Post script

Our air conditioner is broken. I'm not even kidding. Our friggin' A/C.

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/77802?from=recentsearch

I seriously need a vacation

Last night we had to drive to a little town outside of Houston called Sealy. Sealy is basically a bunch of fast food restaurants and a Catholic church all kind of near each other. We had to drop off the car we had borrowed and it had to be done that day. This ended up being about a 4-4.5 hour ordeal because we sort of got stuck there doing the family thing. Which is all well and good - except for the fact that I have work to do. Always. I got up early and pretty much finished my diss proposal so I could just do some final editing that night. Things like finish the works cited, etc. Even though we got back around 10:30 and I was just starting my work, I felt like I could be in bed by 12am, 12:30 at the latest.

But, of course, there were things I did not count on. Like the fact that my presentation for tomorrow's class had completely disappeared. I was going to have to redo the whole damned thing. Awesome. Oh - and I couldn't open any documents. ANY documents. Microsoft Word had just decided not to work AT ALL. Outstanding - I've got a dissertation to write and no word processing or office program. I'm not sure how that could be more awesome.

So around 11:15 I head to campus. Only to get all the way there to discover that because I am using different keys that normal because we keep having to switch cars I have left the keys to my office at home. So I turn around, go back home, grab my keys and head to campus again. I left my office about 1:30 am. Hubby is freaking out a bit because he knows that once every other week either a woman is sexually assualted or a foreign student is beaten about half a mile away from where my office is. Which I didn't think about when I left - just when he started begging me to be careful. But, I made it to my car. The only reason I left that soon was Hubby called to tell me I could open my documents again - so if I wanted to finish at home I could. When I got in I immediately started typing up the last bits of my proposal. At which time hubby begins telling me about all the ways in which my computer is f*&^ed up and I will need to do all kinds of things tomorrow to get it working properly. At that time I was a bit distracted and didn't hear a word of it. Eventually, around 2:30 in the morning, I got into bed.

So today I have no wireless on my own computer. I am having to resave everything in different programs to make it manageable. Neither of which are annoying at all.

Tonight I tutor, and we all know what a joy that is. I cannot believe I still have two days left of school. That doesn't sound like much - but it will be an eternity.

The positive of this: I sent on my dissertation to my committee. I'm pretty sure most of it is lucid, which at this point in the summer, I am pretty proud of. More to come on that, I am sure.

For now I am going to listen to speeches. I have already gotten an email in which a student informed me she had chosen not to. Just not going to do this assignment that is 20% of her grade. Well - I guess that's one less for me to worry about.

Life affirming

As many of us know, I have been tutoring some evenings this summer. Which is a little weird because these kids are wicked smart and really don't need my help. But that's another thing.

On the nights that I tutor a chess club of sorts meets at Barnes & Noble. And last night they were in full force. They took up half the cafe area. Which is fine - and I think some of them thought I was checking them out - I wasn't; think sterotypical chess club! - because I was watching their games while my kids wrote or took a test or whatever. The awkward thing was that when I got there I just grabbed a table - sort of in the middle away from everybody. When the chess players got there they didn't have too much of a choice but to sit at all the tables around us. We were surrounded on all sides by chess players. And I felt bad because they are trying to concentrate while I am pontificating on things like past v. present tense and the whole purpose of a concluding sentence or introductory paragraph. Yes, it was that interesting. And I know they could over hear me, but what could I do?

At any rate, tutorials ended and I was gathering my stuff to throw it away and one of the chess players stops me. He says, "Excuse me, miss..." and I'm thinking - great. He's gonna ask me to move away from them next time. But whatever - I sigh and smile brightly at the old guy. "yes, sir?" (Because I'm a Southerner and manners are ALWAYS important.)

"You are going a great job with that boy." And I sort of splutter and blush. "I wish I had had a tutor like you when I was younger. Maybe I would have learned to do something other than just copy out of the encyclopedia. I was really impressed. You've done a fantastic job."

So I said thanks and spit something out real fast - blushing and stuttering the whole time - then walked out. My husband asks what that old guy was saying, and I told him and he laughed. "I keep hearing that my wife is an amazing teacher. It must be true."

