It's been so long...

... since last we beat UConn.  About a year, to be precise.  Here's hoping we can pull it off tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Man, I'm so hype right now

One semester down!  

Act Globally, Ignore Locally

Vox Populi reports on downsizing at Whitman-Walker Clinic, one of the oldest and most prominent HIV/AIDS clinics in DC, a city particularly impacted by the epidemic.  

Bush deserves credit for expanding AIDS initiatives in Africa.  But before someone like Rick Warren goes and gives out another "PEACE" award to #43, let's remember that the global crisis of HIV/AIDS includes the United States, as well--especially the Nation's Capitol.

Been There, Done That

Barack Obama is named Time's Person of the Year, for the second time.  

Yawn.  Who hasn't?

Prayers

This past weekend, I mentioned to many people that if the worst thing going in my life is that I have to read, study, and memorize a lot of material, I have it pretty darn easy.  Reading this this morning only reinforced that feeling.

Can't You Smell That Smell?

The Washington Post can.  That explains the unpleasant smells on the walk from the Law Center to Judiciary Square.  

The Star-Spangled Banner

Courtesy of Marvin Gaye.  Can someone please perform the Anthem like this at a Georgetown game? 

Instant Holiday Classic

John Legend and Stephen Colbert, "Nutmeg" (slightly risqué):

Cognitive Dissonance

My head is spinning.  I'm watching NFL Live, as Trey Wingo, Mike Golic, and some old dude in a 3 piece suit talk about the gun culture in the NFL.  Sportscasters (especially football), by tone and by training (talk radio ) give off a conservative vibe, but they just spent 3 minutes saying that players "don't need to be carrying guns" and that "it would be a scary world if every other person were packing."  When did these guys turn into gun control advocates?  Also, I've seen it out there before, but it made me think: where is the NRA coming to Plax's support? Dude may have violated a law, but why isn't the NRA taking up his case, challenging the constitutionality of the gun ban? 

Things started making more sense when Trey Wingo fixated on someone who said that Burres needed a gun because he was wearing bling.  Things become clear when white guys get to cluck their tongues about black guys and the "culture."  Emphasized when Trey Wingo just read a transcript from Clinton Portis, unedited for grammatical errors, then finished with a Clinton Portis impression.  

(Cringe)

Rahm: not whistleblower

Oh well.

Rahm: Whistleblower?

According to Huffington Post's Sam Stein, local news reports out of Chicago are pointing to Rahm Emanuel as the whistleblower who alerted the Feds to the auction Blagojevich was holding for Obama's vacated Senate seat.   If true, I imagine this will be added to Rahmfacts.com.

Blagojevich Arrested

Illinois' governor, Rod Blagojevich, has been arrested on corruption charges.  Apparently, it's connected to filling the Senate seat that President-elect Barack Obama is vacating.  Probably not the kind of story Obama wants to have floating around...

3 year investigation for white-collar crime culminating in arrest, not surrender, is unusual, Jeffrey Toobin points out.  Either the charges are that big, or there's the off-chance that this is a trumped-up, politically motivated investigation.  I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but we've seen it happen before with a state governor.   

Roll: Slowed

As the decreased posting rate demonstrates, it is Finals Season.  Speaking of finals, I could go for this introduction playing as we started our test:

Anyway, outlines and practice exams increasingly dominate my world, but I will do my best to stay plugged in, probably with quick-hit posts of songs, clips, and stories that are keeping me going during the busy season.  Feel free to post your own favorite motivational material in comments.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Politico awards a Certificate of Completion to the McCain campaign for "stretching its dollars" and "staying competitive" against the Obama campaign.

The figures also demonstrate how successfully McCain was able to stretch his $85 million general election allotment into a much richer campaign kitty that could stay competitive with Obama’s fundraising apparatus. 

Meanwhile, President-Elect Barack Obama is preparing his Inaugural Address.  Which is exactly how voters--and the millions of donors to the Obama campaign--wanted it.

Organizing Man

This Washington Post piece is chock full of glowing quotes about "revolutionizing" the presidency and channeling the tech-savviness of the campaign into governing.  But what's really radical about this approach (and that nobody seems to mention) is that, before Obama takes the oath of office, he's already showing how he's going to govern: like a community organizer.  Listening to people; soliciting their opinions; marshaling their passions and energies into the political process: Obama didn't need to be the head of Harvard Law Review to practice those things, as articles often emphasize (though I'm sure it didn't hurt).  Rather, those tools--seemingly innocuous, but also profoundly important to a democratic society.  And that's revolutionary.

Out of the ivory tower

And into the community.  A unique take on community involvement up at Middlebury.  It will be interesting to see what comes of this project, and if it can serve as a model for other schools in similar town/gown situations.  If I'm not mistaken, some of the sociology professors at Georgetown organized similar projects with DC residents, but the rural context of the Middlebury project caught my eye.

Developing communities--just in the plain meaning of that phrase--is more than just subdivisions, office complexes, and retail spaces.  It also means exactly what is going on in the article: having members of towns, burgs, villages, and cities speak up and talk about what direction in which they'd like to see their area head.   Showing up at public environmental impact/aesthetics/zoning meetings is one way, but in terms of an inclusive, proactive process, this method seems to have a unique advantage--and one that, with current technologies, is easy to facilitate.

Henry Hudson: your thoughts?

Matthew Yglesias passes along news of the first known trip through the Northwest Passage, the shortcut to Asia that Henry Hudson so desperately sought.  

My initial reaction is that this completely changes the narrative of 4th grade social studies in New York, where Hudson and his failed trips "over the top" of North America.  The whole idea of Hudson as a tragic hero, trapped by the ignorance of his era.  When kids grow up in an era where people can sail through the Arctic, does Hudson then turn into a visionary? How does this shape young people's views of ice cap melting?

It's time to start the music

Design your own Muppet.  Awesome.

Two related notes: First,  Jill and I went to see the Jim Henson exhibition that came to the Smithsonian over the summer.  In an 8th grade project modeled after Time's "People of the Century," I selected Jim Henson as my entertainer of the century; the exhibition confirmed that 8-year-old hunch, and also made a fairly strong case for his mention on lists of great inventors and entrepreneurs.  

