Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Conservatives without Brains

This is kind of long, because I've reprinted a piece from the Daily Camera...
In last week's paper (from the ever-liberal Boulder), was a piece from a local named Don Lloyd, complaining about the "liberal hate mongers." Here is what he had to say:
It is worrisome to contemplate how the numerous liberal hate mongers will react to the sudden loss of their opportunity to express their unprecedented disrespect and hate of our President. Will it be something like drug withdrawals, or will it be depression? Surely, the Camera cartoonist will be saddened that he can no longer express his narrow-minded hate by regularly casting our president as an ignorant monkey.

No, this will not be replaced by similar but conservative purveyors of disrespect, because they seem to have the ability to communicate criticism more constructively. It’s similar to the treatment of liberal versus conservative guest speakers on the CU campus. We never see liberal guest speakers taunted or blocked from speaking, yet the campus liberals, who loudly declare the merits of freedom of speech and the right to self-expression, are quick to prevent any significant conservative voice from speaking at CU, even when they’ve been invited for the engagement. And such behavior is vindicated by what great moral justification? Certainly it isn’t freedom of speech, or a balanced political venue. And now someone has even dared to suggest the need for a new seat of conservative thought on our fair campus – horrors!

It isn’t going to be easy for the libs, when they begin to see the bill for the massive promises being made by President Obama and his inability to deliver on many. But they will readily commit their complete support to our new president, exercising the same respect and support so completely denied President Bush.

If you think this concern for liberal withdrawals isn’t well founded, just consider the numerous hate-filled harangues printed over the past few weeks, trying to get in the last bash before President Bush leaves the oval office to his successor.

Noting that Mr. Lloyd is patently wrong on a few points, let me take this opportunity to point out just what the conservative jackass pretends to know, but really knows nothing about.

First, let me acknowledge that he is correct that there has been much Bush-bashing going on, not just in the end of Mr. Monkey's term, but throughout. As an educated person, I think that the bashing was warranted. The man was an idiot and a fraud, and not fit to lead this country.

Next, Mr. Lloyd goes on to mention the negative treatment of conservative guest speakers at CU. Mr. Lloyd says that the campus liberals "are quick to prevent any significant conservative voice from speaking at CU, even when they've been invited for the engagement." Well, Mr. Lloyd, I hate to disappoint, but at the time of your writing there were prolific advertisments of a conservative speaker, coming to the CU campus to speak. On January 26, the conservative author Dinesh D'Souza engaged in a debate entitled "What's so great about God," on campus. So much for that idea. D'Souza is a best-selling author, a former senior policy analyst for the Reagan Administration, and was described by New York Times Magazine as one of the nation's leading conservative thinkers. Seems to me just like the kind of person Mr. Lloyd was describing.

The other major point in Lloyd's column I'd like to address is his statement that we liberals will essentially follow President Obama in blind faith. Even if we do, I'd really like to know how that is at all different from the astonishing blind faith I saw conservatives put in President Bush, even when he couldn't form complete sentences and had to lie his way through the war in Iraq.

Mr. Lloyd accurately illustrates the ignorance espoused by so many conservatives, and it's always nice to see them put their feet in their mouths in public.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

The J.D. is official

All my grades are (finally) in from last semester. I managed to squeak by in all my classes, which means the J.D. is mine to keep. Huzzah! I'm officially an unlicensed attorney!

The bar isn't looking quite so rosy, but I'm intending to keep cramming for the next four weeks (it's 30 days exactly to the exam), so wish me luck.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Busy times

In the last month, I graduated from law school, went to Crested Butte and Texas (spraining my ankle and tearing ligaments in between trips), moved, started a new job, and started studying for the bar. Bar review really, really sucks. What with trying to get accustomed to the new job and get moved in, plus that nagging wedding planning business, bar review, which should be a full-time affair, really isn't even close. Eight hours a week is a surefire way to fail. But studying for the thing sucks way more than law school did. I need: (A) more time in a day; (B) more weeks in January; and (C) the bar exam to be anytime good and later than the end of February. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Oh, and I went snowboarding this morning. My still-not-totally-healed ankle wasn't really thrilled, especially after Jazzercise yesterday. But it was such a beautiful day, I couldn't resist!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Under the Dome

So I've been hard at work for a few days now, really about a week. Having to get up at 6:30 to go to work really sucks, but my job as a legislative aide is interesting.