Maybe I can teach pedagogy someday? I don't know. It's just nice to know you have one thing you do well, you know?

Then again, sometimes the students are stupid

Allow me to share a few anecdotes.

Yesterday was the final exam in my speech class. It was the first test I have ever given a curve for - the grades were just low. Which I feel is partially my fault - I asked about some things that were in the reading but I didn't cover very well in class. The hard-ass in me wants to say "If it was assigned you are responsible" - but the realist in me knows that of all the things my kids have to do when they are taking summer school, and often working at the same time, reading the enthralling prose of Stephen Lucas and his introduction to the art of public speaking does not rank high on the list of priorities. I'm okay with that - truth be told I just taught a full summer session never having opened a copy (because I don't have one) of the edition of the textbook I assigned. The first time I even saw a copy was when I was writing the exam. Yeah - my pedagogy rocks.

But I digress.

So let me share with you the first question on the test:

1. A good speaker will avoid ethnocentrism.

What is the meaning of the word in italics?

A) Only appealing to white people

B) Stereotyping

C) Learned behavior

D) The belief that one’s own group or culture is superior to others.

E) All of the above

You, dear reader, will know immediately that the answer is "D". How do you know? Because you are pretty damned smart and know that a few of those answers are nonsense and only one is even responsive. BUT I got a complaint that this question was entirely unfair. Now - I am all for discussing questionable test questions. On many occasions I have decided that a student had a viable argument so I gave them credit. This was not one of those instances. "Ethnocentrism" was a vocabulary word and I just copied the definition out of the book. Period. No questions. Even a cursory glance at chapter one and you would have probably noticed the highlighted words that are then defined specifically in the margins. This is not rocket science.

But still a student stayed after to complain. Apparently it is unfair for me to put the definition of the word AND possible examples or outcomes. How are they supposed to know the actual answer from the book from possible outcomes of that quality? Said student began to explain that stereotyping IS the same thing as ethnocentrism, making that question null and void. To which I responded "All Chinese people are good at math." God I would have loved a camera for that.

"What?" he says.

"I am a white person. If I announce all Chinese people are good at math, am I stereotyping?"

"Well, yes."

"In my stereotyping did I announce white people are superior?"

"No."

"So what does that tell you?" I asked. And he mumbled something about still being unfair and moved on to his next complaint. But by far my favorite moment was his proclamation that question # 50 was also unfair. The question: What is your instructor's name? And mind you, this is multiple choice.

He claims this is also unfair, because since I sign most epistles with just my initials how should he know what my actual name is? To which I responded "Did you even read the test? I only gave you five hints." Because in every question that was anecdotal or requires some application I used MY NAME. Still - clearly unfair. How on earth could a student be expected to know the name of his teacher? So much for a gimme.

Token Black Man

I heard somebody on the news this morning say the thing I have been dreading:

Clearly there is no need for affirmative action programs and we can see that race relations have improved because there is a black man who might be president.

Woohoo! Racism is dead because one black guy is successful. Outstanding - I can finally rid myself of liberal WASP guilt because between Oprah and Obama - how much proof do we need that we are all on a level playing field?

Now, I am NOT saying that things aren't better now than they once were. But I do think it is very dangerous to put the exceptional on a pedestal to show the world that anything is possible. It's the same as pointing to ONE person who started out as a welfare recipient and ended up a millionaire and announcing that anybody can do it. It's a fallacy. Faulty analogy or hasty generalization - you could look at it either way. Btw, just google "welfare to millionaire" - but only if you enjoy nonsense.

Do I think Barack Obama is a great role model and symbol of the possibilities here in the US? Yes. Do I think his success means that racism is no longer institutionalized. No. Big No.

In which the city of Philadelphia does an article on a subject similar to my dissertation

Philadelphia Reflects On Who Is An American : NPR

Here's the difference. I think NPR is trying to do the impossible. The definition of "American" is so slippery and malleable and individualized that I don't think there will ever be a day in which we agree on it. So, you may ask, what the hell is my dissertation about?

I am approaching the question a bit more specifically. I'm not asking who or what is an American, but how we go about trying to define that publicly. I am more interested in the methods and tools we use to try and reach consensus - as opposed to the final result I am looking at the process. Which should keep me busy for quite some time.

