In Case Anyone Was Wondering Why People Throw Shoes At Him

And what really pisses me off is that I had to read this on a UK paper's website. No mention at all in the US. Nope, the US media is more interested in headlines like "Priests Blast Playboy" -- now that's a shocker that merits a headline -- and "Tot Mom in Hot Body Contest."

Grrr.

We simply have no idea what's going on. And they want it that way.

-----

Bush sneaks through host of laws to undermine Obama
The Guardian UK

After spending eight years at the helm of one of the most ideologically driven administrations in American history, George W. Bush is ending his presidency in characteristically aggressive fashion, with a swath of controversial measures designed to reward supporters and enrage opponents.

By the time he vacates the White House, he will have issued a record number of so-called 'midnight regulations' - so called because of the stealthy way they appear on the rule books - to undermine the administration of Barack Obama, many of which could take years to undo.

Dozens of new rules have already been introduced which critics say will diminish worker safety, pollute the environment, promote gun use and curtail abortion rights. Many rules promote the interests of large industries, such as coal mining or energy, which have energetically supported Bush during his two terms as president. More are expected this week.

America's attention is focused on the fate of the beleaguered car industry, still seeking backing in Washington for a multi-billion-dollar bail-out. But behind the scenes, the 'midnight' rules are being rushed through with little fanfare and minimal media attention. None of them would be likely to appeal to the incoming Obama team.

The regulations cover a vast policy area, ranging from healthcare to car safety to civil liberties. Many are focused on the environment and seek to ease regulations that limit pollution or restrict harmful industrial practices, such as dumping strip-mining waste.

The Bush moves have outraged many watchdog groups. 'The regulations we have seen so far have been pretty bad,' said Matt Madia, a regulatory policy analyst at OMB Watch. 'The effects of all this are going to be severe.'

Bush can pass the rules because of a loophole in US law allowing him to put last-minute regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations, rules that have the same force as law. He can carry out many of his political aims without needing to force new laws through Congress. Outgoing presidents often use the loophole in their last weeks in office, but Bush has done this far more than Bill Clinton or his father, George Bush sr. He is on track to issue more 'midnight regulations' than any other previous president.

Many of these are radical and appear to pay off big business allies of the Republican party. One rule will make it easier for coal companies to dump debris from strip mining into valleys and streams. The process is part of an environmentally damaging technique known as 'mountain-top removal mining'. It involves literally removing the top of a mountain to excavate a coal seam and pouring the debris into a valley, which is then filled up with rock. The new rule will make that dumping easier.

Another midnight regulation will allow power companies to build coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks. Yet another regulation will allow coal-fired stations to increase their emissions without installing new anti-pollution equipment.

The Environmental Defence Fund has called the moves a 'fire sale of epic size for coal'. Other environmental groups agree. 'The only motivation for some of these rules is to benefit the business interests that the Bush administration has served,' said Ed Hopkins, a director of environmental quality at the Sierra Club. A case in point would seem to be a rule that opens up millions of acres of land to oil shale extraction, which environmental groups say is highly pollutant.

There is a long list of other new regulations that have gone onto the books. One lengthens the number of hours that truck drivers can drive without rest. Another surrenders government control of rerouting the rail transport of hazardous materials around densely populated areas and gives it to the rail companies.

One more chips away at the protection of endangered species. Gun control is also weakened by allowing loaded and concealed guns to be carried in national parks. Abortion rights are hit by allowing healthcare workers to cite religious or moral grounds for opting out of carrying out certain medical procedures.

A common theme is shifting regulation of industry from government to the industries themselves, essentially promoting self-regulation. One rule transfers assessment of the impact of ocean-fishing away from federal inspectors to advisory groups linked to the fishing industry. Another allows factory farms to self-regulate disposal of pollutant run-off.

The White House denies it is sabotaging the new administration. It says many of the moves have been openly flagged for months. The spate of rules is going to be hard for Obama to quickly overcome. By issuing them early in the 'lame duck' period of office, the Bush administration has mostly dodged 30- or 60-day time limits that would have made undoing them relatively straightforward.

Obama's team will have to go through a more lengthy process of reversing them, as it is forced to open them to a period of public consulting. That means that undoing the damage could take months or even years, especially if corporations go to the courts to prevent changes.

At the same time, the Obama team will have a huge agenda on its plate as it inherits the economic crisis. Nevertheless, anti-midnight regulation groups are lobbying Obama's transition team to make sure Bush's new rules are changed as soon as possible. 'They are aware of this. The transition team has a list of things they want to undo,' said Madia.

