Gotta get my mind off of politics for a while. It’s a fun subject, but I’m getting a little burnt out. So, let’s see what else is on the menu…

I went to Blockbuster for the first time in about half a year. I got Shrek and Shrek 2. I hadn’t seen either. I thought the movies were fun and interesting, but I don’t know what all the fuss was about. It’s basically eye-candy for kids. I can’t see myself ever watching either movie again.

It’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever buy another PC game. I got tired of City of Heroes pretty quickly—although, I must say, I played it yesterday and joined a small team of other online players. It was fun going on missions with a team. If I ever play again, I’ll definitely play with a team (of friends or strangers).

I’m wallpapering my office with old calendar pictures. First, I just did one wall—covering it with skate/surf chicks, Bruce Lee, Transformers, and Buffy pictures. Since they’re all roughly the same size, it kinda looks like wacky tile. Anyway, I thought it looked cool, so I’m going to get a bunch of 2005 calendars in January (when they’re 75% off) and cover the rest of the bare areas on my office walls.

The original Ju-on: The Grudge came out on DVD this past week. I have to say, it’s even creepier than the new American version. Sam Raimi provides the commentary on this Japanese disc. It’s interesting to hear him compare Japanese movie-making techniques to American ones. He details why the American version of the film had to differ slightly from the original.

This week, of course, the seventh and final season of Buffy comes to DVD. In addition to Buffy, I’ve been adding all of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s mediocre movies to my DVD collection. Luckily, most of them can be found at bargain prices. I got Simply Irresistible and Harvard Man at Best Buy for about $6 each. Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer are both ten bucks, but I’ve yet to locate a Scream 2 DVD for less than $13. I’ve even convinced myself to buy both Scooby-Doo movies, if I can find a nice bargain two-pack. I can’t believe what a stark difference there is between SMG’s TV and movie careers. The Grudge is a good sign, though. I’m hoping it’s the start of an upward trend.

The Incredibles was a really good movie. I’m going to write on it in a separate entry. There’s so much to say about that one!

Two great weekly publications everyone should subscribe to are The Onion and The Weekly Standard. …And don’t just go to the websites to read the articles. Get a subscription to the print editions, and receive them in the mail. It’s fresh bathroom/subway/lunchtime reading material every week!

I bought my first ever set of computer speakers. They aren’t fancy, or anything. I’ve just always used the generic speakers that come with my computers. My new PC, however, didn’t come with speakers (it was just a CPU unit). Well, now I have two really great-sounding speakers for the top of my desk and a really nice subwoofer underneath my desk. I actually have BASS now! I’m so excited.

Aside from my occasional adventure in shopping, I’ve been staying home all day, every day. I’m in hermit mode, and I’m fine with it. I don’t hang out with the kickball folks or anyone else these days. I’ll be wrapping up all of my tennis classes around Thanksgiving, and won’t sign up for any more until spring. It’ll pretty much be me in my basement—exercising, dieting, ‘net-watching and politicizing—until I get another job. Meanwhile, my bills are taken care of, and I may even have some capital to buy my family Christmas gifts.

That’s it for now. Back to watching the WTA women’s tennis championships and reading the new Ann Coulter book. Gosh, I love that girl!

Okay, so two of my most favorite comic works are Alex Ross’ “Kingdom Come” and “Marvels.” But here we go again with another artist I like taking a political stand. It’s perfectly his right to do so, but as a person with a huge audience, it doesn’t really make much sense to alienate half of your fans.

[Image of Ross’ painting of George W. Bush as a vampire biting the neck of Lady Liberty.]

Well, I’m proud to say that my county—Loudoun County—overwhelmingly went for Bush during the Presidential election. The rest of northern Virginia, unfortunately, wasn’t as enlightened. Here is the official count…

Loudoun County:
Bush – 50,202
Kerry – 39,026

Fairfax County:
Bush – 211,163
Kerry – 243,831

Arlington County:
Bush – 25,845
Kerry – 55,603

These numbers, of course, really do matter, because each county’s Republican or Democrat headquarters will get future funding based on their previous success in each county. I spent some time volunteering for the Fairfax GOP headquarters, and I hope they can claim some victory from the election, even though Fairfax went to Kerry. Arlington, on the other hand, seems to be firmly in the devil’s camp, so I wash my hands of it.