Smart, huh?

Sometimes the students are right

COMM 203 really is a joke. Students who complain that it is a useless class and doesn't teach them anything aren't whining - they are right. And we, as the grad assistant instructors, know it.

For one, there is no real effort put into teaching public speaking. You learn more at Toastmasters. This is a class in how anal-retentive some people can be about following directions. Did you say this exact sentence at this exact point in your presentation? Did you use transitions that are so obvious you can separate them out and label them? Can you give your speech w/ exactly one page of two word notes in the form of an outline?

Let's examine each of those requirements before we get on to the high brow griping. A TRULY good public speaker will never have such an exact speech that there is one time to say one thing and that's it. Because a really good speaker is flexible. A good speaker knows how to gauge an audience for things like timing and emphasis. There is no hard and fast rule about when you say "what's important" - you say it at the right time. But we don't bother teaching about figuring out what "the right time" is. We just give them a pre-formed outline and tell them they will fail if they don't fill in the blanks just as they are. That's not just stupid - it's a dis-service to our students.

The point of a transition is that it smoothly moves you from one idea to another. If they are painfully obvious then they aren't useful - they are distracting. Saying "Now that I have covered point one I'd like to discuss point two" is not transitioning - it is pointing out that you have no idea how to connect your ideas other than point out that they are different. The whole idea is to move your audience smoothly through your ideas - not bludgeon them about the head and neck with the announcement that you are moving on.

Who the crap cares about your notes? As long as you are not reading your speech and acknowledge that you have an audience, why should somebody have to go and check your notes to make sure you don't have too many words? That's not teaching - that's looking for an excuse to fail a kid. Which is, in my mind, terrible pedagogy.

We do not teach kids how to speak. We simply don't. At least, not well. We teach them how to fill in blanks in a mediocre fashion. The kids who do well in my class will never impress somebody - never persuade anyone. But speech is taught like a standardized test - it is geared toward the middle. Kids who are really good speakers will not do well in a speech class because there is no place for creativity or technique. We want everybody to sound like everybody else. How is this learning? Teaching mediocrity doesn't help. They are not learning to be impressive representatives - they are learning to sound completely un-noticeable. This is not a helpful skill set! If I were one of my students who graduated and had to go out and make a real presentation I would come back and cuss me out up one side and down the other.

We don't teach the kind of speaking that we should. Most of my students will never stand in front of a group of people and try to convince them to pass a law. That's simply not in the cards for most people. But many of them will have to give a toast or say a prayer or give a testimonial. But God forbid we teach them something they might use. We don't bother with epideictic speech. Which is flatly stupid. It's the one kind of speech that some of my students ever need to know anything about.

When I grade my kids' speeches I grade for stupid stuff. Pure and simple. I gave C's to people the other day who were clearly superior speakers, but they had the audacity to adapt the organization of their speech to suit their own purposes.

I hate myself when I am teaching speech. I am a teacher for God's sake - how am I supposed to live with myself knowing that the class I am teaching is not just stupid, but most likely detrimental? And I've constantly got admin folks breathing down my neck to make sure I am checking note cards and complete sentences on the outline they don't actually use and making sure I have a bell curve that is as close to perfect as possible. It's a joke. The teachers know it. The students do, too.

I don't blame them for hating me at all.

It wasn't cool when Roosevelt tried to pack the court, either

Baylor Board Votes to Increase Regent Membership to 24
GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Baylor Regents today voted to modify the size of its governing body, increasing its board size from a previous goal of 16 to 24 members. The vote came as the board was concluding its annual summer retreat, which this year was held in Grapevine.

Board Chair Howard K. Batson said the increase in board size was intended to position Baylor for future success.

"Our goals are ambitious and we are going to need increased diversity of talents within our board structure to achieve the level of future success we envision," Batson said. "Our board is strong now and with this action we believe we can create an even more representative governing body that will help Baylor to reach new heights in the coming years."

Wes Bailey, chair of the Governance Review Committee of the board, explained that the recommendation came after extensive study by his committee.

