Pursuing the Amish Vote

In the Wash Post yesterday, there was a
pretty interesting article about how the GOP wooed the Amish vote in this past election. What you don't see on the website version, but was in the print version, was this photo. I hope the irony of a crowd of pacifist religious people holding a "Veterans for Bush" sign is not lost.

Are You a Neocon?

Take the Quiz and find out.

Charity Update

So, a friend's dad called Walter Reed Hospital & was told that they have "enough" phone cards for everyone, so are asking that everyone just send cash.
Also, I'm sure you've all found appropriate places to donate funds for the earthquake/tsunami victims, but if you haven't,
Lutheran World Relief is a good place to start.

Blog du Jour

Limerick Savant writes limericks for all the news stories he brings to you. Wow. Puts me to shame.

Poetry Contest

The deadline is tomorrow at midnight PST, but there's still a chance for all you budding poets to enter a poem into American Street's 2nd annual poetry contest. The rules are that you must use Donald Rumsfeld's quote "You go to war with what you have" in any part of the poem. See theAmerican Street site for details and for other entries.

Any Christmas Change Left Over?

The number ONE request at Walter Reed military hospital is phone cards. The government doesn't pay long distance phone charges and these wounded soldiers are rationing their calls home. Many will be there throughout the holidays. Send phone cards of any amount to:

Medical Family Assistance Center
Walter Reed Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001

They say they need an "endless" supply of these -- any amount even $5 is greatly appreciated. NOTE: ANYONE can also buy phone cards through the PX on line. They will even mail them to a specific Soldier if you have their address.

Christmas Entertainment

It's from a few weeks ago, but the interview of John Waters on Fresh Air is really hilarious. In it, he talks about his new holiday music CD, which includes such rarely-heard (but very charming) hits such as the 1970's era R&B single "Santa Claus is a Black Man."

More on Gerald Allen

Don't know why I had to find this on a British news site, but I did. Rep. Gerald Allen is the Alabama state rep who wants to ban all media relating to the "homosexual agenda" to "protect Alabamians" from the Evils of Hollywood, but hasn't really worked out the legal details of all of this. The author of this piece asked him about Shakespeare and the fact that his plays were originally performed by all-male casts. His reply? "Literature like Shakespeare and Hamlet could be left alone." (emphasis mine.)

Of course, he says this isn't book-banning. This will never, ever, ever, pass constitutional muster, not even Scalia will go for this.

Oh, and here's the scary part. Mr. Allen has met with President Bush on five separate occasions, the last, in early December, to discuss this very issue, at Bush's request.

The Washington State Governor's Race

Down to eight votes. See article here. So, what should they do to settle the score? Arm-wrestle? Rock-paper-scissors? Ideas?

Cal Bar Stats....

Are up on the California Bar website. The basic rundown is: 62.8% pass rate for first-time takers, 16.6% pass rate for repeat takers and a total pass rate of 48.2%. Perhaps the most disappointing was Cal Western's stats, in which only 60 of 119 passed or 50%. The only other ABA-approved schools we beat out were Whittier, Western State, TJ and Golden Gate. On the other hand, Boston College also had a 50% pass rate.

Still Need a Christmas Present for that Special Someone?

Why not the Grow-Op Game? This board game is all about learning the perils of running one's own marijuana farm in Canada. Perils include neighbors who turn you in and droughts. In a wierd way, this reminds me of a game my family used to play when I was a kid called "Harvest." It was one of these everybody-wins type of hippie games, probably imported from Vermont or New Hampshire. You had to harvest your crops and help your neighbors. No one else has ever heard of this game. Any good kids games out there anymore?

Missouri, Moving America Forward

Missouri State Senator Cynthia Davis is quoted as saying: "It's like when the hijackers took over those four planes on Sept. 11 and took people to a place where they didn't want to go...I think a lot of people feel that liberals have taken our country somewhere we don't want to go. I think a lot more people realize this is our country and we're going to take it back."
Here's the article on some of the excellent social legislation being put up in state assemblies across the states. One of the bills Senator Davis is promoting is one that would require Missouri to purchase biology textbooks that taught "alternatives" to evolution.
Let's see: murder of 3,000 people; sound scientific theory being taught in our public schools. Yes, I can see the similarities there. Am I going to have to send my kids to private school just so they CAN learn about evolution?

...And now I'd like to add Alabama to the list here. Seems Rep. Gerry Allen wants to "prohibit the use of public funds for "the purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle." As the librarian in the article points out, the library would probably have to close. Does anyone see a huge First Amendment issue here?

Women & the Law

Recently I received a beg letter from my alma mater asking me to help support womens' legal education. Now, I understand we've come a long way & that there were serious barriers to higher education for women not that long ago. But, ladies, in terms of legal education, we've made it. Women already make up half of law school student population and over half of students at the undergraduate level. Are there barriers to women making bank in the legal profession? There's an interesting article from The National Jurist about the barriers women face to making partner at a law firm (16.8% of partners are women). My main point is, of the long list of problems in the world that worry me, getting white affluent women a legal education is pretty low on that list. Comments?

