Long Time Gone

Keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

and coming up lacking. sometimes. i just have a few more lessons to learn, clearly, which i am doing. so much less pain than in the past, though; such smaller errors and i catch them sooner. still some fine-tuning left to be done.

Yes, it's raining that hard.

April 15 is tax day!

I still think Lorne Michaels shot himself in the foot with his "purge" of many popular cast members (Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, the departures of Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and Jimmy Fallon) and the immediate promotion of several relatively unknown players to key roles. These new people haven't had the chance to become favorites with the audience. This is made all the more clear when I watch reruns from the Jimmy Fallon era. That was my favorite.

I still have way too much on my plate, and my meltdown from the past couple of weeks is still underway, apparently. I'm just not getting the support I need. Sometimes I feel utterly defenseless and just really need someone to rely on completely, and that person doesn't exist in my life, yet.

an in-between-space.

People talk about "prison-industrial complexes" and "military-industrial complexes," but I've just come across an "educational-industrial" complex: the getting-your-child-into-college-at-any-cost-rat-race-industrial-complex. I've been looking for part-time jobs, and inevitably come across openings for tutors, at tutoring places with ritzy-sounding names and extravagant promises for increasing test scores or college admissions likelihoods or what have you. I am so sick of that industry, because that is what it is.

Stephen Colbert's star continues to rise, as Ben and Jerry's ice cream has named a new flavor after him! Behold this story from Yahoo! News: Stephen Colbert may have no taste for the truth, but he does have a sweet tooth. Ben & Jerry's has named a new ice cream in honor of the comedian: "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream." It's vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel. Announcing the new flavor Wednesday, Ben & Jerry's called it: "The sweet taste of liberty in your mouth." The Vermont-based ice-cream maker is known for naming its flavors after people such as Jerry Garcia, Wavy Gravy and the band Phish — which Colbert sees as a political bias. "I'm not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda," Colbert said in a statement. "What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case." Colbert, who spoofs flag-waving conservative pundits on hi...

So I'm participating in a study at Berkeley (my first one away from Stanford, and at CAL, no less! the horror!), and of course there are all kinds of rules and guidelines. It is paid, but they do ask us to jump through an awful lot of hoops for the dough. What I really cannot stand is the condescension with which the written materials and the researchers address us. I really can't stand it. Do they somehow expect me to be less intelligent than they are, because I have bipolar? They're the ones with the narrow-mindedness, if that's the case. I've done tons of studies at Stanford, and the timbre there is no different.

Allow UN peacekeepers into your stupid country and knock it off with the human rights violations, already!

Funny how Iran is mentioned more and more frequently in the press, and usually cast in a negative light by the Bush administration. Is this the rhetoric for a run-up to another war? Today Bush said that Iran is supplying weapons that are being used against US troops in Iraq, and there's also the speculation that Muqtada al-Sadr has retreated northward, possibly implicitly placing blame on Iran for the unrest in Iraq. Hmmm...

It's about time we had some unconventional, non-politician political candidates, and Minnesota seems to be the origin for many of them. Franken's a smart kid and he has a wonderful personality, AND he's not a career politician. "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!" [Al Franken as Stuart Smalley on SNL]

It's funny to me that the world community has chosen (or is it just the US media?) the bird flu to get excited about, as opposed to any other of the myriad *potential* looming disasters. Is this because some authority has determined that the bird flu is far and above the most serious threat, after a thorough exploration of every other threat? Does it just sound funny, "bird flu"? Our Marshall Islands delegation is asked to have a position on a potential bird flu disaster response when in all probability a tsunami or rising ocean levels are more dangerous.

Why is Muqtada al-Sadr headed to Iran? Is the sand better over there? Juan Cole has a different take on the sand.

800,000 Privileged Youths Enlist To Fight In Iraq WASHINGTON—"I didn't realize you could just sign up," said 26-year-old Brookline, MA resident and law-school grad Daniel Feldman.

