We're Back

A trip to the West Coast is always interesting...I find it always fun to be in a different time zone, yet I spend half the time trying to figure out what time it is back home. As my family will attest, I've always have had difficulties telling time, so I guess this just complicates matters for me!

So, having never been to Oregon, I must say I was impressed. Portland is a really fun city - full of great restaurants, interesting views, some eccentric people and of course, the home of my brother. We had a nice opportunity to celebrate his birthday and get to see his new abode. He was a great host...driving us all over the place, all with good humor, especially considering he probably has seen these sights a million times.

The coastline was gorgeous and the weather cooperated just enough to give us some great views. We also drove through the Columbia River Gorge and took some backroads to see the Evergreen Aviation Museum...home of Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose airplane. (If you saw the movie "Aviator" it was the plane he flew at the end of the movie.)

Here's a sampling of some of the zillion+ pictures we took. Enjoy!




My brother and sister on the bridge!

Portland Bound

Go west, young woman (and man)!

Packed up and ready to go to the airport for our week in Oregon. Looking forward to a fun, relaxing trip. Especially looking forward to becoming reacquainted with some siblings who I don't see enough of. Nice to leave the bonds of the working world too for much needed R&R.

We believe the hotel has internet access, so presumably we can blog the trip, but we'll see!

Sayonara.

Has Rove Been Indicted?

What if it was Fitzmas and we didn't even know it? Check out this story from TruthOut.com, which says that Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury indicted Mr. Rove on Friday.

Here's the substance of the story:

"During the course of that meeting, Fitzgerald served attorneys for former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove with an indictment charging the embattled White House official with perjury and lying to investigators related to his role in the CIA leak case, and instructed one of the attorneys to tell Rove that he has 24 business hours to get his affairs in order, high level sources with direct knowledge of the meeting said Saturday morning.

Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney, did not return a call for comment. Sources said Fitzgerald was in Washington, DC, Friday and met with Luskin for about 15 hours to go over the charges against Rove, which include perjury and lying to investigators about how and when Rove discovered that Valerie Plame Wilson was a covert CIA operative and whether he shared that information with reporters, sources with direct knowledge of the meeting said.

It was still unknown Saturday whether Fitzgerald charged Rove with a more serious obstruction of justice charge. Sources close to the case said Friday that it appeared very likely that an obstruction charge against Rove would be included with charges of perjury and lying to investigators.

An announcement by Fitzgerald is expected to come this week, sources close to the case said. However, the day and time is unknown. Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the special prosecutor was unavailable for comment. In the past, Samborn said he could not comment on the case."

Could it be true?

President Gore

Last night, Al Gore opened Saturday Night Live with a speech to the nation talking about his Administration's many accomplishments. It's funny, of course, but it's a little sad at the same time. Check it out from Crooks and Liars.

Let's hope this is a premonition of things to come, eh? Right now, I think he's the candidate to beat for the nomination in '08. Personally, I can't wait to see his new movie: "An Inconvenient Truth," which has gotten rave reviews.

Welcome Aboard, Melanie Rose!

Welcome to our crazy family, Miss Melanie! May the road ahead be nothing but sunshine and flowers for you.

Congratulations, B & S, and I hope you are caught up on your sleep!

Two More Weeks Till Fitzmas?

Here's the latest reporting from David Shuster of MSNBC.

Agreeing with the Chimp

The high point of his presidency, according to the Chimp himself, is catching a 7+ pound fish on his "ranch" in Texas. At first I was appalled at him saying something so ridiculous, but when I actually started to think about it, I couldn't come up with anything better myself. Hmm, who'da thunk I'd agree with him?

Favorite Picture II

In happy anticipation of our upcoming trip to Oregon, here's another favorite picture from a previous vacation. This one is from Key West, back in November 2003.

Calling Bullshit

There's been a raging debate in the blogosphere this week over Stephen Colbert's appearance at the White House Correspondent's dinner last weekend. This story from today's Washington Post summarizes the whys and wherefores of the controversy. As always, I am here to give you the significant quote, but you really should read the whole story:

"The way I see it, the Washington press corps is still appropriately embarrassed that they screwed up in the run-up to war. Now, as Bush's approval ratings fester, they are getting bolder in challenging the official White House line on any number of issues. They're justifiably proud of a handful of great investigative pieces.

But they still haven't addressed the central issue Colbert was raising: Bush's credibility. As it happens, the public is way ahead of them on this one: For more than a year, the polls have consistently been showing that a majority of Americans don't find Bush honest and trustworthy."

Gonzo?

Well, I recently discovered I'm "Gonzo." (Although people have probably thought so for a long time.) What about you?

Belated Blogging: Mr. Colbert Goes to Washington

From what everyone's saying, the White House was not thrilled by Steven Colbert's performance the other night at the White House Correspondent's Dinner in DC. However, as the Mr. says, "They should give him a fuckin' medal!" for this performance. Here's a transcript for your reading pleasure.

And, if you're interested in reading about the Chimp's administration reaction to it (as if you couldn't figure out what these no-talent, humorless people would act like), visit US News. On the other hand, find out how Jon Stewart reacted here.