Second, here's a great primer on the Muppets' potential comeback.  Nothing can top "A Christmas Together: John Denver and the Muppets," but it's worth a shot.

Writing on the Wall

Posted everywhere.  Obama, following through on a campaign promise:

Note the Dow above 13,000.

Madame Secretary

It's official: Hillary will be announced tomorrow as the next Secretary of State.  Even more remarkable than Obama bringing on his former rival in such a prominent role, I'd say, is that fact that Obama got Big Dog Bill Clinton to disclose so many donors to his foundations.   

It's clear who's in charge now.

Quote for the Moment

To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature"

Tough One

90-78, bad guys.  Team looked much, much better than yesterday, but the wheels fell off with about 8 minutes to go in the game.  We're a young team that just had a great learning experience--not a victory (moral or tangible), but we gained the knowledge that we can play with one of the best teams in the country.

Wal-Mart Worker Killed in Black Friday Stampede

Via diarist trifecta at Kos, a tragic, tragic story.

Sports-Industrial Complex

After reading this Jason Whitlock article someone posted on HoyaTalk about ESPN's role in propagating the BCS-Centrism of college football, I turned on SportsCenter, where the 11 am show's anchors Stan Varrett and Josh Elliott "argued" for about 10 minutes about a playoff.  And by "argued," I mean that Elliott came up with a hypothetical playoff system, and Varrett offered stale, falsely equivalent rejoinders supporting the BCS.  The two anchors functioned as metaphors for what I imagine will be the coming debate in college football, particularly if Texas-- 11-1 and victorious over Oklahoma-- gets leapfrogged for the national championship game by Oklahoma.  

On one side, there will be President Barack Obama and, well, most sports fans who understand that playoffs are both a fair and exciting way to determine the best team in a league.  On the other side, there will be ESPN, the Sports-Industrial Complex, who recently purchased the rights to broadcast BCS games.  They need a return on that $500M investment, and if there's no BCS, well, that's just not going to cut it.  Having largely erased the pretense of journalism, I imagine they will use their new and opinion programming to wage a battle against implementing a playoff.  I'll be interested to see if Gregg Easterbrook writes about this in next week's TMQ (as he hinted this past week), but I imagine that he'd come to a similar conclusion.

As always, follow the money.

3-0

A truly ugly win yesterday over the Wichita State Wheatshockers, but it gets the team one closer to 20 wins (the very rough rule of thumb for NCAA tournament credentials), and it gets the team a chance to face off against Tennessee.  

Despite a quiet second half, Greg Monroe still looks like the real deal.   If we start making a few three-pointers, we're going to be dangerous on offense.  We could go for a few more rebounds on both sides of the ball, but hey--third game of the year, hard to expect too much. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Happy Thanksgiving to all of Capitol Hilltop's readers.  It was a busy week of finishing the memo, traveling up to New York, and enjoying Thanksgiving, but now that I'm parked in front of the laptop outlining, blogging should pick back up.

An utterly depressing way to wake up

Paul Krugman nearly sent me back under the covers with today's column.

Attorney General Mukasey Collapsed

Not sure how many folks are reading here, but this just posted at Above the Law.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey has collapsed at a Federalist Society dinner.  Developing story.  Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Gmail Themes

Continuing the takeover.  Yet for some reason, I can't get enough.   

Right now, I'm going with "Mountains," which looks a lot like the Flatirons around Boulder, CO.  

Marc Fisher on Housing First

An interesting look at the impact of the Housing First movement in DC from Marc Fisher in Thursday's Post.

However, it bears a startling resemblance to Malcolm Gladwell's article from The New Yorker two and a half years years ago, "Million-Dollar Murray."  Not just the topic, which is understandable (the news embraces trickle-down stories, albeit usually somewhat faster than two and a half years).  Rather, Fisher cut out Gladwell's Murray, and pasted in Darian and Catherine.  It doesn't make it a less compelling story; it just makes it seem like a rip-off.

Ron Suskind on Change

That's writing.

Forgotten, but not yet gone

2 months ago, it took weeks to turn the electricity back on in Houston after Hurricane Ike made landfall.   However, 2 months later, many are still reeling in the aftermath of the storm.   

Another tragic example of an administration unable to take care of its own citizens, particularly those in the most need after natural disasters.  But yeah, let's keep shelling out billions for executives who create disasters.  

Observation

UPenn's Quaker mascot looks somewhat militant.

I, Too

"I, Too"

-Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the ktichen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I'll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare

Say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,

They'll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Hughes, Langston.  Vintage Hughes.  (New York: Vintage Books, 2004), 12.

Weird, Wild Stuff

For the first time in my memory, there is a college basketball game being played on a weekday morning.  It's a part of ESPN's college basketball kick-off marathon.

1-0

71-62, good guys. I may be giving up the predictions business after missing the final score by 2 Jacksonville points (again, late credit to Frank), and by predicting Greg Monroe's debut within one point and one rebound (14-7).  

Quick thoughts:

-Monroe is the truth.  Scoring, rebounding, shot-blocking, passing, and running the floor: what more can you ask for from a center, regardless of age?  What a great player.

-Both teams struggled with outside shooting--the AP article raises a good point about adjustments to the new 3 point line.

-Hoya defense looked tough, as usual.  More steals than I remember last year, balanced by a few more unguarded looks underneath for Jacksonville. 

-Unlike previous years, it seems like it's going to be a few games until the rotation is set.  Sapp, Wright, Monroe, Summers, and Freeman seems like it will be the starting 5, but after that, it's anyone's guess.  Julian Vaughn came in early off the bench, as did Omar Wattad.  Henry Sims saw very little action in the first game, and Jason Clark didn't come in for a while, but he got a lot of time in the 2nd half.

-Crowd was good.  Large student sections on both sides, and a good number of alums/non-student fans, as well, particularly considering a Monday night game. 

All and all, good stuff.  Looking forward to Drexel on Saturday.

Hey Georgetown: How Long Has it Been?

It's been so long...

Season opener tonight! Jessie Sapp leads the Georgetown Hoyas against the Jacksonville Dolphins at the Verizon Center.

Prediction: Georgetown 71, Jacksonville 60.  Greg Monroe with a solid 13 points and 8 rebounds in his much-awaited debut.

