So for the past month I have been super busy but now I am ready to dive again into the blogosphere.
I was busy reporting and having fun at the Central Kitsap Reporter, where I wrote stories about crazy anti-nuclear weapon who recently broke into nearby Bangor Base, a survivor of the Holocaust and a follow-up to a three-month old homicide investigation of a local country star.

On Friday, I moved to Washington D.C. to begin my internship.

I’m actually living with old friends from middle school from when I lived in Italy. It’s actually my old scoutmaster from my famous troop 007 and his family.

On Monday, I went to my first seminar at the Center for Politics and Journalism, located at the Watergate. The head guy is this intense libertarian Terry Michael, who began the program 19 years ago and actually is a former press secretary for the Democratic National Committee. His blog is quite interesting.

Most of the week I spent at the National Law Journal where I am actually interning. The Journal merged with the Legal Times a year ago so I am helping write things on their blog and hopefully for their weekly publication on Monday later in the spring.

This semester is going to be quite the adventure.

Jason Reitman has firmly established his niche in Hollywood.

With his third movie, Up in the Air, the standout director has once again taken us into the world of one of society’s most unfavorable characters and humanized them by walking the fine line between satirical light heartedness and strong, practical moralizing.

With Thank You For Smoking, Aaron Eckhart made us almost like a tobacco lobbyist, entertaining us with his brilliant argumentation while reinforcing the industry’s evil hypocrisy.

With Juno, a lovable Ellen Page dropped a endless line of hilarious one-liners, while sparking discussion about the very real issue of teenage pregnancy.

In this film George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, an obsessive businessman with a goal of flying 10 million miles in the air. His cheerful character is likable and fun, despite his pitiful distinctively corporate worldview.

This is Reitman’s most serious movie. While I guess other people were expecting the more serious tone, I was expecting more humor and memorable lines and while Clooney’s acting is playful, it’s not Juno in that regard.

But when reviewing movies, a lack of laugh-out-loud humor is the hardest thing to decipher. Especially in a movie with as good a screenplay and flow as this likely Best Picture nominee.

The morality tale is well balanced, as the audience often roots for Clooney’s character. I won’t leak any of the story’s great twists, but he doesn’t get everything he wants, and rightfully so.

As a businessman who’s whole career is to race around the county informing various corporate employees that they are fired, his job is thankless. But by trying to teach new business partner Natalie Keener, played by Anna Kendrick, the tools of the trade, he convinces us he tries to go about his work in the most caring and sympathetic way.

But his job is a position that only exists because our world is so job oriented obsessed to the extreme. Like anyone in his position, Clooney’s character is detached from reality and rightfully so, it constantly comes back to bite him.

The film couldn’t be more timely. Everyone knows someone who has been laid off during the past year, and who will be personally touched by Reitman’s latest movie.

But once again, he has given us a new perspective, while pushing a message as basic to human nature as a love of Reitman’s moviemaking brilliance.

As usual, I’m college basketball obsessed to the max, possibly even more this year because the NBA killed my childhood, the Hawks are lame and the Cougs are looking far better than expected. So here it goes, my Pac-10 predictions for 2009-10.

Washington – The Husky big men only have to be decent for the Huskies to take the conference. The backcourt is scary. Despite often being overshadowed last year by Jon Brockman, Isiah Thomas and Justin Dentmon last year, the long-underachieving senior was the team’s best scorer in the second half. He also somehow pulls down nearly 10 rebounds a game despite being only 6-6. Isiah Thomas might not have much room to get better, but he’s a speedster and a scoring machine. He hasn’t done anything so far but apparently this Abdul Gaddy guy is the nation’s second-best point guard prospect. I’m assuming everybody wasn’t wrong so I’d be amazed if he doesn’t emerge this season. Then again, the team may not play him much because they need Venoy Overton on the court, their best defender.

California – A guarantee for the NCAA Tournament. The team got Pac-10 championship hype because they had the  most complete returning team. Then again, they’ve added nothing new to the mix this year. Still, Jerome Randle, last year’s conference assist leader, was as good as anyone in the conference in 2008-09 and will challenge Klay Thompson and Pondexter for player of the year. Patrick Christopher is also a solid NBA prospect. Like the Huskies, they have no big man so if defenses can slow the three-pointer, this team will fall.

WSU  - Out of principle, I refuse to predict the Cougs higher because I don’t want to jinx them. They may be too inexperienced and may not be quite the 2007-08 team, but the Cougs are the most balanced team in the conference. Klay Thompson is the best player in the Pac-10. Reggie Moore is possibly the best freshman in the Pac-10, a speedster who fits perfectly with Ken Bones new-look Cougar offense. DeAngelo Casto could dominate in a conference devoid of big men. Marcus Capers is gunning for the all-Conference defensive team and the team has plenty of depth behind him. This team might fall a few places because of inconsistency but the potential is sky high.