Bush Cuts Off Diplomatic Relations With Congress WASHINGTON, DC—Calling Congress an "enemy of the state," the Bush Administration made it clear that it is not only severing ties to the lawmakers, but also to anyone who offers them aid, comfort, or votes.

Letter Of Recommendation Clearly Written Under Duress ST. PAUL, MN—Prospective employers of regional sales coordinator candidate Karyn Randall have noted that a glowing, if somewhat halting,...

When the going gets tough, I...? I've taken such a clobbering over the past several weeks. I'm no one's victim, but sometimes I feel pretty stunned and beaten down. Like right now.

President Creates Cabinet-Level Position To Coordinate Scandals WASHINGTON, DC-President Bush announced a new Cabinet-level position to coordinate all current and future scandals facing his party.

Here is a classic David Letterman segment where he pretends to be a drive-thru operator at McDonald's.

It's very insightful to explore the reasons for many of my decisions as well as the fears behind some of them.

My boy Barack Obama has *officially* launched his bid for the presidency! Sadly, Youtube has removed Obama footage from the Democratic National Convention where he did for politics what Ricky Martin did for pop music at the Grammy Awards many years ago (electrify people). He is our JFK! Our generation finally has a political icon to line up behind and belive in! As of Sunday, February 11, 2007, a Yahoo search on "Barack Obama" returns approximately 3.6 million hits. I am curious to see how much that number increases as the campaign develops. A similar search on "Hilary Clinton" returns 3.59 million hits!

Bush Hides U.S. Report Card In Sock Drawer

It's been raining sans cesse for probably two days, which is quite unusual for California. My watered-upon laptop is returning from computer ICU tomorrow, so I'll be back on the blog and larger than life then. Much has happened in my pseudo-absence, and I can't wait to share pieces of it with you. Blessings and health to all. Diana

Life is hard, and sometimes loving is harder. It takes courage and faith to make decisions that are in my best interest, sometimes.

That's right, folks; our latest installation of pretending-to-be-important-international-organizations is our participation in the Model Arab League, to take place here at Mills College in April. We are the Sudan delegation, which is quite a shift from our Marshall Islands role at the Model UN in New York City in March. Oh, and we've received our flight itinerary. We'll be flying Jet Blue! I'm so excited; I've heard great things about this airline and look forward to my maiden voyage on it. In the meantime, I'm trying to learn more about relationships and time management.

Blogging away, grammatically incorrectly, from Heesh's pad here in the gunshot-free Oakland hills. What a difference about a mile makes! We're stressing over our position papers, due tomorrow (well, later today) for the Marshall Islands for our Model UN conference. We're in various stages of starting, not starting, stressing, not stressing (i.e. watching the "L-Word," Jenny!). Brenna and I had a small drama at Fenton's earlier, where the guy who keeps giving us free ice cream suddenly wants to know my name. Drat. I tell you. Goodnight!

The name is George. George W. Bush. The "Bush-man" himself ventured into enemy territory (a Democratic retreat) to pretend to be of bipartisan heart and mind. Ha. He hasn't done that in six years; it must have taken some considerable humbling. Hooray for Nancy Pelosi, who is stating the need for cooperation. I believe she's the woman to do it. In contradictory news, CBS reported today that Bush is quoted as saying that the war in Iraq is "sapping America's soul." Who knew he had this grain of truth hidden somewhere inside that dense, dense mind of his?

We're representing this tiny island nation that is so small it barely appears on the map!

all due to bipolar: hair loss night sweats bone density loss irregular menstrual cycle stupid medical tests doctor appointments dealing with medicare health insurance in general excessive plaque build-up due to medication need to visit dentist more often because of plaque need to wear night guard at night to stop premature gum recession and tooth grinding back problems keeping track of my myriad prescriptions extra laundry due to night sweats

...on me!

The very intelligent and well-regarded Hoover Institute scholar, Dinesh D'Souza, has published a new book that blames the left for the 9/11 attacks. How such an intelligent man can get away with something like that can only be explained after I look more closely at his book. I miss Stephen Colbert!