"We have spent significant time over the past several months looking at governance issues and considering an array of best practices in higher education," Bailey said. "The Board determined today it would revise its plans to downsize to 16 and instead adopt a plan to transition to a steady board size of 24."

One-fourth of Baylor's regents will continue to be elected by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

During the three-day retreat, Regents also received the university's annual report, noting the substantial progress on each of the 12 imperatives of Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year vision. The report included data and information on multiple achievements, including:

* continued increases in average SAT and GRE scores,

* undergraduates who are distinctively and strongly oriented to spirituality and community service,

* best ranking ever in the U.S.News & World Report 2007 rankings of national doctoral-granting universities,

* construction of the Paul L. Foster Success Center in the newly remodeled Sid Richardson Building housing Academic Advisement, Academic Support, Access and Learning Accommodation, Career Counseling and Career Services, and

* continued improvement in Baylor's student-faculty ratio, now 15:1, with fewer large classes and more small classes.

On a lighter note

Tomorrow Shark Week starts!!

Check it - even the Mythbusters and that dude from "Dirty Jobs" are involved.

Clearly it was fate that we picked up some seafood the other day - big sale - to grill this weekend. The main course : Shark steaks.


Discovery Channel : Science, History, Space, Tech, Sharks, News

John Lilley's tenure at Baylor: Mission Impossible?

John Lilley's tenure at Baylor: Mission Impossible?

Yeah, okay, I'm obsessive. I am interested that Lynn Tatum was trying to be so careful - Dr. Tatum was a favorite of mine - I respect him a lot. I think I annoyed him a bit, but that happens. For what it is worth he is a black belt and one day I asked that he show us he can really kick the top of the door. He did - and then informed me that he had been in the hospital the day before so if fell over in class it would definitely be my fault. Good guy.

Editorial: Back to Baylor rifts?

Editorial: Back to Baylor rifts?

Check out the comments - people are pissed. And have been for a while.

One of these days ask me about my Baylor and politics experience. And bring a snack.

Gossip, cont

The Forbidden Gospels Blog: Baylor Board fires university's president

I'm not ready to make official proclamations (you know I will when I can) but it seems that this is just as juicy a story as I wanted it to be. First, please read the comment on the last post - whoever anon is, she/he is right. The speculation I have heard is that Lilley was all on board with the 2012 goal of becoming a top tier university. And he had some crazy ideas about that. Things like maybe we shouldn't be granting tenure for things like ID and a really good teacher who doesn't actually do research. As I said, all speculation. But, if that is the case all of Sloan's old lackey's would be having heart - attacks. See, Bobby S. had this idea that you can be an inerrentist, base your research on the Bible, and be a highly respected academic. Now - some of my readers are inerrentists. And most of my readers are smarter than I am - am I saying you are dumb if you believe the world was created in 7 days? No. But you also have to accept that you will not be a respected biologist that way. And my readers know this. Sloan didn't. At the time I was studying English, and I just wasn't sure how I was supposed to be a good Baptist but also look at things like gender studies and postmodernism. Good thing I gave up and was a medievalist for a few years.

So, if the rumors I have heard are true, Lilley's problem was that he took Baylor's goals seriously. And if you know anything about Baylor you know that the last 15 years people have been pretty split down the middle on just that.

If I hear more or something different, rest assured I will re-visit the issue. Hell, I'm sure I will regardless.

Thanks and Gig 'em.

This is all I have right now

The Baptist Standard :: The Newsmagazine of Texas Baptists - Update2: Baylor disunity leads to Lilley's firing

This is a long article, but doesn't really answer some important questions. I'm hitting the grapevine to find out more.

Once upon a time my alma mater was respectable

Baylor University fires President John Lilley 1:13 PM CT | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

Yeah. Things are that bad. I would like to point one thing out: I was right. About a lot of things. See, Baylor has been headed down hill for a number of years. It started with Sloan. The only cool thing that guy ever did was allow dancing on campus. I know - heresy. There were all kinds of terrible decisions made - in an attempt to elevate Baylor's status. By the time I graduated the school was in such bad financial shape that you could have liquidated the whole place and still have been in a ton of debt. He ran that place so far into the ground that they had to borrow from a rainy day fund just to break even for a few years. And the rainy day fund had been used once since 1845 - the year that Baylor broke from the SBC, which provided a great deal of their funding.

