A bit about Fisch -- I grew up in New York. I live in the Washington, DC metro area now. Single guy...incurable romantic.

My Politics: Definitely left of center. I'm not going to fool anyone into thinking I'm any kind of conservative. On the other hand, the center can seem so far right these days, even conservatives may be left of center. It is my fervent hope that some sense can be restored to American politics and we can move the center to a more tenable, forward-thinking position. When I got the vote, I registered as an Independent -- primarily, because I would've voted for independent candidate John Anderson, if I'd been old enough to vote two years earlier. Of course, Anderson was a Republican congressman, who got whipped by Ronald Reagan in the primaries. Anderson was the darling of the college circuit -- college students built a movement around the one candidate in the Republican race who offered a vision to unite the country -- a movement so powerful, he got about 5% of the vote. It's been a long time since anyone tried to run a campaign like Anderson's -- Anderson was the last candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination that I had much respect for. Frankly, there has not been a candidate like him since, in either party. Clinton came close in trying to negotiate the middle, but it always seemed more calculated with Bill. You always had the impression that Clinton was much more liberal than the policies he espoused. Consequently, he never was the leader he might have been. Ditto for Al Gore. I'm slightly encouraged that he's rediscovered global warming...only 6 years too late. Anyway, when I finally moved away from New York, I registered as a Democrat. That's where things stand today.

On the issues: That's what this blog is supposed to be about. Stay tuned.

Sports: Some things are constant -- I've been a Mets fan forever. I used to be a Yankees fan -- now, I'm more the anti-Yankees fan. I started rooting for the Red Sox in '78. Since I'm in the DC area, I've added the Nationals to my repertoire. I was thrilled to have a team here. I haven't worked out yet how to root for 2 teams in the same division. Maybe I can move back to New York to solve this problem -- but the Nats have gotten under my skin, possibly into my DNA.

Another constant -- the New York Football Giants. Sure, I'm worried about Eli Manning, but I'm a fan, through thick and thin. No.2 would be the San Diego Chargers. Why? Because I liked Air Coryell...and I've stayed loyal. I used to be a Baltimore Colts fan (Bert Jones, you were the greatest!!). Then again, there used to be a team called the Baltimore Colts.

Soccer -- D.C. United -- It's too bad Americans really haven't discovered the MLS. They're really missing something special this year. The 2006 D.C. United team may turn out to be one of the most dominating teams in American sports history (the league's about to go into its All-Star break and United has only lost one game).

Other sports: NBA -- I've been a Milwaukee Bucks fan since I knew what a basketball was (my brother hipped me to the Big "O" and Alcindor). Unfortunately, these days, the NBA bears a close resemblance to an indoor game of football (more so even than does Arena football)...and I miss the rule against travelling with the ball (rumor has it that it is still against the rules, but you wouldn't know it from watching the games. How am I supposed to take the league seriously, when they've decided to ignore one of the most fundamental rules?). NHL -- I guess I'm still a New York Islanders' fan, but I wish I had the money to watch the Caps play. Ovechkin is something else -- he may be one of the top 3 or 4 professional athletes, the LeBron James of hockey, to be sure.

Music -- I was in college in the 80s. What do you think I like? I was big into Costello, Joe Jackson, Los Lobos, U2, the T-Heads and ska. These days, I still think Los Lobos is the best live act, but mostly I listen to jazz and standards, and Americana/alt-country (Lyle Lovett would be at the top of my list of current artists, but I dig Lucinda Williams and Aimee Mann).

So, that's Fisch in a nutshell.