I'm thinking about changing my template because as much as I love the color blue, this color is becoming a little obnoxious.

I've been doing a lot of research on stem cell research lately, and I'm pretty conflicted about how I feel about it. On one hand I understand the argument against it, that these are human embryos they are experimenting on, and at what cost do we allow this type of experimentation? How can we overlook the fact that these embryos are human beings and not just a blob of cells? But then I can also see the potential for stem cell research, and how they can really be used to perhaps find a cure for some really devastating diseases. And the fact that these embryos are being made usually for infertile couples, and then either destroyed or sitting in freezers for years and years. If they are never going to be used, isn't it better that they be put to use for research purposes? I suppose we could just ban the creation of embryos in a lab, but that wouldn't fly either. This is just a really sticky subject, and I have no concrete position on this. Just something to think about though as the debate rages.

Can't wait till Saturday afternoon! After that, the fun begins!!

Saw a pic of the bridesmaid dress. Oy. Major weight loss regime begins NOW. Otherwise I will look v. v. unattractive. I'm just like Bridget Jones! Now where the hell is my Mark Darcy?

This morning I saw the sunrise. Got up reaaaalllly early to take the Kim's to the airports, and now I'm at work. Super sleepy.

I had a really fun weekend! It's always fun hanging out with the Kim's. We ate A LOT. And laughed a lot. And shopped a lot. I did a whole lotta shopping this weekend. Spending moratorium (minus presents) starting NOW.

SO BUMMED that NU lost on Saturday! I was really hoping to go to Nashville. Maybe next year. Go Cats!!

Another slooooooow week at the office. I don't think things will really pick up until the new year, so until then... lots of internet surfing. Yay.

Update: The turkey was awesome. Turned out great. Thanks to Mama Yu for her advice. Thanksgiving was awesome. We ate sooooo much. I thanksgiving food!

Thursday all we did was watch dvd's and eat. Yesterday we headed downtown, where I studied and the Kim's did the museum thing. Then we had dinner at Jaleo (yum! sangria!) and toured the monuments at night. We walked from Metro Center to the ellipse to the WWII Memorial to the Korean War Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial to the Vietnam Memorial then caught the Metro to Foggy Bottom. That's a WHOLE lotta walkin'.

Plan for the day: Old Town Alexandria and Five Guys, maybe Annandale for dinner? We shall see!

Things I am thankful for:
Good Friends-- in DC, in California, in Chicago, all around the world
My family-- pretty much the coolest, funniest, most loving and goofy people in the world. Mom, Dad, Phil, Sarah (and Jo) rock.
My health
That God always provides for me in every way I need or want.
I have a good job!
Jane, Sylvia, Susanna, Sophia and I are celebrating Thanksgiving together!

Susanna is thankful for family. Jane is thankful for a roof over her head. Sophia is thankful for friends.

We are all so blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving, and God Bless.

I'm at work right now, and it is SO SLOW. I have really nothing to do. So, I'm just sitting around, surfing the internet, watching music videos online etc. Yuuup. This is what they pay me the big bucks for. hahah.

Jane and Susanna and Jane's friend Sophia came in last night. Great to see old friends. Kind of surreal too-- Jane's at my dinner table! Susanna's sitting at my desk! What?! Lots of big plans for the weekend, I am very excited.

Yesterday I was on the Metro, and a man got on who was probably 6-8 inches taller than the doors. He was eye level with the poles I have to stand on my tiptoes to reach. He couldn't stand up straight in the train. He must have been almost 7 feet tall. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be that tall. As a shorty myself, I have no concept of what life would be like as a tall person. Do they see things differently? Is the air different up there? What's it like being able to reach something on the top shelf of a cabinet?

Talked to Jo for like an hour yesterday. Wedding plans are full steam ahead. CRAZY!