Then there were charming ideas floated like "you can research what you want, but you won't get funding for it unless it is inline with Baptist doctrine." That one eventually got shot down - but I'm pretty sure only because of Baylor Med.

I don't know what this Lilley fellow did, but it must have been bad. I'm on a search to find out. See, they kept Sloan around for 10 years - he was sort of like George W Bush - only at the college level. Started out w/ pretty good support, then it waned when people realized he was not only an idiot but a an ideologue, until the only folks left who liked him were the ones who believe he might be Jesus. So what the crap did this Lilley guy do that was so bad? Stay tuned. I'll find out.

While I may not particularly love the school I am at right now, I will say I am more proud of the degrees I got here.

Reality bites

Reality bites

See - reality TV is not only crap - it can drive you crazy.

I don't think they realize the problem...

Attorney: Texas Bible decision may start a trend (OneNewsNow.com)

A course based on literature and history of the Bible CANNOT teach as the Bible as inerrent. That is, historically, nonsense.

Just a thought.

Pretentious academic

Another Peek Inside the Brain of the Electorate - washingtonpost.com

This is a very common complaint amongst my colleagues. We work with young and future voters every day - and they have no idea what they are talking about. None. That being said - many of my colleagues are just as bad. There are some really smart people out there who really don't know anything - because either they find it boring or they depend on one source and get a such a ridiculous, biases report (both on the left and the right) that when they try to explain their views, a pointed question sends them running off to cry.

And it IS depressing. Maybe if we knew something about the world around us we'd be less likely to elect people who don't understand the very basics of politics. Maybe.

Not an endoresement

Op-Ed Columnist - Is ‘The One’ Cocky or Commander in Chiefy? - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

You either like or hate MD. I like her all right, but not necessarily her style. Seems a bit snipish and juvenile sometimes. BUT - what caught my eye was Gen. P's comment about parties in the Army. What's that mean?

REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS

ALIEN BIBLE TRANSLATED! - Top Story - Weekly World News

"I want to believe."

Rhetoric and linguistics

qwantz.com - dinosaur comics - July 23 2008

Good luck, Corpus!

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/upcoming_hurricanes.png

okay - so perhaps it was a bit dark

Bloomberg.com: U.K. & Ireland

Apparently there is a Dark Knight clause: you will go a little crazy if you were involved. What will Michael Cain do?!!?

Liberal Media Alert!!

Poor Economy Slams Brakes on Women’s Workplace Progress - NYTimes.com

Clearly this article is an attempt by the leftist media to ruin family values. Everyone knows all women are completely happy to stay at home and be moms. Motherhood is the most important job in the world - why would I need anything else to fulfill me?

Maybe the fact that 3 years olds just don't have a lot to say on Foucault?

SO DAMNED GOOD

1. Okay - let's get the one criticism out of the way. The dialogue is a bit stilted. It sounds like it came from...well, a comic book.

2. Commissioner Gordon is the hero of the story - I think.




I cannot wait to discuss this movie in class. It deals with such fantastic issues that I can use to rock their world. Who's the good guy? Who's the bad guy? What's the difference? Should be awesome. Gordon is the only one who seems to consistently fall on the same side of things - but even this is complicated by his willingness to work with cops who may not be clean. But he seems to always want to do the right thing - and is well aware that "right" is not just vague, but sometimes impossible. Batman deals with the same issues - but by virtue of being Batman he often falls on the darker side of righteousness. I think in the next one Gordon will be a fascinating character to watch.

3. Incredibly political.

The first one was pretty political in that it was all about fear. As a weapon. The ultimate weapon.



This one goes even further - the word "terrorist" is bandied about quite a bit. And there is a lot of discussion (thank you Harvey Dent!) about who should have power and when and why. This gets played out later by my favorite character:



I would love to go on and on about the wisdom of his commentary, but I don't want this to be a spoiler.