UPDATE: After reading Frank's prediction, I then went and made this prediction (for the score).  His excellent intuition must have so completely brainwashed me that I forgot to show him some love.  Go, Frank!

No mention of leaf-peeping

Now the weekly radio address has become the weekly multimedia address.  I like it:

A Pacific Relative of the Garbage Plate?

The New York Times has a look at a favorite Hawaiian dish of Barack Obama's: the plate lunch.  From the name (plate lunch v. garbage plate or plate) to the composition (macaroni salad and rice topped with meat v. macaroni salad and home fries topped with meat) to the look (a mushy mess v. a mushy mess), it seems like there's a lot in common with Rochester's own garbage plate.

That is awesome, and obviously this is going to trigger greater research on my part.  

H/T Washingtonian Best Bites Blog, which also mentions that Barack Obama doesn't like beets, and that Rick Bayless could become the White House Chef.  

This Week in Postmodernism

Via Ta-Nehisi Coates, I present you this absurd clip from Fox:

To be sure, it's delightful to see a Fox News anchor dice some chump regarding non-existent liberal media bias.  But there are two things going on here that elevate this from the "cable news smackdown" genre to the "postmodern/absurdist performance genre."

First, there's the fact that a Fox News anchor is explaining how there was no media bias, period, and no media bias in favor of Barack Obama during the election, with no sense of irony.  The level of contortionism required to pull off that move is stunning, and best accomplished only when engaging in your own subjective reality.  

Second, it's the setting.  As one reader mentioned: "that roundtable looks like the crew from the snickers 'FEAST' advertisement."  There's really nothing that can add to that description. The setting brings it from the sublime to the absurd.  

Two days later, I'm still laughing.

Update: I think it's the the "comedian" asking "why?" in this meek, "I honestly have no clue what I'm talking about voice" that puts me over the edge.

John McCain: a Cabinet Position?

Abe Simpson will be meeting with "That One" on Monday.  Perhaps I made the right West Wing comparison to the wrong situation...

H/T TPM

Hillary Clinton: Secretary of State?

That's the buzz this morning.  According to my sources, we can confirm that Sen. Clinton has been in Chicago recently, too.  

Thoughts about this appointment:

1) I think it would a strong move, but not necessarily as radical as the press is making/would make it out to be.  Team of Rivals, potentially--but remember, Lincoln had a Team of Rivals during the Civil War, and their differences were much greater at a much more divisive time.  (Also, it's important to note that the Republican Party was roughly 10 years old in the 1860s, so there just weren't that many top-flight Republicans to choose from who hadn't run for president.)   Remember back to the primaries: Obama and Clinton weren't far apart on most issues.  These would be two former (and potentially future) political rivals, but not philosophical rivals, by and large.

2) Baseless speculation: wouldn't Clinton be good at Defense? Think about it: she's been on Armed Services, she's certainly hawkish enough to pass muster with the conservative military establishment, and she has observed a commander-in-chief's decision-making from one of the closest distances possible.  To boot, it's another glass ceiling to break, ending the streak of white men in charge of the Pentagon.

3) This continues the Obama administration's parallels of the West Wing, where the new president chooses his top political rival to head the State Department. (Learn about the specific parallels--but have the end of the show spoiled--here)

Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground

A transcendent work by Blind Willie Johnson:

AIDS Cure?

Ezra Klein blogged about this earlier.  It's just one case, and it's apparently widely impractical, but this is infinitely better than the alternative.

Can any scientist-readers out there (cough cough *Dad* cough cough) shed some light on why the particulars of this case (creating replicas of gene mutations that are resistant to HIV/AIDS) aren't receiving more coverage? Or is this very much on the cutting edge?

Joe Biden goes rogue

How else do you explain this picture? 

H/T TPM.

First "Exam" Tomorrow

1:30-2:30 pm, Room TBD, completely open note, 20 questions, multiple choice for Practice (Research and Writing).  Took a bunch of practice exams--they aren't too bad, but who knows?

No Property tomorrow either, so I think I'm going to pull a Barack Obama and shoot some hoops before game time.  Worked okay for him...

To Fulfill These Rights

This week's topic in Legal Justice Seminar is Critical Race Theory, a fascinating field that I feel like I brushed up against during my work at Georgetown, but never quite got there.

Anyway, during my reflection and discussion of the readings, I thought of Lyndon Johnson's quote about affirmative action: 

You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, "you are free to compete with all the others," and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.

Then, I remembered that it was part of a larger speech about equal opportunity and racial equality given at the Howard University Class of 1965's commencement.  Check out Taylor Branch's At Canaan's Edge for a great treatment of the machinations that led to the speech, but definitely check out the full text of the LBJ speech, titled "To Fulfill These Rights," here.

Always an important topic to consider, but particularly timely, given the premature talk of "post-racialism" after Obama's election.  Just how far have we come since 1965? Looking at some of the statistics LBJ cites, it appears that progress has been uneven.

By no means is that meant to diminish Obama's accomplishments; rather, understanding the continued struggle for equal opportunity and equal access among people of color today gives it a much more meaningful context than the initial, utopian treatment many media outlets have tended toward.

The work continues.

Admissions Hypothetical

Matt Yglesias poses an interesting hypothetical regarding class-based affirmative action in college admission:

Kid number one grew up in the suburbs of Albuquerque, New Mexico. His dad was a charismatic college football star at Texas Tech but not good enough to play in the pros and eventually made millions of dollars as one of the most successful fast food franchisers in the Southwest. Mom is dad’s high school sweetheart who was a couple of years younger and stopped going to community college soon after she and dad got married.

Kid number two grew up in the suburbs of Boston. Dad’s a professor at, and graduate of, the Berklee College of Music and mom did her undegrad at Columbia and her PhD work at Harvard and now she’s on the faculty at Boston University.

My brief stint on one of the admissions committees at Georgetown as a student reader involved a high level of selection bias: applications sent to committee were strong enough to not be automatically deferred or declined by the regional admissions officer, and most of them, even those that didn't get in, were right on the border of acceptance.  That said, I still practiced, and witnessed, many of the inner calculations of college admissions-- not what gets discussed in think tanks, but what actually happens.

