Iselin, NJ -- Glen and Jason Go To White Castle

Glen Bobrow bearing Jason's first Crave Case

posted by jbrzoska @ 3:57 PM Trackback Link 3 comments links to this post

Iselin, NJ -- U.S. Military in Syria?

Just an interesting, though perhaps unsurprising little tidbit:

I was just chatting with an American soldier who returned from Iraq six months ago. I asked him where he was stationed, and he told me the outskirts of Fallujah and along the Syrian border. I then asked if any members of the American military ever crossed over to the Syrian side of the border (which would be a big no-no, akin to America entering Cambodia during Vietnam). He was about to answer, and then he clammed up, indicating he couldn't tell me. Intriguing...

Tags: Iraq, Syria

posted by jbrzoska @ 12:05 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Christiana, DE -- Perfect Place To Mention Judaism

Stopped for a slice and a post in Christiana, a few miles from the New Jersey border...

As I mentioned in my last post, I met today with Ira Forman, the Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council. I'm trying to discuss political careers with as many people who have chosen such a path as I can, as I continue to consider whether or not I'd like to follow (and, of course, whether I've got a shot).

As I would've expected, he stressed the importance of young people getting involved in politics. Ira told me that Bobby Kennedy inspired him to get involved, and in fact asked me to read excerpts from a speech by Kennedy.

While it was a great speech, I don't really need inspiring. Others my age do, for us to get anywhere. Is it a Bobby Kennedy we need for our generation? The closest we've had in the last three decades was Ronald Reagan, but to me, he was fighting for an entirely different American vision. A lot of the Democratic Party are banking on Barack Obama, but he's too (ugh) centrist for me.

What really got people involved in progressive politics in the '60s, I think, was the intersection of the anti-Vietnam movement with the Free Love movement. Lesson? Opposing war and getting people laid is a great combo.

Interestingly enough, the NJDC has no official stance on Israel...

Battery dead, more later.

posted by jbrzoska @ 2:33 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Washington, DC -- OK, Maybe Politics Shouldn't Be Welcome

I've been a bit busy the last two days, but last time you heard from me, I was complaining about how politics aren't welcome in normal American conversation.

I spent last night at the hotel bar chatting with several defense contractors, and the discussion drifted into politics... two of the contractors were conservatives and one a liberal, and all seemed to be very, very uninformed. I, of course, am a self-described liberal, but I couldn't find myself willing to defend the one guy who was liberal, because he was just as ignorant as the conservatives. Maybe that's a good reason people shouldn't talk about politics -- they have no idea what's going on!

Speaking of politics, I'm meeting in 15 minutes with Ira Forman, the executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, thanks to Paul for pulling some strings. I'll let you all know how it goes after I get to Jersey late this afternoon.


A view of the U.S. Capitol from breakfast

posted by jbrzoska @ 10:37 AM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Gaithersburg, MD -- Politics Not Welcome

Why is it that political conversation isn't welcome in public in the U.S.? I was at the hotel bar this evening, chatting with a few people, including a guy who worked for a pharmaceutical company. He mentioned that it was a very lucrative business, and I said, "Of course it's lucrative when you work for a company whose industry writes the laws that pertain to it." We had an interesting exchange, culminating with me shooting off some statistics from the web, when I noticed that everyone else at the bar starting getting up to leave.

Why should it be a bad thing to be informed about the issues that actually affect us?

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:32 PM Trackback Link 1 comments links to this post

Gaithersburg, MD -- Watching CBS... Really!

I'm hanging out at the hotel bar with good ol' "Red" Robyn, the bartender with the heaviest hand, watching TV. I'm not completely caught up on 24, so we're watching CBS instead. Now, I've been covering the "Turn Off CBS 6" campaign for a while, but turning off CBS 6 has never been an issue for me. Why? Because I never watch CBS anyway. I think the last show I watched regularly on CBS was Northern Exposure, which went off the air, in what, 1994?

I've watched two shows I haven't seen before, How I Met Your Mother (which stars Doogie Howser's Neil Patrick Harris and American Pie's Alyson Hannigan), and Two and a Half Men. How I Met Your Mother was pretty lousy, but Two and a Half Men was pretty funny, in an old-fashioned (80s) sitcom sort of way. Is that CBS's domain these days -- in the face of continuous story-based network shows like Desperate Housewives, 24, Boston Legal, West Wing, and Grey's Anatomy? Must be. The CBS shows are very popular, despite the fact that I don't know anyone who watches them.

The best part of Two and a Half Men is the theme song: "Men men men men manly men men men..." I almost fell over laughing!

posted by jbrzoska @ 9:24 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Gaithersburg, MD -- Albany's Gettin' a Wegman's!

I'm back down in Maryland for the week, but I had to share that I have it from a reliable source that Albany is finally getting a Wegman's! It'll be out on NY Route 155.

In just a year or two, I'll be grocery shoppin' like a king.

More info on this as I have it.

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:11 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post