4. Provocative

We couldn't talk about the movie for quite a while after we saw it because there was so much to digest. The New Yorker apparently did not like it for that very reason - they said there was entirely too much going on. And there might have been. But it was good stuff. It really is a smorgasbord - amazing visuals and wicked action sequences, all in an effort to get you to think about some pretty important things.

5. THE ENDING

I clearly can't tell you what happens. But if you are still living in a fantasy world where heroes are good guys and villains are bad guys and you can always tell the difference - don't see this. You'll be much happier in in your constructed, blissfully ignorant reality. And there is nothing wrong with that. But the reality I recognized is a bit more complicated. And Christopher Nolan thinks so, too.

Seriously, you cannot imagine how excited I am

So it's been a crappy month, but in about 2 hours it is going to be SO much better. I'm going to see The Dark Knight. I will have a full review up later, but I need you to know how big of a deal this is.

And also, just in case you still had any questions on the matter, Batman totally kicks Superman's ass. ALWAYS.

I'm so smart

Search for Alien Life Gains New Impetus - washingtonpost.com

Years ago, during one of those conversations you have when you are drunk because you think you are really smart, some friends and I were discussing the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. We were all onboard with the idea that it was probably out there - but I was the crazy one. I made the comment it was stupid to only look at planets "like earth" for signs of life. To which the response was "But people and animals can't live without water and air!"

What nonsense. The people and animals we are familiar with can't life without air and water. We evolved to this planet, not the other way around. Even if you want to go biblical, the earth was before life and animals and people had to adapt to it. Why wouldn't life the same anywhere else? Who wrote the rule that life must be carbon based? The neat thing about not knowing anything about space is that we don't know anything about space. By assuming that all life is like us we are really limiting our scope.

I believe in God. And I think he is a Creator. Part of being a creator is being creative. Ask any poet or artist - you cannot create without innovation. And I am not one to limit God to the limits of my own understanding. That's just asking for trouble.

Can you SMELLLLL what Barack is cooking?!!?

Baylor Proud � Baylor professor among nation’s leaders on faith-based initiatives

Baylor Proud � Baylor professor among nation’s leaders on faith-based initiatives

Leave it to my effing alma mater to totally screw up that whole "separation of church and state" thing. You know - there was a time when Baptists were champions of that cause. SEE BLOG ENTRY ON THE MATTER!

Greatest spam E.V.E.R.

Heya,

Fuck beer! Got sexy girl?

(Link here which I will not post)


Besought thee every day for the eighteen days occurred beforehis lecompton revolt, and the bad accounts from ross, butthen he is always and deed, if not in word, the vows bywhich you head towards thy legs and press said hat uponand forwards with the precision of machinery. Sneer to sirjohn johnson's mouth and a scowl were made within threedays early in december. Is regarded as a high duty by personsconversant salutations to thee that art brown in complexion,and last demand of the hybridizer is lightlighteternallyhis mind to throw away the gourd,when he heard rose, andbelieve me ever your affectionate brother, of his state.if aeroplanes carrying goods from that at least a fourthof the merchants of the

"The horror..."

Price jump worst since '91 on record gas, higher food - Jul. 16, 2008

Stocks and the market are not my issue of choice. I hate money - really, I hate it. Nothing good comes of it. That being said I recognize it is kind of important if I want to, you know, eat. And we all know how much I like to eat.

Yesterday I made the mistake of listening to all the news about Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Holy freakin' Moses. We might all die. A food crisis, a fuel crisis, the housing market is tanking, Wall Street is out of control, Iran is testing nuclear missiles, Brazil just found a gazillion barrels of oil and nobody knows how that's going to effect things, and this country is run by a bunch of bloody idiots.

As we know, July has been a bad month. My dear friend from Mosaic (see links to the side) came to pick me up and take me to work because I have no car. Bless her heart. And the first thing she says is "I've been listening to NPR - and Bush is speaking about the economy. I wasn't scared until right now. And now I'm terrified." And she was SO right.

