Quote of the Day: The Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalia Lama of Tibet made an appearance on Capitol Hill this week, of all places, to offer the opening prayer for Congress. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va) was among those who had photographs taken with the most recognized Buddhist in the world.

The Dalai Lama also came to Washington, DC, as CPAC 2014, a gathering of arch conservatives like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) were essentially giving rough drafts of would-be TED Talks focusing on how wimpy President Barack Obama has allegedly been with regards to Russian head of state Vladamir Putin regarding the hostile takeover of the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea coast of Ukraine.

Of course, many Republicans, such as Rudy Giuliani have professed admiration for Putin, which lead center-left political columnist E.J. Dionne of "The Washington Post" to suggest on NPR that Republicans are suffering from Putin Envy.

His Holiness was also in Washington, DC, when the Washington Capitals were playing vital home games. The Caps were able to put away the Phoenix Coyotes last night 3-2; we imagine very few people in Tibet or Bhutan watch pro hockey games.

Here is our quote from the Dalia Lama:

"The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred."

http://www.dalailama.com/

http://boulderzen.org/ (Boulder Zen Society in Boulder, Colo.)

http://www.politico.com/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.rollcall.com/

Things We Learned on Bing Today- All Things Washington DC

So why are we posting this image of President Barak Obama with Turkish Ambassador Namik Tan; well, if you read below, you will find out in this edition of 'Things We Learned on Bing Today':

1) Namik Tan, 57, is the Turkish ambassador to the United States. Since I'm a Turkish-American, and I follow Ambassador Tan on Twitter, I was aware of this before today. But, I didn't know his age. Additionally, Tan was the ambassador to Israel from 2007-09. The Blue Marmara Flotilla Raid by Israeli forces in 2010, which claimed the life of Furkan Dogan, 18, a Turkish-American from Troy, New York, and seven others on board the ship, strained relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv.

2) Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), 89, a World War Two veteran, is the oldest current U.S. Senator; Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), 79, is the oldest Republican in the Senate. We have heard rumors that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hates him with a passion; we have no idea how well McCain gets along with Senator Frank.

3) Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), 39, is the youngest U.S. Senator; he replaced McCain's buddy Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who was Al Gore's 2000 running mate. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), (born 1971) who is known for his fringe Tea Party politics, is the youngest Republican in the U.S. Senate.

4) Mayor Joshua Cohen, also 39, is the mayor of Annapolis, Maryland, the nearest state capital to Washington, DC. In 2009, Cohen defeated Republican David Cordle 47-41 percent in the election to replace Ellen O. Moyers (D), who is now 77.

5) Coach Paul Hewitt, 50, is the current men's basketball coach at George Mason University in Fairfx, Va., which is some 35 miles south of Washington, DC. Hewitt has been coach of the Patriots since 2011; previously he was coach of Georgia Tech from 2000-11.


http://www.twitter.com/NamikTan

http://www.gomason.com

We Couldn't Have Made This Up if We Tried....Sex Change, Anyone?

We actually borrowed this conversation topic from a dormant blog about actual conversations overheard in Washington, DC. Since the entry was from Oct. 14, 2010, we can not say that these lines were said by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the most far right senator on the Hill (he's a Tea Partier ya' know) as he was not elected then.

We also want to take a moment to shamelessly promote two screenings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975) with Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter (above), the transvestite from Transylvania, on Oct. 20th at 8:00 p.m. and then at 11:59 p.m. at the Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va.

Here is the conversation:

"You just can't go in and get a sex change operation. I mean, you just have to do the research and be ready if a doctor wants to you one."

http://www.theshadowboxcinema.com

Tweets from DNC in Charlotte_ An Empty Chair for bin Laden

Today, we continue logging tweets from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) which officially gets underway tomorrow in Charlotte, NC, but many meet and greet events, including delegation breakfast talks, have started up.

"The Washington Post" is focusing on Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland (pictured top) as he is one of the most -coveted speakers at the convention. Former Virginia governor Tim Kaine, who is running for an open U.S. senate seat, will also speak in Charlotte. Just so there is no confusion, O"Malley is not the governor of North Carolina, that distinction belongs to Gov. Beverly Perdue, also a Democrat, who is stepping down this year at the end of her term.

We are also using a coffee cup from the Turkish coffee Kahve Dunyasi (Coffee World) since many progressives have started the Coffee Party in opposition to the far right Tea Party movement, which has actually propelled fringe candidates, such as Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), into congressional representatives!

Here is a look at some of the tweets from last night, from the right, the left and the center:

1) @theobserver (Charlotte Observer): Was that George Clooney jogging down Tryon Street?

2) @DavidCornDC (David Corn, a liberal journalist with "Mother Jones"): Even Clint Eastwood said we were halfway through a comeback! That is, before he began his career as a performance activist.

3) @reason ("Reason" is a libertarian magazine): Charlotte protests already bigger than in Tampa.

4) @KyDems (Kentucky Democratic Party): Ky Democrats starting to arrive in Charlotte. KDP is finishing convention walk through.

5) @ChrisRockoz (We thought this was the real Chris Rock, but it appears to be an impersonator. Nevertheless, it is very amusing): Democrats should have an empty chair for the entire DNC and when someone asks who it belongs to, they can say Osama bin Laden.

6) @StephenFHayes (Stephen F. Hayes, a columnist for the conservative publication "The Weekly Standard"): Advice to all in #Charlotte. Avoid the Orange Cab company. An hour late for pickup. Told four times cab was 'five minutes' away.

7) @BarryHouse (Barry House is a liberal activist in Illinois): I wish just once #Democrats would be as vicious at their convention as #Republicans always are at theirs.


http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.kydemocrat.com

http://www.reason.com

http://www.weeklystandard.com

http://www.ncdp.org

http://www.mddems.org

http://www.charlotteobserver.com