Yglesias's uses his hypothetical to illuminate differences in conceptions of class (wealth v. privilege, essentially), but the reality is, those aren't the only considerations that go into building a student body, at least at school like Georgetown.   Kid 1 and Kid 2 don't have genders, for example, and depending on the program, that can be a plus factor for an applicant.  Kid 1 comes from New Mexico, a low-enrollment state (plus factor).  Kid 2 comes from Boston, a high-enrollment area of a high-enrollment state.  And, as Yglesias points out, Kid 1 may come from more wealth, but Kid 2 comes from a background of higher education.   On the Georgetown application, Kid 1's parents would check off "some college " and "college degree," while Kid 2's parents would check out post-graduate degrees.  

Moreover--and I assume it's implied--this assumes that their applications are essentially equal.  If Kid 2 has a 1500 SAT (Georgetown still doesn't take the writing), top 1% of class, 8 APs, and captain of the X-C team, all while writing engaging essays and expressing a clear interest in Georgetown, and if Kid 1 has a 1350, top 10%, 4 APs, a modest extra-curricular resume, and cookie-cutter, pre-fab essays, the choice is going to be clear even while considering the backgrounds of the applicants.  Kid 1's profile may have more +s in it, but it's not going to put him/her over the top.   Same the other way around.

In sum, it's a holistic approach; admissions officers don't read the stats, resumes, and essays of applicants, then tie-break based on race/gender/socioeconomic factors.  But a strong application is a strong application, whether from Kid 1 or from Kid 2.

In which I channel the power of the earth to my writing by slapping the ground

In the somewhat likely chance that a graduate of a school with a rival basketball program reviews one of my applications at one point, I will do my best to refrain from singling out any one program or school by name for criticism.  I'll try to limit my exposure to my political views, which, depending on the level of fandom of a hiring partner, may not be the most controversial thing I could say.  

But, in the hypothetical sense: if I were in charge of a perennial contender for the national championship, would home games against small, newly-minted D-I schools be the best preparation for my squad?  Or would I be better served by scheduling scrimmages against fellow top-conference opponents? 

Hypothetically.

You betcha.

“I’m like, ‘O.K., God, if there is an open door for me somewhere’ — this is what I always pray — I’m like, ‘Don’t let me miss the open door,’ ” [Sarah Palin] told Ms. Van Susteren.

And don't let it hit you on the way out, Governor.

Pillsbury Doughboy: Not Allowed within 1000 feet of school

Why, you ask?

Growing bans (at least in CA) on bake sales.   No word on whether the Pentagon will impose a similar ban, thus dashing the hopes of bumper-sticker purveyors.  

This seems like a well-intentioned rule horribly misapplied.  Then again, back in my elementary school days, a hepatitis outbreak at the bakery at BJ's, a local version of Sam's Club, caused bake sales to go on hiatus, the irony being that only store-bought goods were thereafter allowed to be sold, and only store-bought goods had caused hepatitis.  So, I guess there's a precedent for learning the wrong lessons when it comes to bake sales.

Spreading the Wealth, and the Chili

Courtesy of Jill, Bill Cosby's got company on Ben's Chili Bowl's list of those who dine for free: the Obama family.

What I would give to have a meal at Ben's with the Obama family.  Especially considering that, by all accounts, Obama doesn't like junk food.  More chili cheese fries for me.

Food, in Perspective

I've written about food a bit on this blog, and I imagine I will continue to do so in the future.  Over the summer, cooking evolved into a pastime of mine, and even amid 1L, I've made time to cook myself (and Jill, too) dinner just about every weeknight.  Some meals aren't so hot (see: botched chicken and biscuits attempt), some weeks are much better (see: last night's smashed roasted potatoes with cheddar and roasted garlic), but it's about the process as much as the product--how lawyerly.  

Of course, between my celebrations of oyster stew and applewood-smoked bacon, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that I am incredibly fortunate to both have access to fresh groceries and means to afford a relatively healthy and varied diet.  When the priority is chicken thighs over chicken breasts to save a few bucks, rather than chicken or Chicken Ramen or nothing at all, I remind myself that life is dealing me a winning hand.   Even just dedicating an hour to prepare, cook, eat, and clean up after a home-cooked meal is a luxury that far too few can enjoy for various reasons.  

Needless to say, this article in the New York Times put my growing foodie habit in perspective. 

I had seen articles covering shortages at food banks earlier this year, but they had focused around the impact that improved efficiency in grocery store ordering had on donations to food banks/Second Harvest-type organization (this one touches on it, as well).  The back end, in other words--which, given my past work experience, remains interesting to me.  This article also captures the experience from the front end, causing me to think about the fortune that has allowed me to view new interests.

***

To give credit where it is due, the Bush administration's shift in policy to have the government provide more fruits and vegetables to food banks is admirable.  Low-income areas (particularly urban ones) often face a dearth of grocery stores offering fresh produce.  Hopefully, this shift can be expanded upon in the next administration, perhaps under the new auspices of the White House Office of Urban Policy.

Sign Me Up

Here's some change we can believe in: the Obama White House will include a new Office of Urban Policy.  Imagine that! A president that recognizes that issues facing American cities don't all fall neatly into one HUD-shaped box, that education, nutrition, health care, transportation, and yes, housing (among others) all pose particular challenges in our urban areas.  

I wonder if they need legal interns...

H/T Matt Yglesias

Outlining

It's about that time for law students, partcularly 1Ls, to synthesize everything they've read, heard in lecture, and discussed in class into the Grand Unifying Document™, also known as an outline.  There's a lot of advice on how to outline, what an outline should look like, even how many outlines to make for each class, but the one advice that isn't emphasized enough is to trust in one's own study habits.  

In many ways, this makes a lot of sense.  1L, everyone says, is about teaching a method of thinking as much as it is about teaching black-letter law.  And I've certainly noticed that; whether reflecting on my day "on call" for one of my classes last week or reviewing my notes, I can see my mind working at once more efficiently to highlight the pertinent details of a case or an article and also more expansively, trying (to varying degrees of success) to test hypothetical situations where a rule, or a theory, may apply.  

But exams are exams are exams.  Law school exams may be a really long exercise in problem-solving, but it's not like the answers can be pulled out of thin air--they have to reference the topics covered in the class.  I may take more practice exams or highlight my notes more than I have in past years, but I don't have to re-invent the wheel when it comes to preparation.  Moreover, I imagine most law students are the same way, but at some point during the first year, they question, or lose, their confidence in themselves and their ability to take a test.  I guess the cottage industry of how-to books, commercial outlines, and sundry other study aids would suffer if law schools reminded students of their basic test-taking abilities,  but I imagine that students' stress levels would improve dramatically.

