World Cup

The World Cup began this weekend in South Africa. It is the first time this event has come to the African continent so it is really exciting for the nation and the continent as a whole. It would sure have made for an exciting trip to go to one of the games and then on a safari. The U.S. opened up with a 1-1 draw against England. Considering that England was heavily favored a lot of soccer fans were pleased with this outcome. While expectations are very high for American soccer, they still are not at the level with the rest of the world so and result like that against a team like England is very positive.

Alvin Greene

Amongst the victories by women candidates in the primaries this week there was a strange development in South Carolina. Alvin Greene ran for the Democratic nomination and got over 60 percent of the vote. However, he did not even run a campaign operation and when he was asked questions about it in interviews, he sounded like he was woefully unprepared to campaign in a general election for a U.S. Senate seat. At this point, even if he wins the seat, it would still be a loss because the Democrats would have someone in the Senate that is not ready to serve their state, country, and party. However it is difficult for the DNC or DSCC to tell him not to run because he did win a nomination and it would make the party look weak not having a candidate in the race.

Staying In Crystal City

Good news. It looks like I will be staying in Crystal City after all. A friend of mine had a lease end in June and my (now former) roommate got offered an internship in Moscow, Russia. He will be there for the summer. I wasn't ready to leave this neighborhood of Arlington just yet. Hopefully this time next year I be able to move to a "bigger and better" opportunity. I am not sure what that will be just yet.

Helen Thomas retires

Legendary White House correspondent retired from her position today (allegedly) after she made antisemitic remarks on a streaming video in light of the situation with the flotilla attack in Israel. She said that Jews should go back to Poland and Germany and leave Israel.

While there has been a lot of criticism on Israel's government, including a less than warm relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the reference to Germany and Poland (alluding to the Holocaust) is way out of bounds and unacceptable for a journalist, especially of her caliber. However, I hope it just puts a small dark cloud on her accomplishments and this is not her lasting legacy.

Floatlilla raid

The Middle East conflict is back in the news once again as Israel raided a supply flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip. As with anything, this is an emotionally charged issue given the whole history of the conflict. I feel that Israel sometimes can act almost as belligerent as Palestine and still feel they have the support of free nations. However, when you act recklessly support like this usually drops quickly. President Obama, who campaigned on "hope" and "change" and got the largest percentage of the Jewish vote of any recent Democratic president, has wavered in his support of Israel. You know that you are in trouble when you cannot get full support from the President of the United States.

June at work

June is the busiest month at my job. We are getting ready for our National Conference in Orlando so things can be hectic. However, I get to go this year so the preparations give me a rush of excitement. I am looking forward to getting to my first national conference this year.

Celtics vs. Lakers

It is the Celtics vs. Lakes in the NBA Finals once again. The Lakers have taken an early 1-0 lead but as you know it takes four games to win a championship. The Lakers have home court but that really does not matter. I cannot really make a prediction now but all I can say is that it will be decided in 6 or 7 games. It is a double edged sword because I did not expect them here as the season was unfolding but when they get this far you may as well raise your expectations to the championship.