this silly lip-flapping exercise was completely out-of-character for an AG who isn’t known for taking a stand on anything.

So when he does take a stand, he looks like an out-of-touch dimwit. He doesn’t get what Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) says in his latest campaign ad: “stubborn is not a good foreign policy.”

Even the people of Utah - the “reddest” state in the union - aren’t buying the “Iraq war is good” mantra that BushCo has been trying to force-feed to the people since 2001.

And a major tip ‘o the hat to the BYU students and other Utahns who protested Vice President Cheney’s commencement speech at the private LDS university. Thank you, dear protesters, for showing that there are free-thinking people behind the “Zion Curtain” - and showing that their numbers are growing.

I can’t wait for 2008….

Popularity: 55% [?]

Watching Sen. Lieberman (CFL-CT) on Meet The Press shows that he doesn’t know a thing about international affairs. Seriously: he knows nothing. He doesn’t understand the way the Middle East works, he doesn’t understand how the war in Iraq has done nothing to improve the security of the United States, or of his beloved Israel, or of the Middle East, as a whole.

And now Joe is once again saying that the people of the United States oppose Bush’s “new” Iraq strategy (and its not-so-veiled threats against Iran and Syria) at their own peril. Joe, you’re dead wrong. Lieberman is simply out of touch with reality. All the war has done is destroy the United States’ credibility in all matters foreign - something that this country can ill afford, and something that will likely take decades to rebuild.
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Popularity: 53% [?]