Hiatus

I will be taking a short hiatus from posting on my sites for the upcoming week or so. Its finals time in law school and I'm going to try to avoid academic probation and shoot for scores high enough to get on law review next year.

Hiatus

I will be taking a short hiatus from posting on my sites for the upcoming week or so. Its finals time in law school and I'm going to try to avoid academic probation and shoot for scores high enough to get on law review next year.

The Shift in Europe

Karl Zinsmeister has a piece in The American Enterprise Magazine on the changing nature of the relationships between European countries and the United States. His predictions in the end do not bode well for the countries across the pond.

I expect that Americans and Europeans will be reasonably amiable. We will vacation and attend college in each other's countries, and (one hopes) trade as easily as Canada and the U.S. do today. But it will be China, India, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, the Arab world, and Turkey that the U.S. will have to huddle with most earnestly at important international conclaves--not Europe.

That is, frankly, not the circumstance most Americans would prefer. By rights, Europe and America ought to remain close cousins. But Europe's current choices in politics, economics, social and family life, and moral reasoning unmistakably suggest that a less familial relationship is emerging.

That is a reality that America needs to prepare for.

America has mobilized

Jonathan Rauch writes about how the US has mobilized more then most think.

As everyone knows, today's Americans are pampered, cynical, and self-absorbed. The Greatest Generation served nobly, but then the mold broke. After 9/11, the government asked Americans to give but little, and little is what they gave. As everyone knows.

Suppose what everyone knows is not actually true. Suppose President Bush called for volunteers in the war on terror, and thousands of people came forward. Suppose they created volunteer networks for disaster relief, emergency preparedness, and civil defense. Suppose they did most of this work at the community level, under the radar of the national media. And suppose it all happened not in the massive, militarized, top-down mode of WWII but in the networked, decentralized, bottom-up manner of WWW.

Well, brace yourself. Americans have heard the call.

Cleaning

A week and a day. That’s all I have left until finals start. This is going to be a rough week.

I spent most of the day cleaning the house to avoid studying. I know I should have been studying, but right now I’m tired of letting much of my place exist in a near constant state of clutter and I’m sure my girlfriend is just as frustrated about it as I was until today. It was at a point that it helped set a mood for avoiding any work, which was definitely not a good thing.

I’ve made a few changes to the apartment recently, trying to brighten the place up a bit to make it feel more like home. I will post some pictures of the place in the next week or so, once I get time to completely straighten my bedroom and finish the role of film. It’d be a lot easier if I had a digital camera, but that’s not a possibility at the moment. Law school is a major financial drain, but I’m sure it will be worth all of the problems in the end.

More on Confederate Place

I finally received a response back from the VP of Student Affairs Office on the name change of Confederate Place:

As the university worked with students to develop plans for Community Park, which may include a residence hall and revitalized housing for Greek organizations, we learned that we had the opportunity to work with the city to rename the street to something more closely aligned with the Community Park concept. "Confederate Place" has negative connotations to many who associate it with the pro-slavery position taken during the Civil War. A number of students and others on campus have suggested that we should consider an alternative name that better represents the university and our goals of inclusiveness. We're seeking feedback on possible street names to replace Confederate Place, and we will work to assist organizations affected by this change.

This puts it exactly where I thought it would be. It's all about "diversity" and "inclusiveness" and honestly, that's just sad. The next thing they'll be ripping down the monument to the dead at the end of the street because it offends someone.

There's a history behind the current name and in the rush to be P.C. they're trampling on that history, both good and bad. I know if they asked the residents that would be living on this street; they would find opposition to the whole process from the proposal itself to how it was proposed. Additionally, a university's goal should not be that of inclusiveness. It should be one of debate and academic challenge and progress. However, due to the administration of UofL I have rarely seen true debate and the focus has been money, not academics more often then it should have been at the school. I hope the rumblings out of the Greek community on campus are successful at quashing this whole thing.