Changed my template! I just decided it was time for a change. And I like blue.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm reminded of past Thanksgivings. I love Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving food. I love taking time off from school/work to hang out with family and friends and give thanks for the blessings in life. And eating a lot. Growing up, Thanksgiving was usually the immediate family, plus whatever cousins were around. It involved a lot of food. I haven't been home since senior year of high school, which is sad. But I've really enjoyed the past couple of Thanksgivings. Let's see. Freshman year I went to Emmy's house, after eating at the AACM refugee dinner (site of the infamous Jo's tooth v. chin up pole battle. The chin up pole won.) Sophomore year I spent Thanksgiving at Emmy's house/farm, where I was introduced to the joys of taffy apple salad. Junior year.... Suki and Jase came and spent Thanksgiving with me and Sarah, and we cooked for the refugee dinner in the Shep kitchen. Senior year Jase came out and me, him, Sarah and Julie all hung out in Shepard and had a rockin' good time. But last year was the best-- me, Sarah, Jane, Suki, Suhan and Jason all hanging out at Wellesley, cooking Thanksgiving dinner in a Wellesley kitchen and trying to scrounge up all the pots and pans we could. Awesome. Thanksgiving is a time for family, and I'm thankful that I've been able to spend it the last couple years with my school and church families.

Tonight, I am going to start defrosting the turkey. And so it begins.

Tired. Didn't sleep well last night. Tossed and turned. Bleccchhh. Need more caffeine!

Saturday I had to be at work at 8 AM! Sucked man. After work, I went to a baby shower for Alice, which was very fun. Then I stayed home and "studied." Sunday was church, cleaning, and studying. Watched "American Dreams," which made me cry! And then later on watched "Searching for David's Heart" this EXTREMELY SAD movie on ABC Family about a girl whose brother dies and then she goes looking for his heart, which the family donated. It made me cry too. I am such a sap.

Kim's are coming tomorrow!! YAYA!!!

Looks like NU is going to either the Music City or Sun Bowl. Man, I would loooove to go to a bowl game. Who's in??

Someone's got a case of the Mondays!!

This is the Lead Editorial from the Washington Post. I can't believe this Congress and this Administration and the way they blatantly ignore presssing social issues in this country. They are abandoning the people who need their help the most. It's irresponsible, unkind and unjust.

Children Left Behind
Friday, November 19, 2004

DEFICIT SPENDING didn't bother the Bush administration when the issue was tax cuts. Congress had no trouble finding "savings" to supposedly offset new costs when the costs were in a corporate tax bill stuffed with special-interest provisions. But when it comes to health care for poor children, different, stricter rules seem to apply. This week's lame-duck Congress is poised to leave town without taking any action to restore $1 billion in federal funding for children's health care that wasn't used before its Sept. 30 expiration and therefore reverted to the Treasury. Republican lawmakers say they don't oppose renewing the funding but insist that it has to be paid for with cuts elsewhere. The result is that some 200,000 low-income children will be at risk of losing health coverage in the next three years.

The issue involves the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which was launched in 1997 to help states provide coverage to low-income children whose families earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid. With $40 billion in federal matching funds over 10 years, this was the largest expansion of health coverage for children since the adoption of Medicaid in the 1960s; last year alone the program enrolled 5.8 million children. Even as the share of Americans without health insurance is growing, the percentage of children lacking coverage has stayed stable, in large part thanks to Medicaid and SCHIP.

But under SCHIP's complicated use-it-or-lose-it formula, unspent money is going back to the Treasury just as some states are starting to run out of money -- money they need not to expand coverage but to keep serving the children who already have it. Between now and 2007, 18 states (including Maryland) are projected to have insufficient federal funding, which would require them to drop some children or find money elsewhere.

"America's children must have a healthy start in life," President Bush declared in accepting the Republican nomination in September. "In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government's health insurance programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need." Stirring rhetoric, but what's the point of providing information and then failing to provide money? It's a dubious sort of fiscal responsibility that only kicks in when poor children's health is at stake.

Awesome. Yay Republicans.