Final reckoning
Bush's midnight regulations will:

• Make it easier for coal companies to dump waste from strip-mining into valleys and streams.

• Ease the building of coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks.

• Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.

• Open up millions of acres to mining for oil shale.

• Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

• Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for 11 consecutive hours.

Working For The Weekend

Man, it was a tough weekend, but we did it.

Amy took on the kids all weekend -- while Elsie was sick again and Declan was as, um, energetic as ever.

While she did that, a friend and I pulled up the carpeting then put down a hardwood floor in the family room.

Here's almost halfway through:


And at the end:


Well, not really the end. We still have to finish one tricky part of a closet, then paint, then put down the baseboard.

It looks pretty good, but most importantly, I hope it helps quell the asthma.

(Sorry about the bad pics – digi still camera has busted flash. Come visit to see in person!)

Favorite line from the weekend:

Declan - "Daddy! Please be quiet! You're making too much noise and I'm trying to go potty!"

A Telling Video

Here's a little video I shot with my phone last weekend that kinda sums up the three kids: two beautiful and sweet girls playing nicely, one handsome and hilarious boy being a rapscallion.



And a photo I took as we walked to school today -- which is Picture Day:


Go Sox!

Gettin' Outside

Been a bit chilly recently -- though relatively so, I guess, considering what you family folks in VT, ME and WA are dealing with -- but lots of sun, so we've been heading for fresh air -- good for both kids, whose asthma has been acting up lately.




Kept Declan home from school today, to monitor his asthma and take him to the doctor. He asked if we could "go ride black-horse on the beach" by the house so we did. The whole time he played down there he was saying, "Galloping, galloping, galloping, galloping, galloping..." over and over. What you can't really see in these pictures, of course, is black-horse, one of his favorite new toys - just a little plastic horse...



The other day after my bike ride, Elsie fell asleep on my chest. It's been a loooong time since either one did that and it felt so good.


Kaleigh came home Sunday night. We had a great time staying up late and talking over a couple beers. (Sorry Nana.)

Elsie in the Leaves

This morning Elsie and I went downtown, to put up some posters for a friend who's organizing a wine tasting party. After we did our work, we just wandered around.

Elsie discovered that an 18th century churchyard is a great place for walking around and pointing at things.

I discovered Elsie has a taste for fallen yellow leaves. Like, a literal taste. Like, eating.

Barack and Lance

Just saw this, from an interview with Obama’s campaign brain trust (sent by Cynthia – thanks).

Axelrod said the Jeremiah Wright affair was probably a pivotal moment in the whole campaign. "You know, pandemonium erupted, and there was this sense that we were in crisis. The only one who was calm was Obama."

The candidate called his aides and told them he wanted them to clear some time on his schedule. "And he said, 'You know what? I'm gonna make a speech about race and talk about Jeremiah Wright and the perspective of the larger issue.' And he said, 'And either people will accept it or I won't be president of the United States. But at least I'll have said what I think needs to be said,'" Axelrod remembered.

Gibbs said there wasn't a discussion. "If there had been a discussion, probably most of the people in the campaign would've advised against it," Dunn added.

But he didn’t put it up for discussion. He knew what was the right thing to do – to be forthright and trust people to make their own decisions. He wasn’t interested in the spin, he just wanted to answer the question.

It reminded me, surprisingly, about Lance Armstrong in the 2003 Tour de France. He was chasing a guy down a mountainside, the guy fell and Armstrong had the presence of mind to continue off the road, through a field, dismount before he got to a ditch, run across the ditch and back onto the road, then get back on the bike and in the race without causing any more crashes.

So why do I connect them?

Both are neatly packaged, singular examples that illustrate the broader picture of why I respect each man so much, why I am so proud of them, why, in my opinion, they are the champions that they have become.

By the way, if you want to watch the Lance thing, here ‘tis:

From The Officemates

Some pics my coworkers have taken and given me recently.

Here's Elsie and me at my boss's son's Halloween party:


Here's me working. I look so boring:


Here's me driving to DC to pitch to Discovery, and then sitting in the lobby, practicing my pitch:



And here's me standing in the rain, having left the building with another "We love it!" but without a greenlit series.


Maybe my coworker should spend more time helping me develop pitches and less time documenting the process...

Stream Of Declanness

This morning Declan and I went for a Collection Box Walk down to the beach near our house.