Spontaneous Applause

Recent episodes of Spontaneous Applause in Section 3:

-November 5, for the Section 3 coordinator of Hoya Law for Change.

-November 10, for the mention of the election of Barack Obama by our Legal Justice professor.

Contemplation under Construction

This sounds like a fantastic facility--here's hoping it gets off the ground.

Victory Playlist

Courtesy of Sauw Space.

Hope

Hope.

The weather's growing colder in Washington, particularly when the sun goes down.  The early evening crowds haven't gotten smaller next door at CCNV, the nation's largest homeless shelter.  Judiciary Square, Chinatown, Penn Quarter, Union Station: not just Metro stops.  Landmarks for men and women to lie down for the night and escape the traumas and indignities of everyday life, if only for a few hours.  

Hope in the face of difficulty.

It's time to buckle down.  When a data drop at change.gov looks like it may be a way out.  When countless are searching daily for a way to get back to work, and countless more are stuck working 1, 2, 3 jobs they can't stand just to pay the bills, wondering if it's too late to live the life they've imagined.

Hope in the face of uncertainty.   

Wishing that Levi's jeans, and not torture, would be the symbol of America again.  Looking for our servicemen and women to save American cities, rather than sweat it out half a world away.  Praying that West Virginia doesn't develop a coastline.

The audacity of hope!

Hope alone hasn't put roofs over the heads of the men and women who sleep outside a few blocks from my apartment.  Hope alone doesn't pay you on the 15th and the 30th and provide you with benefits.  Hope alone doesn't close Guantanamo Bay.  

But hope can inspire women 9/10s of a century old to come to the polls on in a bleak November rain.  Hope can bring tears of joy to even the most cynical voters.  And about a week ago, hope emerged after millions upon millions talked to their neighbors, drove them to the polls, and cast their votes.

A belief in things not seen.  A belief that there are better days ahead.

We know not what the future will hold.  But for the first time in a long time, things not seen don't seem quite so scary.  And for the first time in a long time, better days are ahead of us.

Back!

I stop blogging for 10 days, and look what happens:

More thoughts in a while. 

Back on Nov. 5

In true campaign fashion, I'll be suspending my blog until after Election Day.  Too much work to do to be sitting in front of my laptop.  

That goes for you all, too.  Please, please, please get out there and vote, and better yet, help your neighbors and even strangers vote.  The democratic process centers around voting, but voting really represents the final product of community engagement and of civic concern; it's important that we demonstrate all of these aspects.  

I know this election means a lot to most of my small readership.  Let it be known how much you value the outcome of this election not simply by voting, but by donating time and treasure to the candidate and/or cause in which you believe.  Let your voice be heard not just through casting your vote, but through standing up and working for the change you seek.  It is at once a simple and a challenging act, publicly voicing your support, but you won't regret it.  

If you're having trouble giving that last $10, making those phone calls, or knocking on those doors, I commend to you this video: 

Yes, we can.

Cub Scout Journalism

Couldn't resist:

H/T Ezra Klein

2 Minute Ads are Marathons, Not Sprints

They also take you by surprise.

Flipping through television, Barack Obama just came on before the 8 pm hour and spoke, directly at the camera, for a 2 minute advertisement.  No background music, no quick cuts: just the junior Senator from Illinois, explaining his positions.  It's arresting in its simplicity, but yet the tone isn't dour or depressing; rather, it's focused and (oh-so-slightly) optimistic.  

As much as anything, it reminded me how unaccustomed I am to watching long scenes with minimal frame changes.  I (and I imagine many of my generation) have grown accustomed to camera tricks, quick cuts, sound and sight cues--really, anything to keep us from tuning out.  If you haven't noticed this, try to watch a movie from the 1930s-1960s and watch how the films are shot. The difference is drastic.  For me, these distractions make me pay attention less to the actual message, which in many cases is just what directors want to have happen: if there isn't a story to tell, dress it up with flashy visuals and soundtracks, instead.

Certainly, Obama's team-- and probably Obama himself-- know that they do have a story to tell.  Moreover, it's an important one, and to cut through "SAAAAVE BYYYYY ZEEEEEE-RO," "Five dollar foot long!" and the like, they had to toy with the medium.  For a candidate poised to become president during the worst economic times since the Great Depression, it's only fitting that his commercials would invoke film techniques of an earlier time.

Looking forward to the 30 minute program tomorrow night.

Halloween Spirit

Enjoy.

And now: learn at home!

Citizens Bank (Water) Park

So the World Series is the last series in Major League Baseball's season.  Presumably, if they postponed a game, they could just shift a game into the off-day(s) scheduled into the series.  If they had to do it twice, they could simply shift Game 7 (if necessary) to October 31.  

Why, then, was Game 3 delayed for over an hour and a half, leading it to end at quarter to 2 in the morning, and why in Willard Scott's name are they playing right now?

"Appeal to their sense of duty."

Nice background piece from the times on the efforts of both sides to ensure fair elections via lawyer (and law student!) volunteers at polling places.  As for me, I'll be doing voter protection work in Richmond, VA on Election Day.  Can't wait.  

The long arm of the tubes, er, law

I wonder if they have internet in federal prison?

Sen. Ted Stevens may soon tell us.  My guess is that he would have to take an actual highway to get there, but once there, he may be able to connect to the omnipotent "series of tubes."

As a friend of mine passed along: this is the first time DC citizens have been able to take part in an election for senator.

Monday Update

Blogging from the ICC right now--revising my memo before a talk about post-graduate options for current Corpies.  Updates will be back in earnest after 11 am tomorrow, when my memo revisions are due.

Baseless Accusations

Just found out that my right rear tire is flat.  I hope it has nothing to do with the Vote for Change paraphernalia that I have in the trunk...

Live from New York, it's...

...Will Ferrell as George W. Bush!

Twitter

Posts will hopefully start appearing on Capitol Hilltop's Twitter feed, available on the widget down below.

Northern Virginia is most definitely "Real America"

Exhibit A: this story about the Tysons Corner mall Santa has been huge this week.

