Sarah Palin is in town

Sarah Palin is in Washington, DC for the Alfalfa Dinner. She will be meeting President Obama. I wonder how that conversation is going to go? I think it might be one step in here exploratory committee for 2012. She will probably expect that some of the money from the stimulus package will be going to Alaska. Then again maybe Obama is reluctant to give anything resembling pork money to the State of Alaska.

Also, Michael Steele was named RNC Chairman. He is the first African American elected to the post. In his 2006 Maryland Senate campaign he earned a lot of respect from both sides with his easy going style and polished and intelligent way of speaking. He gave Democrat Ben Cardin quite a scare but in the end it was in Maryland and they usually do well there. They also needed to hold the seat to attain their majority in 2006.

Big family

Can you believe that lady that had octuplets already had six kids at home? Any more than four kids in a family is not close knit by any means. How can you manage finances and give each one of your kids the love and attention they need and expect. I don't expect insurance companies to step up too much for various reasons.

Super Bowl weekend

It looks like I will be having a fairly healthy crowd on Sunday. It was not the intended audience but it will be one new kid from the group plus a couple of friends. That is okay. I like low key stuff. One of my friends that is coming has a big screen so I am somewhat surprised, then again we have watch the Super Bowl together every year since I moved down here. In the meantime I am doing a canvass on Saturday and one on Sunday, it never ends I guess. I suppose it is better than last year when I basically had to give up Saturday night to study so I could enjoy the game on Sunday. Also it will be nice to get out on Sunday. Best of all next weekend I will be going to California, first trip ever.

As far as my pick, I will go with the Steelers for one simple reason, the Steel Curtain defense that they have always had. Then again, the effectiveness of Hines Ward could be a factor. Of course Santonio Holmes could always step up just as he did with Ohio State. By the way, Ohio State is another favorite team of Boston to Washington, as is Penn State as we had family that went to both schools.

Presidential Super Bowl pick

President Obama picked the Steelers to win the Super Bowl today. I guess there was a little pressure with Pennsylvania native Vice President Joe Biden sitting right next to him and it will be in play yet again in the 2012 election. He alluded to Dan Rooney being a supporter of him during the campaign. Something is telling me he was analyzing the matchup and the stats with this pick unless electoral votes has something to do with the figures.

Goodbye Blago

The Illinois Senate voted today to kick him out of office. So long, fairwell, adeu!!! It is time to focus on some real issues. This will now be a "Blago Free Zone."

2-17-2009 You have heard all about it

The House voted today not to delay the switch from analog TV to digital. Therefore on February 17, those that use bunny ears to watch TV will need digital converters if they want to continue to watch. However if you don't have cable or satellite you won't have to worry about it. For all the hype it is getting I hope the picture is better. Also, what if we get up and find out our TV isn't work. I don't think there is any fine print involved but you never know what conspiracies there are out there.

Postal Service cutting back

It was announced today that the U.S. Postal Service is planning on cutting back their service to deal with cost issues as a result of the bad economy. What concerns me is that it is going to slow up important mail such as bills and packages that are sent out on Saturday. Also, people won't be able to utilize the post office on Saturday mornings when they get most of their errands done. However, at least when I go out on a Saturday night and I forget to get the mail I won't have to worry about bringing it back to my place. It doesn't surprise me that a lost day of business would help them cut costs, after all it is a government-run enterprise. Now if only the bank would cut Saturday service-might I go back, I don't think so.

APPA in 2009

Today will be my first post about stuff going on at the American Public Power Association, the trade association that I work for in Washington, DC. APPA is a trade association of municipally-owned utilities. To clarify, these are electric power services that are run by cities and towns as opposed to investor-owned utilities like N-Star and Dominion Power. Our legislative activities make sure there are laws and regulations that make the playing field level for both the cities and towns and the power companies. Additionally, we provide services to our members with publications (part of my gig), safety and operations support, conduct meetings and a National Conference, offer classes, and put out a newsweekly and a magazine.

We have a lot going on this year. At the end of February we have a legislative rally which is going to bring a lot of enthusiasm with a new administration and a new Congress. We are also providing many new services and opportunities for our members to grow and provide the best service to their communities. However, I did want to highlight an initiative called Careers in Public Power-a program that we are doing to encourage people to join the public power industry. This applies to people at all levels from those that didn't go to college to those that completed Master's degrees. There are opportunities to be lineworkers, customer service reps, and even managers. All of which allow you the opportunity to serve your community and make it a better place. You can find out more about it at http://www.careersinpublicpower.com or contact APPA with questions. We will be selling items in the future but in the meantime please take an interest in this initiative.