Arizona State – For some reason, defenses are always far harder to analyze than offenses. And last year’s team was awesome defensively and is currently the best in the Pac. They don’t have much for scorers but Derek Glasser is an All Pac-10 player who will surprise people with his scoring, and especially dishing, ability.

Oregon State – This team had a lot of hype because of its solid improvement under new coach Craig Robinson last year. The team’s solid defense from last year though hasn’t show up so far, leaving this team as a bit of an enigma. Still they have a quality group of scorers with Seth Tarver and Calvin Haynes so this team has potential to go significantly up or down.

Oregon – This team will get a boost just because they may be the only team in the conference with two real big men. Joevan Catron is not really a star but seems to get rebounds galore. Michael Dunigan was as hyped as any freshman entering last season and hasn’t lived up to the expectations, but is still a decent threat down low. Tajuan Porter is streaky but always a scoring threat.

USC – Despite losing coach Tim Floyd and practically all their recruits in the process, this team is better than it looks. They have a surprisingly good big man in Nikola Vucevic, a good proven scorer in Dwight Lewis and a solid transfer in Alec Stephenson. The fact that this team isn’t dead last following its awful offseason is amazing.

Arizona – Nic Wise was at times one of the best scorers in the conference last year. But who else is on this team? The Wildcats’ 26 consecutive March Madness appearances is in serious jeopardy.

Stanford – Landry Fields is a beast and constant double double threat, but he’s really all they got. He’s seemingly been putting up crazy numbers even though he’s not nearly as good as Klay or Quincy. There has been little to fear at this school since the Lopez twins left.

UCLA – This team stinks, and it makes me happy. The Bruins have been good for way too long so it’s awesome to see them down. Apparently their Malcolm Lee kid is a future lottery pick but I haven’t seen anything and everyone else is overrated.

Like many newspaper and political nerds, I will admit I am completely addicted to The Onion. These two made me laugh my head off.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/gays_too_precious_to_risk_in
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/conservatives_warn_quick_sex

So apparently my articles appeared in three different newspapers this week because a general legislative preview I did on the Kitsap County legislators appeared in my hometown Bainbridge Review as well. It was an odd week because since our old writer left after the past issue and the awesome Lynsi Burton, who works with me now at the Reporter but was stuck in the snow in Washington D.C., couldn’t arrive until this Tuesday, I kind of had to write a million articles. Most of them were little community ones. Good experience but little I would use for major clips. I have found that I enjoy writing articles on big development projects because they seem to combine my interests in environmental issues and politics. So here’s a clip and a few others from the week below.

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/pat/news/80073927.html

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/pat/news/80073877.html

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/pat/news/80073917.html

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/pat/business/80074012.html

So this week at work in Silverdale, I had a bit of an adventure.

I did a long piece on a controversy with a new gravel mine that is going into a tree farm in Silverdale, which spiked lots of emotions in the surrounding neighborhood. So far, that’s the story I’ve spent the most time on since I started writing for The Central Kitsap Reporter and Bremerton Patriot.

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/ckr/news/79572257.html

I also did a little story on a new chamber director and a story on this one guy’s new hibachi restaurant. Yay community features.

In the month and a half since I’ve been here, I’ve worked with three different editors. The first one left after my third week after three years as editor, then the head guy for Sound Publishing took over, then the editor from the neighboring North Kitsap Herald filled in for a week. In a week the new editor comes in while on MOnday, Lynsi Burton of all people is coming in to take over for the old reporter.

Horray for The Evergreen taking over Silverdale, though it’ll only be for a month until I head to D.C. I’m pumped.

After grabbing a beer with my fellow comparatively  nerdy journalism friend Brian Everstine the other day, I spent a half an hour checking out The Guardian’s Web site. 

I came upon an interesting article about a recent religious freedom ruling by the British Supreme Court. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/dec/16/jewish-school-loses-appeal)

Though we Jewish people like to debate everything, often coming with up with millions of opinions on a simple subject (see the Coen Brothers newest masterpiece “A Serious Man”) the traditional definition of a Jew is straight forward.

For thousands of years, and still today in Orthodox Judaism, a person is a Jew if the mother is a Jew. Not the father, only the mother.

A few years ago, the Jewish Free School in London denied an application to a 12-year-old practicing Jew because his mother had converted to Judaism, hence not meeting the school’s standard for Jewishness. The father of the boy sued the school, eventually winning in the Supreme Court.