Debt Limit to Rise to $8.18 Trillion
Tax Cut, Spending Caps Are Rejected
By Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writer

The strict rules that once limited tax cuts and entitlement spending increases lapsed two years ago. Limits on spending lost their teeth. This year, Congress failed to pass a budget altogether.
Last night, with the federal government warning that it was on the verge of defaulting on its debts, the House rejected efforts to reimpose restrictions on tax cuts and spending, then joined the Senate to raise the federal debt limit by $800 billion, to $8.18 trillion.

The collapse of statutory restraints on the growing budget deficit has alarmed Wall Street, befuddled the Treasury Department and elicited calls for a rethinking of the way the government handles its authority to tax its citizens and spend those proceeds.

"The fact is, very little [budgetary restraint] is left in any real form or substance," said Robert D. Reischauer, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, now president of the Urban Institute.

With last night's passage of the debt ceiling increase, the government's borrowing limit has climbed by $2.23 trillion since President Bush took office: by $450 billion in 2002, by a record $984 billion in 2003 and by $800 billion this year. Just the increase in the debt ceiling over the past three years is nearly 2 1/2 times the entire federal debt accumulated between 1776 and 1980.

A recession, a sluggish economy and five tax cuts in four years -- coupled with soaring defense spending on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and rising domestic spending -- have turned record surpluses that Bush inherited into a record deficit of $413 billion in the past fiscal year.

Economists and budget hawks fear that rising deficits are contributing to the steadily declining value of the dollar, which will increase consumer costs, and that those deficits eventually will drive up interest rates and slow the economy.

... By passing such a huge increase in the debt limit, with no strings attached, Congress has effectively given the Bush administration a blank check to continue running large deficits, said Stephen S. Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley. "An open-ended license for this kind of fiscal irresponsibility is a recipe for disaster," he said.

The other day I bought a 10 lb frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. It's going to be my first time cooking one, and I'm a little bit... scared/anxious/excited. Seriously, I feel like I'm preparing to have a baby or go to war. I've been scouring turkey websites, talking to my mom, reading articles on how to cook a great turkey. I just hope I don't burn/maim/cut/dismember/hurt myself in the process. Oy. But man, I'm excited about thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of all time. And it's the kind of meal that lasts and lasts, for days and days! Awesome.

Do you ever get to the point where you hate all your clothes? I'm at that point right now. Major shopping spree is in order. Unfortunately, I got no dough. So I just gotta keep hating my clothes.

Watched "Lost" last night. That french lady was freaky. Also, I dig Sayid, Kate spends an awful lot of time staring out and looking pretty, the golf thing was awesome, and did you notice the Korean girl wearing a tank top?

Week's almost over. Thank goodness.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican Party

GOP Pushes Rule Change to Protect DeLay's Post- Washington Post

House Republicans proposed changing their rules last night to allow members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership post, a move that would benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, according to GOP leaders.

The proposed rule change, which several leaders predicted would win approval at a closed meeting today, comes as House Republicans return to Washington feeling indebted to DeLay for the slightly enhanced majority they won in this month's elections. DeLay led an aggressive redistricting effort in Texas last year that resulted in five Democratic House members retiring or losing reelection. It also triggered a grand jury inquiry into fundraising efforts related to the state legislature's redistricting actions.

House GOP leaders and aides said many rank-and-file Republicans are eager to change the rule to help DeLay, and will do so if given a chance at today's closed meeting. A handful of them have proposed language for changing the rule, and they will be free to offer amendments, officials said. Some aides said it was conceivable that DeLay and Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) ultimately could decide the move would be politically damaging and ask their caucus not to do it. But Rep. Jack Kingston (Ga.), another member of the GOP leadership, said he did not think Hastert and DeLay would intervene.

House Republicans adopted the indictment rule in 1993, when they were trying to end four decades of Democratic control of the House, in part by highlighting Democrats' ethical lapses. They said at the time that they held themselves to higher standards than prominent Democrats such as then-Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (Ill.), who eventually pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to prison.

