Let's talk Huntinington Metro Station. First of all, thanks to Maureen for adding me to her DC Metro Blog Map, where you can find me at the Huntington Station link.

Second... I drive to the aforementioned station most days and park across the street in a private lot run by Colonial Parking. Have been for years. And every day, me and the other couple of hundred people who park there cross in the middle of Huntington Avenue to get to the station. So yesterday, there were four Fairfax County Police officers (motorcycle cops) hanging out there giving warning tickets for jaywalking. They said they're trying to "educate" people to use the crosswalks at the end of the block.

In the five years I've been using this parking lot, I've never seen any human take the extra couple of minutes to walk to the corner and wait for a walk signal. And my own personal opinion is that anybody who's too stupid to cross in the middle of the block without getting run over deserves what he (or she) gets.

Gee, in this era of tight budgets and hightened security requirements, ain't it great that Fairfax County is using its finite and valuable police resources to combat freaking jaywalking?!

I love Grover-bashing. Kudo's to Slate's Chris Sullentrop for this article doing just that. Plus a funny little drawing to boot.

I read Bob Schieffer's memoir over the weekend and was struck by what he wrote about the '72 Democratic convention, which nominated George McGovern. McGovern rewrote the convention rules to get his base supporters in and freeze out establishment and officeholding Dems.

Now, there have been alot of comparisons between McGovern and Howard Dean. I think much of it is overdone. No election is very much like previous ones, so there is no perfect template to find in history. This election will not be 1972 or 1984 or 1992 redux. But there are bits and pieces that fit sometimes.

So it makes an interesting question. IF Dean goes all the way, are the Dem superdelegates really going to rally behind him? Would Dean be able to freeze them out of the convention. Or would they all just show up, enjoy the complimentary cocktails, go home, and spend the fall sitting on their hands?

Say it ain't so, Kobe! The heretofore good-citizen Lakers star is accused of sexual assault. Obviously, it's too early to know what the facts are here.

One of the interesting - if unfortunate - side effects of this is that it may actually increase Kobe's marketability as a spokesperson in the big-money sneaker industry. As ESPN's Ric Boucher recently noted, "The knock on Kobe is that his affluent upbringing and clean-cut image -- raised in an upscale 'burb, no legal scrapes, no tattoos -- has hurt him as an endorser."

Kind of a sad commentary that run-ins with the authorities would increase his "street-cred" with the urban youth (read: poor, black inner-city kids) who overspend on sneakers.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled political blogging.

There's no better place to watch DC's fireworks show than the top-floor corner suite of a major defense contractor. However, as one of my compatriots pointed out, there is some irony in celebrating America's independence in the office of a British company.

Anyway, many thanks to the divine Ms. Griggs for hosting the bash.

Happy Fourth of July! Remember, if you're not drinking liquor and setting off firecrackers, then the terrorists have won.

And now we're at 6.4 percent unemployment. Part of the jump this month has to do with previously discouraged workers getting back into the job hunt - and thus the statistical radar screen - but that's not politically relevant. The number is what's important. What's the magic number in the unemployment figure that starts to seriously erode Bush's popularity when it's hit? I'm thinking 6.7 percent, but it's just a guess.

I went to see The Italian Job (two and a half stars, by the way) with my friend the liberal Democrat Hill staffer. We talked a bit about the Phenomenon That Is Howard Dean. Despite her best efforts, she's not excited. She wanted to be excited, since he seemed to be a tough voice for liberalism. Then she found out that he's pro-gun and a little waffley on gay mariage. So it turned out in her mind that he's mainly just shrill and loud. So she's back to Kerry.

Clearly my friend is not representative of your average Dem voter, so don't read too much into this. Just a little slice of inside-the-Beltway thinking.

Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich (D-Fantasyland) comments on being endorsed by Willie Nelson:

"It's an honor to earn the support of a man who has come to symbolize the best values of America."
[Source: The Hotline 7-2-03]

Let's review the values that Willie Nelson symbolizes, shall we?

- Great country music
- Pot smokin'
- Tax dodgin'

One out of three ain't bad, I guess.

So have you seen Tom Davis's candidate for Fairfax County Board Chair, Mychele Brickner? I mean in person. She's got a fine resume, what with having been on the school board and all. Everybody gets all gushy over education, so it's a plus. But this woman couldn't speak or debate her way out of a paper bag. I saw her in a primary debate, and she spent the whole time literally cowering behind the podium. It was pitiful. Gerald Connolly is going to kick her butt.

Is it just me, or are ALOT of GOP congresscritters looking for press secretaries lately? Hart, Castle, Burgess, Snowe, Pryce, Shadegg, Granger, Emerson...

So I'm sure you're all begging to know what I think of NBC's brand-spanking-new political e-newsletter, "First Read." Not much. It does have the virtue of being quite a bit shorter than "The Note," but there is zero personality here. It's just not a fun read. Imagine the Daybook in gramtically correct, complete sentences. Hotline's "Wake-Up Call" is extremely short, and has alot more zip. The downside, of course, is that you (or your employer) has to pay for it.

Anyway, "The Note" is still tops in my book.