Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

Contact:  Pete Perry,  202-704-3963                Helen Schietinger,  202-344-5762 Four Democracy Spring Activists Acquitted                                         Sept. 2, 2016 WASHINGTON -- In a stirring victory for First Amendment rights in the nation's capitol, four pro-democracy activists who had participated in Democracy Spring's week of actions on Capitol Hill in April were acquitted Friday by Judge Diane Lepley of Blocking, Crowding and Incommoding, and Failure to Obey a Lawful Order.  Helen Schietinger and Pete Perry of Washington, Alex Park of Virginia, and Manijeh Saba of New Jersey were thankful for the decision, recognizing its importance for those who travel to the Capitol Building and congressional offices to speak with their elected representatives. "I want to thank Judge Lepley ...

OK, I desperately want to do some wildly creative things, as well as land a job that doesn't drive me insane, pays me a salary above the poverty line, and is at least someway related to an archives or a library's special collection. But more on the job hunt later. So with the long neglected creative side of my persona yearning to be unleashed, I decided I am going to write in this here blog a lot more frequently, and I am going to make a second attempt at working through my sci-fi, near-future dystopian novel. I might also try and get back into meditation and poetry. Meditation, I think I need to bring more peace and discipline into my life. And poetry just would help me express myself new ways, bringing me more joy; something I used to do more -- before I became obsessed with a quest to save the world, or at least the empire from itself. That struggle, I am convinced, slowly took over my life and enslaved me to my own hubris. So, let me state quite clearly here: I will becom...