Books, music and Dave Reichert

So, it looks like our illustrious President was here in Bellevue this week raising money for Dave Reichert. It seems to me that the only thing Bush is good for nowadays for his party (particularly those in swing districts) is raising money. I wonder, though, why Reichert didn't choose to do this somewhere far away (like, say, Fairbanks) where it wouldn't be obvious that Bush was there for him. I wonder if Mercer Island City Council candidate Mike Cero (who gave Reichert $500 last October) was in attendance (one commenter replies that he was not). I don't know about Reichert. On the one hand, he did catch the Green River Killer, which is mildly impressive. On the other hand, his recent nods towards centrism appear to be entirely politically motivated. His party unity score of 81% is decent, but there are 16 Republicans with a lower one. Furthermore, like so many of his supposedly "moderate" colleagues, his party unity score was nearly 10 points higher when his party was riding high and he could vote as he wanted with no real concern for the repercussions. I will give him credit, though, for voting against the unconscionable Terry Schaivo bill that congress rushed back to vote in a midnight session on in March 2005. On the other other hand, that bill was guaranteed to pass (seeing as many Democrats were shut out of the room) so there he could make a calculated political decision. In short, his bouncing around on the issues to suit the electoral environment is positively Romney-esque. He needs to go....

Book recommendations:

"Bad Monkeys" by Matt Ruff. Recommended by my bookstore managing sister-in-law. Fun, easy to read an wicked - highly recommended, great for a plane flight.

"The Bronx is Burning" by Jonathan Mahler. Politics, baseball and NYC, three of my favorite things. Superbly well-written insight into the soul of New York at the height of the crime era. I remember growing up in Connecticut [for the record, I grew up in CT, went to college in Philly, lived in Manhattan after school, went to grad school in Virginia, moved back to NYC (Harlem) and just recently moved to Seattle] how dangerous the city was. Now its the safest big city in America - go figure. Anyway, the baseball component of the book is low, so even if you don't like sports, its still a fascinating read.

Music recommendations: The Blakes, a local Seattle band recommended by my borderline-hipster friend Ben. Great sound, very Strokes-y/White Stripes-y.

Finally, I'm playing my best friend this week for the 6th and final playoff spot in our fantasy baseball league. One week for all the marbles. I'm kicking his ass, by the way.

Wife & kid come home tomorrow morning - I miss them...

Opening Post

OK, I think I'm going to give this blogging thing a try. As the parent of a 1 year old, I can't guarantee regular posts, but I'm going to shoot for a few times a week.

This blog will largely consist of political commentary. Allow me to state for the record right now that I am a Democrat. I've always been a Democrat, but wasn't completely solid in my conviction until oh, roughly, 2000. The Republican party's divisiveness, scapegoating, bellicosity and relentless partisanship has damaged this country greatly, perhaps irrevocably. That said, I will aim for a more factual approach to my commentary as my primary objective will be election forecasting, not changing hearts and minds.

There will also be occasional commentary on my son (the cutest little thing ever - I'll refer to him as "M") and wife ("J"), fantasy sports (another too-important part of my life), sports in general (I enjoy both watching a playing), travel (something we used to do a lot of, since M arrived, not so much) and music (ditto).

By way of biography, I am 31, live in greater Seattle area (having just relocated after a number of years in Manhattan), have a BS in Mathematics and an MBA and work in the tech industry after many years in banking.

That's it for now - I look forward to comments.