Anytime someone asks me about my blog, I feel guilty about updating so spottily. So, here's something new:
I feel like over the last year I have become a lot less politically motivated. For instance, I care about healthcare from a wider, ethical perspective. I believe everyone should have access to care that can save their lives and improve the quality of existence for those with medical conditions. However, policy-wise, I don't really give a shit, and it kind of makes me cranky when people start talking about it. And I feel this way about a lot of things: the Copenhagen debate and accords, economic stimulus, congressional races in 2010...the list grows and grows. But, my thoughts on things haven't stagnated and it's not like I stopped thinking.
Once upon a time, like high school, I would have engaged this issues straight on. Arguing with people, telling them they were wrong, and generally getting all up in arms about the whole thing. Feeling superior, playing the devil's advocate (because even the Devil deserves an advocate), and just generally being a smarmy asshole. But, the older I get, the harder that gets. There are progressively fewer black and white issues. Everything fades to shades of tan with every day that I walk and every new person I meet. I know this is such a stereotypical thing to say, and I feel like I've said it before. But, this time, I swear it feels different.
This amount of ambivalence, case-by-case analysis, love despite choices, understanding and helping, disapproving but being there, and having to rethink the entire world burns mental calories worse than the LSAT. But, it makes me a better person, I guess.
Catie once told me that the moderates didn't have very much to say because they were too busy getting shit done. Because I'm getting shit done for America and for the world right now, I think that all the posturing of the non-idealists is exhausting. And those of us in the trenches fight with something more substantial than words.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
The Writing List
Sometimes, I don't really feel inspired to write whatever is in my head. It doesn't make sense, and because their is no one expecting it, then it's much easier to procrastinate those tasks, even though Denise Austen once told me that "the only person you cheat by procrastination is yourself." So, I end up writing on commission most of the time. Truth be told, I enjoy it a lot better because it usually makes me focus on something that I didn't know. But, when I decide to write a lot of short articles on commission in one day, the subjects get a little crazy. Here's a list of my topics from today:
-Michelle Obama's short shorts
-Paypal's pricing policy
-Parking lot stripes
-Female hair loss
-Air Force Cyber Command
-Motion comics
-Flickr and the iPhone
-Andalusian Stitch
-Anal Probes
See, the joke about that list is that it isn't a joke. So, now for a day when I barely left the house, I actually became a lot better informed about the world and what's going on. Sure, some of its stupid and I'll never use again (Cyber Command is in San Antonio; the Andalusian Stitch is knit and purl alternating rows). Other knowledge, though...well, at least I can bring it up in conversation if things go south. Because who doesn't love a good chat about anal probes? What if I meet those Shop Erotica women in LA? I want to be on their conversational level. So, thank you random writing assignments for that chance.
---
By the way, this might be tomorrow's blog post, but a march means nothing if you don't have a purpose. Dissatisfaction isn't enough. What is your goal? Here's a hint for those working on the essay question: for full credit, answers are more tangible than "change" or "hope."
---
In other news, nothing else is really going on. I'm worrying about my friends a lot today as they go back to school, finish up the quarter, or embark upon their real lives for the first time that they don't have to go back to school. I move in seven days. Bizarre. Absolutely bizarre.
-Michelle Obama's short shorts
-Paypal's pricing policy
-Parking lot stripes
-Female hair loss
-Air Force Cyber Command
-Motion comics
-Flickr and the iPhone
-Andalusian Stitch
-Anal Probes
See, the joke about that list is that it isn't a joke. So, now for a day when I barely left the house, I actually became a lot better informed about the world and what's going on. Sure, some of its stupid and I'll never use again (Cyber Command is in San Antonio; the Andalusian Stitch is knit and purl alternating rows). Other knowledge, though...well, at least I can bring it up in conversation if things go south. Because who doesn't love a good chat about anal probes? What if I meet those Shop Erotica women in LA? I want to be on their conversational level. So, thank you random writing assignments for that chance.
---
By the way, this might be tomorrow's blog post, but a march means nothing if you don't have a purpose. Dissatisfaction isn't enough. What is your goal? Here's a hint for those working on the essay question: for full credit, answers are more tangible than "change" or "hope."
