Asinine

Over the past week and a half, this country has been subject to a constant news story that is insulting when you consider our two wars, economic crisis, push to pass healthcare reform, and various other problems. I am, of course, talking about the arrest of Professor Henry Louis-Gate in Cambridge.

Now, race is a major issue in this country despite the fact that we now have an African-American president, but in my opinion this story should be no more than a footnote, and not worthy of the hours and hours of coverage that it has gotten. Of course this was propelled by the president wading hip-deep into the issue when he should not have. But it is stories like this that really brings out the stupidity of some people, along with asinine statements and ides.

Take, for example, Congressman Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, and his objections to the selections of beer that are going to be served at the White House meeting between President Obama, Professor Louis-Gate, and Sgt. James Crowley. Rep. Neal recently wrote a letter to the president urging him to serve Sam Adams, or another beer from an American-owned brewery.

Oh, come on. The story is already blown out of proportion. Do we really need to care about what beer they drink?

Born in the USA

Months after President Obama's inauguration, conspiracies still abound about the legitimacy of his U.S. citizenship. Incredible, but not surprising. I don't know that there is much that could surprise me anymore when it comes to politics and stupidity. Check out Roland Martin's short piece from CNN.com.

Sotomayor vs. SVU & CSI

Right now on USA, there is a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit marathon. On Spike, there is a CSI marathon. And on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and PBS, there is day two of the Sonia Sotomayor marathon -- special all day coverage of the Supreme Court nominee's confirmation hearings. Can you say exciting? Yeah, me neither.

I've watched a little bit of the hearings. Democrats are praising her, Republicans keep bringing up the "wise Latina" comments. But the real question is: will any of this make a bit of difference? No. The Democrats hold a 60-40 majority in the Senate (counting Bernie Sanders, who is an Independent), and Sotomayor only needs to receive 51 votes to be confirmed. As Sen. Lindsay Graham put it yesterday, "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you are going to get confirmed."

So what is the point of all this? I think that an appointment to the Supreme Court is an important matter, and public hearings are a great thing. But I just wonder what Senators are hoping to learn in these three days that they have not been able to learn in the past month and a half. Is there really a need to have three hours of opening statements from senators? There is a finite amount of time before Congress breaks for the summer recess, and a seemingly infinite amount of issues that need to be addressed. So, why is all this grandstanding so important?

Anyway, you can watch SVU, CSI, or Sotomayor, Sotomayor, Sotomayor, and Sotomayor. What channel do you want?

Robert McNamara

It was reported today that Robert McNamara, former secretary of defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, has passed away at age 93. A very controversial figure, he was not only heavily involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis, but was a key architect of the war in Vietnam. If you get the chance, I highly recommend viewing Errol Morris' documentary, "The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara."

2,870 Miles

I have returned from Las Vegas and my 9-day cross-country trip, and believe me when I say that it was great. We drove 2,870 miles between New York and Nevada, and that includes Day 4, when we went from Oklahoma City, OK, to Henderson, NV. That's right - we went 1,180 miles in 18.5 hours. That's like half the country, folks. We reached hardcore road warrior status. Please allow me to share some of my memories.

Top 5 Best Experiences of My Cross-Country Trip:
1. The Hoover Dam - If you have never seen it, I recommend going. It really is immense and spectacular, even if the water-level is at record lows, and the bridge that they are building over the water to divert traffic from the dam is impressive in itself.
2. The M Hotel/Casino - A fantastic new hotel/casino in Las Vegas located way off the main strip, which keeps it from becoming a tourist trap like New York-New York or Paris. Great ambiance, great dealers, good food, great comps, and a self-serve kiosk with complimentary soda and water so you don't have to wait for a waitress if you don't want alcohol. Yes, you read that correctly. Four guys in their twenties played so much blackjack and poker that we got food comps. We hit the M three nights in a row.
3. The Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar - Located in Nashville, we got to listen to some real Nashville country music in an easy-going bar. We weren't there for long, but it was a nice little Nashville experience.
4. Attending a Las Vegas wedding - Yes, I attended a wedding while in Las Vegas. No, it was not my own, nor one of my traveling partners', and none of the participants were intoxicated at the ceremony. This was a planned wedding of a friend of mine from college at the MGM Grand. It was short, sweet, funny, and the reception was at the buffet. Boom. It is now a story for life.
5. Standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ - No joke. We stopped. We posed. We took pictures. Talk about a conversation starter!

Top 5 Worst Experiences of My Cross-Country Trip:
1. Hooters Hotel/Casino - We stopped in because they advertised $3 blackjack, and since we were hungry we thought we would grab some food. Pretty shabby, and the food was not worth the price. Two of us ordered sandwiches, and they didn't even come with fries. This is America - what kind of scam is that?
2. Nevada Route 95 - Due to security restrictions, we could not take the rental truck over the Hoover Dam. Therefore, instead of taking Arizona Route 93, we had to take Nevada Route 95, which is a 55-mile straight road through the desert. Which we drove in the dark, at the tail end of our 18.5 hour day. It was brutal, and we were mentally fried. We could see other cars up in the distance coming towards us, but they were literally miles away.
3. Slots of Fun - Slots of fun is an old, dirty casino located across from the Riviera on Las Vegas Blvd. It is worn down and smelly, though you can play cheap blackjack and buy cheap beer. We were there for about 15 minutes.
4. The Music City Hostel - We stayed at this hostel in Nashville because my traveling partner has had good experiences with hostels in the past, and he likes to meet new and interesting people. It wasn't really my style, and even my friend was a bit disappointed in it. We slept, we woke up, we booked it.
5. Trying to get gas in Arizona - The area just past the Arizona state line when entering from New Mexico is heavily controlled by Native American nations, and this includes the gas stations. We must have stopped 4 times before we found a gas station that was open, accepted credit cards, and was less than $3.50/gallon. It was frustrating. I can only imagine getting gas in an Arizona city must be easier, but I cannot say for sure.

The Trip

Today, a friend of mine and I are leaving on a cross-country trip from Poughkeepsie to Las Vegas. Going places that I have never gone and seeing the country are two of my favorite things to do, and I am excited for our 9-day trip. Our itinerary is as follows:

Sunday, June 14 - Poughkeepsie, NY, to Fairfax, VA
Monday, June 15 - Fairfax, VA, to Nashville, TN
Tuesday, June 16 - Nashville, TN, to Oklahoma City, OK
Wednesday, June 17 - Oklahoma City, OK, to Albuquerque, NM
Thursday, June 18 - Albuquerque, NM, to Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday, June 23 - Las Vegas, NV, to Poughkeepsie, NY

We are spending 4 days in Las Vegas with two friends who are meeting us there, then catching a red-eye back east on Tuesday. And while I am excited to return to the city where I had the best onion rings ever (Harley Davidson Cafe on the strip), I am very much looking forward to seeing new parts of the country, and adding 6 states to my total: Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

More when I return.

Better Than A Doctor's Note

This is why President Obama won. All policy and political differences aside, there is no Republican currently in the field who can connect to people the way he does.