Courage, you can say that again.

Yes, the NSA taps phones. Shocking.

As one of the world's last Idealists (an affliction of youth, as my Father in law puts it), I trust that our government agencies respect the data they collect and the mission they are given. I trust that fellow citizens at these agencies will not bastardize our personal information for some ill-gotten gain. Yet that is something lacking that makes this issue more of a concern now than it ever was... Trust. Former Virgina Governor Mark Warner has given some commencement speaches recently that make me feel a little better about future leaders. From what I know and what I've read, I respect Mark Warner. I hope he will have the support he needs to stick to these values and not get suckered by the "need to get (re)elected". Below are some highlights from Governor Warner's address at Wake Forest:

"Never forget that we need to take risks, and yes, if you take those risks, occasionally you'll fail, but it can and should lead to greater success.

"Beyond that responsibility to yourself there is a responsibility you will have to your community — a basic obligation that all of us who live here have, but unfortunately, too few take seriously. And that's to conduct our political debates in a civil and respectful manner.

"Turn on the TV. Listen to the radio. Click on almost any blog. And, you'll see what I'm talking about: personal and partisan attacks, complex issues reduced to easy-to-digest sound bites, and way too much crossfire and not nearly enough cross talk.

"It's no wonder that Americans are so alienated, cynical and distrustful of the basic institutions of government. In this age of amazing technological achievement, we have become better connected, but more divided. In this iPod age, we are finding it harder and harder to look beyond the "I."

"Of course, we can, and should, disagree about the great issues of the day — for, indeed, they are great. But, we should be able to disagree, for example, about the war in Iraq or our nation's foreign policy without impugning each other's patriotism. We should be able to disagree about serious social issues without questioning each other's underlying morality or religious sincerity. We should be able to disagree about tax or health care policy without questioning each other's basic compassion or motives.

"If you remember nothing else of what I say to you today, remember this: No one — no one — in politics has a monopoly on virtue, on patriotism, or most importantly, on the truth. And that goes for everyone — that goes for everyone from conservative to liberal, and everyone in between."

Read the whole speech on Forward Together's web site.

Again, my hope is that this dialog will happen. The United States has the ability to be the country of good will, accountability and reform in the world. We just need a leader with courage who will sacrifice something for the greater good. Whether that is Mark Warner or some other leader remains to be seen, but we desperately need courage.

P.S. Talk amongst yourselves... I'll give you a topic... "Where does a Fiscal Conservative, Social Moderate find a home? Or is the goverment too big for them?"

Just to start...

Alright, fozzieud is a holdover from 8th grade and not much creativity in college. The story is stupid, don't ask.

Anyway, here it is, my blog. I kept reading everyone else's... getting some laughs from the Rangers, getting a little bored and, if you lean to the left, getting my fill of Right wing bashing (with an extensive vocabulary) .

Most of you know, T and I love food and wine. Much of what I put here will probably be related to that, and travel (have you seen our honeymoon shots), and sports (just wait for "Why I hate, hate, hate Barry Bonds, but can't really"), and politics. So anyway, we had an awesome dinner last night with great friends at Dino's off of Conn. Ave. by the Cathedral. Wine list is reason enough to go, but the food rocked too! Service was ok, but after two bottles of wine, you don't really care.