My Arlen Specter story

Sen. Arlen Specter (Photo credit: Talk Radio News Service)

I wrote this some time ago and thought I had published it.  As the former Senator from Pennsylvania recently passed away and I never had published it, I am now.

Several lifetimes ago,  I worked for Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).  One thing young staffers get to do is deal with constituents — in person, on the phone and through their always well thought out and researched correspondence.  I firmly believe if our founding fathers were to travel in time to now and judged us solely on the people who visit and call their Congressional representatives, we would have a vastly different form of government.

One evening, a very peculiar woman came in.   She was convinced that anyone born in California (or Hawaii) could vote in France.  She also thought I was 45 years old.  I am not even that old now — several lifetimes later — so you can appreciate how well that went over with me.  She wasn’t too scary but she liked mu boss and made that clear.  What she said on her way out was how much she hated Senator Specter and she was going to give him a piece of her mind (Is it snarky of me to note that this was more than she could afford to give?).

One idea that I cling to, even when I am not sure why, is that people who get involved in politics do so because they care about the country.  In that respect, Hill staffers have several things in common; a strong work ethic, long hours, low pay, a hatred of all things related to the Close Up foundation.  So, when this woman, made that comment, I called Senator Specter’s office immediately (he was a Republican then.)

Me: Hi this is Alyson from Senator Feinstein’s office.  A really freaky woman was just in here and she is headed your way.  Just wanted to let you know.

Specter staffer: You do know our senator is a Republican, right?

Me:  That doesn’t matter right now.  Crazy person, coming to your office any minute.

They took my advice seriously and locked their front door — it was around 6:00 pm so that made some sense.  The woman in question shook the glass doors so much that they called the Capitol police.

The next morning, I received 15 pounds of Hershey chocolate of several flavors.  The note read; Thanks for yesterday, we would not have done the same for you.  WTF?  You wouldn’t?  Really?  REALLY?  Guess not.

We need to treat each other better.

 

Diary of a disenfranchised Democrat

There’s been a lot of talk about how President Obama is in trouble with his base.  The narrative goes something like this: liberals are disappointed with Barack Obama’s performance.  Maybe he has been too timid, too hands-off, too much of a law professor when what we needed was a scrappy street fighter, willing to go toe-to-toe with an obstructionist Congress and the wiley John Boehner and Eric “Dr. No” Cantor.  Neither Bill or Hillary Clinton would have put up with this malarky.  No, sir.

My friend, Chris Rugaber (you know the AP business writer, if you don’t read his stuff, you should start), sent me this piece: When did liberals become so unreasonable? The idea being, that liberals are never happy with anything.  I dug through my personal papers and the following represent excerpts from my journal.

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Fall 1991:

Dear Diary,

My mom and I were talking about what Democrats will run for president next year.  Seems pointless to me.  George Bush is just so dang popular, what with that stupid Iraq war and all.  I like Paul Tsongas a lot but, seriously, another liberal, Greek from Mass?  That’s never gonna happen.  I said Bill Clinton is the only viable candidate.  She thinks his performance at the 1988 Democratic Convention will do him in, they did lower him off the stage and all, but I think he’s got a certain “je ne sais quoi.”  I cannot wait to move to France.  If Bush gets reelected, I am going to move there.

Winter 1992

Dear Diary,

Well, I don’t have to move to France.  Bill Clinton is our new president!  We have the White House, the Senate and House of Representatives!  I hear that means a lot!  There’s nothing stopping us now!  We are going to make health care available to everyone!  It’s a good time to be alive!  Diary, you had better not stop thinking about tomorrow!  I know I won’t!1

Spring 1993

Dear Diary,

This has been a sad time for Democrats.  We have a Dem in the White House and control both sides of Capitol Hill but President Clinton’s stimulus package went down in flames in the Senate, damn you filibuster! ( http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/22/us/gop-senators-prevail-sinking-clinton-s-economic-stimulus-bill.html) Weren’t they paying attention to the It’s the economy, stupid! message?  Hello! I remain hopeful that we can get healthcare reform through, Hillary Rodham, I mean Hillary Rodham Clinton (I keep forgetting she is using his name now!) is heading up the committee for that so I am sure it will go through.  She tried to soften her image with that cookie recipe and my mom swears by her turkey tips (hint: avoid basting by putting bacon on top — saves time and is delicious!) but she’s tough as nails. President Clinton’s lack of foreign policy experience is pretty clear, I sure wish we’d stop the genocide in Bosnia.  Slobodan Molosovic sounds like a dick.