The GOP rule drew little notice until this fall, when DeLay's associates were indicted and Republican lawmakers began to worry that their majority leader might be forced to step aside if the grand jury targeted him next. Democrats and watchdog groups blasted the Republicans' proposal last night.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last night: "If they make this rules change, Republicans will confirm yet again that they simply do not care if their leaders are ethical. If Republicans believe that an indicted member should be allowed to hold a top leadership position in the House of Representatives, their arrogance is astonishing."

House Republicans recognize that DeLay fought fiercely to widen their majority, and they are eager to protect him from an Austin-based investigation they view as baseless and partisan, said Rep. Eric I. Cantor (Va.), the GOP's chief deputy whip.

"That's why this [proposed rule change] is going to pass, assuming it's submitted, because there is a tremendous recognition that Tom DeLay led on the issue to produce five more seats" for the Republicans, Cantor said after emerging from a meeting in which the Republican Conference welcomed new members and reelected Hastert and DeLay as its top leaders.

... A Texas grand jury in September indicted three of DeLay's political associates on charges of using a political action committee to illegally collect corporate donations and funnel them to Texas legislative races. The group, Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee, is closely associated with DeLay. DeLay says he has not acted improperly and has no reason to believe he is a target of the grand jury, which continues to look into the TRMPAC matter.

The House ethics committee on Oct. 6 admonished DeLay for asking federal aviation officials to track an airplane involved in the highly contentious 2003 redistricting battle, and for conduct that suggested political donations might influence legislative action. The ethics panel deferred action on a complaint related to TRMPAC, noting that the grand jury has not finished its work.
The Texas investigation is headed by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, an elected Democrat who has been bitterly criticized by DeLay supporters. Yesterday, Cantor called Earle's efforts "a witch hunt."

By the way: Man Sets Himself on Fire Near White House

The side of the White House he burned himself at is about a block or two away from my building. Awesome.

Living in DC can be really crazy sometimes.

So at work on Friday, some of my co-workers (all a year younger than me) were making fun of me for being such an old lady. They always go out on weekends and party, and I usually stay home and sleep. I realized this weekend that they are so right, but that I care so little. :) I like being a lazy bum. On Friday, I slept at midnight, after going to Trader Joe's and watching some TV, and then I slept until 11 on Saturday. Spent the day cleaning and eating, headed to Pentagon City to do a little shopping and then met up with Jarva, Bharvi and Hana for some dessert. Sunday I went to church and studied.

It was an awesome weekend.

I am so excited about the upcoming weeks! This weekend baby shower and church Thanksgiving meal, Tuesday the Kim sisters are flying in for Thanksgiving, then Sarah's coming into town, then I'm going home for Christmas!! Can't wait.

Colin Powell resigned as Secretary of State. It's a pity, cause he's on of the only people in the Cabinet I could stand. I felt like he was moderate enough, and favored diplomacy over unilateral action-- unlike Cheney and Rumsfeld, who I think would invade Canada if there was oil and money involved. It's going to be a much more hard line approach to foreign policy with Condi, Rumsfeld and Cheney involved, which probably means that the rest of the world is going to hate us even more. If that's possible.

Man O Man, I hope NU wins the next two football games. Then we'll be bowl bound! Woo hoo! I hope they get into the Music City Bowl. That way I can make a visit to Joy's home state of Tennessee! Who wants to come with?? Road Trip!!!

Some exciting news about my buddy Ankur!!