Everything that is right in the world:

The opening montage about baseball and America, with voiceovers from Obama and McCain, before Game 2.

Yeah, I'm a sucker for that stuff. Oh well.

Huh?

Watching Jeopardy! right now.  Some chump, in response to the answer "Nicholas Sarkozy" in the category, "Leader and Land," just blurted out "France!"  Has he not seen the show? More importantly, where was he in regular Jeopardy, when everyone phrased their responses in the form of a question?

(East Coast) Kind of Blue

Are you all reading FiveThirtyEight.com?  Good, that's what I thought.  Anyway, when I check in on that page, the map in the upper right hand corner always catches my eye:

When I look at it, I always get nervous that the light blue (read: Obama as a slight favorite) state on the Eastern Seaboard is on the Commonwealth of Virginia, a key state for Obama's roadmap to the White House.  

Then I realize that the light blue state is North Carolina, and   At first, I relax.  Then, I realize: North Carolina!  What a glorious day that Virginia is comfortably, for the time being, in the Dems' column, and North Carolina, home of Jesse Helms and the Greensboro sit-ins, is trending that way, too.

Photo of the Moment

From rural Missouri, courtesy of Nick:

Real Americans

I refer you to the entire Daily Show from this Monday if you haven't caught up on the latest kerfuffle.  Jon Stewart is out for blood, and employs a heavy rotation of expletives to draw it, but 1) he's a comedian and 2) he's onto something.

As an added anecdote: just now during Game 1 of the World Series, MLB and Fox showed the 7th inning singing of God Bless America.  A woman from the Air Force sang a wonderful rendition, but I noticed that the crowd was relatively quiet down there in St. Petersburg, FL, and I couldn't help but compare that to the crowds at Yankee Stadium--in the middle of New York City, the anti-Small Town--where the crowd belts it out.  I'm iffy on "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch as a continuing tradition (closer to jingoism on the spectrum, it seems to me, at least in 2008), 

But, knowing those New Yorkers, they're probably singing it ironically.  Commie hipsters.

Postmodern Oddities

As brought to my attention by my brother:

Because when I think of luxury cars, I think of David Bowie.  And when I think of buying a new car, I think of a song that references a tin can floating in a most peculiar wa, losing contact with the earth.   

Likely, the song choice is just an attempt to get boomers all nostalgic and look favorably about dropping 10s of thousands on a souped-up Ford Taurus, but it could be that Lincoln wants you to think that driving this model will bring you as close to breaking the earth's orbit as is possible without riding in a space ship.  

One problem: to anyone who knows the song, Major Tom's circuit goes dead--there's something wrong.  I don't want circuits to go dead or for anything to go wrong in a car, particularly my brand, shiny new Lincoln.  If I wanted that, I'd go find our old Saturn, whose right rear wheel well started smoking in a most peculiar way on my trip down to school.  And I'd have to guess that most people know the song well enough to know that it isn't exactly a celebratory song, nor is it an ode to technology.

Lincoln isn't the only company to do this recently, either.  Wrangler Jeans ran a commercial featuring CCR's "Fortunate Son," heard below (the ad isn't on YouTube).  As you play it, stop the at 30 seconds, the approximate length of the Wrangler commercial.

Right after "Oooh, that red, white, and blue," the voiceover read, "Wrangler: real, comfortable jeans."  U-S-A, U-S-A, right?  Right! 

Again, anyone who knows the song knows what follows after 0:30.   "It ain't me.  It ain't me.  I ain't no Senator's son."  So again, Wrangler tries to manipulate cultural memory--but it seems that those already predisposed to enjoying the song know that the song isn't about platitudinal patriotism, and it's odd--nay, wrong--to use the song in that fashion.

Note: Moreover, that cover version of Space Oddity is awful.  I've heard a lot about Cat Power, but man--this is weak sauce.   Treat yourself to the original version, unadorned with pitches for cars that use roughly as much fuel as a space ship:

Late Night Thought

At some point in college, I realized that the D-I football stars that I had grown up watching on TV were my age.  This past year, I've realized that I'm older than them. 

I've also realized that this is the year when political candidates just aren't that much older than me--they're older, but barely 1 generation away, as opposed to 1.5 generations away (Cheney, H.W. Bush, Dole, McCain). Certainly, the youth of Obama (and Palin, I guess) brings that into focus, and while I'm closer to my high school days than to age 47, it's head-spinning to think that only 25 years ago--1983, when my brother turned 2--Barack Obama was my age.  

To have accomplished so much both professionally and personally in a quarter-century is truly incredible (and maybe that's partially why I don't view Palin in the same light).  

Anyway, just a stray thought passing through my gray matter while reading about venue and forum selection.

Angelos!

There you are, Peter Angelos, raising money for Barack Obama.  If you have infected the campaign with the same incompetence that has ruined the Orioles, then... well, I don't know if my opinion of you can drop much lower, but you get the drift.

To be fair, he has never pleaded guilty to crimes connected to the Nixon campaign, like some AL East owners out there, so I guess my opinion of him could drop a little bit lower.

Then again...

...O'Reilly can do live TV.  (Warning: no-spin expletives.  Don't play at work)

Bill O'Reilly: Man of the People

4 years, $10mil.  

At least professional athletes have talent.

Being in 5 Places at Once? Brilliant!

It's all about local news coverage.

TMQ Shows Georgetown Some Love

In his lengthy, weekly column on the NFL, Gregg Easterbrook gives a shout out to Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz ('89):

Schwartz is one of the NFL's underappreciated figures: A smart guy who graduated from Georgetown University, Schwartz not only does a fabulous job but also belongs to that small club of NFL coaches who read the New York Times and books about intellectual affairs. 

Easterbrook runs the risk of being redundant--generally, "smart guys" (and "smart girls") tend to graduate from Georgetown--but still, always good to see Georgetown mentioned in a positive light.

On a related note to the title: the McCain campaign has been trying to say that Barack Obama is "flip-flopping" on his pick for the World Series.   Politico piles on, as well.  One problem: "showing some love" for the Rays, which is what Obama did at a rally the other day, does not mean what McCain and Politico think it means.  Easterbrook showed Georgetown some love in his article; he didn't say he roots for Georgetown football, think that Georgetown is the best school in the country, or anything like that.  Rather, he gave it the written version of a pound/fist bump/dap/terrorist fist jab.  Same with Obama: shaking hands does not equate to picking them, or even rooting for them to win, the World Series.  He's just showing some love.