Except on Monday. The 40 minute commute took nearly three hours because of an unexpected storm, a commute in which I had to stand up on the bus on my sprained ankle (and yes, it's STILL screwed up). We finally got off the bus at an early stop to walk the rest of the way because of the horrid slowness of the traffic. Then Starbucks got my drink SO WRONG (I ordered a cappuccino, it's not rocket science) and I was so cranky that I threw it on the ground because I didn't realize it was wrong until we were away from the store. Rex was kind enough to buy me a new one at the next Starbucks, but then when I got to work the phone rang immediately and I was stuck talking to crazy constituents for the next two hours. One lady took up a whole hour on her own. The rest of the day was good, including the commute home, until we were in the parking lot at the bus station and I slipped on black ice and landed right on my ass. Which was also not so bad until Rex slipped right after me and his leg went right into my back. I burst into tears for a minute, then we were laughing, and then we had wine. Lots and lots of wine, for purposes of curing the Monday-from-hell-ness.

Yesterday and today have been much better.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Limping to Austin

I shall be ringing in the new year in Austin, with my future in-laws. Which, in my case, is a good thing. On my one day in Boulder between Crested Butte and TX, I tried to be a good girl, and I went to Jazzercise. That turned out to be a terrible pre-travel idea, as I twisted the hell out of my ankle halfway through class. Twisted it, as in it was 90 degrees in the wrong direction: the sole of my left foot was looking (rather shocked-like) at the ankle of my right. Luckily Jazzercise is full of moms, so I was taken care of in style. I managed to drive home, where I got to lay up whilst Rex ran all of my necessary pre-travel errands. And then, I got to travel with a cane. As it turns out, traveling with a cane is brilliant, because you get to go in the special no-line security line with the pilots and such, and you get to "courtesy pre-board." That means we were the first people on the plane! My little ankle was swollen to the size of a tennis ball yesterday (or perhaps it was a novel way of smuggling a small bomb? Kidding), but today she's looking much better. And I've dispensed with the cane, which truth be told made me feel a little conspicuous.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

White Christmas

It is, decidedly, a very white Christmas this year. It has been snowing since yesterday evening, and shows no signs of stopping for at least another 36 hours. Merry Christmas, everyone! There's enough white here to go around for those of you with a more, er, green Christmas.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Retailing in a Winter Wonderland

I walked into my mom's shop in Crested Butte this evening, to find my mom and sister waiting on a young couple. The girls jubilantly told me that the couple are getting married tomorrow at the base area of Mt. CB, and they were just purchasing the bride's outfit. At my mom's little shop! The couple just up and decided to get married while they are in town, and she knew she wanted to take the plunge on Christmas day. So, they got a local wedding planner and hit up all the shops in town to find a ring (oh, what a ring) and wedding clothes. For the life of them, they couldn't find a suitable outfit (despite their extra casual approach), and were just about to give up, when at the last minute they stumbled on Four Eighteen. They found an outfit and jewelry, and we sent the very happy, adorable couple on their way. The couple, in turn, invited us to the wedding. It's such a great Christmas fairy tale, and on Christmas day we'll head up to the mountain to attend this couple's wedding, along with all the other locals they have met along the journey of throwing their nuptials together.

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

So....close....

I rented my graduation regalia this morning. Doctoral graduates (that's me! Doesn't it sound fancy?) get to wear a tam, and the law color is purple. As for the color, at least it's not pink--music has to wear pink. But the tam? It's a square, floppy, velvet hat. Seriously? I think the goal of graduation is to utterly humiliate us in front of our families. Me? I'm going to look sexy in that floppy, shiny, square hat. Yes indeed.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Still counting down

I now have 24 hours and 15 minutes left until I am FINISHED with law school. That is, unless I can finish my exam sooner. Closed book, 3 hour water law exam...perhaps 2 hours (easy 2 hours), better at 1 1/2 or less. Then 'tis time for champagne and happiness.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Counting down

I have two days plus roughly two hours of law school left. The end won't come soon enough, but when it does, there will be celebrations and family time and NO MORE EXAMS! Until that unholy of unholy exams, the Bar Exam, but let's not worry about that now, okay?

Counting down to the end of school makes me think I should count down until the end of winter. Because yesterday? It was nineteen degrees below zero. And I don't even live in the mountains anymore, for chrissake. Five more days until the days start getting longer again (FINALLY), and 13 1/2 weeks until the official "first day of spring" (though we in cold climates all know that's a load of crap).

Thirty eight and a half weeks until I get married. And I still don't have a caterer. C'est la vie.