"Medill alumnus AnkurBahl has won a Marshall Scholarship, one of the most prestigious of all academic fellowships, equivalent to the Rhodes. Ankur was interviewed by a Marshall committee this weekend in San Francisco, where he was told that he has won a Marshall. Formal announcement of the award will be made in about a week following a meeting of the British Ambassador's Advisory Council. A Marshall Scholarship provides two years of all-expense-paid study at any British university. The scholarships were started by an Act of Parliament in 1953 as a way to commemorate the Marshall Plan and to thank the American people. Up to 40 Marshall scholars are selected each year. While Medill has had three Rhodes scholars over the years, Ankur ranks as our first Marshall winner. He entered Medill in September 1999 and finished the Accelerated Master's Program last December, receiving the bachelor's degree "magna cum laude." Ankur completed the Teaching Television Program in the fall of 2001 at KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, SD, and last fall, he was a Medill News Service reporter in Washington for WCAX-TV in Burlington, VT. This academic year, Ankur is a Fulbright Scholar. He is studying ballet, jazz and modern dance at CAFEDANSE, a conservatory in Aix-en-Provence, France. In a statement submitted to the Marshall committee, Ankur wrote: "As a Marshall Scholar, I will undertake two courses of study essential to accomplishing my goal of becoming an artist and scholar chronicling Indian migration. First, I will read for an MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Second, I will pursue an MA in Performance from Goldsmiths College at the University of London.... My vision is to create performances about Indian migrants that encourage broader understanding between native-born and immigrant people." Congratulations, Ankur!!

A message from Sara Vaux, director of the NU Fellowships Office, is below, followed by information on the Marshall from the program's web site.

AnkurBahl, a Medill alum and Fulbright Scholar to France, has won a Marshall Scholarship! He plans to engage in two programs of study in London to prepare to become an "artist and scholar" who chronicles Indian migration and interprets the immigrant community's experience for non-immigrant audiences. He will read for the MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies at SOAS, then seek the MA in Performance from Goldsmiths College (both University of London). In his own words, he plans to "study the work of immigrant artists to examine how artistic forms are affect by relocation.... I intend to work as a performance artist, using Bharatanatyam [south-Indian classical dance] as a base to tell the stories of immigrant communities." Among Ankur's many NU mentors we list Billy Siegenfeld, Jack Doppelt, Larry Stuelpnagel, and Joe Angotti, and the Medill talent search activists: Roger Boye and Michele Bitoun, the two scouts who first called Ankur to our attention; Richard Roth; and Loren Ghiglione. A few Ankur facts: Team World Champion and US National Event Champion in Jump Rope; NU Homecoming King; founder of WASABI! (Asian-American improv comedy), Wm. Randolph Hearst Foundation National Television News Competitions scholar.......for starters!"

Ankur is one of my oldest friends (and my first ever formal date) and I am SUPER proud of him. Yay Ankur!!!

Today is Veterans Day! But I'm at work. No day off for me! The city is pretty empty, cause all the government employees have the day off. But I guess it's okay, cause we get the day after Thanksgiving off.

Things have been pretty chill for me lately. Been watching a whole lot of TV. Las Vegas! Gilmore Girls! CSI! West Wing! Lost! Seriously, it's disgusting how much TV I watch. Starting from tonight, I'm going to try to watch less, and read and study more.

Who wants to read my personal statement and laugh and tell me how cheesy and awful it is??! Any volunteers?

Guess what I'm doing when I go home? Gonna get me some tickets to watch the stage version of my FAVORITE Christmas movie of all time-- WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! The musical is playing in San Francisco, and I'm gonna watch. NICE.

Thanksgiving in two weeks! Who has a good turkey recipe?

If you haven't read Sy1via's blog yet, please do so. I think it is beautifully written and very smart. It's the entry from Thursday, November 4.

What an uneventful weekend. Friday night I went to small group, and ended up hanging out at Noel's place and talking with a bunch of folk till late. Had some great conversation with Noel and Christine-- boy, those guys are smart. I just listen.

Saturday I woke up and decided I needed to finish my personal statement. So I brought my computer to the living room, and typed while watching my West W1ng Season 1 DVD. I finished at around 10:30 pm, still in my pajamas. Then I showered and put on a new pair of pajamas. But at least the rough draft is done. Fun Saturday night moment: Flipping the channels to the exact moment of D1rty Danc1ng where Patr1ck Swayze is walking down the aisle towards Baby with that part sexy/part skeezy look on his face. Too bad I just missed the classic line "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." That movie is... man. Let's just say it's a classic.