---
In other news, nothing else is really going on. I'm worrying about my friends a lot today as they go back to school, finish up the quarter, or embark upon their real lives for the first time that they don't have to go back to school. I move in seven days. Bizarre. Absolutely bizarre.
"Normal" Gay?
My friend, Jason Styres, recently posted a note on Facebook with a quote from Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart. This play was one of the first dramatizations of the AIDS crisis and the effect it was having on the LGBT community. One of the characters makes a speech about the importance of the queer community uniting as a community that has to claim its right to exist because we have a history made up of people who were not invisible.
It makes me question all of the times in my life that I've ever said that I didn't want to be a "banner waving queen." All the times that I've ever looked down my nose at someone I thought was too swishy. Doesn't make me feel too great. I don't know if this is an internalized bit of homophobia or whatever...that doesn't actually matter. I don't actually dislike these people, but for some reason, I don't want to be identified with them. Which is stupid, because I readily would jump to their...our...defense were it ever needed. But, they are people who are different from me. And I don't know how to interact with the community as a whole.
I have a hard time getting worked up about the injustices being done to the LGBT community. And I think that the reason is because nothing audacious has happened that directly effects me. I'm just barely an adult...I'll turn 21 in three weeks. And in my life, nothing bad has ever happened to me as a gay man. Sure, I came out in south Georgia in conservative surroundings, but I pulled a wild card in how well it turned out. I was never accosted in high school. I was called a fag three times in college. That's it. That's everything bad that's ever happened to me. And so I don't know how to relate to a world that seems dangerous, reactionary, and unfair when I read about it but not when I live it.
I have no plans to get married anytime in the discernible future (for that, you'd have to date...), so gay marriage isn't an imminent concern. I've never been the victim of harassment or a hate crime, so the Matthew Sheppard Bill doesn't effect my gut.
It's a little known fact about me, but I briefly planned on going into the military in 2005 once I graduated from college and serving a basic stint before moving on with my life. It's just something that I privately thought was important--I think that it's every person's responsibility to serve their country and their neighbors if there is a need that you can fulfill. But, with Don't Ask, Don't Tell, fulfilling this goal wasn't worth nailing back up the door that I'd already kicked in. So, I joined AmeriCorps instead, beating a sword into a plowshare.
I intellectually understand that these are the issues facing my community, but I don't know what I can do. It feels like nothing. And if there's nothing I can do, then it feels like fate. And I'm no Lachesis.
---
When I went to college, I went to find myself. And every summer from 2006 to 2008 I considered my summer in the Booley House, referring to my favorite book, Leon Uris's Trinity. In this section of the novel, the two main characters spend the summer tending herds in a booley house. While there, they learn who they are and how to be men.
I feel like I've become more who I am than I ever have been. At the same time, though, I don't know how I feel about so much of the world. Years ago, opinions were simple. But I've been dragged to see the middle ground and to occasionally walk that path. I've been forced to concede that the lines are moveable and that black and white are just extreme shades of gray. Maybe one day I'll be set in my ways...right now, that feels like the opposite of my constant confusion.
It makes me question all of the times in my life that I've ever said that I didn't want to be a "banner waving queen." All the times that I've ever looked down my nose at someone I thought was too swishy. Doesn't make me feel too great. I don't know if this is an internalized bit of homophobia or whatever...that doesn't actually matter. I don't actually dislike these people, but for some reason, I don't want to be identified with them. Which is stupid, because I readily would jump to their...our...defense were it ever needed. But, they are people who are different from me. And I don't know how to interact with the community as a whole.
I have a hard time getting worked up about the injustices being done to the LGBT community. And I think that the reason is because nothing audacious has happened that directly effects me. I'm just barely an adult...I'll turn 21 in three weeks. And in my life, nothing bad has ever happened to me as a gay man. Sure, I came out in south Georgia in conservative surroundings, but I pulled a wild card in how well it turned out. I was never accosted in high school. I was called a fag three times in college. That's it. That's everything bad that's ever happened to me. And so I don't know how to relate to a world that seems dangerous, reactionary, and unfair when I read about it but not when I live it.