Fall 1993

Dear Diary,

I just cannot shake the feeling that we are fucking up big time here.   If we cannot capitalize on the promise of Bill Clinton, we are totally screwed.  Does he know the damage he is doing to our party and system?  Bosnia remains a mess.  When are we going to help these people?  I hear there’s going to be a new Holocaust museum in Washington, DC, I sure hope they look into Bosnia.  This crap is unacceptable.  None of my friends will even talk to me about it.  And now the crazy “liberal” media seems obsessed with some innocent investments the Clintons made a thousand years ago, I think they’re calling it white-water?  I don’t know why they are so anti-rafting.  Seems like a good hobby to me.

Spring 1994

Dear Diary,

Am so depressed.  Hillary Clinton’s health reform looks to be headed towards disaster!  They say she didn’t consult Congress enough, as if!  What has happened to our party?  I thought we had some guts but I guess not.  Man, Bill Clinton sucks.

Winter 1994

Well, the end of the world is here.  Officially.  The Republicans just took the House back — after about a million years.  The Speaker was the first to lose his seat since we had a speaker.  Healthcare reform died a painful death.  Damn senators act like they should be consulted on policy issues, how rude!  Don’t they know Bill Clinton is a D?  Stupid “liberal” media is still into that rafting crap.  Have they no lives?

Winter 1995

Dear Diary,

Have been too depressed to write.  Bill Clinton has failed us all.  First no action on Bosnia, then health care reform failure and then he was all about welfare reform.  Says that will be his big thing should he win reelection, good luck, jerk.  Thank god for Newt Gingrich.  He was so mean/whiny that he made us look good.  Shut down the government because he was pissed about his seat on AF1.  I sure wish Democrats would grow a pair.

Winter 1997

Dear Diary,

Wow. It’s been a painful few years.  When did Democrats stop being Democrats?  Sure we had a few victories but that’s all because Newt Gingrich is so stupid. And whiny.  Bill Clinton totally caved to the GOP on the last two budgets and welfare reform.  Thank goodness he won reelection, though he seems more like a Republican.  That rafting thing ended up being more of a big deal than I had thought. And now, it looks like he may have had an affair with an intern.  Question:  If you know the world is watching you, can you keep your pants on for five minutes?  No?  Work on it.

January 1998

Dear Diary,

Just got a job in the record industry (publicist for RCA Victor).  All my friends were surprised that I would pick music over politics but it has been hard to be a Dem.  Fr weeks, every day, reading the paper has been a challenge.  But then I was walking down the street and had a thought — why am I upset with Bill Clinton?  He has been a good president.  We have had a near unprecedented period of peace and prosperity.  That has been a good thing.  I am tired of being unhappy with him for stupid crap that doesn’t matter.

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Ok, those aren’t really from my journals, though I am sure I wrote similar things back then.  I remember worrying that Bill Clinton was going to squander the opportunity to do some truly spectacular things with his presidency.  I could not understand why Congress resisted working with him, did they not understand that he and they were in the same party?

It is easy to criticize President Obama for being too hands off when dealing with Congress, his absence from the conversations about the debt ceiling or the super committee’s failure only reinforces the narrative and it is easy to forget that he accomplished more in his first year in office than Bill Clinton.  He also managed to get health care reform, as imperfect as it is, passed.  I would like him to be more of a fighter, to het his hands dirty a little — politics is a dirty business — but that’s not who he is.  That’s also not the person many people voted for.  I am going to try to remind myself of how I felt during the Clinton administration whenever I am tempted to buy into the narrative that says I am supposed to be disappointed in President Obama.

Paris

Recently I found an old folder of photos from my last trip to Paris, which was in December.  It seemed like a good opportunity to write about my favorite city. I spent my senior year of college there and fell in love the moment we landed and I saw rabbits on the Charles de Gaulle tarmac.  Of course, that year my life revolved around reading in cafés and drinking coffee and some occasional  wine & cheese.  How bad a life can that be?  My apartment was neat the Gare Austerlitz and I could walk to the Seine and across to the Centre George Pompidou or the Bastille.  The most beautiful image from there, for me is the view of sunset from the metro over the Seine.  If you take the right train you can catch it just as the light streams through Notre Dame, it’s truly breathtaking.

Night

  http://community.webshots.com/user/chadwick1789/

 

You didn’t ask but I am going to offer my tips anyhow. 