Last night, I watched Extreme H0me Make0ver. Much like Joanna, I love me some Extreme H0me Make0ver. Man, I watch that show and without fail, tears spring to my eyes. Just when you think they can't top the sad, inspiring story, they do. Last night they made over the home of a couple who were deaf, and had one hearing son and one son who was blind and autistic. It was beautiful. I love that show.

EMERGENCY!!! Does anyone know where Disc 2 of my Pr1de and Prejud1ce DVD is???? I think I lost it!!! It's gone!!! If you know the whereabouts of this important DVD featuring Co1in F1rth and Jennifer Eh1e, please let me know ASAP.

From Eric Zorn, Chicago Trib columnist:

"U.S. Sen.-elect Barack Obama made that point in his second debate with challenger Alan Keyes, who made incessant, hectoring attempts to claim the moral high ground:

"Well, I think there's something immoral about somebody who's lost their job after 20 years, has no health care, are seeing their pension threatened. I think there's something immoral about young people who've got the grades and the drive to go to college, but just don't have the money."

It's at this level that Democrats/liberals/progressives need to start trying to bridge the "moral values" gap into which John Kerry evidently fell Tuesday. Yes, morality is important. But it's obscene to apply the term to something as ultimately harmless as the legal status conferred upon a gay couple and not apply it to, oh, say, the idea of waging a pre-emptive war based on an ill-supported conjecture or giving huge tax breaks to the richest Americans while cutting funding for education and after-school programs. The left should eagerly embrace the term "moral values" and join the debate.

War is a moral issue.

Tax policy is a moral issue.

Workers' rights is a moral issue.

The environment is a moral issue.

The preservation of civil liberties is a moral issue.

From Donna Britt, Washington Post columnist:

"In a recent column, I noted that the Bible mentions poverty more than 2,000 times. The Good Book refers to homosexuality fewer than a dozen times, often obliquely. Jesus never mentioned homosexuality; same-gender sex didn't even make God's Top Ten list of no-nos. Adultery and premarital sex, also biblically frowned-upon, abound.
Yet gay marriages, and the legal decisions that fueled them, sparked a firestorm that helped consume Kerry's presidential hopes.
In the past year, Americans endured numerous moral outrages, including mounting casualties in Iraq, fresh-faced U.S. soldiers torturing helpless prisoners and a thin but rested-looking Osama bin Laden scolding us from a TV studio. There wasn't a thing we felt we could do about it.
But gay newlyweds' in-your-face exuberance provided a "Fear Factor" moment many Americans didn't have to sit still for.
...
In a nation divided, demonizing the "other" -- whether an antiabortion Republican or a war-despising Democrat -- deepens the rift. Those who automatically judge political opponents as evil, stupid or "un-American" aren't just wrong. They're part of the problem. Those who fear strengthened Republican majorities should recognize their humanity -- and find creative, authentic ways to appeal to it. Those frustrated by the rank, often selfish fears that spurred some to vote Republican must do better at dismantling them. Confronting issues that tempt both sides' rigidity -- abortion, gay rights, the environment, the war -- we must learn to hear the "other's" heartfelt points of view.
We must explain, then defend our views -- not to a backward "enemy," but to fellow citizens whose humanity we can engage.
And we should fight, passionately, for our beliefs. Those who crow about the president winning more votes than any candidate in history fail to mention that Sen. John F. Kerry won the second-most ever. The numbers on both sides represent incredible amounts of energy and conviction that only a fool would underestimate.
The United States' most threatening marriage is the miserable one between its Republican and Democratic halves. Like many marriages, it's an ever-shifting union between squabbling, self-involved partners convinced of each other's misguidedness.
One minute, one partner is on top; the other the next. Power shifts like mercury between them.
What if both partners acknowledged their flaws, and their need of that exasperating "other"? What if before trying to punch, hammer and overwhelm each other with their views, they pondered a poet's wise sentiment:
Pieces fit. People flow together.