What? Don’t know what a Collection Box Walk is?

Well, Declan has this plastic box, originally a tackle box, that he calls his Collection Box. It’s normally filled with rocks, shells, pine cones, sticks, seed pods… stuff like that. A Collection Box Walk, as you might have guessed by now, is when you go for a walk, trolling for new stuff.

So we went out, box in hand, while Mom and Elsie went shopping.

While we were at the beach, Declan saw a beer bottle someone had left on the beach.

“Daddy, look. Someone left a bottle there and that might hurt the earth and hurt the earth’s feelings, and we don’t want to hurt the earth because we might get sick and we wouldn’t have any place to live.”

Later, as we walked home:
“Hey, did you see that?”
“No son, what?”
“A squirrel ran across the roof of that house and jumped all the way, way, way to that tree. It was like super-yoga!”

And a few minutes later:
“I’m so mad someone left that bottle.”

And then:
“Why are some sticks sharp?”
“Well, some of them are just kinda pointy at the end so that part’s sharp.”
“Claws are sharp. Lions have claws.”
“What else has claws?
“Um. Tigers. Doggies. Pumas.”
“How about snakes?”
“No, they don’t walk on feet. Hey, feet and wheat! Those are rhyming words!”

Man I love adding all these new experiences to our own Collection Box.

The Stars Are Aligning

May they shine down on a new path for the US tomorrow.

B & B on stage together. I mean, come on. How cool is that? (Thanks for sending the link to these pics to me, Ames!)

This is the first time I've donated money to a political campaign, and yesterday, for the first time, I volunteered and did some voter canvassing for a few hours.

Usually, I feel like I'm essentially voting against someone on the other side, but with Obama, I'm really voting for him.

Please stars, please continue to align. Holy cow do we need it.

My canvassing partner had two interesting things to say: 1) that her 82-year-old mother has never voted before in her life but she's making a point to vote this time, for Obama, and 2) that her husband has voted Republican all his life and he's voting for Obama.

Funny conversation from yesterday's canvassing:

65-year-old woman opens the door to a small apartment in a building no one seems to be taking care of.
"Hi, I'm David and I'm with the Obama campaign. I was hoping to talk to John Wheeler."
"Oh, he ain't home. But he's voting for Obama!"
"Great. He knows where to vote and everything?"
"Yup."
"And would he need a ride?"
"Oh no, he got a car."
"And how 'bout you, are you gonna vote?"
She smiles broadly: "Oh, I wish I could sweetheart, but I'm a convicted felon!"

Safe to say, the nicest felon I've ever met.

Happy Halloween

"Declan, what do you want to be for Halloween?"
"A puma!"
"A puma?"
"Yeah, a puma! Roooaaar!"

So he was a puma. Which, as long as you throw out the package, looks a lot like a lion costume. (Don't tell him.)

Amy was a matador. Or, I think, a matadora.

Elsie was a kitty cat. Though at a party we went to yesterday, someone said she looked like one of the Wild Things. Which I think I like better. As long as they're not referring to that movie with Neve and Denise and the swimming pool...



I was, as you can see, a banana. All night Declan referred to me as Banana instead of Daddy.

"Let's go this way, Banana! Roooaaar!"


Because of my get-up, and the fact that Declan decided not to wear his puma head, this conversation went on at a lot of houses:

"Oh look, a monkey and his banana."
"I'm not a monkey, I'm a puma!"
"A what?"
"A puma!"
"A what?"
"A puma!"
Awkward silence as the adult scratches his or her head.

I think not many people in our neighborhood know what a puma is...

Kaleigh, what were you?

Add a picture!

Huuuuge

Our take on the how-big-is-baby game goes like this.

"How big is Elsie?"
Everyone raises their hands and says, "Soooo big!"
"How big is Declan?"
Everyone flexes their biceps WWF-style and says in a deep voice, "Huuuuge!"

Here is Declan doing it on top of a model termite mound at the zoo yesterday:


We had a great time:


And it zonked everyone out:


Some phone-videos of the lass. She loves playing with blocks now.





'Twas so great to see Kaleigh Friday night and Saturday morning. She looks great and is still doing well in school and work -- though both have been tough. Think she's looking forward to coming hime for Thanksgiving as much as we are.

Happy United Nations Day

Seriously. Today is United Nations Day. Go figure.

Anyway...

The kids have been so much fun lately.

