Where is Whome?

[TayTay]

Haven't heard from you in a while.
Taking a break from DU?
On vacation?
What's up dearie?

[rox63]

1. It is prime vacation season

Maybe she's on a beach somewhere.

[ginnyinWI]

2. she posted July 4th

So maybe she's away on vacation.

[whometense]

3. Hi,

I'm around, and even lurking some, but haven't much felt like posting, for a lot of reasons. I won't go into a long navel-gazing explanation that would put you all into a coma of boredom, but there are two main reasons - burnout, and that the stuff that's holding my attention lately isn't specifically Kerry-related, and so seems OT here.

I'm also wrestling with the fact that, when you come right down to it, in a lot of ways I really really hate politics. (Which goes to show how much I love Kerry - I've never missed a vote in my life, but I wouldn't have become this active for anyone but him.) I don't have the stomach for the nasty hardball stuff.

The whole internet has seemed oddly claustrophobic to me lately, a feeling that started with the incessant slams at Kerry here (well, not here, but in GD, and elsewhere on the net). I know there are relatively few people who feel that way, but I've gotten very tired of the way their views have been amplified by the internets. There are websites and writers I respect hugely, and I read them every day, but, as with the ignore list, I've purged my daily must-read list.

Already this is more navel-gazing than I intended, and probably too much information. I miss talking with you, but haven't felt like I had a lot to add to the conversation lately.

Oh, yeah, and I'm somewhat obsessed with the Rove story, while skeptical it will actually amount to anything. I hope Patrick Fitzgerald has some powerful friends who will watch his back. Maybe in the CIA.

[TayTay]

4. I understand, I really do

Most Americans hate politics because it is nasty, it never ends and it doesn't seem to be about things that relate to them. (And then there is the insider view, which is worse.) I can understand that burnout happens.

Take whatever time you want, lurk, do whatever relaxes and re-invigorates you. There will not be that much going on in Congress until Sept when the Supreme Court pick(s) start generating some serious hearings. The stuff that is going to go on in July and August is interesting (well to geeky folks like me) but not earth-shattering.

Burnout is something we all go through. (Yup, me too!) Take the time, take some rest, do what you need to and then come back when you feel you want to and contribute. You are most definitely worth the wait.

[whometense]

5. Thanks.

It's nice to be missed.

An email from JK just popped into my inbox. Always a mood lifter.

[ginnyinWI]

6. I know--I'm less emotionally involved lately, too

I do come to this group every day, but overall I'm putting more of my emotional energy into other things. Politics does get frustrating and depressing, and there's always something to be mad about!

I guess after a while politicians develop an immunity to it. A politician has to be a true optimist (like JK is) in order to keep trying at all. At least he and people like him can do something about it, where mostly all we can do is talk about it. And watch and wait.

I know 9/11 had a direct influence on my increased interest in what's going on in the world. And which politicians are in power makes a difference, so that's why I stay interested. But it's hard when you see things going wrong for such a long time. Sigh. I'm still reading the op-eds and other things on the internet, and still watching the news, but have to step back and accept that it's going to take time for things get better. The 2006 elections are still over a year away, and even then we aren't sure we can take back a majority in either house. We should, of course, celebrate the victories (SS, Bolton), but at the same time realize this is a long-term battle that may take a while to win.

I have a hard time relating to people at DU in GD and elsewhere who seem to love to be angry and rant just for its own sake. Whatever the topic of the day, they are there to express their outrage. How exhausting!

[TayTay]

7. I sensed this coming

Perfectly okay. It is not possible to stay at a worked up pitch forever, it just isn't. And that's okay.

I adore the rough and tumble of politics. I just love it. It energizes me. But I'm not everyone and tastes vary. The Internet and DU do not lend themselves to anything even resembling perspective either. When everything is 'Wow, must see, end of the world, this is it' I can see where people can get exhausted by the whole thing. Again, take some time off, do things you love and come back later, when the spirit moves you. DU willl still be here. (Come back for the Supreme Court war. There is fun to be had there. Well, for me anyway.)