Our president wants to make his tax cuts permanent, which means the already largest in history deficit is going to get even larger. To make up for that, since he doesn't want to cut homeland security or defense, it's going to end up being social services, health research, veterans, environment, that is going to suffer. The point of all this? For the rich to get richer. How much do you think the average person middle/low income person is really going to get back? It's going to be the people who make huge amounts of money a year (ahem Bush and family) who are going to reap the most benefits. That's exactly what I call fair and responsible and showing compassion. I mean, hey they earned it right? They should be allowed to keep as much as they possibly can, cause they have all they need and don't need anyone's help at all. Poor people be damned right? Right. Awesome. Sounds awesome.

From the Washington Post:

Analysts Call Outlook for Bush Plan Bleak
Too Much Deficit, Not Enough Revenue
By Jonathan Weisman

President Bush signaled yesterday that he would add personal investment accounts to the Social Security system, simplify the tax code without raising taxes and cut the budget deficit in half, all before he leaves office in 2009.
Ambitious as those promises are, they may be mathematically impossible, budget and policy analysts say.
"It doesn't seem like we're going to see any tightness in U.S. budget policy anytime soon," said Rebecca Patterson, senior currency strategist at Wall Street giant JPMorgan Chase.
....
But in an independent analysis of that budget, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded it would not fulfill that promise. The deficit in fiscal 2004, which ended Sept. 30, was $413 billion. Under Bush's plan for spending and taxes, the deficit would be $258 billion in 2009. If anything, that may understate the size of the deficit in coming years because it does not include any additional costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon is expected to seek an additional $70 billion early next year.
Moreover, the president's budget does not include the cost of a Social Security reform plan that includes the personal investment accounts Bush is demanding. Under such a plan, workers would be allowed to divert one-third or more of their share of Social Security taxes into stocks, bonds or other investments.
Because the diverted money would otherwise have gone to existing Social Security beneficiaries, the funds would have to be made up through additional government borrowing or spending cuts. A CBO analysis of one of the plans drafted by Bush's Social Security commission concluded the near-term cost would be $104.5 billion in 2005, rising to $146.6 billion in 2009.
Given the challenges of the president's Social Security plan amid record budget deficits, some budget analysts had hoped Bush's simultaneous call to simplify the tax code could be used to raise revenue. They reasoned that taxpayers may be willing to dig a little deeper in exchange for a tax system they see as simpler and fairer.
But Bush made it clear yesterday that was not his intention. Any tax code changes would have to bring in the same amount of revenue as the tax code they would replace, he said.
...
To cope with the cost of his agenda, Bush said he would impose "spending discipline" on Congress and spur economic growth to boost tax revenue. But he has also made it clear he would not cut defense or homeland security spending, and he has promised more spending for education.
The remaining spending at Congress's discretion -- transportation, law enforcement, veterans, agriculture, housing, health research, space exploration and national parks -- totaled $346.5 billion in 2004, not much less than the budget deficit. Eliminating all nondefense, non-homeland security spending may not be enough to balance the budget and cover the cost of the president's Social Security plan.
....

Funny picture I stole from Minsoo. Private the internets!!! Clean Air-- Can't sell it, who needs it? Leave no billionaire behind!! 

Still sad. I know I'm a nerd, but I really love this country, which is why I am so disappointed in it.

I've read a lot about values, and how people are voting their values. Somehow, values has come to mean gay marriage and abortion. That is, those values have become more important in many parts of the country-- the south, the midwest-- and people are voting based on that.
It's funny, because I feel like I voted based on values too. Except that my values charge that I vote for social justice, for respecting God's creation in nature, for giving all citizens a fair shot. After weighing what I agreed with and disagreed with him on, I really felt that John Kerry reflected those values better.