 

• Getting there & around:  Most people fly into  Charles de Gaulle but there is another airport, Orly.  I prefer it and if you fly in or out of there you will see why.  FYI:  There is a great bus that will take you downtown from there.
  • From CDG:  The best way to get in and out of Paris from here is the RER.  It can take you straight into the heart of Paris.  Normally when I get on and off at Gare du Nord and then transfer to the metro.  It takes less time than a taxi, especially if there is traffic.  The last time I left I was alone and some people there helped me with my luggage (no Parisians are not evil nor do they hate Americans.)
  • The metro:  One really easy way to get around and look more like a local, always a good thing, is to get a Carte d’Orange.  You will need a passport sized photo for the card section, this part is free.  It comes with a little grey folder (credit card sized) that will hold your card and the pass.  Just ask anyone at the metro for this.  You can then purchase the pass – they sell weekly, monthly, etc. passes.  The weekly ones work from Monday-Sunday – literally, so if you are there Thursday – Tuesday it may or may not be worth it depending on how much you plan to use it) – and can be customizable to be used though different zones.  The basic plan inlcludes zones 1 & 2, which is all of the city proper so I always get that.  You can get a small metro map that will fit in the folder.  You can also buy a packet of metro tickets if the weekly pass won’t work but I suggest you get the Carte d’Orange packet anyway, it’s free, convenient and will make you look cooler. J Remember to carry your card with you because the Parisian police so sometimes ask, especially in touristy areas.
  • The bus:  Not as famous as the metro, metro passes work on the busses and they can be a great way to see the city.  If you go when the weather is nice, spring or fall, you can sit in the open part, you can get great view of the city.  Some places are easier to get by bus, such as Pere LaChaise.  That is the cemetary where Jim Morrison is buried.
  • Walk! Regardless of the time  of year, Paris is a fabulous walking city.  I tend to wander around and just take the city in.  You can find some amazing spots that way.

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• Places to stay:
  • La Louisiane:  My favorite hotel in the city.  It is in the 6^th arrondissement and is right near the Odeon metro and walking distance from the Latin Quarter on one side and the EiffelTower on the other.  The rooms are quaint, the staff is sweet, they have wireless internet and a breakfast if you want it.  Best deal in the city.  There are also refridgerators in the rooms and a supermarket across the street.  I cannot recommend it enough.  http://www.hotel-lalouisiane.net/
• Places to eat:  If you have a bad meal in Paris, that’s a wasted meal.  Seriously.
  • Street food:  Paris kicks our ass when it comes to food you can get on the street.  My favorite street food is a crepe. You can get sweet or savory crepes.  The Nutella ones are awesome but so are the lemon, sugar or cheese crepes.  LOVE THEM!!!
  • Picnics:  One nice thing to do is go to a bakery, get a fresh baguette then go to a grocery store and get some cheese and whatever else.  Take it to a park and just chill.  On a nice day, this can be really relaxing.
  • Fondue:  There is a restaurant near Montmatre that rocks.  Le Refuge des Foundues.  http://www.pariszoomtv.com/place.asp?p=101.  They seat everyone at set times and the meal includes an
    

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     appertif, appetizer, meat or cheese fondue, a baby bottle (yes, a real baby bottle) of wine – if you are wearing lightly colored clothes I suggest you get the white wine and a desert.  Be forwarned, if you don’t like being friendly with people you don’t know, this is not the place for you. There are two long tables and we got to know fellow diners very well.

  • The Latin Quarter:  The ‘hip’ area, there are a ton of places where you can go and eat either with their fixed menu or not, and you can get just about everything there.  Cheap, good and fun.
  • Fallafel (sp?):  Head to the Marais and pick just about any place.  You won’t regret it.
  • Try things you may never have had before.  The French may not make great cars but they make great food (except for pizza, avoid that).  I don’t recommend the restaurants with the Michelin stars because Michelin does that.
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• Don’t worry about being a tourist.  Serisouly.  There’s a reason people flock to certain sites and do certain things, they are fun to do or cool to see.  It’s easy to never see the sites in your home town, even if it is some amazing place like NYC or San Francisco, don’t do this in Paris.
• • Cruises down the Seine:  I never did this until my last trip and think I was an idiot for it.   You can catch them all along  the Seine and most let you get on and off so it can be a great way to see all the sites along the river.  At night the views are beautiful that I can describe.
  • Notre Dame:  I had an epiphany there.  If you can go there at Christmas (regardless of your religion) and not get into the holiday spirit, well then you never will get into it.  When I was there last, there was a huge tree in front, carrolers singing, the lights were up and then there was the church itself.  People were selling hot cider and chocolate out front.  Glorious.  The bridge behind Notre Dame that connects that island (Ile de la cite) to the Ile St. Louis is the most romantic spot in the city.  On a different note, there is also a Holocaust memorial on that end of the island and if you can, you should see it.
  • Versailles:  Built to remove nobles from the city and isolate them & control their lives (before that the palace was what is now the Louvre), the gardens are breathtaking but the palace itself is just ok.  You can take a RER train out there (you will need a separate ticket) and it is a short walk to the ground.  When I go I just walk around the gardens.  The scale is huge and I always find something new.  There is no charge to enter the gardens but there is one to get into the building or to view Marie Antionette’s village area, she went there to play milkmaiden.  I think that’s worth a look-see but that’s just me.
• My favorite places to see & go & do:  My worldview changed when I studied in Paris.  I went from living 
  