Elsie is running around now and, thankfully, has much better balance when Declan does a running drive-by hip check. She used to tumble over at the slightest touch but she’s gotten used to it, and stronger, so when she sees the train a-comin’ she braces and usually remains standing.

So she’s adorable and, because she has a brother like Declan, she’s tough, too. For example, she looks great in a dress and plays with trucks:


She also started singing. “Di-eeego! Go, Diego, go!” Over and over. So cute.

She loves giving kisses, which she always delivers while making the kiss sound with much gusto: “Mwah!” And as her brother before her, she loves feeding the dog her breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Lucky Mals.

Declan has been coming up with some great phrases lately. The other day he said to me, “When I grow up and be a daddy I’m gonna drive the car’s steering wheel and have sharp tools.”

Last weekend as Amy and I were going out on our date he said, “Don’t forget to come back,” which he usually says to Amy when she goes to work. Then the next morning when he saw us he said, “I’m glad you didn’t forget to come back.”

Apparently, he wants to be a DJ when he grows up. DJ the DJ:


And he ran his first race! He and Amy did a 5k together, which I think is awesome.



Aren’t they awesome and beautiful?

Always the ham, here he is taking a load off in Target:


Like big sister, he’s taking dance class. Every Monday afternoon at school. Kaleigh’s so proud.

And Kaleigh’s coming home tonight! It’ll be a quick visit – just tonight – as she has a wedding to go to in Richmond this weekend. But we can’t wait and it’ll be great to have everyone together.

Oh My God

Dear Red Sox,

Thank you. But please don't ever do that to me again.

Love,
David

Great Weekend

Man it was a great weekend.


See? Does she look like she’s having a great weekend?

It was perfect weather so we had all the windows in the house open whenever we were inside, but we stayed outside as much as possible.


Played in the field, tossed a football, kicked a soccer ball, walked around at a cool neighborhood art show where artists had their stuff on their porches, had treats at the coffeehouse downtown, went for walks, played with friend’s dogs.

Probably the coolest thing for Declan – and I’m sorry I don’t have a photo of this (camera phone wasn’t working) – was going to the firehouse.

We took the recycling down to the bins and played in the park next to the firehouse. Then we walked over and there was a fireman cleaning one of the trucks. We asked if we could look around and this guy must have spent 20 minutes showing Declan everything. I mean, everything.

He opened up every part of the emergency rescue truck and explained all the saws, hoses, air tanks, Jaws of Life, rappelling gear… Declan kept saying, “Wow! Cool! Wow! I love that!” He even let Declan and me climb the ladder up onto the top of the truck and hang out there for a while.

You should’ve seen Declan’s face. I tried to take a picture, but the thing didn’t work.

So Matt Weber of the Portsmouth Fire Department, bravo and thanks for making that kid’s month!

I got in a good bike ride with a shop in Norfolk and Amy got in a good hot yoga session. Ran some errands, got some art for the house and put it up, installed Jinny’s chandelier lamp, started cleaning up the garden out front, even had time to go to a friend’s house for a good steak dinner.

Wish we were all off from work and school today to keep it all going…

Peaceful As A Frog

This little frog has been stuck to my window all day.

He’s just curled there, sticking to the glass, breathing.

He looks so amazingly serene he’s become an inspiration.

Funny where you find inspiration sometimes.



Amy and I had our first overnight together without the kids this weekend.

Talk about inspirational.

We lounged around the hotel, drinking wine and watching a movie in the afternoon. We strolled around Williamsburg with espresso and books and ice cream. We stumbled upon an amazing restaurant where they cook delicious food in front of you, explaining how and why as they go along – the sort of place booked weeks in advance that we got into because of a fortuitous last minute cancellation. We slept through the night and later than usual. We sat and talked and read.

I love those kids, but it sure was good to get away together, to celebrate our anniversary and remember why we wanted to have kids together in the first place.

Coffee Swimming and Rocket Catching

First of all, last Thursday was Kaleigh’s 20th birthday. Twenty years old. Two zero. As in, no longer a teenager. As in, entering her third decade.

Wow.

Awesome.

When I asked her how it felt to be 20, she said, “It’s pretty cool, but it’s kind of a teaser year. I’m not a teenager anymore but I can’t go to bars.”

Nana, forget you read that.

The other morning I was sleepily drinking my cup of coffee while making Declan’s lunch for school. I took a sip, put it down, and saw this:


You’re not seeing things, and neither was I. That’s what you think it is: a small rubber Biscuit the Dog, staring up. A curious thing to see in the morning to be sure. But actually not an uncommon type of thing, with Declan around.

