They say I’m indestructible…

They say I’m indestructible.

They also say that the law of big numbers says things have to go my way one of these days.

Yesterday, I went to see my neurologist. If you’re wondering why a 30-year-old man has to go see a neurologist, the answer is that I survived brain cancer last year. And this fall, I had what everyone thought was a stroke.

Except it wasn’t.

My neurologist told me the news straight up: I have multiple sclerosis.

When my mom found out she had it, she had my dad by her side. When I found out, I had four office walls, an exam room, and a chair.

They say I’m indestructible. Except I’m not. And I’ve never felt more alone in my life.

They say the law of big numbers evens everything out eventually. Eventually can’t come soon enough.

Too Hot…

While you’re at it…you need to visit my friend Spencer’s new blog, found here, as well as on the blogroll on the right.

Ask away…

I don’t know if this is still happening, but Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is apparently available for anyone to chat withhere.

Ask away.

I haven’t forgotten the blog…

Seriously. I haven’t.

I’ve been busy helping a friend with her State Senate campaign, which means that I’ve kept my blogging to a minimum, so it doesn’t interfere with her race. Also, I’ve had a (thankfully, minor) stroke, which I’ll write about sometime in the near future.

If you’re still reading, first, thank you! I wouldn’t have expected it, but thanks! Also, I’ve updated the About page to include my answers from a survey I filled out.

At this rate, I expect blogging to resume shortly after November. I’ll have some analysis of how things turned out (or didn’t, in that event). And more stuff about me, politics, art, music, that sort of thing. I’ve been at this for five years, and I won’t quit now.

Home, At Last…

In about a half-hour, anyway. My flight to Colorado Springs is delayed. I’ll rest up tonight, then it’s back to work here in Colorado.

If you’re looking for something to do tomorrow night, Bill Winter is taking a chocolate fountain shower tomorrow night with former VA Governor (and likely ‘08 Presidential candidate) Mark Warner. Check it out at Bill’s webpage.

And so it ends…

Well, this is what victory feels like. At once, it feels like what I thought it would feel like, and not at all what I thought it would feel like.

Let me explain.

For the past few months, I’ve been working to get Ned Lamont elected to the U.S. Senate. Well, to be exact, I wasn’t doing that; the election that just ended this past Tuesday was merely to decide who would be the Democratic nominee for Senate here in Connecticut. The hard work, in some ways, begins now. But that’s a fight that I’ll not be participating in very much at all.

Anyway, I’ve been working in politics to one degree or another for the better part of the past decade. And, until Tuesday night, I’d never won an election. Ever. It’s hard to imagine what that’s like, but it’s true. I’ve worked for campaigns at every level from the courthouse to the White House, and I’ve never won a race.

Until Tuesday.

And the crazy thing was, that Tuesday night in Meriden, at the hotel ballroom, I wasn’t the only one. All kinds of folks were wandering around in a daze, with big fat smiles on our faces. Still, we knew that it wouldn’t be over until Lieberman conceded.

And then it came. I caught the non-concession concession (as graceless and churlish a speech as I’ve ever seen–and I’m including Nixon’s Greatest Hits) in my hotel room. I finished dressing, hustled downstairs, backstage pass in hand.

I was there when Ned said, “The land of steady habits voted for a big change!” And just like that, every single last one of us in that room exploded.

Bill Winter Apologizes

In one of those random screw-ups, Bill Winter's campaign robocalled 43 thousand Democratic voters between midnight and 2 AM last night. Bill's doing the stand-up thing and taking responsibility for the screw-up. Here's what he wants all of you to know:

 I want to formally and sincerely apologize to anyone who received a robo-call from my campaign at an inappropriate time. I know no one likes to get robo-calls under the best of circumstances, but unfortunately, we had a technical problem that allowed some calls to go out at inappropriate times. This is NOT an indication of what is going on with my campaign.

This is a one time technical problem that we will resolve immediately!I take personal responsibility for this. I deeply and sincerely apologize. We will find out why this happened.

We will get it fixed. And it WILL NOT happen again.I understand your anger and I only ask that you not take it out on my staff. When things go wrong in this campaign, the only person responsible is me! I will be at a variety of public functions this weekend and will be available to apologize to you in person. You can find those events on our website and I invite you to come talk to me.

Again, I apologize most sincerely.

Bill Winter
Way to go, man. 

Clean up…

I'm taking the time to clean up the site a little…changed some links…added one or two. That sort of thing.

If you're reading this, go spend time with your dads. Happy Father's Day.

Workin’ for the Weekend

Just wanted to let folks know that I haven’t been posting recently because I’ve been working for Ned Lamont’s U.S. Senate campaign. Yes, *that* Ned Lamont–the one that’s running against Joe Lieberman, the junior Republican senator from Connecticut.

Anyway, I’ll still be blogging on personal stuff, but political posting will be curtailed because of my position with the campaign. Also, it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: my opinions, and those opinions expressed in this journal over the last five years are my own. So don’t go asking the campaign about stuff I’ve written in the past–their message is my message.

Incidentally, Connecticut is really a pretty state. And my part of the state is rather, well, Shire-like. Yes, I’m talking about the place where the hobbits live.

Another Anti-War March…yawn…

So, apparently, there's another anti-war march today in NYC. I'm growing more and more disenchanted with the movement, since marching is the only thing most folks seem to want to do.

Back in 2004, playwright Tony Kushner, of Angels in America fame, said this in an interview. It's stuck with me, since it was such a pithy and tough illustration of the difficulties we face as progressives: 

Listen, here's the thing about politics: It's not an expression of your moral purity and your ethics and your probity and your fond dreams of some utopian future. Progressive people constantly fail to get this.

[snip]

In a certain sense, Bush was right when he called the anti-war demonstrations a "focus group." We went out on the street and told him that we didn't like the war. But that was all we did: We expressed an opinion. There was no one in Congress to listen to us because we were clear about why they couldn't listen. Hillary Clinton was too compromised, or Chuck Schumer — and God knows they are. But if people don't pressure them to do better, we're lost.

So true.