David Axelrod is a Political Genius....and a Pinnochio

Watching 'Meet the Press" this morning made my blood boil. David Alexrod was on. For those who are unaware, he is the political genius, the brains behind getting Obama elected. He is a spin doctor to the extreme - frankly, there is a high level of respect I hold for his skill.....but then again, I hate watching him "selling Obama" on any show, and subsequently introducing spin that seems to actually go beyond spin and turn into lies.

The key to being an incredible spin doctor, a successful political strategist, is to walk the line....the very fine line between truth, and making that truth palatable to the general public - taking the bad and making it look good. Taking your position, that not everyone agrees with, and making it a position that everyone backs. The Spin Doctor makes the men in politics - they are incredibly talented men & women. There are spin doctors I have a great deal of respect for - oddly David Axelrod is one of them. He is the man who created the Obama sensation - and he is the man who keeps the administration on message (and Joey Biden under wraps).

The reality of politics is that there are always 2 sides, and often there is even 3 or 4.
1. For
2. Against
3. Somewhere in the Middle
4. Why the hell are we talking about this....

On Meet the Press this am, David Axelrod hit a few high points of legislation, policy and actions of the administration.
1. Health Care
2. Iran
3. Planting a question in the audience of a Presidential Press Conference (For a great article about this see this WashingtonPost Article)

On Health Care, Axelrod noted that the people want a public option, but Obama will not force a public option upon Congress. Well, this may be true, and yet it isn't (here comes the spin). Obama has charged his boys in Congress with creating a bill that idealizes his opinions. He wants public run health care - health care that will be no different from Medicare - a forced insurance for all. And Axelrod spins it as a "but this is what the people want" as opposed to, this is what our liberal agenda is pushing for. He forgets to mention how this policy is being strong-armed through. He notes that it will be voted on by the end of the year (which is sadly possible - but reality is, there is more division over it that one might wish to believe). Reality is Axelrod is still selling the idea behind the plan - he is still trying to convince us that this is a good idea, and that we should just trust Obama and Congress. Yup, that sounds like a good idea *enter massive sarcasm*.
for a bit of education the the public option - there are two articles that I have enjoyed this past week: This one OR This one

On Iran - what has happened in the past week since the election in Iran is deplorable - and yet really awesome. The regime is learning that there is a strong dissident voice - a voice that is not afraid to risk death to get their point across. I am incredibly proud of each and every person in Iran who is standing up for their rights - for more openness, for ending oppressive rule, for freedom. I am disgusted by the regime, and how it is vowing to execute protesters, creating fear on the streets, shutting down the internet, etc. The list goes on and on with regards to the horrific events that are happening. We are of course receiving very little information about Iran and from Iran in the past few days for two reasons - 1 - its just plain flat out hard to get information out and 2 - Michael Jackson has trumped all coverage (of course this is a rant for another day). The Obama administration, FINALLY this week came out and called the events outrageous (took them a week but at least they did it). Axelrod takes comments and questions on Meet the Press regarding if the US will have a stronger reaction, what will we do and responds with something along the lines of "Well we don't have diplomatic relations with Iran, isn't that punishment enough?" Oh yes, cause diplomatic relations that they have not had in years with the US is going to remind the regime that we disagree with what they are doing. We are doing NOTHING. Here we have a group of people that are, without the help of the US, have ON THEIR OWN, moved to fight for Freedom. Hell, even the US had help from other countries when we fought the British for Freedom. Freedom can not be fought against such a regime alone. (I am not saying we should get involved in war, but I am saying we should find a way to support this effort in Iran even if it is through non-military means) - BUT SERIOUSLY to have Axelrod selling us on the fact that we are helping them out - and then say, but we can't do anything to the regime because we don't have diplomatic relations? ugh!

And finally the media. Well my frustration on the media could go on for miles - that's reality. BUT if you read the article above you will note that the Administration planted a question in the audience. Axelrod takes this fact and states something along the lines of : well we just knew that the internet reporters are likely hearing from Iranians, so we mentioned to them we might ask a question on Iran - you know, since they are most knowledgable about it. Problem here - you asked HUFFINGTON POST to do this - and furthermore, reports are saying - you actually planted the exact question. Had Bush done this, the outcry would have been insane - and yet Axelrod poo poos it off. UGH UGH UGH!