I have no plans to get married anytime in the discernible future (for that, you'd have to date...), so gay marriage isn't an imminent concern. I've never been the victim of harassment or a hate crime, so the Matthew Sheppard Bill doesn't effect my gut.
It's a little known fact about me, but I briefly planned on going into the military in 2005 once I graduated from college and serving a basic stint before moving on with my life. It's just something that I privately thought was important--I think that it's every person's responsibility to serve their country and their neighbors if there is a need that you can fulfill. But, with Don't Ask, Don't Tell, fulfilling this goal wasn't worth nailing back up the door that I'd already kicked in. So, I joined AmeriCorps instead, beating a sword into a plowshare.
I intellectually understand that these are the issues facing my community, but I don't know what I can do. It feels like nothing. And if there's nothing I can do, then it feels like fate. And I'm no Lachesis.
---
When I went to college, I went to find myself. And every summer from 2006 to 2008 I considered my summer in the Booley House, referring to my favorite book, Leon Uris's Trinity. In this section of the novel, the two main characters spend the summer tending herds in a booley house. While there, they learn who they are and how to be men.
I feel like I've become more who I am than I ever have been. At the same time, though, I don't know how I feel about so much of the world. Years ago, opinions were simple. But I've been dragged to see the middle ground and to occasionally walk that path. I've been forced to concede that the lines are moveable and that black and white are just extreme shades of gray. Maybe one day I'll be set in my ways...right now, that feels like the opposite of my constant confusion.
Dear Dad #1, or a Brief History of Franken's Win
My father pissed me off as I was walking out of my parent's apartment a few minutes ago. I had, forgetting my own rules that I'm not allowed to talk to my father about PRS (politics, religion, and sex), told him that the DFL candidate from Minnesota, Al Franken, had won the election by decree of the Minnesota Supreme Court and that his Republican adversary, Norm Coleman, the incumbent, had conceded. He then embarked on an impassioned rant about how Franken was a joke, an idiot, and how he had stolen the election because the votes kept being counted until the Democrats won.
Usually, I don't like to take the bait. But, I didn't have my facts in front of me and it's been awhile since I've tried to make sure my stance was politically accurate and that my indignation could stand on its own. So, here we go with a brief time-line on how Al Franken became the 100th senator in the 111th Congress.
On November 18, 2008, the State Canvassing Board of Minnesota certified that Norm Coleman had beaten Al Franken by 215 votes of the more than 2.8 million votes cast. This percentage of less than .0075% triggered an automatic and mandatory recount since the margin of victory was less than .5%. The recount began on November 19th and was concluded by December 5th.
On December 16th, the Board began ruling on more than 1,300 individual ballots and reallocating 5,300 ballots from whom the challenge had been withdrawn. Some of these ballots were improperly rejected absentee ballots or contested ballots (from both sides). Coleman consistently rejected the most ballots and was not in favor of ruling the entire batch of previously rejected absentee ballots into the complete count.
Coleman's term in the Senate expired on January 3rd, 2009, leaving the seat vacant. On January 5th, the recount was officially certified with Franken holding a 225 vote lead (the total number of votes changed being 430). The next day, Coleman filed an election contest that prevented an election certificate from being filed.
On March 31st, a three-judge panel recounted improperly rejected ballots. On April 7th, 351 more ballots were counted. These recounted ballots expanded Franken's lead to 312 votes. April 13th, the panel dismissed Coleman's case and ruled that Franken had won. Coleman filed an appeal with the Minnesoa Supreme Court and oral arguments took place on June 1st. The ruling on June 30th certified that the court unanimously declared Franken the winner. Coleman then conceded the election.
In short, here are some talking points over the issue:
Usually, I don't like to take the bait. But, I didn't have my facts in front of me and it's been awhile since I've tried to make sure my stance was politically accurate and that my indignation could stand on its own. So, here we go with a brief time-line on how Al Franken became the 100th senator in the 111th Congress.
