Posts Tagged ‘Politics’
The Hurt Locker
A few months after September 11th, the Department of Homeland Security launched a website called ready.gov. The site’s initial incarnation was ostensibly a series of updated ’50s brochures: what to do in the event of nuclear blast (duck and run), what to do in the event of building collapse (duck), etc. (It’s since been significantly…
Read MoreInaugural Snapshot, Part II
Union Station, Washington, DC. Amtrak Gate K. Passengers on Northeast Regional 178 are packed together struggling to board. Everyone is exhausted, weary of long lines, hung over, and eager to get home from the Inauguration. A quiet voice squeaks above the fray. “Ellen McQuarry? Ellen McQuarry?” Seconds later, further down the queue, another rings out,…
Read MoreInaugural Snapshot, Part I
I am wedged between a mass of angry, frustrated and anxious Presidential Youth Ball attendees and a phalanx of Police and Secret Service in the Washington, DC, Hilton. With the ballroom at capacity, and POTUS on his way, the men in black are immovable. I reluctantly pull out every item I possess in my defense,…
Read MoreOur Better History
Let other people write about yesterday’s other big first; without diminishing the historical significance of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the first-ever African-American president, race wasn’t what reduced me to a sobbing mess. President Barack Obama’s inaugural address was the first time in my life I felt like a politician was speaking to me. It was…
Read MoreObey Shepard Fairey
I violated the cardinal rule of journalism on Sunday. I began an interview by squealing like a schoolgirl, “I’m a huge fan!” Oh well; I am. I’ve been huge fan of Shepard Fairey for years. I noticed his Obey Giant stencils and posters almost immediately upon moving to New York City in 1995. And I…
Read MoreYes We Can (But Do We Have To?)
The clock reads 5:56. The sky is purplish-black behind the blinds. I blink the sleep out of my eyes, climb out of bed, stumble into the living room, and turn on the television. NY1 reads eight degrees. I shave my head, shower, jam five days worth of dress shirts, underwear and aspirin into my bag.…
Read MoreYes
At 10:59 tonight, the crowd 29-stories below my office window began counting down as if it was New Years Eve. At 11:00, Charlie Gibson called California for Barack Obama, then projected his victory. Which is when the cheering began. Over two hours later, they’re still cheering. My mother still talks about shaking President John F.…
Read MoreAin’t That America
It hasn’t been until pretty recently that I even began to consider “The American Dream.” I dunno’, maybe I was too young, too single, had nothing invested or at stake. The older I get, though, and the more historical storms I weather (September 11, The Invasion Of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, etc), the more I’ve come…
Read MoreDebate Night In Hell’s Kitchen
Once again, it was debate night in Hell’s Kitchen. And once again, Chris and Meg Abad hosted a viewing party of epic proportions. We drank beers, ate nachos, and yelled at the TV screen. We gaffawed at CNN’s silly graphics, played Palin Bingo, and chugged on a number of key phrases (“maverick,” “reform,” “change,” etc.).…
Read MoreThe Electric City
Greetings from The Electric City. I’m writing you tonight from Room 202 of the Lackawanna Station Hotel where, through the thin walls of my room, piped in Muzak like drones away like The Lawrence Welk Show. The entire town has that feel, really: as if time forgot it sometime around 1957. Truth is, it was…
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