A return to LJ
I thought I would post some ramblings here since there is not enough space on FB and I try to kee it rather light over there...
I have so much going on right now I am a little overwhelmed. I am excited about the baby and I definitely feel that we have reached a point in our lives/marriage where this is a good step. That said this is a huge added responsibility and I worry about letting them (Heather and baby down). I have expressed this concern to one friend who told me that he felt that the fact that I worried about it was a good sign because it shows that it is important to me. Hopefully so.
In addition to the baby there is the job market. Things are not good right now in academia for getting a job. I'm fairly optimistic but it means I do have to bring my A game.
As to politics, John Stewart aptly summed up my current view of the conservative-talkers (and some politicians) last night. After defending Bush's actions in Iraq, Katrina, and the economy they now use these as buzz-words for implying Obama failures. Does that mean they are admitting that Bush failed in NOLA? The Katrina-oil spill comparison is possibly the worst of these since they have nothing in common. One was man-made one was a natural disaster. What I would like to know is how our government (through both Dems and Republicans) failed to make the oil companies have proper contingency plans in place. The very fact that BP has to say,"We arent really sure how to deal with this" shows that our government failed to do what its job is when it comes to regulation.
On to Elana Kagan, I am bummed by this nomination. For an academic legal mind she has very little written so her philosophy is unclear. Perhaps more importantly to me is that she is not a judge. I don't see why you would appoint someone to the highest court in the land without first seeing how they did on lower courts. This was one of the biggest strikes against Harriet Myers when she was put forward (and I agreed) and I dont think she (Kagan) should be confirmed. Left wing radio voices like Randi Rhodes says we should "Trust that Obama knows what he is doing." Really?!?! Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom thank you very much. This "trust Obama" argument is horrible. This is an extension of the bush/cheney "If you're not with us your with the terrorists" argument. Apparently if I was a REAL liberal I would be backing Obama all the way. Is that the Obama that has failed to close Gitmo, failed to repeal dont ask dont tell, failed to repeal DOMA? I understand there are political realities but dont tell me that I need to "believe" in obama. That argument was weak it was used to elect him. Also, we need to not rewrite history with lines like 'obama was unanimously elected'. Apparently many people dont know what the fuck unanimous means. He got a majority of the votes but it certainly wasn't unanimous. I honestly think that one of the principal reasons Obama got elected was the clusterfuck that was the Obama campaign including (maybe especially?) Sara Palin. Honestly, if you want to see me get involved in a political campaign run her next election for Pres or VP. I will not spend 4 more years with a folksy "I'm just a gosh darn diddly idiot like all of you" faker (to be clear we had 8 years of it with Bush).
That was a bit of a rant and is only a small fraction of the rage I feel (politically speaking).
Anyway, today is a writing day so I am turning my attention to MS Word.
I have so much going on right now I am a little overwhelmed. I am excited about the baby and I definitely feel that we have reached a point in our lives/marriage where this is a good step. That said this is a huge added responsibility and I worry about letting them (Heather and baby down). I have expressed this concern to one friend who told me that he felt that the fact that I worried about it was a good sign because it shows that it is important to me. Hopefully so.
In addition to the baby there is the job market. Things are not good right now in academia for getting a job. I'm fairly optimistic but it means I do have to bring my A game.
As to politics, John Stewart aptly summed up my current view of the conservative-talkers (and some politicians) last night. After defending Bush's actions in Iraq, Katrina, and the economy they now use these as buzz-words for implying Obama failures. Does that mean they are admitting that Bush failed in NOLA? The Katrina-oil spill comparison is possibly the worst of these since they have nothing in common. One was man-made one was a natural disaster. What I would like to know is how our government (through both Dems and Republicans) failed to make the oil companies have proper contingency plans in place. The very fact that BP has to say,"We arent really sure how to deal with this" shows that our government failed to do what its job is when it comes to regulation.
On to Elana Kagan, I am bummed by this nomination. For an academic legal mind she has very little written so her philosophy is unclear. Perhaps more importantly to me is that she is not a judge. I don't see why you would appoint someone to the highest court in the land without first seeing how they did on lower courts. This was one of the biggest strikes against Harriet Myers when she was put forward (and I agreed) and I dont think she (Kagan) should be confirmed. Left wing radio voices like Randi Rhodes says we should "Trust that Obama knows what he is doing." Really?!?! Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom thank you very much. This "trust Obama" argument is horrible. This is an extension of the bush/cheney "If you're not with us your with the terrorists" argument. Apparently if I was a REAL liberal I would be backing Obama all the way. Is that the Obama that has failed to close Gitmo, failed to repeal dont ask dont tell, failed to repeal DOMA? I understand there are political realities but dont tell me that I need to "believe" in obama. That argument was weak it was used to elect him. Also, we need to not rewrite history with lines like 'obama was unanimously elected'. Apparently many people dont know what the fuck unanimous means. He got a majority of the votes but it certainly wasn't unanimous. I honestly think that one of the principal reasons Obama got elected was the clusterfuck that was the Obama campaign including (maybe especially?) Sara Palin. Honestly, if you want to see me get involved in a political campaign run her next election for Pres or VP. I will not spend 4 more years with a folksy "I'm just a gosh darn diddly idiot like all of you" faker (to be clear we had 8 years of it with Bush).
That was a bit of a rant and is only a small fraction of the rage I feel (politically speaking).
Anyway, today is a writing day so I am turning my attention to MS Word.