And I still can't get over how divided this country is geographically. All the states in the South and Midwest (except Illinois) went Bush, and all the states on the East and West Coast and upper Midwest went Kerry. The rural areas went Bush, the urban areas went Kerry. Are urban areas more open minded and rural areas more ignorant? Are the South and Midwest more Christian and the Coastal States more heathen? Is it because the people in the South are exposed to less diversity and have overall less education? Is it because the people on the Coasts are less likely to go to church? Is the trend of young well-educated professionals flocking to urban areas in mainly Blue States and then settling in the suburbs of those areas going to continue, making the Blue States bluer and the Red States redder?

Maybe the South should secede again. It would probably make things easier on everyone. They seem to pretty much hate those crazy liberal-elite gay-loving race-mixing not-all-Christian heathens on the East and West coasts. Conversely, the other half seems to hate those ultra Christian conservation forcing moral values gun toting bible beating crazies in the South. (but not me. Tennessee may be the south, but it keeps it real with JPark. Word.)

Overall, I really hope the next four years are more tolerant than the last four. I really hope we open our eyes to the desecration and dishonoring of the environment and the lasting poverty and inequality all over the country. I really hope we can remember that Jesus wasn't a Republican or a Democrat. I really hope that everyone can put as much passion and fire into issues like affordable health care and housing, racial equality, poverty and education as they do abortion or gay marriage.

Call it an early, idealistic, Christmas wish.

I am so sad. I half feel like crying, half feel like throwing up. I really fear for this country, and the direction it is headed in. This president is going to appoint at least one, maybe three, new Supreme Court Justices. That’s just scary. What are the next four years going to be like? More of the same? More intolerance and disregard for civil liberties? More disregard for the environment and irresponsible environmental policy? Bigger deficits, which will burden us for decades and decades to come? No responsible policy in Iraq? I really hope that Bush looks around and sees that some of his policies are just not working, and are really unsafe for and harmful for the future of this country.

I just can’t believe he won, that so many people voted for him. Are they not looking around? I know that there are some people who genuinely believe in Republican principles (although, hey, I thought Republicans were supposed to be against big deficits and big government and nation building….?), but it’s just hard for me to see so many people who seem to be blind to the injustice of this administration’s policies. I guess there are too many people out there who make a lot of money and don’t see why they need to give the government any money to help the people around them who don’t have access to the same opportunities as they do; or stay in their comfortable bubble of mommy and daddy’s money and don’t want to give just a little bit of that up to help their fellow citizens; or would rather be content knowing that the president is a good Christian that take the effort to read or get informed about the awful consequences of this administration’s policies; or are so blinded by the president’s faith and good ol’ boy charm that they don’t look at his policies.

Did you know that under this president we have the biggest deficit we’ve ever had in the history of this country? Did you know that under this president, the income disparity in this country has grown and grown? How can we be content knowing that as the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer (or, as the whites and Asians are getting richer, the blacks and Hispanics are getting poorer)? Somehow, those in middle rural America have been hoodwinked—people are living poor and voting rich.

I’m so disappointed right now. I’ll give the president the benefit of the doubt, but I have a nagging suspicion it’s going to be four more years of the same. I guess for some people that’s good—they can keep getting richer, keep feeling safer while young men continue to die in a war that has no end in sight, have no sadness over the fact that the rest of the world thinks we’re arrogant and insensitive to other cultures, and be content trying to make this a Christian nation through oppression, condemnation and fear—forget about love, compassion or grace.

Our country can do so much better, and we’re settling for the status quo. It sucks big time

Does anyone have any information about good grad programs abroad? I am seriously considering leaving this country. Reason, common sense and compassion seem to have left the building. But, as always—God Bless the USA. We’re gonna need it.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

for John Kerry

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

Yesterday was my momma's birthday. Happy birthday Momma. Today is my daddy's birthday. Happy Birthday daddy.

Happy Halloween! Best costume I saw this weekend in Georgetown: a dude took a some styrofoam tubing type of stuff and some wire, and made himeself into a huge paperclip with eyes-- the Microsoft Word help icon. It was hilarious.

Tomorrow is election day!! And I am freakin' stressed out. If Bush wins, and Republicans get a majority in both houses, I'm going to cry. Cause that is going to be freakin disastrous for this country.