Jenna's Career Plans

The Bush twins are not like you and me. I understand that. After all, most of our parents would have long kicked us out of the house after having graduated from college over a year and a half ago without looking for a job.
But now, Jenna wants to teach at a D.C. charter school. She is either very, very brave, or incredibly naive. Has Jenna ever been to Anacostia? I'm just wondering.
As for Barbara, she has not yet "announced her career plans." Funny, neither have I.

Disturbing Christmas Decor

Why make the neighbors think you have no class when it comes to Christmas decorations when you can offend them with your crude tastes? Check these out.

Quick Lesson for those with Political Ambitions

(1) Pay taxes on your nanny.

(2) Make sure your nanny is in the country legally.

Come on, people! This has happened so many times, I'm wondering whether "nanny troubles" is really just a cover for something more sinister. I mean, how many political appointees have ended up having some sort of nanny issues surfacing when it came time for confirmation? Justice Souter, Zoe Baird, Kimba Wood, Linda Chavez, now Bernard Kerik. Who else?

Alternatively, of course, one could raise one's own children. There's a novel thought.

Double Trouble

Paternity tests, the rite of passage for irresponsible men everywhere, now enters an interesting realm. A woman in Quebec apparently had sex with identical twins, got pregnant, and now is in the midst of a custody battle. Here's the article. The scientific question, of course, is whether DNA testing will be able to determine which of the identical twins is the father. Answer: possible, but unlikely.
However, the facts of the case are much more interesting than scientific ponderings. (Brenna may disagree.) The one twin who has been the father-like figure to the child brought suit when he & the woman broke up. Neither twin would submit to a paternity test, the plaintiff because he didn't want to pay the fee, and the other twin because he's already married with kids to another woman, and I guess he figures he already has enough responsibility. The twins have said they knew they were both having sex with the woman. The mother's lawyer said her client was not committed to either twin. "The brothers are her friends and had sexual relations with her, but they were never together as a couple," she said.
Now, if they can't determine paternity, who should have to pay child support? Should they split it in half and make each twin pay, or maybe make both pay equally, for being so stupid?

Lesson: Don't Buy Shoes From A Yard Sale

I walked by a "yard sale" on Saturday. By yard sale, I mean that some couple had left random pieces of clothing, dishware, etc. lying on the lawn in front of their apartment building. This no-effort, I'm just going to lie it on the grass, screw getting tables-type of sale I am seeing more often, don't know about the rest of you. I mean, for the amount of stuff they had, they should have just taken it to a social services center and gotten a tax writeoff rather than standing in the wind and cold all morning.
At any rate, I stopped just to see what they had there and got a couple of cute things--a nice wooden salad bowl for $5, a little beaded necklace for $2. I asked the man what size the women's shoes were. He said he didn't know his wife's shoe size (Is this surprising or not? Should one know one's partner's shoe size, or is it an area of life one should just stay out of? I'm not sure.) Anyway, he called her on his cell phone, determined the shoe size was the same as mine (8 1/2, for Nine West anyway), so being that the price was $3 for a pair of shoes, I purchased them. They were cute beige slingbacks with probably a 2 inch heel. And no, I didn't bother to try them on, because I was standing on the sidewalk on Columbia Road and for $3, I just decided to take the risk.
Well, kids, here's the lesson learned--and you probably knew this already, but you shouldn't buy shoes at a yard sale. These are just the most uncomfortable shoes ever, I feel like I am barely keeping from falling over when I wear them, and I was subjected to Melissa making fun of the way I was clunking down the Metro station last night. So when I went to a lunch time spinning class yesterday, I knew I couldn't walk the 15 minute walk with those shoes on, so I threw on my sneakers (I've also given up my ban on wearing sneakers with work clothes while I'm walking) to walk over to the other building. Then after class, I was running late getting back to my office, so I just threw on my sneakers without socks or hose, so I cut my heels up pretty good in the process, so now every pair of shoes I put on hurts my heels. Except for my Polartec slippers, but I feel like I should get off my probationary period at work before I start wearing slippers to work.

On a Personal Note

The California Board of Bar Examiners has determined that I possess moral character. Therefore, I will be certified to the California Supreme Court (I have no idea what that means) shortly and should be able to finally sign my own filings very very soon!

Brett or Jesus?

Churches in Wisconsin are rearranging their Christmas Eve services to accommodate....the Packers v. Vikings game.

Here's the article.

As the Lutheran pastor in the article pointed out, it's not fair to make Americans choose between their 2 religions.

Thanks to Jessica, my college roomie & my token Wisconsin friend, for sending this article my way. Vikings fans, anything to say for yourself?

Charging for Jail Time....of the Innocent.

Wow. So this isn't new news, it's from back in March, but apparently the British government charges those wrongfully convicted for food & shelter. The theory being, you would have been paying for food & shelter if you were free, so you should pay the government BACK for the privilege of being locked up for years for a crime you did not commit.

Here's the article. Kind of makes the bus fare home we usually give exonerees seem quite generous.

I'll look to see if there's an update on this story, but I had to post this.