This standard of Judaism is far beyond what I grew up with in the reform movement. Among my friends, people convert to Judaism all the time, which I see as good thing as a matter of religious tolerance and as healthy so the Jewish community doesn’t come across as too isolated. But that is not the point. 

The point is that this is a blatant interference by the state in religious affairs and would likely have been ruled differently in the U.S. 

For better or worse, the definition of Judaism is part of the traditional. For Orthodox Jews, this stricter interpretation of Jewish law is the ultimate source of freedom because it frees the mind of potential interferences between man and the divine. 

People have a right to these beliefs. I always hear church’s making false complaints about how gay marriage and stem cell laws will lead to the state unjustly changing their traditional customs.

In most cases, these claims are unsubstantiated, but the court of England, one of the world’s most secular countries, interfering in this way is a cause of concern.

It is discrimination, blatant discrimination. But the kid had plenty of other options for schools and the basic tenants of religious freedom, especially in developed western countries, should not be this misconstrued.

So apparently Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings was fined $7,500 for a Twitter post the other day.

Did he say anything offensive? Or anything especially critical of the league that the league should seriously have issue with?

Nope, he was fined for saying, “Back to 500. Yess!!! “500″ means where doing good. Way to Play Hard Guys,” following the Bucks double overtime win over Portland last weekend. Specifically, he was fined because he apparently is supposed to wait 45 minutes until the game ends to give the media a chance to ask questions following the game.

While normally I’m all for organizations respecting the media, this is quite silly. While Twitter often annoys me because outlets such as CNN rely on it way too much, it is part of our culture and in regards to sports stars, its kind of fun to follow their team. 

By the NBA trying to stifle free speech, my anger with everything the NBA stands for continues. It stole my Sonics and my childhood and now is turning into an NCAA-like bureaucracy.

You’d think the league would have something better to do than monitor Twitter.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/12/18/jennings.twitter.ap/index.html#ixzz0a4n6uuYF

Maybe it’s just me, but I see a lot of irony in the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the ongoing lawsuit regarding whether the names of the people who petitioned for Referendum 71 should be made public. http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/187740.asp)

For starters, Referendum 71 is a voter-initiative, a form of Athenian democracy which has nothing to do with the representative democracy outlined in the U.S. constitution.

Many states have no voter initiatives at all, which is probably smart because the states with all the worst budget problems, like California and Washington State, are initiative obsessed. As well as the tyranny of the majority that one discovers when doing street talk for The Daily Evergreen.

The real question with the R-71 lawsuit is not about the First Amendment and government, it’s about the political role of people who sign petitions.

If they are just citizens, then the names should clearly remain hidden because for many non public figures, a lack of privacy is a clear deterrent from political engagement.

On the other hand, the case could be made that by signing the petitions, the citizens are no longer just regular voters. That in fact, they are now quasi-legislators because they are now an active part of the law creating process.

If that is the case, then the names should clearly be released as a matter of open government. This information must be public as a basic check on government powers. This is also the stance taken in Washington State law, and by state Attorney General Rob McKenna.

For this reason, I find it odd that the Supreme Court would take on this issue. While in many cases, the Supreme Court needs to be an active watchdog of state’s rights to make sure they don’t trump federal legislation, initiatives are completely different because they are entirely created by state governments.

As far as my opinion on whether the names should be released, I would say that they should be public

As a fan of representative democracy, I would say that if people want to directly create legislation, instead of going through the proper methods of civic action and pressuring lawmakers, then they have new responsibilities and hence became public figures.

Some people are saying that by revealing the names, then you are endangering the safety of the people who signed the petition. But if that’s the case, then you can make the argument that the mention of any public figure in a newspaper endangers their safety, which is an extremely dangerous slippery slope.

These names should be on the public record.

The Mariners now have possibly the best 1-2 punch at the top of the line-up in baseball.

With Ichiro and Chrone Figgins, signed earlier this week to a four-year contract, the team has no excuse not to score more runs, even without a real power guy in their line-up.

Figgins’ stats look decent at first, but with a closer look, you see that they are dynamite. Though his batting average is always sound in the .300 area, his on-base percentage is often off the charts at figures over .360, especially last year, when he lead the American League with 101 walks.

Ironically, I would say they already had as a good a 1-2 punch as anyone with Franklin Gutterrez.  But the Mariners killer center fielder for the next generation has more power than meets the eye, and should be solid in the three to five spot.

How I see it, everyone else on the offense is expendable, as is every pitcher on the staff but King Felix. But if Beltre comes back at a decent price, unlike his Sam Walton-esque contract he previously had, then the team is set. Figgins is flexible so with him at second, Lopez at first and Beltre still at third then the line-up is looking sweat. 

More changes appear to be on the way, but I’m already excited for 2010.