This is a “canned” response from Senator George Allen of Virginia on the issue of Arlen Specter becoming the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Thousands of other people like me sent similar letters to their state Senators…

Senator George Allen,

Please do what you can to keep Senator Arlen Specter from becoming the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee. We need judges on the Supreme Court, who will uphold the Constitution (as the Founding Fathers intended it) and respect the value of all human life. Senator Specter has already ruled out allowing a pro-life judge to be nominated to the Supreme Court. He is not fit to be Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Sincerely,

Michael Tolosa

P.S. George Allen for President in ‘08!

Dear Mr. Tolosa:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the potential appointment of Senator Arlen Specter to serve as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 109th Congress. I appreciate your concerns and value the opportunity to respond.

As you know, the United States Senate plays an important role in confirming Presidential appointments, particularly to the federal courts. For over 200 years individual Senators have taken a stand for or against each judicial nominee. Unfortunately, in recent years, partisan politics have corrupted the process and a small group of Senators have held up many of President Bush’s exceptional nominees.

By blocking judges to the federal bench, we are inhibiting the rights of Americans to have their cases heard in a fair and timely manner and it only exacerbates the already high vacancy level of the judicial vacancies on the federal bench. In fact, Chief Justice Rehnquist has warned that the vacancy level, coupled with the rising caseload, threatens the proper functioning of the federal courts. Thus, the shortages of judges delays justice for victims of crime in America, and justice delayed is justice denied.

Today, some Senators are turning our judicial process into a political battlefield over politics and ideology. The fundamental principle for picking a federal judge should be their commitment and ability to administer the law fairly. I believe this years election results re-affirm my belief that we need federal judges who put the law before personal philosophy, ideology, or politics. A judicial nominee’s qualifications should matter most and those qualifications should be the sole criteria for approving or blocking a nomination.

We must end the impasse on judicial nominations. This nation has many issues that need the attention of our lawmakers and our President, such as improving education, healthcare and economic and job growth. No Senator should feel forced to vote for a nominee to the bench, but they should at least allow a fair vote. I have every expectation that my fellow Republicans will honor their commitment to allow the President’s nominees to be fairly considered for an appointment to the federal courts.

Once again, I appreciate you alerting me to this matter and hope you will not hesitate to contact me again about issues important to you. If you would like to receive an e-mail newsletter about my initiatives to improve America, please sign up on my website. It is an honor to serve you in the United States Senate, and I look forward to working with you to make Virginia and America a better place to live, learn, work and raise a family.

Sincerely,

Senator George Allen

I feel incredible. I’ve been riding my exercise bike every single day for half an hour. I’ve been playing tennis twice a week, and may start playing up to four times a week, while I’m unemployed. I worked out on my Bowflex yesterday, and today I’ve gotten back on the Atkins diet. At today’s tennis class, I was kicking butt and never got tired. After an hour and a half of intense tennis playing, I was still running around the court and hitting winners without breaking a sweat. I never even picked up my water bottle. I was like a freakin’ superhero! Hot damn, it feels good to be healthy!

In other hot damn news, I am now officially training for a possible job at the Secret Service. I have a friend, who works for the Secret Service in an administrative position, and she encouraged me to apply. The Secret Service will be at a job fair in Tyson’s Corner on November 18, and I hope to be ready to apply and take the test by then. If I pass the written test and the interview, they will send me to New Mexico for 8 weeks of intense training. Following that will be 11 weeks in Maryland for specialized instruction. Upon completion of all that, I will be a Uniformed Officer and assigned to some duty in Washington, DC (protecting politicians, their families, or international guests).

I’ve always wanted to get involved in law enforcement, but I really didn’t want to start as a Fairfax County police officer. The Secret Service offers an opportunity to join an elite police force with the peace of mind that I will still remain in the D.C. area (the FBI can assign you anywhere in the country). So, yeah… I’ll have to commute to D.C. everyday, but the work shifts are at odd times, so I won’t have to worry too much about driving during rush hour. I’ll have lots of travel opportunities and many unique, exciting experiences. Plus, I’ll get to carry a gun. Not that I need one, due to my heat vision and invulnerability. But it’s still cool.