Whome: My sister-Masshole and fellow Red Sox fanatic -- you started working for Kerry in Boston in what Jan of 2003? Girl, you have certainly earned some time off. Take it. (Hey, the real baseball season starts after the All-Star break anyway. Time to start bearing down on these games and focusing. And hey, Yankees are in town for 4 this weekend. There is fun to be had here kid. You in or what?) This one's for you, sweetie:

[whometense]

9. Thanks, sister Masshole!

One of my wandering chicks is due home in two days - in time to work the next homestand. And just in time for another one to go off to Tanglewood for the weekend. The third is in Switzerland at the moment. Keeping track of them is kind of fatiguing - I'm being a good hands-off mom, and they call in regularly, but I miss them.

Did you get your Wally's adirondack chair? My son came home after one game with a Nomar bear who is now sitting on Wally's lap. Did you see Remy talking about Wally's stalker? She looked a lot like Wally, only with blonde hair. I am ready for some silliness. King Kaufman predicts:

Well, actually, after stinking out the joint myself with the rest of my National League preview and the first 43/47ths of the American League, I made some nice calls in the A.L. East, to wit:

• "While Boston looks more or less the same , its biggest worry being a post-championship hangover, the Yankees are starting to look a little creaky. I know I've been saying that for a while now, but I'm saying it anyway."

• "The Orioles would appear to have the best chance to knock on the doors of the top two, though it'll probably be one of those faint knocks."
• "The Devil Rays have some fun players ... but they're headed back to last place."

• "Predicted '05 finish: Boston, New York, Baltimore, Toronto, Tampa Bay"

[TayTay]

11. Ah, baseball. Ah Yankees, little practice wars

Boston people are nuts, you know that don't ya. For the benefit of anyone listening in, Wally is the mascot of the Boston Red Sox. (Wally = The Green Monster = the Outfield Wall at Fenway Park.) I got Wally (signed by Red Sox announcer and possessor of the finest Boston Accent in all of the entertainment media) for my Birthday this year. He came with a custom-built adirondack chair so that he can sit in comfort and watch the games. (Again, Boston people are nuts!)

Did you read Shaughnessy's book 'Reversing the Curse'? I got it at Costco and it is good. Real good. In the 2nd chapter Shaughnessy talks about the 2003 Series with the Yankees and how after the 7th game loss the Red Sox were taunted by everyone in Yankee Stadium. (Everyone.) Not only did they just suffer a crushing, devastating defeat, but the Yankee fans, personnel and management were actually yelling at them. And Yankee fans were waiting for the Sox to come out of the Stadium so they could curse at them and call them losers to their face. That was when Theo and the gang decided that this was NOT going to happen again. At all. And they did what they had to do to win. And it was soooooo sweet. (I am not above petty revenge and that win over the Yankees and over all the obnoxious things they have done to the Sox over the years was pure, sweet revenge. It was delicious even if it wasn't served up cold.) Ahm, and there were some great stories about how Theo handled the Boston MAssacre in game 3 of the ALCS in 2004. Theo rocks!

I think this weekend's series should be a lot of fun. First place is on the line. The weather looks pretty good and I think the Old Towne Team is where they need to be. I think this weekend could jump-start them again. At any rate, it won't be dull, that's for sure.

[whometense]

8. I think TayTay's right -

it's hard - no, impossible - to keep up the election year intensity forever, especially for those of us who are relative rookies.

I was thinking today about Plamegate and how hard it is for me to keep all the strands straight in my head. For no apparent reason I remembered how I have never been able to master chess, Risk, anything that requires long term strategy. In some ways I'm a true Pisces - emotive, intuitive, and a little floaty. I think that's part of the reason why I find politics so exhausting. I'm always trying to make sense of things that on the surface often make no sense at all. It's funny because the three most important guys in my life (husband and two sons) all love to argue and all are great at strategy. My daughter and I hate arguing (though she's better at it than I am). I don't know if that's a male/female thing or a personality thing. TayTay mentioned she had been trained by her father in political combat, so maybe it's a combination of the two.

It's fascinating, but I prefer a little distance.

[BlueIris]

10. I totally hear you on the Fitzgerald point, whome.

CIA, NSA--maybe he should hook up with Wayne Madsen and Clinton Curtis. Whoever they have backing them up has done a decent job. In the sense that those two are both alive, last I checked.