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  in a country where I was raised that anyone who didn’t live there wanted to, to a city where people felt that way.  Totally changed my perscpective on everything.  These are some of the places that make Paris so special to me:

  • Jardin des Plantes:  One of the many public gardens, this one also has a zoo.  They recently installed new glass to cover the big cat area but when I was a student it was theoretically possible to touch the lions and took all my restraint to not try to pet them.
  • Musee d’Orsay:  Former train station, just great.
  • L’Orangerie:  Across from the above museum, the basement is home to the biggest water lilly paintings I have ever seen.  Stunning.
  • Le Violon Dingue:  An American bar in the Latin Quarter.  Cheesy?  Way.  Fun? Totally.  In college I went there because it was the first place where I really felt like I was in Paris.  Maybe it was the juxtopostion of Americans and French people, maybe it was the happy house Long Island iced teas but I try to go everytime I go to Paris.  I am a dork.
  • Go to a café in the Latin Quarter (or anywhere) and just people watch:  I get a nice café crème in the morning and maybe a croissant and just relax.
  • Musee de Cluny:  Latin Quarter, near the Seine.  This is the oldest museum in Paris and is usually pretty empty.
• Random tips:
  • Learn a phrase (or two) in French.  Don’t speak French?  No worries!  Just tell people “Je ne parle pas français” and you will be good to go.  People there understand that not everyone speaks what used to be the international language of diplomacy but appreciate the effort. 
  • Most museums are closed on Monday.  Just something to keep in mind.
  • August in Paris:  Hot, icky and devoid of locals.  If you like those things, go then (you can get excellent deals then), if not wait until the fall.  April in Paris is famous and the winter can be pretty great but when the sun shines in Paris it feels like God is smiling at it.

 

Ok, that’s probably enough for one post.  I apologize for being so verbose. Hope you all go and enjoy the city.

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I Love France

I YFrance

 

I know am in the minority here but I like (I also like the media and lawyers because I think they make our democracy possible) but those are topics for other posts.  For whatever reason, as long as I can remember people have loved joking about France, mostly the French are ridiculed for being wimpy with the evidence being their performance during the first half of the 20th century but the real reason is that they often oppose us on the world stage.  Most people see that as a bad thing because everyone should, of course, always agree with everything we do.

 

The irony of this thinking is that it is just wrong.   Most of the planet sees the as a bully and having one of our allies stand up to us every now and again actually helps.  If you hang out only with people who agree with you, you become intellectually lazy.  It is only when you have to defend your position on an issue to people who disagree with you that you are able to strengthen and improve your argument.  The French provide us with that opportunity.  Moreover, being an ally they have done some very good things for us.  So here are the reasons we should stop acting like children, why France is awesome.

 

1. France has been one of our most important allies.  In a few weeks we will celebrate Flag Day and next month our independence from England.  We tend to think that our revolution was something bound to happen but anyone who really knows much about it will tell you most of our ‘founding fathers’ loved being British.  Benjamin Franklin, in particular, commented just a few months before the war began that he did not want to secede.  Once the war got started we received a lot of support from Frane and Washington, DC was designed by a Frenchman.  More recently, when the US first went to the UN with its intention to remove Saddam Hussein from power, it was France who got Syria to vote yes.  UN Security Council Resolutions must be unanimous and Syria initally opposed it.  They were more than a little offended when we blew them and their contribution off later but can you blame them?  A good patriot questions their government’s actions when they disagree with them and a good friend does the same thing.  Now that the war in has gone very badly it is easy to see why had questions, I only wish more Americans did.
2. The French are not the wimps you may think they are.  I am not going to give you the history of France, you can look that up yourself but there are reasons the English language has so many French words in it.  For most of Europe’s history France was a great military power, two wars does not change that.  Moreover since then whenever a military force has been asked to go into a dangerous place (think Bosnia ) the French have been some of the first to go in.  If you still want to cling to your small minded view that the French are wimps, go ahead but there is little evidence to back you up.
3. The French food, culture and way of life rock.  I spent my senior year of college in Paris and it was one of the best years of my life.  Now like most women, I love losing weight so the fact that I ate whatever I wanted (cheese, chocolate, whatever) and LOST weight played only a small factor in why I loved it but there the real reason was my lifestyle there.  In the we go to work, go home and watch TV.  In I had no TV so I spent my nights at the local café talking to people.  We judge standards of living by what people own or how much money they have and or what we own, in that sense the French do not have as much as we do but what they have is much better.  They do not spend money on the newest TV but on going out to dinner and I can assure you a good French meal beats anything you are ever going to watch on TV. 

