Below is a very interested piece on a technique lobbyists are using to get into Congressional Hearings: paying homeless people to stand in line for them.

If you haven’t heard of Elizabeth Becton, you will now:

Thanks to Shenanigans for this gem

Photo courtesy Flickr user eralon

The bigger news out there appears to be the crazy weather (I woke up at 6 AM in the center of The Perfect Storm, the weather as I type this? Sunny.)

The story that should be a bigger splash? The Virginia Democratic Primary which opened their polls today as the three Democratic candidates for Governor face-off. At first I was a little interested in the race but now my interest has waned again. With more rain in the forecast today, I’m not expecting anything but lackluster participation totals for today’s race. That being said it’s no longer absolutely safe that front-runner Terry McAuliffe will walk away with a victory, who knows if Brian Moran or even Creigh Deeds could walk away with an upset.

Polls are open til 7 P.M. statewide if you are a resident and are itching to be vocal on the issue.

(UPDATE: And look what happened… Deeds upsets and wins it)

Photo courtesy Flickr user jGregor

This month marks the 3rd year since I made the transition from lowly college intern to full-time young professional.

I don’t know how I managed life without a 401k and bills to pay.

It didn’t occur to me that summertime meant intern time for The District, as a Massachusetts native most of us just spent out summers getting drunk and rooting for the Sox. It does make sense, much like the tourists that flock upon our city in February on, hoards of students fresh off their latest semester haze come down upon DC, ready to do some exciting work to bolster that resume.

Perhaps the funny way I’m learning about Intern season if from the up and rising blog, DC Interns. The blog collects stories of the young and naive as they struggle to learn Metro etiquette, the proper way to walk down the hall, and how to dress for the job. The site is only a few weeks old but everyone is talking about it.

The blog is entertaining as we condescendingly laugh at those below our pay grade that act like they are so cool because they work on the hill. The site’s creator writes, “we’ve all been there, we have all had an entry-level or intern position in DC - but we had it without your extreme sense of entitlement … and therein lies the difference.”

Is it a little high schoolish for the upperclassmen to make fun of the frosh? Probably. But isn’t it funny anyways? You betcha!

Yesterday, a fellow Metblogger Tweeted with a “Red Alert”:  the DC Council had passed the five-cent plastic bag tax!  The Post reported that “The D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to assess a 5-cent tax on paper and plastic bags to try to discourage their use, putting the District at the forefront of efforts nationwide to promote reusable shopping bags.”  The tax will apply to food-service providers, grocers, and pharmacies.  Could the District be on track to join San Francisco as the only major city to ban plastic bags outright?

The bag tax is designed to limit pollution in the Anacostia and its tributaries — proceeds will be used for the Anacostia River Cleanup Fund.  Will the city distribute any reusable bags to its residents to get them started?  Businesses who sell reusable bags will qualify for a rebate of one penny on each bag sold (or, of they offer a discount for using the bags, two cents).  Will they subsidize the price of reusable bags for their customers?

I’ve seen reactions to the news ranging from, “Hooray!  Let’s dance with glee,” to “Oh great.  Another tax for District residents.”  Regardless of the means or how one feels about the bag tax, though, I hope we can all agree that we don’t want the Anacostia looking like this any more:

Anacostia River, near Poplar Point

The Council will need to vote again on the measure before it goes to the Mayor for his signature.  What do you think, DC?

So earlier this month I wrote about Obama’s visit to Ray’s Hell Burger. I thought it was really cool that The President ate lunch at a place down the street from me.

Now it’s clear that he’s a burger guy- while being filmed for a NBC News documentary, Barack Obama stopped by a local Five Guys (which I think is better than Hell Burger) and ordered up some lunch. He took orders from all his advisers, and Brian Williams sneaks in an order as well.

When I first wrote about his Hell Burger visit, I joked around the office that he now needs to visit Five Guys, looks like we was listening. So what other DC eateries does he need to try out?

(thank to Politico for the video link)

Well thanks to the rampant calls I’ve gotten from the candidates, I’ve become a smidge more interested in the Gubernatorial race in Virginia. While there’s only one G.O.P. candidate, the Democrats have a primary where three candidates will be facing off. The candidates: Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe, and Brian Moran will debate one last time at NOVA in Annandale at 2 PM. The post has an article up previewing the debate and will stream the event live for those that might want to check in.

I don’t know if it’s me becoming more interested in Politics (maybe I did catch the bug when I moved here) but if I have a minute tomorrow- I might check in. Then again I might be the only one, is anybody else really interested in the Governor’s race?

Thanks to the phone banks with the Terry McAuliffe campaign, I heard that he and will.i.am will be down the street tonight at Clarendon Ballroom. The event is titled, “A Night with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas” and proceeds will go to McAuliffe’s gubernatorial campaign.

This is less of a political message and more of a, “if you want to see will.I.am and don’t mind throwing money at Terry McAuliffe to do it- here’s your chance!

Terry seems to know a few famous people, later this week he’s holding a rally at NOVA in Annandale with Bill Clinton. Well that makes sense since he ran Hillary’s Presenditial campaign and is a former DNC chairman.

A Night with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas

The Clarendon Ballroom
3185 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia
Monday, May 11, 2009 at 8:00pm
$20 Admission
$500 Co-Host (includes admission to a special VIP reception with Will.I.Am at 8:00PM and recognition at the event)

She’s met the Queen and has already been on the cover of Vogue; however for Michelle Obama it’s nothing compared to her latest adventure.

Earlier this past week our First Lady made an appearance on Sesame Street and has since remarked her appearance as, “probably the best thing I’ve done so far in the White House.”

Check her out with Elmo in the clip below:

Courtesy of WGA-East

Well tonight is the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, the dinner is known for more humorous moments such as Stephen Colbert ranting on the podium, and Karl Rove showing off his rapping skills. Tonight Wanda Sykes will be on the mic and I’m very interested to see how she does- I don’t think she’s holding back any punches.

The glitz and glam isn’t limited to the dinner tonight, there will be a slew of pre and post parties all weekend, just check out Politico for their party guide.

I had the opportunity of being invited to the WGA East’s “Writers Speak!” event last night at the Newseum. I checked out the party with Rachel from Rachel, Rachel I’ve been thinking. She’ll be putting up a guest post on her take of the event later next week.

The place was packed as Hollywood and Washington came together for some stand-up comedy and a panel featuring  TV writers. The panel included J.R. Havlan (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart), Bill Scheft (Late Show With David Letterman), Anthony Jeselnick (Late

Anthony Jeselnick (Late Night With Jimmy Fallon) Courtesy of WGA-East

Night With Jimmy Fallon), Matt Goldich (Best Week Ever), Tim Carvell (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart), Opus Moreschi (The Colbert Report), Tom Ruprecht (Late Show With David Letterman), and Allison Abner (The West Wing)- the night was promised as a, “A Potentially Regrettable Evening With Comedy Writers”, but it will be one I won’t be forgetting too soon.