OK - so I have gone on long enough - but reality is - Axelrod has moved beyond a talented spin doctor into a Pinocchio. He has taken the art of spin (remember - making something palatable) and turned it into flat out lies. The more he does this, the more he loses my respect. Being a spin doctor takes a brilliant mind, unfortunately instead of brilliantly spinning things, Axelrod is choosing the easy route - LIES!

Don't Think it Wont Happen....

So, anyone who knows me, knows that I might be a bit, well, a bit politically inclined. Some might call me a political junkie, others obsessed....and others, just plain mad. So as I get this blog thing going - remember that just because you only see posts so far about our lives together (a key emphasis for this blog) - please be weary of the fact that this might also become a minor mouthpiece for my political opinions...and perhaps a bit of a countdown until the day that Pelosi, Reid and Obama are no longer running our lives.....

As partisan as that sounded, I hope to make my rants regarding politics: well informed, justified, rational and of course, I will attempt to withdraw some of my contempt. Who knows, I might even say something positive about how the administration is governing....is this unlikely? yes.... but is it possible? most definitly :)

Surgery Day

David, in true brilliant form, fell off a curb. Never mind the fact that the boy plays hockey and can be found jumping and climbing on just about anything. Nope, he falls off a curb, and manages to tear his ankle ligament in half. This of course has required surgery, and plenty of home time recovering. He is going batty at this point, he can move around fairly nicely on crutches. Hopefully he will be allowed to go back to work next week. They won't let him into the office so long as he is on crutches, its apparently a liability (my personal opinion is pft to that) - but still. Hopefully he will be up and running soon....but here are a few pics to show how far we have come....

Dave attempted to eat animal crackers (very carefully) - he then spent the next 5 days passed out on the couch. Finally this past week, we got to see the owie....CAUTION - GRAPHIC MATERIAL (if you are faint regarding owies).

Fun in the Capitol, Anchors Away in Charm City

A couple of weeks ago, David and I took a mini vacation up to DC area to see a dear friend of mine from grad school get married. *Congrats Jenabear!!*

The wedding was on a Sunday, so we flew out Friday night and spent the Day tramping around DC. We took the metro in from Laurel and started at the Air and Space Museum on the mall. We then went up to the capitol building, then over to China town for some yummy yummy fried noodles, walked down to the elipse to see the White House. Took a quick drop by the OAS building (my first trip to DC in college was spent debating many an hours in that building, and quite frankly it fed my passion to where I am now). Then we walked (please note, we walked the entire time) to the Washington monument, then down to the WWII memorial, then back up to the Monument to meet up with some of my friends from grad school. We had hot-dogs on the mall with Jen, Trampes and their two adorable girls. This offered a nice respit for our feet. We waved by to them at the metro and then went out to Georgetown.

We had a great walk along the old C&O canal, and enjoyed the sun setting in the back areas of the canal. The canal even had an old school lock system. It was perhaps one of our favorite parts of the trip.

Then we actually took a cab back to the mall (our puppies were woofing big time by now) to enjoy the Lincoln memorial and the war memorials at night. So much fun! Then we hiked back to the metro, and went up to Baltimore for the night.....to sleep, rest our feet, and get ready for a fun-filled wedding day for Jena!





After a wonderful day, we were ready for some good sleep, and then off to hit Charm City. We stayed in the Inner Harbor district at the Pier 5 hotel....yes, it was on the pier. After a good nights rest at a luxurious hotel, we went to Jena's wedding. Congrats Jena and Kareem!!!















Then we were off to explore the Inner Harbor and all of the ships, including a Chilean Naval ship that was at port while we were there. I love my ships, not quite sure what it is, but ships make me happy. Especially working ones.....where they actually cook on it, while you are a tourist taking a tour.


All in all, it was a wonderful trip - so many great memories. I love how David and I travel...a general plan, but we just go where we feel like going. We let the moment drive us, and we end up finding some of the most awesome discoveries.

Entering the Wonderful World of Blogs

There are a number of things that have led me to this point....the point of choosing to blog:

1. David and I are going through this process of getting married, and I wanted a central location for family and friends to have access to our lifes journey in two becoming one....
2. Lets face it, I have a lot to say....just because this blog is for both David and I, doesn't mean you will escape the rantings that come with the Political Junkie that is Katy :)
3. I have always been a prolific writer, so why not work on it

Ok - so these are the top 3 reasons - so we'll go with it.