Lazy Day

I had a relatively lazy day today. Started the day with taking Teresa to work downtown, as I have every other day this week. Even though I didn’t have class until 1pm, I managed to keep myself from going back to bed and instead spent the morning reading news and books for school.

I had my last lecture in Torts for this semester. This, I’m not as thankful for as I thought I would be by now. I think it’s because it means I’m even closer to finals then I care to think about most of the time. I honestly enjoyed most of the class too, though my note taking in it was never my best. It was more entertaining to listen to the arguments, especially when one of the other students started claiming things were unconstitutional. This was increasingly amusing when they started using amendments that apply only to government action, not private citizens. But I’ll be starting up exactly where we left off come January 6th, 2003. I think it’s a bit early to think about any of that though.

After class, I came home and waited until Teresa got out of training. This was supposed to happen by 3pm, but it ended up being closer to 4:30pm. After stopping by Teresa’s for her to change we headed out to the mall and Best Buy to do some Christmas shopping. We didn’t accomplish much on that front, not that I have much left to do. And for what it’s worth, don’t eat at Panera Bread in Mall St. Matthews. I’ve never had an order screwed up so much at a restaurant like that. At least the soup was decent.

BTW, for those of you that watch West Wing, can they make “Pres. Bartlet” any more insane?

The Truth

Max Singer thinks we should start telling Arabs the truth.

Barbarians

Brink Lindsey writes in NRO that the barbarians are at the gates once again.

We face, now and for the foreseeable future, the threat of a new barbarism. The new barbarians, like those of old, consist of groups in which every member is a potential warrior. Like their predecessors, the new barbarians rely on their ability to outmaneuver their civilized adversaries, to concentrate deadly force at vulnerable spots. But unlike the old steppe nomads, the new barbarians seek neither booty nor conquest. Our new barbarian adversaries pursue a strategy of pure and perfect nihilism: They seek destruction for destruction's sake. Their strategy, in other words, is terrorism.

It will be interesting to see how Lindsey expounds on this concept in the remaining articles in this series. Glenn Reynolds (InstaPundit) has some things to ad along with an interesting email from one of his readers here.

Time sure does fly. . .

Finals start in less then two weeks. It's just hard to imagine that I've almost finished a semester of law school. (Though, I've definitely been in college long enough.) I'm starting to stress about finals, which I guess is a good thing to a point. I've been tired a lot lately as well and I'm just tracing it back to three things: stress, cutting down on soda (less caffeine), and less time at the gym. Fortunately, I can sleep in a bit tomorrow with class not starting until 1pm. Well, almost, I do have to take Teresa in to work tomorrow around 8:30am so she doesn't have to pay for parking downtown. But, I'll probably go right back to bed for a couple hours.

Most things are going well. I'm almost finished with Christmas shopping and it's not even Thanksgiving. I'll probably be finished by next week. I think I'm going to drag Teresa out shopping this weekend, not that it will take all that much to do.

Today was a pretty dull day as things go at school. The school is still on lock down due to the "threats" of a former student. I'm still of the opinion that they should rescind the rule banning licensed concealed carry on campus if they're really that worried. Maybe, someday the law school and UofL in general, will be run my reasonable conservative individuals. I doubt it though, but it would be nice to have a major metropolitan university run by conservative intellectuals.

I'm going to try and write more here about just random things in the coming months. Writing is cheaper then therapy for dealing with the stress.

BIG Soldiers

The London Times is reporting that the majority of US troops are overweight.

Federal guidelines classify an individual as overweight if they have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25, regardless of age or gender. A BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared. Someone 5ft 11in and weighing 180lb (1.8m and 81.6kg), for example, has a BMI of just over 25.

Yeah, big deal. BMI is not something that can be taken at face value. BMI is not a suitable indicator for everyone because the calculation does not differentiate between fat mass and muscle mass. (WebMD) Exceptions to a high BMI score include competitive athletes and body builders, whose BMI is high due to increased muscle mass. Now, I know a lot of our military forces don't fall into this category, but I do think that this little bit of information can explain a good bit of the BMI's over 25.