When I saw it, I asked Declan, who was coloring at the table, why Biscuit was in my coffee.

“Because he needed a deep pool to swim in,” quoth he, in a rather isn’t-it-obvious tone.

Makes sense, I guess.

Team Whitney gave Declan a cool rocket for his birthday. On Saturday we went out into the field across the street to play with it. Declan kept yelling, “I love this game!” You'll hear me try to get him to say it on this video, but he left me hanging...

You should have heard him laughing the 300 times he popped it up into the air and I tried to catch it. Absolute guffaws.

Elsie had a good time gnawing on the rockets by the way.



And here are some cute pics of Elsie, who is walking like a champ now:

Go Sox

This morning, as I was giving Elsie her breathing treatment, we were watching this eight-minute on-demand video called (erroneously) Baby Genius, in which they sing nursery rhymes and stuff. Not really genius material, but it does help keep the lass distracted from the fact that I'm holding a breathing mask over her nose and mouth.

Anyway, as the kids on screen were singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," Declan asked, "Daddy, do you love the Red Sox?"

"Yes, son, do you?"

"Oh yes."

He must have known, intuitively, that with their win over Tampa Bay last night the Sox are now tied for first in the AL East. Tonight Beckett takes the mound and with another win they leap into first. It’s worth noting – mainly for Kaleigh’s sake – that the Yankees are nine games back.

In more important news, Elsie realized this morning that walking and standing gives her a better angle for patting the dog's head:


This photo, by the way, makes me realize how monochromatic the back room is. We're gearing up to redo it though, so we can fix that...

Middle of September Already?

Let’s see, where are we?

Kaleigh turns 20 on Thursday. TWENTY! That’s a whole new first digit. Amazing. We’re very bummed that we won’t be able to share the day with her, what with her being all off at college getting all danged learned and stuff.

But we love you Kaleigh!

Declan started soccer a couple weeks ago.


It’s a funny thing. He has fantastic skills, but his coaches still aren’t taking the time to sit down and explain basic things like what a team is, what an opposing team is, what a goal is, etc. He gets a little confused when everyone’s not cooperating.

I meant to have a mini soccer camp with him on Saturday morning before his first game, but we never got around to it. (Bad dad.) At the game it seemed he was a little intimidated by the whole thing and spent about 15% of the time on the field. Then we left early. He’ll get it though, and when he does, watch out.

Elsie is as cute as ever…


…and exploded into walking this weekend. Before Friday night, the most I’d ever seen her walk is two steps. Amy had seen more. But then Friday night, she just started walking everywhere. Like, walk across the restaurant, waving at people, stop, squat, pick up a rock, stand upright and walk back. So cool. And now we’re in real trouble.



Saturday afternoon, we went to a little carnival the apprentice school at Amy’s work put on. Despite the heat, Declan threw himself at every ride he could, including this tall slide thing. It meant climbing to the top of a 15-foot inflatable slide and then sliding down. It’s taller than it seems in this video. We thought he’d be scared, but:



We got a babysitter Saturday night and Amy and I went to a cookout at her coworkers' house. We were going to go to a movie afterwards but decided instead to stop at a nice little restaurant out in the country and have a drink by their fountain/pond and just talk. So nice! Adult stuff! Imagine!

Sunday morning Declan and I went on a little hike. It was awesome. I love seeing him out in the natural world, finding things, talking about how cool leaves and sticks are, asking questions about seed pods and streams.

He found this beetle:


And LOVED it. He was so amazed, and it was great to see that sense of wonder in his face and hear it in his voice:


We stayed watching the huge thing root around in a rotting log for a long time. Then Declan rooted around in the log’s upturned base:


We also saw a three-foot brown snake. Very cool. Oh, and got bitten by mosquitoes. Not so cool.

Finally, a few random pics from the phone. Amy has posted better shots on Snapfish. I should pull some off there, eh?

Happy First Birthday Elsie

Yesterday was the big O-N-E for our little E.

Took a few pics with the digital camera before the battery crapped out and will post some soon. Until then, these are from the phone.

Nana and Papa gave her a book:

...which she proceeded to read:

And they gave her a monkey:

...which she proceeded to eat:

Declan made sure to give her a birthday wrestling kiss

Nana made a pretty dress, too:



Grammy and Brim arrive tomorrow and we'll have a little party for her Sunday. Plenty more birthday kisses to come!