NP: Random music at Starbucks
This is another one of those "focus my mind posts" before I get started editing Chapter 3.
Gainesville is great during Spring Break. Most of the undergrads have bailed for the beach (except for the rare .1% of them who go elsewhere to do service projects) and the businesses don't want to disrupt their own schedules, so everything is open regular hours and no one is around. During the holidays, everything closes early...but during Spring Break you get the run of the place. It's great to be alive in Gainesville.
The jury is still out on my Napster subscription. It's great to have access to all the albums they have (which is most everything since 1995) and the ability to stream almost anything. I say almost anything because, if a song comes out and it is popular, they charge you 99 cents to download it. If you pay, the licensing restriction is taken off, meaning you can burn it to a CD, but that is the only benefit. I have been waiting for 5 weeks for Beck's "Heaven Hammer" to go off the pay list, but it remains there. I really think they have a thing where if you search for a song incorrectly, they think you want it and so they make it .99 so they can get an extra almost-buck. Man, I miss the days of free Napster.
Starbucks coffee is kinda tangy today. Maybe the dude forgot to put chocolate in it.
Chapters 1 and 2 are 98% ready for "committee draft" status. Chapter 3 is in front of me ready to edit, and 4 is in the folder next. I have 5 back from my advisor, and I get 6-8 back on Thursday. Once I get them worked into shape, I will re-write the introduction and write a conclusion and, hopefully by April 7, will get the whole thing into my full committee. Then....I wait and wait for people to read it and get their feedback. No matter what, it looks like I'll have a D and an R in front of my name by August, if its the Good Lord's will that things keep progressing and nothing really bad happens. Current page count -- 457
You know, I'll get Josh fired up here, but the Democrats of today are a lot like the Republicans I am studying. In 1952, the GOP had been out of power for 20 years. The Democrats had started an unpopular war (Korea) and the high tax rates and price controls associated with the conflict were grating on consumers. The GOP was split between liberals and conservatives, and the conservatives were chomping at the bit to take over the party and run an abashedly anti-Democratic platform. Their strength came from a disparate group of grassroots organizations that communicated together via newsletters and telephone. Today, the Democrats have been out of power for 6 years, the Republicans are fighting an unpopular war and the human toll, moreso than the cost, is grating on the public. The Dems are split between liberals and centrists, with liberals really doing outlandish things to make public statements and push the centrists out of the party (i.e. Feingold's censure resolution), and they are all connected through a group of internet sites now referred to as "Netroots." If history repeats itself, the Dems will nominate a very, very hostile liberal candidate in 2008. That person will lose handily, but the organization they built for his/her election will remain together and eventually find the right formula to get their guy elected.
The 2006 results mean nothing. The GOP won the House and the Senate in 1946 in a similar situation and their own party splits prevented them from capitalizing and winning the White House in 1948. What this means -- watch for a very liberal, aggressive, what I would call "nutty" campaign in 2006 that succeeds. From 2006-08, Lieberman and Clinton will reassert themselves and in 2008, the Dems go down in flames to McCain or Allen.
The Middle East is the 2006 version of Post-World War II Asia. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Hamas' election was today's "Loss of China."
Ric Flair will so break his hip at the Wrestlemania ladder match. I've also heard that Vince is going to call the Repo Man out of retirement to cause Flair to have road rage just after the match.
Man, I miss the Rock pouring concrete into Vince McMahon's corvette.
Paris Hilton....why?
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us.
3 comments:
I really can't disagree with your political synopsis there, except to say that it is a sad day when the President says "hey, I broke the law, fuck you" and Feinstein's censure attempt is considered the "outlandish" thing, but hey, I'm a college dropout.
I can laugh, however, at your use of Napster. I got the entire Public Enemy discography this weekend in about three hours, plus I'm about to check out HBO's critically acclaimed series "Deadwood", which finished up while I was at work today.
Napster...muhahaha. Sucker.
Josh -- the censure resolution is outlandish because it is simply political grandstanding on his part. If, and the question is if, the president broke the law, shouldn't a court decide that? If a court decides that he did, then a censure resolution is appropriate and a fairly weak response. Again, I don't think that Bush broke the law, but that is my opinion (which I know you disagre with).
The lack of support for Feingold's resolution will probably further divide the party between the centrists and the liberals and give the latter a great deal of steam heading into November. In that respect, Feingold's maneuver will probably help his cause.
You know, that's not a bad point. I remember the famous Figment of Your Fucking Imagination Court (a.k.a. FYFICOTUS) ruling that Bill Clinton broke the law before the Republican majority House and Senate impeached him. And you're paying money for Napster, so there's your credibility in a box.
The important point here is that I should either be in bed right now or watching the seventh episode of Deadwood Season 1. Looks like Deadwood wins.
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