Gordian Knot

Victor Davis Hanson once again writes a compelling article on how the United States needs to step up and do the work that's need in today's world.

Michael McConnell & the Federalist Society

Michael McConnell, nominee for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, spoke yesterday at UofL on the nature of established religions at the founding and the law concerning establishment. In the speech he focused on the states that did have an established religion well into the early 19th century and issues of enforcement of the established church. After the lecture, a small reception was held in which several students were able to get his opinions on things ranging from recent court decisions on the commerce clause, to campaign finance reform, and to his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The event was sponsored by the UofL Federalist Society and the McConnell Center for Political Leadership. In the news recently, the Washington Post reports on the organizations 20th anniversary convention.

Ominosity

you have an ominosity quotient of seven. you are as ominous as the creators of this quiz. which terrifies us. find out your ominosity quotient.

(Found at VodkaPundit)

Wow, people really are that dumb!

Didn't think I'd ever see one of these cases succeed, but then again. . . A gun company has been found liable in the shooting death of a teacher and must pay the teacher's widow.

Lets hope that this one gets overturned on appeal, but then again it's Florida.

UPDATE: Dave Kopel has an article about this story on National Review Online.

What's wrong with Confederate Place?

The University of Louisville is at it again in their on-going march to prove their stupidity. The latest is a decision to change the name of the street that Greek Row sits on. Currently known as Confederate Place, the University is looking at such killer ideas as: Unity Place, Complex Court, or Network Place.

Unity Place? Give me a break.

At least they're taking plans for a new Greek Complex a little more seriously. However, not everybody in the area is happy
with it.

Founding Fathers

Anyone else think this is accurate?

(Link via Caleb Brown)

America's Changing View of Europe

American diplomats appear to be turning against Europe. The article recounts an interesting story.

Well, the Europeans may still be able to count on the sympathies and cultural deference of many East Coast journalists, but something has shifted among the diplomats, the think tanks and even many of the academics. At a think-tank meeting last week, when a European diplomat asked rather patronizingly what all these American weapons were actually for, a renowned liberal academic simply quoted Kipling's line about "Making mock of uniforms that guard you while you sleep." And then he turned on his heel and walked away.

As Glen Reynolds points out, when liberal academics start quoting Kipling, the world has changed.

This is cool. . .

Which Firearm are you? brought to you byStan Ryker

(Link found at The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler.)

Surprise

The AP and other news sources are reporting that Iraq has accepted and will comply with the new resolution.

I give it 2 months, at most.

Done with Two

Well, I turned in my open memo assignment this morning for my legal writing class. With that I'm done with my second class for this semester. Now, if only all the rest were over with I could get some actual sleep and enjoy things a little more. Soon. . .

Sucks

I was going to go out and take some more photos today of just the changing seasons and the fall colors and then the clouds rolled in. . . Oh well, maybe later this week.

Cherokee Trip

Teresa and I spent a few hours going around Cherokee Park yesterday with a camera. She's amazed by all the colors, especially since she's use to desert brown.

The wind picked up a few times causing leaves to fill the sky. This caused her to act like a little kid, just loving every second of it. Several times as I was working with the camera trying to take a shot that she wanted, she'd just wander off looking at the colors. It was a beautiful day. It was a shame that we had to cut it short as I had to get back to the house to work on my open memo for school and I had to get back to work.

She spent about an hour last night scanning in pictures and playing with the colors on some of them. I spent a good amount of time getting a page setup for her to post them. So go take a look at our trip to Cherokee Park.

I have a link to the park systems home page here.

Cherokee Photos

I helped Teresa setup a new photo page today. She's posted some pictures we took when we were at Cherokee Park yesterday.

Funny

He vs. She

I just found this funny. Warning, strong language.

Found at sugarmama.

KY Election Results

Go here for the latest 2002 election results in KY.

UPDATE: For those looking for 2003 KY Election results, go here