On November 18, 2008, the State Canvassing Board of Minnesota certified that Norm Coleman had beaten Al Franken by 215 votes of the more than 2.8 million votes cast. This percentage of less than .0075% triggered an automatic and mandatory recount since the margin of victory was less than .5%. The recount began on November 19th and was concluded by December 5th.
On December 16th, the Board began ruling on more than 1,300 individual ballots and reallocating 5,300 ballots from whom the challenge had been withdrawn. Some of these ballots were improperly rejected absentee ballots or contested ballots (from both sides). Coleman consistently rejected the most ballots and was not in favor of ruling the entire batch of previously rejected absentee ballots into the complete count.
Coleman's term in the Senate expired on January 3rd, 2009, leaving the seat vacant. On January 5th, the recount was officially certified with Franken holding a 225 vote lead (the total number of votes changed being 430). The next day, Coleman filed an election contest that prevented an election certificate from being filed.
On March 31st, a three-judge panel recounted improperly rejected ballots. On April 7th, 351 more ballots were counted. These recounted ballots expanded Franken's lead to 312 votes. April 13th, the panel dismissed Coleman's case and ruled that Franken had won. Coleman filed an appeal with the Minnesoa Supreme Court and oral arguments took place on June 1st. The ruling on June 30th certified that the court unanimously declared Franken the winner. Coleman then conceded the election.
In short, here are some talking points over the issue:
- The total margin of victory swung by approximately .015% of the vote. In an election with over 2.9 million votes cast, this margin of political change is minute. Thus, a change in victor, while surprising, isn't outside the realm of mathematical possibility.
- To my understanding, Coleman initiated both lawsuits that forced delays in seating the 2nd senator from Minnesota.
Views on a Judge, Hope, and a Drunk Club Girl
I am not built for sleep. Once upon a time, maybe, but not anymore. I'm so used to going a million miles every day and squeezing everything from every moment that having an abundance of time makes me go crazy. Tonight, I was hanging out with Mandy, Ty, and Andrew and I got really tired at about 12:30, so I came home. I was just going to check my e-mail...and then I got sucked in and I've been doing stuff for the last five hours (I also swept the house because the dirt on my feet was grossing me out). So, anywho, I figured I'd update.
I have a couple of brief thoughts, some serious, some not, to catch you up on my current state of mind:
Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court will probably pass. I am begrudgingly supportive of this move. I like that she is a hispanic woman who has a rise-above past and a solid basis in legal theory and practice. I appreciate that she has been a sitting judge for many years. I, however, wish that the chance had been taken to establish a much more progressive or liberal canditate for this office...the conservative slant of the Roberts Court is unlikely to change in the near future, so what is the harm in stacking it to the left to balance it out? What is the problem with a legislative battle for confirmation as opposed to her just sailing through? Democrats have the power...why aren't they trying to use it?
The more I hear the song "Just Dance" by Lada GaGa, the more I'm concerned for the main character. This woman has lost her phone, drink, man, and keys, she doesn't remember the name of the club, she can't see straight, and, at some point, her shirt got turned inside-out. Her solution to this dilemma is to "just dance." I feel like this girl needs help...maybe a taxi home...a good counselor to work out some deep-seated emotional problems. Actually, I was talking to Mandy earlier, and she said that she thought that the cops had busted in during this song, and this girl was the only one still dancing because she was so blasted and that the second verse is her continuing to dance as the entire club gets put in jail. Interesting theory...but it doesn't lessen my concern.
I support the general message of President Obama's Cairo speech. I think it's a good step towards diplomacy. However, I'm getting a little tired of the lack of tangible planning that is visible to the American people. So far, there is no tangible health care plan, immigration reform, education initiative, or withdrawal plan from Afghanistan or Iraq. Don't Ask, Don't Tell has not been repealed despite the ease of its dismissal (having been enacted by executive order). And I'm little tired of platitudes. Further, the President's bungling of his support of same sex marriage on the federal level during his recent NBC interview has only served to sharpen my suspicion. I feel like something tangible should be done...and if nothing is...well, hope can only sustain national pride for so long. I need something to be proud of...something daring. Something...audacious.
I'm going to go to bed, eat lunch with Mandy in a few hours, and send her off to Twin City.
