Pitchers and Catchers

Pitchers and catchers are at spring training. Baseball season is right around the corner. Right now all the drama is in the Evil Empire and Red Sox nation is drama free. We know that will change as the season begins-somehow an off field story always comes up in Red Sox Nation and every night there is an on field story of some sort! Today is also the final round of the Pebble Beach golf tournament-without a doubt the world's best golf setting. I regret not getting there last week but San Diego wasn't bad and it will be a must for my next California visit.

Door to door

Last fall I spent a lot of my free time going door to door for Barack Obama in Northern Virginia. As many of you know that played a huge role in his victory in November organizing a "ground game" making sure that every door was knocked on by a volunteer, especially in swing states like Virginia. I seemed to have picked up a "bug" as I have continued with my door to door efforts for Miles Grant, a member of Arlington Young Democrats running for state delegate in Arlington. He works for the National Wildlife Federation, well-versed in environmental and civic engagement issues, and a Massachusetts native (which earns a mention on this blog).
This campaign effort is much different as door-to-door is mainly the only avenue of getting the word out-no flashy TV ads or debates televised on network stations. The primary isn't until June 9 but we have started our efforts early as there are a lot of houses that need to be visited. Another challenge for a campaign in Arlington is that there are a lot of high rise buildings which volunteer door-to-door knockers can't access. This is an issue as, unlike the presidential election, many of the residents don't follow the local elections that closely as they are mainly young professionals commuting to the city for work. Media coverage and visibility will be critical as a result. Check out the campaign website at http://www.milesgrant2009.com.

Economic stimulus passed

Congress passed the economic stimulus package today. I am sure it is getting a lot of criticism and the expenditures could be questionable. However, I am confident the Obama administration will make all of the details of the plan as transparent as possible. As I have said it is possible to make adjustments if aspects of the package aren't working. For those that say that this is another package filled with pork that is really nothing new in politics no matter who is in office. It is part of the legislature's job to get stuff for their districts. Most importantly, if it helps grow the economy in their particular region of the country there is no reason why it shouldn't be included. I feel that the expenditures of the package have to be allocated regionally as state and local politicians know their jurisdictions best and what types of programs need aid. While people feel that the infrastructure projects that come out of it might make more unskilled jobs than skilled jobs, we need to realize they need people with college and advanced degrees to manage these projects (at all levels) so all professional backgrounds will be considered in the jobs development and growth programs that come out of this package.

Thursday

Nothing new and exciting to report today. Looking forward to a long weekend coming up and surprised I haven't been asked to come into the office considering how much time I have had off! Hopefully no one gets any ideas. Metro is going to be a pain this weekend because of station and line closures on the Blue and Yellow Line-how convenient! At least there will be plenty of time to catch up around the house and do some stuff. This weekend is the Daytona 500 not that I really care but they are smart to have it in February when there isn't too much on in terms of sports so a casual sports fan will actually watch it. Hopefully it will be nice enough to get out for a bit as well.

Economic stimulus passed

The economic stimulus passed and the Senate and House worked out the differences in much faster time than I expected. People are wondering what the details are but in times like these you have to implement the plan and see what is working and what isn't. If a piece of the plan isn't working, cut it. and don't waist taxpayer money on it. If it looks like something else is needed, draft new legislation to get it done. A lot of this comes from my section on policy alternatives in Policy Analysis class.

A-Rod on steroids

This is not a real surprise. The guy sitting next to me in the hotel watching the news exclaimed "This is breaking news?" As much as it pains those that are true fans of baseball, I think we are going to have to accept that the accomplishments of this era are not necessarily genuine, realize that there are measure in place and being put in place to crack down on steroids and move on from this and hope that it is not a part of the future game. Unfortunately, we don't know how consistent the enforcement is going to be and players will still find ways to get around it. All we can do at this point is teach to the younger generation of athletes that by doing steroids, you will not perform at the level that shows your true ability and that steroids can have determinantal effects to your health, especially for younger people.

Back from California

I had a great time in California. I visited my friend from college who is working in the film industry and currently starting his own documentary film business in LA. He took my around to all the famous sights such as Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Hills, various sports stadiums and gave me a little background on how things run in the film and television industry. The LA metropolis must be without a doubt the most sprawling metro area in the world. What makes it more amazing is that getting around there is by car only-the subway system is bare minimum. Considering the lifestyle of the West Coast and it is an industry that I have little interest in entering-not really a relocation option.

The rest of my trip took me to San Diego, it was essentially a resort town on steroids. The weather was somewhat unsettled with evening showers and on and off showers all day Monday. The news acts like a major storm is coming. Anyway, I saw a variety of places such as the beauty of Coronado Island, the San Diego Zoo, Old Town San Diego, and the Midway Museum. Overall it was nice to get to the west coast and enjoy warmer weather than DC. Now back to the grind. Pictures are available here.

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