unbelieveable

before you read this-- let me say that a) i pray for this president and this country daily, and b) i think that you can love this country and ask questions about policy, and disagree with the way the ship is sailing, and all the while still consider yourself a "patriot". i guess maybe this is a way for me to spend my own "political capital". --rachel




here's the Center for American Progress' look at the inauguration by the number$ (thanks to Mediacitizen's Tim Karr who also reveals a most interesting donor toward the jaw-dropping inauguration price tag which may be closer to $70 mill all told). For emphasis, it comes just as the U.S. announces that it's scaling back tsunami relief efforts (even as the death toll skyrockets to over 226,000):
$40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs.
$2,000: Amount FDR spent on the inaugural in 1945…about $20,000 in today's dollars.
$20,000: Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by D.C.'s Ritz Carlton.
200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration.
$10,000: Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies.
400: Pounds of lobster provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental hotel.
3,000: Number of "Laura Bush Cowboy cookies" provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the Mandarin hotel.
$1: Amount per guest President Carter spent on snacks for guests at his inaugural parties. To stick to a tight budget, he served pretzels, peanuts, crackers and cheese and had cash bars.
22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration.
1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.
$15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.
$200,500: Price of a room package at D.C.'s Mandarin Oriental, including presidential suite, chauffeured Mercedes limo and outfits from Neiman Marcus.
2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office
26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.
$290: Bonus that could go to each American solider serving in Iraq, if inauguration funds were used for that purpose.
$6.3 million: Amount contributed by the finance and investment industry, which works out to be 25 percent of all the money collected.
$17 million: Amount of money the White House is forcing the cash-strapped city of Washington, D.C., to pony up for inauguration security.
9: Percentage of D.C. residents who voted for Bush in 2004.
66: Percentage of Americans who think this over-the-top inauguration should have been scaled back.

Oy and Vey

well kids, it's been an interesting two weeks, i must say. if variety really is the spice of life, i think mine has just turned into an all you can eat mexican buffet of sorts. seriously, i kid you not.

today is meeting day. from 1:30pm until about 8:30pm, i will be in meeting land. if you want to call and leave me funny messages on my cell phone, i will be so happy when i get them. and i will even return your phone call! yay.

confirmation retreat was a ton of fun, really. i didn't cry, none of the kids cried, and i'm pretty sure that we all learned something. thank God for favors large and small.

i feel like i have some big story i'm supposed to tell you, but i can't think on one right now, so i guess i'll log off and get back to work.

life is good.

mil besos--rachel

geeze, oh man

well kids, it's 2005. can you believe that? 2005, man. that's bizarre.
this is the year i turn 27... dammit. i guess it's better than being dead, though.

i hope you all had a fabulous new year's celebration. i was quite happy to see a) texas a&m get their asses handed back to them( i was praying for a shut out, but God is merciful even to fran. thankfully, bear bryant is not) b) the University of Texas had a stunning last minute win in the only non-corporately sponsored bowl, for which i was very grateful, and c) people from high school, some of whom i had not seen in literally YEARS. whooo hooo and cheers.

i also learned something between the late night hours of dec. 31st and the early morning hours of january 1st. and it's this-- if you make the commitment to drink scotch at the beginning of the evening, stick with it. resist the urge to switch to champagne (ok, ok, it was sparkling white). otherwise, you will end up calling one of your nearest and dearest and yelling random bits of advice (most of which were probably not needed) and not making much sense. you also may spend a lot of time leaving voice mails for people who will laugh at them the next day. that's kind of nice, but in a sort of annoying way. so, make your committment, and stick to it. also, hydration is a good thing. even if it means you spend 25% of the night peeing, running to pee, or running back from peeing. the lack of headache the next day is well worth it. however, if you choose to be a moron and smoke a whole entire pack of mentholated cigarettes, you deserve to feel like you spent the whole night licking a cat's ass. btw, for those of you keeping score at home, this lady is four days nicotine free. whoo hooo. if you want to know who to thank, thank Baby Nels' parents for getting knocked up in time to save me from myself.

i'm still recovering from christmas crud, just in time to run out to the cedar forrest of new braunfels to teach my little angels all about the sacrament of confirmation. oh joy. no, i really do like the teaching end of things. it's a lot of fun when they get it. and when they don't get it, well, it's kind of like having splinters shoved under your fingernails and then getting a lemon juice manicure. i'm hopeful that they get it. in any case, i'll keep you posted.

life is good.

mil besos--r