I have a couple of brief thoughts, some serious, some not, to catch you up on my current state of mind:
Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court will probably pass. I am begrudgingly supportive of this move. I like that she is a hispanic woman who has a rise-above past and a solid basis in legal theory and practice. I appreciate that she has been a sitting judge for many years. I, however, wish that the chance had been taken to establish a much more progressive or liberal canditate for this office...the conservative slant of the Roberts Court is unlikely to change in the near future, so what is the harm in stacking it to the left to balance it out? What is the problem with a legislative battle for confirmation as opposed to her just sailing through? Democrats have the power...why aren't they trying to use it?
The more I hear the song "Just Dance" by Lada GaGa, the more I'm concerned for the main character. This woman has lost her phone, drink, man, and keys, she doesn't remember the name of the club, she can't see straight, and, at some point, her shirt got turned inside-out. Her solution to this dilemma is to "just dance." I feel like this girl needs help...maybe a taxi home...a good counselor to work out some deep-seated emotional problems. Actually, I was talking to Mandy earlier, and she said that she thought that the cops had busted in during this song, and this girl was the only one still dancing because she was so blasted and that the second verse is her continuing to dance as the entire club gets put in jail. Interesting theory...but it doesn't lessen my concern.
I support the general message of President Obama's Cairo speech. I think it's a good step towards diplomacy. However, I'm getting a little tired of the lack of tangible planning that is visible to the American people. So far, there is no tangible health care plan, immigration reform, education initiative, or withdrawal plan from Afghanistan or Iraq. Don't Ask, Don't Tell has not been repealed despite the ease of its dismissal (having been enacted by executive order). And I'm little tired of platitudes. Further, the President's bungling of his support of same sex marriage on the federal level during his recent NBC interview has only served to sharpen my suspicion. I feel like something tangible should be done...and if nothing is...well, hope can only sustain national pride for so long. I need something to be proud of...something daring. Something...audacious.
I'm going to go to bed, eat lunch with Mandy in a few hours, and send her off to Twin City.
Mom. Dad. I'm a Liberal.
I've spent most of the last few days watching movies on demand on Netflix...lot of stand-up comedy and documentaries. If you haven't seen John Waters: This Filthy World yet, order this documentary...pirate it...I don't care. I thought it was fantastic. It's just a recording of a talk that Waters gave about society and his movies and I thought it was fantastic. I usually hate movies like that (I didn't care for either of the Evening with Kevin Smith films).
---
I have no idea why I'm a liberal. I don't know if many people can sit down and sass out (I've obviously been watching way too much Buffy) why they believe what they do. I guess that people who sit on issues from a socially conservative standpoint can point to their religious doctrines. People who have been successful under the status quo can always sit under the idea that the way things have been done is the way that they should be done from here on out.
But the more I learn about politics, and the more I study the issues that I feel passionately about, I learn that the issues are not really about the issues. It's about the way that the issues are framed. I was reading this book on the history of the abortion debate from the mid-1980's to the present day, and it's central thesis is that the initial pro-choice stance of the 1980's was protected by re-framing the issue as an issue of governmental regulation instead of as a women's rights issue, because limiting government interference is a more sellable subject than protecting women's rights. This same re-framing is what has led to pro-life victories on requirements of parental and/or spousal notification and the limiting of access to abortions to impoverished women.
I'm pretty liberal. By that, I mean I was the most liberal person in both the English and Theatre Departments at Shorter. I'm certainly the most liberal preson in my family...and probably in my wider social circle. Somehow, I've become the opposite of the majority of my family politically. And I don't know how I got there. All I know is that my positions make sense to me, as I imagine other people's stances make sense to themselves, even if they can't determine how they initially arrived at their position.
I know that I'm pro-gay rights because I'm gay. I'm pro-choice because I've seen a lot of lives of both children and adults ruined by unexpected and unwanted pregnancies. I'm anti-death penalty. I'm pro-state funding for the arts. I'm anti-censorship. I'm pro-women's rights. I'm pro-civic rights. I'm pro-corporate responsibility. Piece-by-piece I have accepted the entire leftist agenda. But, and maybe this is because of my youth, I don't agree with "soccer mom liberalism."