Rose Art Museum closing

My alma mater, Brandeis University, announced today the the Rose Art Museum would be closing and all of the artwork would be sold. Brandeis is having many budget problems like everyone else in this economy, but promoting both visual and performing arts is an essential part of any University's mission, especially Brandeis which promotes social justice and free thinking. I think there are other ways where Brandeis can make up the budget gap. Some suggestions I would make include increasing parking fees, cutting some library hours, and maybe even investing in more green building renovations to cut utility costs or even just turn the heat down a few degrees! The Rose Art Museum was always an alternative place to enrich yourself away from the classroom or the books during my time there. I even had a Spanish class where we got to describe the painting in Spanish. It sure beats doing verb drills! I hope the Brandeis administration reconsiders this. By the way, administration pay cuts would also be another option!

Haggard is back!!

I thought sex scandals on the right were gone with the Bush administration. Guess what- Haggard is back in the news!!! Will Mark Foley and Larry Craig be doing the coin flip at the Super Bowl http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/26/colorado.church/index.html

Oprah for Senate???

Embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich said today that he would have considered picking Oprah (Winfrey) for Senate. I know Oprah was very influential in the Obama campaign but endorsing a candidate and actually creating policy positions along with serving the needs of constituents are two entirely different things. For someone that is all about self promoting herself I think that public service is a very difficult thing to do. Also, given her wealth some of her positions might favor Republican interests so much she may alienate her Democratic colleagues. Keep her on TV doing her afternoon dog and pony show and let the lawmakers push through the new administration's policy.
As for Rod Blag, he is up a creek and has done nothing to get out of it and tell us that he should be entrusted with the position that he has right now. The guy has been nothing but a one-man late night comic/SNL punching bag. Why doesn't he admit his guilt, serve his punishment and we can all move on from there and solve the big problems we are facing. It is a good think he was distant from Obama otherwise there would be no first 100 days honeymoon for him and they would be dragging his name through the mud.

The weekend in between

Talk about a weekend to catch your breath. After running around to a boatload of Inauguration activities and acting like a drill sergeant on the Metro to get my parents through the unprecedented crowds, the likes of which this city (or I) have ever seen, it is good to catch up on stuff and chill.

As for sports, the Bob Hope Golf Tournament isn't on network TV and we are one week away from the Super Bowl so there really isn't too much going in this end. I do enjoy watching PGA Tour golf so you will be hearing commentary on that frequently, especially the majors. As for my feelings on the game, I echo many sports commentators saying that there won't be the hype for this one like last year. When you have a Super Bowl with so much history riding on it, not to mention being played in arguably the best stadium for a Super Bowl, it is difficult to top that especially since the game lived up to the hype. As you probably figured out the outcome of the game will not be discussed here.

As a Patriots fan, the last Super Bowl matchup I wanted to see was Philadelphia-Pittsburgh but now I am sorry I wished that as it probably would have generated the most interesting game among the final four teams left last weekend. A lot of people are trashing Arizona as they felt they got a free pass into the playoffs (especially after being blown out by the Pats) but I think they should get a lot more credit as they did win the games they had to. As it stands right now I have a party planned at my place so I will be spending more time preparing for that then being concerned about the game.

Obama's New Economic Plan

I am thrilled that our new president Barack Obama is off to a fast start and getting down to business with his agenda. However, I am somewhat wary of his economic plan and he will have to provide some explanations as to why he is adding in all of these extra programs and how they will put more money back into the economy and create more jobs. I understand where he wants to improve the National Mall and provide support to those that need to get digital TV converters, however, the support better include provide for a discount as opposed to free services otherwise we will be seeing electronics stores go out of business and more layoffs as a result. What would we do without the Geek Squad at Best Buy?

In terms of the National Mall, it is our unofficial national symbol and should be a place that all people should enjoy and appreciate as for some it is a once in a lifetime trip, but I feel the only way this is appropriate for this plan is if it creates jobs as the Mall is not a commercial enterprise. Additionally, his inauguration (which tore apart the grounds) underscores the fact that the area in Washington will need to be improved in the years to come.

Our president needs to make sure that he spreads out his agenda over the long term. No one expects things to happen overnight.

Welcome to Boston to Washington

Sunday, January 25, 2009

It is my pleasure to introduce Boston to Washington, a blog by Boston native who is now living in Washington, DC that will focus on politics, sports and the events of the day that have everyone talking. I will also throw in some stuff that is going on in my life that might get people interested. As a marketing associate at my job, I will also be tooting the horn a little bit for exciting stuff that is going on there. With a new presidential administration coming in, I figured what better opportunity to have my voice heard and listen to your feedback as well on what I might have to say. I look forward to my daily posts and I hope that you enjoy reading them.