RSS Feed

Technical update: I've fixed the settings on the blog so that you all can get full text in your Google Reader.  Sorry for the delay on that.

The Fringe

Note: many European nations have laws criminalizing the public expression of views or the tangible organization of the groups featured here.  What a sometimes-troubling society the First Amendment ensures, huh?  I'm looking forward to taking a class or two on free speech issues to help sort out some of the conflicting views I hold on this issue.

Sarah Palin

...was not funny on SNL.  No link provided, so as to save everyone brain cells.

"And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American."

-Colin Powell, Meet the Press, 10/20/08.

Amen.  For more on the topic, read some wisdom at Abedology.

Beautiful Baseball Writing

Via The Plank, excerpts from late MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti's "The Green Fields of the Mind":

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today ... a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone.

...

Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion. I am not that grown up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.  

Some people can't stand the poetic waxings of the David Halberstams, the Roger Angells, and the like about the national pastime.  I'm not one of those people.  Even George Will is sometimes palatable when he's writing about baseball.  Sometimes.  But the fact that baseball has inspired so many like-minded paeans over the years reinforces its place in the national psyche.   

God save Alexander Cartwright.

Rays!

Didn't call it too early this time.  Wow! Congrats to the Rays.  

But what is that song they were playing at the Trop after they won?

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Anybody else catch Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist?  I've been trying to put my finger on what's going on with that movie, but then I realized: there's not much there to put my finger on.  It's a wisp of a movie, a 90 minute, race-the-dawn, carpe noctem romp through Manhattan Disney, er, New York City.  In that sense, it's the pacing and structure of Superbad (sex, booze, all-night-madness, and the end of high school) meets the Gotham-worship of Sex and the City, with a dash of the "too-cool-for-school" of Juno thrown in.  The whole package, while not necessarily a "deep thoughts" movie, was very enjoyable.

Music was very good, too--I wouldn't mind listening to a playlist in that vein.

Also, at Regal, they sold "popcorn flavor shakers," such as cheese and kettle corn, for $1.50.  That's a new one for me.

Jumped the Gun

Of course, the Sox just came back.  Oy.

Joe Maddon: Related to Joel Madden?

I'm not saying... I'm just saying.  I was watching ESPN last night, and Joe Maddon, skipper of the Rays, was sporting a faux-hawk and boxy-framed glasses.  It then drove home that he could be the "cool uncle" of Us Weekly icon and near-namesake Joel Madden, of the not-so-great Good Charlotte:

 

Next time he does a press conference (in, oh, an hour or so when they beat the Sox (!) to go to the World Series), check it out.  I think he might be the first emo manager.

KKKlassy

As seen on the link blog to the left, courtesy of Andrew Sullivan:

Great to see racism alive and well in California.   In Civ IV, I remember reading about how the John Birch Society morphed into more "respectable" forms during the mid-1960s, especially in Orange County, CA.   Apparently, the Golden State is trying its best to uphold that tradition.

Joe the Unregistered Plumber

Turns out, Joe the Plumber is a registered voter, but apparently an unlicensed plumber.

My apologies to Joe.  Still doesn't change the fact that CBS laughed at his Sammy Davis, Jr. joke a little too loudly.

Also, this whole "Joe" obsession has reminded me of this clip from The Simpsons:

He's Funny, Too

Still waiting for the video, but until then, here's a choice line from Obama at the Al Smith fundraiser for the Archdiocese of New York:

"Contrary to the rumors you may have heard, i was not actually born in a manger, i was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the Earth."

I was talking with Nick the other day, and it's true: he just seems like a guy you'd want to hang out with.  

Joe the Plumber: Unregistered Voter, and More...

I've been relatively quiet about the debates, but last night, I watched something different: a 90 minute informercial for Joe Wurzelbacher, or "Joe the Plumber" from Ohio.  To paraphrase Churchill: never has the life story of so few (er, one) been so important to the policies that will affect so many.  Forget middle-class tax cuts; give us Joe the Plumber tax cuts!

So, what do we know about Joe the Plumber?

1. Apparently, he's not registered to vote.  Talk about an inefficient allocation of persuasion resources...
2. He's never met McCain, and vice versa.
3. He's comfortable comparing Obama's tap-dancing to Sammy Davis, Jr. on national television.  (More tellingly, the CBS studio crew liked the bit).

(H/T to Gerry Canavan  and Talking Points Memo)

Look, I didn't wake up this morning hoping to put Joe the Plumber on blast, and I'll largely refrain from doing so, as it does not appear that he actively sought out to be the subject of last night's debate.  But the laughter I heard in the CBS studio after his "Sammy Davis, Jr." crack is ominous.  Much like with the bigots and kooks at the Palin rallies, it's not the ones who yell "terrorist" who are the biggest problem--they're a big problem, but they can be isolated, and they self-identify.  Rather, the people who quietly smile, laugh, cheer, and tolerate this kind of insensitivity that are the real problem, and have been for quite some time.

Thanks, Coach

I can’t stress this enough, and maybe it’s natural to compare him to Roy, but Greg is totally different. -JTIII

Oh, Coach was talking about Greg Monroe, 6'-11", top-rated recruit and probable starting center for the Hoyas? Whoops.

33 days until tip-off.  Can't wait.

Paul Krugman is Smarter than You

And now he has the Nobel Prize in Economics to prove it.  

He's also now that much closer to being Josiah Bartlet.

Hoya Homecoming

Maybe because it was my first true "homecoming" as an alumnus, but this past weekend's Homecoming festivities were very, very enjoyable.  Kudos to all those who helped organize the weekend's events; you made this "young alum" very happy and proud to call Georgetown home.

Good seeing everyone this weekend, and for those who weren't able to make it, hopefully you found a large piece of New York-style pizza to eat at 3 am.  

Hoya Saxa.

Hi, my name is Barack...

...and I'm running for president.  Can I count on your support on Nov. 4?

Image courtesy of http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/10/barack_obama_john_mccain_ohio_1.html

Change We Can Believe In

Do your part.