I've got an aunt who used to be a lot of fun. And then, she had her second child and suddenly she went off her trolley and started checking the sodium content on food and comparing the prices of pencils on a unit basis and all of these sorts of things. Suddenly, mixed into her private choices was an overwhelming amount of protectionism that I hadn't seen before. I see this happening in a lot of liberals. They want to allow everything to exist, and then they want to protect people (children especially) from anything that they're uncomfortable.
I'm sorry, two quick truths about life:
-Anything newsworthy or artistic should make someone uncomfortable.
-Everything worth doing leaves bruises.
You can't make everything safe, and by limiting the distances people can go to achieve this "safety," you undermine the principles that defended these limits in the first place.
As a child, I was told that I was free to be whatever I wanted to be because this was America and that was the American Dream. And, because I was a smart child, I wanted to know everything. I came to the conclusion that to explore and to break new ground, I had to do away with limits. And then, in high school, I went through a period where I wasn't honest to myself or anyone else about who I was or what I liked...and afterwards, when I finally began speaking for myself, it was so much better. To have a day without limits...maybe that's my goal.
But I've remained pleasant and approachable politically...and I hope to always stay that way.
---
I have no idea why I'm a liberal. I don't know if many people can sit down and sass out (I've obviously been watching way too much Buffy) why they believe what they do. I guess that people who sit on issues from a socially conservative standpoint can point to their religious doctrines. People who have been successful under the status quo can always sit under the idea that the way things have been done is the way that they should be done from here on out.
But the more I learn about politics, and the more I study the issues that I feel passionately about, I learn that the issues are not really about the issues. It's about the way that the issues are framed. I was reading this book on the history of the abortion debate from the mid-1980's to the present day, and it's central thesis is that the initial pro-choice stance of the 1980's was protected by re-framing the issue as an issue of governmental regulation instead of as a women's rights issue, because limiting government interference is a more sellable subject than protecting women's rights. This same re-framing is what has led to pro-life victories on requirements of parental and/or spousal notification and the limiting of access to abortions to impoverished women.
I'm pretty liberal. By that, I mean I was the most liberal person in both the English and Theatre Departments at Shorter. I'm certainly the most liberal preson in my family...and probably in my wider social circle. Somehow, I've become the opposite of the majority of my family politically. And I don't know how I got there. All I know is that my positions make sense to me, as I imagine other people's stances make sense to themselves, even if they can't determine how they initially arrived at their position.
I know that I'm pro-gay rights because I'm gay. I'm pro-choice because I've seen a lot of lives of both children and adults ruined by unexpected and unwanted pregnancies. I'm anti-death penalty. I'm pro-state funding for the arts. I'm anti-censorship. I'm pro-women's rights. I'm pro-civic rights. I'm pro-corporate responsibility. Piece-by-piece I have accepted the entire leftist agenda. But, and maybe this is because of my youth, I don't agree with "soccer mom liberalism."
I've got an aunt who used to be a lot of fun. And then, she had her second child and suddenly she went off her trolley and started checking the sodium content on food and comparing the prices of pencils on a unit basis and all of these sorts of things. Suddenly, mixed into her private choices was an overwhelming amount of protectionism that I hadn't seen before. I see this happening in a lot of liberals. They want to allow everything to exist, and then they want to protect people (children especially) from anything that they're uncomfortable.
I'm sorry, two quick truths about life:
-Anything newsworthy or artistic should make someone uncomfortable.
-Everything worth doing leaves bruises.
You can't make everything safe, and by limiting the distances people can go to achieve this "safety," you undermine the principles that defended these limits in the first place.
As a child, I was told that I was free to be whatever I wanted to be because this was America and that was the American Dream. And, because I was a smart child, I wanted to know everything. I came to the conclusion that to explore and to break new ground, I had to do away with limits. And then, in high school, I went through a period where I wasn't honest to myself or anyone else about who I was or what I liked...and afterwards, when I finally began speaking for myself, it was so much better. To have a day without limits...maybe that's my goal.
