Inside Baseball

Alright, this is why I love this town so much. Sooner or later, you're going to run into a juicy piece of info that is way too cool to keep under wraps. I don't want to turn this thing into a gossip column, but just between you and me...

Our friend Mel Martinez is at it again. Take this news clipping that came out today in the St. Pete Times in Florida. In it, they talk about how Martinez has a pivotal vote in the CAFTA debate. The White House is leaning on him heavily to vote in favor of their trade agreement. However, U.S. Sugar (a major contributor of his 04 Senate campaign) is pushing him to vote against the bill. Their logic: Expected job loss for Florida sugar growers thanks to CAFTA is not a good thing.

Anyways, here's the little vignette that they won't tell you in the paper. A few weeks ago, El Senador, U.S. Sugar reps, and administration officials were at the White House trying to iron out their differences on the agreement. As you can expect, several hours of debate ensued and tempers got hot. Eventually, Martinez apparently stood up from the conference room table, signalled his two thumbs up and smiled while asking "So... we have a deal?"

Of course, everyone in the room was confused by the gesture and generally responded "No, we still have several issues to work out."

Martinez persisted, "Right... So, we have a deal." This time, extending his two thumbs up and smiling even wider.

The entire room, all still seated, sat silent and shook their heads no. Someone mentioned, "Senator, what are you talking about?"

Martinez smiled and exclaimed "Great!" and then walked out of the room with a few of his papers on CAFTA in hand. Some people followed him out of the room and realized that he was headed towards the oval office. This is where it gets interesting.

Appearently, someone witnessed Martinez asking the main receptionist for a moment with the President. However it worked out, the President walked out of the Oval with some understanding of what was going on.

Martinez, while handing some of his documents to Bush, exclaimed "Great to see you Mr. President. I'm happy to announce that we have a deal! Our issues with sugar are resolved and we are ready to support the agreement."

The President, who must have been briefed by someone who was in the room, responded "Martinez, what the f**k are you talking about? We have no deal. There are still issues to work on. You're ruining this whole f**king thing. You need to just shut the hell up. I'm going to ram this thing through Congress with or without Sugar. You need to just be quiet and shut the hell up!" He then slammed the papers on the desk outside his office and walked back into the Oval.

I haven't heard what happened next, but does it really matter? I know what you're saying... B.S. right? Well, believe me or not, but the source is pretty damn credible. They especially emphasize that Bush used the fowl language when ripping into Martinez. Obviously, it's not looking so optimistic for the President now if he has to depend on Martinez's vote on the trade agreement. But I thought the story was worth mentioning.

The gift that keeps on giving

I think I told you about my girlfriend, right?

She's into all the music I'm into, ready to go whenever I am...
Well, now she's 40GB and does Podcasts.

It's a beautiful life.

Shhhh!!! It's a secret.

Well, you can't say that I never gave you anything.

Pissed that I didn't think about this first...

Reprinted from our friends at FoxNews.com:

Jack of All Trades?

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff — accused, among other things, of defrauding an Indian tribe out of millions — once tried to fake his way into an elite Washington club with help from a rabbi... that according to an e-mail cited at a Senate hearing yesterday. In the e-mail, from 2000, Abramoff tells rabbi and friend Daniel Lapin that he's been nominated for membership at the Cosmos Club, but may not be qualified. So, Abramoff says, "I was wondering if ... I could put that I have received an award from [your faith-based organization] ... with a sufficiently academic title, perhaps something like Scholar of Talmudic Studies? ... Indeed, it would be even better if it were possible that I received these in years past, if you know what I mean."

Lapin's response? "I just need to know what needs to be produced. Letters? Plaques?" Well, despite that, Abramoff never became a member.

a blog a day...

Lady: Well, he's an ex-junkie, an alcoholic, mean-tempered, a practicing bisexual, and he has hepatitus C. But he's a wonderful man and, as guys like that go, he does have great taste in jewelry.

--Midtown office

As seen on Overheard in New York

Potent Potables version 2.0

Some of you may remember my first stab at a potpourri post. Well, since my head is about to explode with work and drama, I figured I'd throw in another one before it's too late.

Of all the things I can side with Bush about... one thing I could never defend was the administration's environmental record. Well, it looks like that task just became a bit tougher. You've got to give them credit though. It's like, that line from Will Farrell's Anchorman: "You doctored environmental reports?!? How'd you do that? Heck, I'm not even mad; I'm impressed. That's amazing!"

Soo, ummm... My receptionist started yesterday. Crazy, innit? I'm totally that guy now. Okay, so it's not my personal receptionist: she's on staff as receptionist for the Foundation office. But since i'm acting director of the foundation (yeah, don't ask), she's all mine! I've been giddy like a school girl all day. Hold My Calls!

Good ol' Katherine Harris is running. At first, I thought she'd have a tough time in the general. But the more I think about it... she actually has good positioning against Nelson. Especially seeing how Florida went in 2000, '02, and '04. The Dems are definitely going to come out in full force for this one too. It's going to be a fun race to watch. But you won't hear any further commentary from me on it... the degrees of seperation between myself and the campaign are way too small. I've already learned my lesson about blogging on something you're involved with... learned it the hard way.

This weekend: Gone to Florida for a quick business thing (Gosh, I'm hating myself more and more). Let's see how I stand up to the humidity this time.

Of all the things I've lost...

I miss my mind the most.

I'm coming up on the 27th hour of this WednesdayThursday, and I'm beginning to remember how much I missed Red Bulls. They're expensive as all get out... (yeah, I hate that colloquialism too), but they taste sooo good going down at 2 'o clock in the morning. I may need to do more of these all-nighters so I can be that guy walking through checkout at Harris Teeter at 11pm with a basket full of Toothpaste, Deorderant, Blank CD-Roms, a block of Asiago cheese, and a four pack of Red Bulls. Not everyone can do it... but yours truly has made the act of "being the guy," an artform.

I knew closing out the last bit of business for this week was going to be a pain, but I had no clue that I'd actually finish it up. I guess I'm getting better at this corporate-america type game, but I'm not so sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But enough of the whining already, the weekend is nigh, my projects are over, and my bed is waiting for me with open arms. Have you ever watched the sunrise from an office window? It's a mind-job, it is.

New Quasimoto... it's hot as hell. Get it now.

Your last bastion of solitude is gone. Everyone can see your inner-most thoughts (or melodies I should say). This plugin says so, but do I really like the Pixies that much? We'll see if the tickets I got to the Pixies/Bloc Party show prove me otherwise.

And no... Star Wars III was not that good. I'm sorry guys, it's just that the plot could have been so much better. I mean, you have spaceships, stuff blowing up, light sabers, CGI, and Sam Jackson.... and you STILL screw it up? I give up here.

Oh yeah, and Deep Throat. Kayla, I knew you were wrong. Of course, I thought it was Fred Felding, but then again... I thought Star Wars III was weak, so what do I know.