(Image courtesy of my absentee ballot.)

You Know You're in Law School When...

...you have dreams that incorporate discussions of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Worst. Week. Ever.

washingtonpost.com News: Worst Week Ever: Dow, S& P Each Fall 18%

	Inbox		X

That's a fun way to wake up.

Res Ipsa Loquitur

I turned on television about two hours ago to watch Game 1 of the NLCS (Phillies coming from behind impressively), and I have seen close to a half-dozen Obama ads.  I have seen no McCain ads. 

The past 4 weeks, I've knocked on around 150 doors or so in 4 different NoVa neighborhoods.  I have seen no McCain volunteers knocking on doors, nor have I seen any McCain literature on doorsteps, if I recall correctly (maybe one piece.  Maybe).

The thing speaks for itself.

Fireside Chat?

Via turneresq at Kos, Obama has apparently purchased 30 minutes of airtime on CBS and NBC for Wednesday, October 29 at 8 pm.  Here's hoping that Game 6 of the World Series is not necessary for that night, or I would be in a huge bind (although WS games have been tending to start closer to 8:30 than 8. 

What's the best part of this, though? The pre-emption of "Gary Un-Married" on CBS.  If this goes well, I wouldn't be surprised if CBS gives President Obama the weekly spot in its place.

Chutzpah

"You know the type:

loud as a motorbike, 

but wouldn't bust a grape in a fruit fight."

-Jay-Z, "99 Problems"

In the debate on Tuesday, what caught my attention (along McCain calling Obama "that one") was one of the times when Obama, in one of the nebulous "follow-up" question-and-answers from a visibly tired Tom Brokaw (this is like MJ returning to the Wizards, only with someone starting from a place of less excellence), took the opportunity to directly take it to John McCain.   Wow, I thought,  the nerve it must take to be 10 feet away from someone and just lay into them.   

Now, McCain did attack Obama on the debate stage, but something about Obama's resonated more: some combination of more directly addressing McCain, having them be issue-based, and having his attacks correspond with the "comparison" (i.e. negative) ads up on TV.  McCain's campaign, on the other hand, was in the larvae stages of Hate '08 on the trail, but the Ayers/terrorist/"Hussein" attacks were nowhere to be seen at the debate.  

Given the opportunity to integrate his debate performance with his campaign message, McCain passed, but the past few days, they've been at their old games.  Obama rightfully calls him on it when asked by Charlie Gibson:

If you're going to rabble-rouse, at least do it to the guy's face.

Cooking with eggs

Eggs partner well with, well, pretty much any ingredient.  In terms of meat, anything except poultry seems to work, on some level, with eggs (although plenty of people have turkey in their omelets--I just have trouble eating multiple forms of bird at the same time), and in terms of vegetables, the choices are seemingly endless.  They also do wonders with leftovers, such as the ones I had this week:

Tuesday: sausage, spinach, and egg scramble with wheat toast.

Thursday: Asparagus and sausage "hash" (really, both just chopped in smallish pieces and sauteed together), topped with sunny-side up eggs, side of "cheese toast" (happened by accident: I was grating cheddar down on the eggs and "hash," and some wayward cheese got on the toast. It was very tasty).

Dow Under 9,000

I imagine that if the dominant story of the day weren't related to economics, I'd be weighing in more often here, but instead I've mostly been trying to keep up with what's going on.  Looks like we're going to nationalize banks soon?  Fine with me--but as Matthew Yglesias has been pointing out over the past few weeks, in a situation that resembles the Great Depression, shouldn't we be priming the pump?

Mental Health Break

Just finished my memo, so I'm decompressing briefly before class. Enjoy.

Step by Step

We are coming closer to Marx's vision of controlling the methods of production.

Don't Call Them Devil Rays

How 'bout 'dem Rays? 

LCS Predictions:

Rays over Red Sox in 6

Phillies over Dodgers in 7

Roger Cohen

This is just the latest in a recent string of perceptive, quasi-literary op-eds from Roger Cohen.  I'm glad that someone else noted that Sarah Palin egregiously misappropriated "Never Again," a human rights mantra following the Holocaust, for use in the current financial crisis.  Frightening.

Dow Breaks 10,000...

... in the wrong direction.  I'm sure this will fluctuate through the day, but still--not a pretty sight.

Register to Vote

The deadline to register to vote in VA and in many, many other states is today, October 6.  If you aren't registered to vote, or if you're not sure if you are, go either here or here, and they'll set you up.

To borrow from "Game On," Season 4 of West Wing: no matter who you vote for, be sure to vote.

Oh, and tell your friends to make sure they're registered, too.

Cultural Insensitivity Alert

Harold Reynolds just announced concern about the "frailty" of Japanese players' bodies during the White Sox-Rays game as Iwamura was up at the plate.  2 pitches later, Iwamura hit a home run.

Fighting Racism

And I mean fighting it.  This (via Cogitamus, now on many other blogs) has been on my shared reader, but it needs to be main-paged.  Take the 7 minutes or so to watch this thing in its entirety.  To comment would be superfluous.  

As the old union chant goes: the people, united, will never be defeated.  This gentleman walks the walk.

It reads worse than it sounded...

...and it didn't sound good!

"Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You preferenced [sic] your whole comment with the Bush administration. Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education and I'm glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? I say, too, with education, America needs to be putting a lot more focus on that and our schools have got to be really ramped up in terms of the funding that they are deserving. Teachers needed to be paid more. I come from a house full of school teachers. My grandma was, my dad who is in the audience today, he's a schoolteacher, had been for many years. My brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here's a shout-out to all those third graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate," -Sarah Palin on her plans for education policy last night.

Via Andrew Sullivan.

I think we're just reading it wrong, though--she's speaking in verse (as Slate helped out with recently).  Here are my interpretations:

Say it ain't so, 

Joe,

there you go

again

pointing backwards

again.

***

I say, too, with education,

America needs to be putting a lot more focus on that

and our schools have got to be

really ramped up

in terms of the funding

that they are deserving.

***

My grandma was,

my dad who is

in the audience today,

he's a schoolteacher,

had been for many years.

***

My brother,

who I think

is the best schoolteacher of the year,

and here's a shout-out

to all those third-graders 

at Gladys Wood Elementary School, 

you get extra credit