But I've remained pleasant and approachable politically...and I hope to always stay that way.
News that Isn't Swine Flu
If I hear nothing else about swine flu, it will be too soon.
So, to all of my friends out there who don't follow the news but are instead focused merely on panic, here's a brief update on two political events that you probably should have heard about this week:
-Senator Specter (R-PA) switched teams this week. That's right: he's gay. Okay, not really, and I'm sorry I even made that joke...it really is beneath me. Anyway, he did switch teams, making the Senate 57-40-2 (with both Independents caucusing Democrat). Wait, you may be asking yourself, that only adds up to 99. Where's the 100th senator? Remember the parable of the lost lamb? And how that sheperd left the flock of 99 lambs to go find the lost lamb? Well, that's where that senator is, if that lamb were Al Franken, and that lamb was instead wrapped up in a court case, recount, re-recount, another court case, and an appeal that will most likely result in Franken being seated some time this summer. With Franken being seated, Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate (aka a "filibuster-proof" majority). We shall see what happens with this.
-Supreme Court Justice David Souter will retire at the end of the current legislative session. Some people are whining that Obama will pick a liberal justice.
Well...obviously.
Number 1: Souter is a liberal justice. Nominated by HW Bush, this halcyon of conservatism turned out to be pretty blue. So, it doesn't add anything to the liberalism of the court.
Number 2: W Bush nominated two of the most conservative members of the Court. Why shouldn't Obama nominate progressivess?
Number 3: Can we please get another woman? I mean, Ginsberg has got to be lonely.
Other news from my life:
-In six days, I will graduate from Shorter College with a BA in Theatre (Capstone: original work Edgar's Ashes) and a BA in English (Capstone: That's Not What I Wrote, But That's Okay: Film Adaptations of the Work of Tennessee Williams and Its Effect on the American Censorship of Film).
-14 professors of Shorter College will not be returning in the fall. Contact me if you want a full list.
-I'm about to start a new play about how internal duality of religion can destroy someone.
-Words that I had to look up in the dictionary yesterday: Quotidian (occuring everyday), solipsism (belief that the self is the only thing that can be known and reality is an illusion)
So, to all of my friends out there who don't follow the news but are instead focused merely on panic, here's a brief update on two political events that you probably should have heard about this week:
-Senator Specter (R-PA) switched teams this week. That's right: he's gay. Okay, not really, and I'm sorry I even made that joke...it really is beneath me. Anyway, he did switch teams, making the Senate 57-40-2 (with both Independents caucusing Democrat). Wait, you may be asking yourself, that only adds up to 99. Where's the 100th senator? Remember the parable of the lost lamb? And how that sheperd left the flock of 99 lambs to go find the lost lamb? Well, that's where that senator is, if that lamb were Al Franken, and that lamb was instead wrapped up in a court case, recount, re-recount, another court case, and an appeal that will most likely result in Franken being seated some time this summer. With Franken being seated, Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate (aka a "filibuster-proof" majority). We shall see what happens with this.
-Supreme Court Justice David Souter will retire at the end of the current legislative session. Some people are whining that Obama will pick a liberal justice.
Well...obviously.
Number 1: Souter is a liberal justice. Nominated by HW Bush, this halcyon of conservatism turned out to be pretty blue. So, it doesn't add anything to the liberalism of the court.
Number 2: W Bush nominated two of the most conservative members of the Court. Why shouldn't Obama nominate progressivess?
Number 3: Can we please get another woman? I mean, Ginsberg has got to be lonely.
Other news from my life:
-In six days, I will graduate from Shorter College with a BA in Theatre (Capstone: original work Edgar's Ashes) and a BA in English (Capstone: That's Not What I Wrote, But That's Okay: Film Adaptations of the Work of Tennessee Williams and Its Effect on the American Censorship of Film).
-14 professors of Shorter College will not be returning in the fall. Contact me if you want a full list.
-I'm about to start a new play about how internal duality of religion can destroy someone.
-Words that I had to look up in the dictionary yesterday: Quotidian (occuring everyday), solipsism (belief that the self is the only thing that can be known and reality is an illusion)
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