So the next time you hear someone make a joke about how wimpy the French are just remember we still owe them for our own revolution and if you still think they suck, just pass me the wine and cheese – the less you consume, the more there is for me.

 

Vive La  France!

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If it is Sunday, it is TV time

My Sunday morning ritual, and I may have posted this before is simple — I watch the Chris Matthews show (Religiously, if I miss an episode not only does my day get off to a bad start but my week seems to suck, too. And as I have said before, I need my Chris Matthews fix so when he was ill last winter/fall/whenever it was or when they give him a vacation, he does deserve them, his shows are different and I cannot watch and suffer a minor depression until he returns.), then Meet the Press then Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.  I do a lot of channel surfing throughout the morning and afternoon and inevitably I get all worked up and frequently yell at the TV.  This morning was no exception.

 

C-Span showed the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings with Atty General Alberto Gonzales and I got to see some of that and recorded what I missed — I do leave the house from time to time and did so this afternoon.  What I saw was appalling.  Whether he was lying to the committee about what he knew, which is against the law, or if he really did not remember everything he claims to have forgotten, neither make this situation better.  In fact, the more he spoke the clearer it became that the line between where the White House ends and the DoJ begins seems to have disappeared completely during this administration.  While all Executive Branch agencies are going to change somewhat with each administration, they need to maintain some separate identity to be able to carry out their work.  No where is this more true than at the Justice Department.  That partisan politics may have altered which cases were pursued and how is appalling.  Some may call me naïve and insist this is just 'politics as usual.' That should not change our outrage at this lack of respect for our system of government.

 

Vive la France!

 

Across the ocean, in the country everyone loves to hate, except me — I LOVE  FRANCE, history may be made there.  Believe it or not, OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ELECTIONS and more THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS DUE TO US INTERVENTION, though I have read our campaign style has crept into their campaigns, we'll have to wait and see how that works out for them.  Better, I hope. For those who have not been watching, French candidates Nicolas Sarkozy (conservative) and Segolene Royal (liberal) got the top votes on 22 April and will face each other in a runoff election on 6 May (LA Times):

 

            "On a warm sunny day, voters in shorts, sunglasses and other casual attire stood in long lines caused by a turnout of about 86%, the highest since 1981. Some first-time voters needed help with the process.

            The high turnout reflected intense interest in a particularly suspenseful and significant election…

            Nationwide voter registration rose by more than 4 million since 2002. The Socialist Party carried out a vigorous get-out-the vote drive to avoid being blindsided again by an upstart candidate as in 2002."

Personally, as a liberal and a woman I am pulling for Ms. Royal — she would be the first female president of and that would be fantastic on many levels.  It is also amazing to see such a high voter turn out, one not marred with the polling problems we have at each election.  Lines, it seems to me they are always worse in poorer areas, were so long at polling places that many people went home because they could not afford to stay and wait.  Election day should be a holiday but back to France, where we might see we have a lot more in common with them than we think. This description of the French electorate looks eerily familiar:

           

"The country suffers from the fastest-growing public debt in , high unemployment, entrenched protectionism, a bloated public sector and concerns about both immigration and the failure to integrate ethnic Arab and African populations…

            Voters “clearly marked their wish to go to the end of the debate between two ideas of the nation, two projects for society, two value systems, two concepts of politics,” Mr. Sarkozy said.

            More than an hour later, Ms. Royal appeared before a rally in the Poitou-Charentes region, where she is regional president, promising to change , but softly.

            Many French people, she said, “do not want a ruled by the law of the strongest or the most brutal, sewn-up by financial interests, where all powers are concentrated in the same few hands.” She added, “I am a free woman, as you are a free people.”"(The New York Times)

 

One thing that struck me was the desire to change the way the government is viewed and how similar the issues are. More on 6 May!

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