For the last 7 years or so we have done exactly the OPPOSITE of what common sense dictates. You cannot slash taxes, especially for those who can afford it, when we are in a war. YOU CAN'T DO IT. The market will not "balance itself out" when you suck away at market resources. You do not have to have a degree in economics to understand that. And while I have any number of socialist rants about equitibility I could go on - if you lend tons of money to people who can't afford to pay them back - it is your own damned fault when you go broke. I do not see that as a comment on the quality of the borrowers - I see that as a complete and total lack of ethics on behalf of lenders determined to turn a profit regardless of who is hurt. And low and behold it bit them in the ass. Once again - these are not hard concepts.

And now our liberal-market priests are panicking because "holy shit - this didn't work out!" So what do they think the right response is - government interference. Okay - putting aside my firm belief that the liberal market is evil and largely based on immorality and greed, bringing in the government to fix a huge mistake made by the government would be comic, were it not for the fact that the whole world will suffer.

Forgive me, reader

Ok - I try to keep my comments relegated to the stuff of the public sphere. I like posting about news and human interests and that sort of thing. But I feel as if the month of July has merited a personal rant.

Two weeks ago my husband was in a car accident. Thank God nobody was hurt. But it totally screwed up his car. I mean really badly. It's been in the shop all this time. We should have it back by Friday. All of this is frustrating because while we CAN survive with just one car, it is challenging. Our schedules really don't coincide.

Three days after said car accident he was diagnosed with shingles. That's right - shingles. Do you know who gets shingles? Apparently my relatives, my husband, and people over the age of 60. Do you know what it is? Think of the best parts of the chicken pox, herpes, and mono all rolled up into a viral cocktail. Yes, it is THAT awesome. Once again, thank God we caught it early - it cleared up pretty quickly and he was only in a minimal amount of pain. Unfortunately, in order to clear it up the doctor put him on uber-drugs. Seriously, you would not believe the number of pills he had to swallow. This included a lot of steroids. Steroids mess with your immune system. So as soon as the shingles cleared up he developed a staph infection. From what I can tell his arms are NOT going to fall off - but I won't place any bets either.

So today he takes me to work so he can run some errands. As he is headed home smoke begins to billow up from under the hood of my car. I'm not kidding - smoke. We don't know what the problem with my car is, but we're sure not going to drive it at this point. Dying in a fiery car explosion is not on my "to-do" list. So today I was stuck on campus in the pouring rain waiting for SOMEBODY to be able to pick me up. It was awesome. Really.

I have not burst into tears yet. I have not taken it out on any students or unsuspecting bystanders. I feel as if these are both big accomplishments. I am beginning to wonder if this is payback for something. Any ideas?

So, I apologize. I am sorry for the long rant about things that don't concern you. But these are the things on my mind. I'll rhetoricize the crap out of you later this week - I promise.

Self-confidence

80-year-old Vegas stripper still does it ‘classy’ - Arts, books, more- msnbc.com

Is this hot or just really disturbing? Could somebody please clarify?

WebMD says: Become somebody's private porn star!

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

If more people were having great sex more often we would all live healthier lives. I think it might also be a good first step to world peace, but I don't have any data to back that one up.

Coolest news story of the week

Stolen Shakespeare Folio Retrieved - washingtonpost.com

I feel as if this is personal to me. Billy and I have been on first name basis for a few years now, and I have often worried people weren't paying enough attention to him.

Meeting of the Minds On Regulatory Revamp - washingtonpost.com

Meeting of the Minds On Regulatory Revamp - washingtonpost.com

So how bad is it when the neo-con econ guys want more regulatory power?

Evil genuis...? Or just a huge prick?

Rove ignores committee's subpoena, refuses to testify - CNN.com

Let's go with both.

The arrogance is overwhelming. He is claiming he has Presidential privileges so he does not have to answer to the legislature. There are many problems here. Let's discuss some of the most obvious:

1) The President is SUPPOSED to have to answer. Checks and balances are sort of a big deal. Being president does not put somebody above the law. The Executive branch is supposed to execute the law of the land - not hover above it and point and laugh at the rest of us poor schmucks.

2) K. Rove is not now, and never has been, the President. He was not voted into anything. He was a hired consultant. Period. How is Bush not bothered that Rove is claiming he has presidential privileges? Does he not get that Rove is just sort of flaunting that he has been in charge for years now?

I recognize the issue is more complicated than I have made it out to be. BUT - this is absurd. Rove is just a "regular guy" according to the law - he is not and elected official and therefore does not get the perks elected officials do. Or at least he shouldn't. And that being said, some of those perks elected officials are enjoying these days are...questionable at best.

Seriously - who the hell is this guy? More importantly, who does he THINK he is?

I can't believe I am going to say this

Iraq Wants Withdrawal Timetable In U.S. Pact - washingtonpost.com

A timetable might not be in anybody's interest. In fact, pulling out immediately might not be in all party's interests. Of course, neither is staying in. When discussing Iraq it is SO hard for me not to say "I was right! I told you so!"

That being said, I actually think Richard Nixon made this particular mistake the most clear. (I know - I promise it really is me typing this!!) But Nixon's comment in a similar situation was that a timetable didn't do anything but show your cards to your opponent. Now, Nixon had one advantage in that he kind of knew who his opponent was. I don't think we can say that here. But, his point was if you tell "the enemy" when you are leaving, then all they have to do is sit back and wait. Just chill until the day you leave, then go back to your oppositional business.

Once again, let me re-state: we never should have been there. There ARE no good options - it is going to suck regardless. Thousands more people WILL die because of this madness. The question is "what will suck the least?" And I don't have an answer. I can only point at the options and say "here is the suckiness of this plan." I leave it to other people to weigh it all out.

Evil is as Evil does...

Cheney's Staff Cut Testimony On Warming - washingtonpost.com

At least while the rest of us are dying of exciting forms of cancer those in the energy industry will be enjoying the warmer temperatures of the far north. And I am glad I am an American - we will probably be able to afford the serious drought and famine that is coming. Being the richest nation in the world has its perks.

Absolute nonsense

Burial Exposes Racial Rift in Texas - NYTimes.com

On the one hand, an article like this makes me ill. On the other it serves a useful purpose - to remind us that race still matters. We have not crossed some Utopian boundary yet and entered into the promised land where we hate each other for being bad people instead of looking "not like me." Regardless of how one views this, which side of the issue you feel has the best point, race is the central issue. There are still white cemeteries and black cemeteries. How does that even make sense? Even if you ARE a raging racist why does it matter who is near you (separated by feet of earth - and probably clay, at that) if you will never know?

Conclusion: RACE IS STILL AN ISSUE. Don't be dumb. Don't pretend it isn't.

How on earth does this serve the conservative agenda?

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/07/christian_sites_ban_on_g_word.html


The moral to this story is "Don't be a dumbass in public."

In which my faith in humanity is slightly restored

Where The Hell Is Matt?

Thanks to the good folks at Political Cotton Candy for pointing this out to us.

NOOOOO!

Obama Wants to Expand Role of Religious Groups - NYTimes.com

Okay, let's establish that I do NOT have a problem with religious organizations. AND I think both Bush and Obama are right in thinking that such organizations should take center stage in addressing social ills. This in no way means that the government should fund them.

1. Separation of church and state is not just making sure that the government doesn't favor a particular religion - it is a protection for religion from the government. Note that religious organizations will be closely monitored in Obama's plan to make sure they do not use the funding to proselytize...this is a very slippery slope in my mind. When you combine government and state the danger is less that a theocracy will develop and more that the church will be limited by the government. Religious groups have the right to evangelize - regardless of whether I like them or not. It is not the place of the government to tell them they cannot.

2. Mario Cuomo made a fantastic speech years ago in which he defended his liberal leanings to his Catholic constituents. And one of the most poignant things he said was that social ills such as poverty and abortion are a failing of the church. If the church had done its job these would not be such monumental issues. Clearly that's a controversial statement. But let's consider that - if the church should be at the center of social progress, then the church should be willing and able to do so. We, as religious people, should be providing the money to take care of our fellow humans regardless of whether the government helps or not. If people want to help, then help. While I am a huge fan of social welfare programs to make them religious AND government funding seems to partially alleviate responsibility of the very groups that should be most involved. This, in my mind, is unacceptable. The people of a church, any church, should be helping those around them. Do not let the government take care of it for you. The government DOES have a responsibility to help its citizens - the church has more.