Life, The Universe, and Everything

The Departed

2006-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Kristin and I just went to The Departed tonight. I have two main thoughts: 1.) it could have been better, and 2.) for a 2.5-hour movie, it felt like 3.5. It had a great cast. All of the acting was good, and I liked the concept. There were some really good twists, but the ending was marginal. I prefer closure in a story, but I can handle the movies that leave you to provide the ending. This movie tried to give closure, but failed. It fell into an awkward middle that I found unpleasant. The main storyline is wrapped up, but some loose ends are left out there unnecessarily. All in all, I give it a 3.2 out of 5. Kristin gives it a 3 out of 5 because she felt it was boring and she was constantly looking at her watch.

Tune it later for a post on holiday festivities.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

2006-09-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Today over the lunch hour I came home from work and was playing with the dog in our backyard. We were playing a little fetch, at first with frisbee then with a stick. At some point I bent down and my tie clip fell out of my dress shirt's pocket (which is where it's stored when I don't have my tie on).

As I was leaving work at the end of the day, I realized that the tie clip was missing. After thinking about it, I figured it must have fallen out during lunch. So I go home and look around the back yard, but can't find it. Since it is metallic, Kristin and I go out again when it's dark with a flashlight hoping to see it shine. We go to all the spots in the yard where I remember bending down. Nothing can be found. She goes back inside and I stay out there just for a few last searches.

Now this tie clip is special because Kristin gave it to me as a Christmas gift, so in my head I say a little prayer asking God to point me in the right direction. I look to my right and notice a little light peeking through the lilac bushes along the north side of the yard. (As I discovered later, this light on a garage across the street is really only visible from that one spot in which I was standing.) I decide to search in the direction of this light, taking it as good a sign as any. Not more than three steps later I see the glimmer of the flashlight being reflected back at me. There laid the tie clip. It was an area of the lawn I hadn't thought to specifically search and wasn't in my original path.

You can call it a big coincidence or call it an act of God. Either way, if I hadn't said the prayer in my head, I wouldn't have thought to follow the light and I probably wouldn't have been taken directly to it. To me it was a small miracle.

When in Rome...

2006-08-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

You knew that title was coming. Although it's been a month since our last post, I figure the best place to begin an update is to finish out the honeymoon. Look for an upcoming post on our life as newlyweds.

Rome was hot and dirty, but a lot of fun. Our hotel there was a significant downgrade. We had a much smaller room, a tiny bathroom, no internet access, it was outside of the main part of the city, and there was an armed guard tower across the street from our small balcony (part of a military fort). We saw all the main sites: Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Vatican City. Our audience with the pope didn't pan out. We were all excited when we went the day before to turn in our letter for two tickets (from the archbishop in charge of the papal household), but the guard said that no audience was occurring tomorrow because the pope had gone to the summer residence. Although I understand why the pope sought cooler temps, it would have been nice if someone had told us that it had been cancelled. So we saw a lot of St. Peter's Basilica, which is pretty cool. We saw the tomb of the first pope, St. Peter, and the most recently deceased pope, John Paul II. We also toured the Vatican Museum, which includes the Sistine Chapel.

While we were there, Italy won the World Cup. It was pretty awesome to be in the capital city of the winning country. Hundreds of the thousands of people gathered in Circus Maximus to watch the game on three giant screens. We went there just to see the throng. We left before the game was over, though, because we didn't want to die in the stampede that was sure to take place after the game. The one east/west metro line closed at 9pm, so we needed a bus or cab to get home. Unfortunately, the spontaneous parades and general pandemonium pretty much shut down most traffic. Thus we had to walk all the way across the city of Rome (approx. 5-6 miles) to get back to our hotel. Needless to say, our feet were dead when we got there.

Another fun day was the one we spent in Ostia Antica. It's the ancient ruins of the port town of Rome. It was recommended (on the web) as an alternative to Pompeii, which is much farther away and has no amenities. It's a pretty cool way to see really ancient Rome and imagine how people lived thousands of years ago.

After five days in Rome, we flew back to Wisconsin where the next day we packed up Kristin's car and drove to Huron.

Live from Mykonos

2006-07-08T01:51:00.000-07:00

Hello from the honeymooners! Although in my previous post, I said I wouldn't post again until after the honeymoon, I have some time and free internet at the hotel. This is our last night on the island of Mykonos. The weather here has been in the upper 70s and lower 80s, but with winds 20-30 mph the whole time, which means it's been good for walking around the nearby town but bad for swimming in the sea.

The first night here we ate supper at the hotel, which we found to be very expensive. Since then, we've eaten most of our meals in the town. We walked around a lot and saw some local sites, including many small Orthodox chapels, and did a lot of shopping. We also spent one night experiencing the nightlife. This island is mainly for tourists (many cruises stop here) so almost everyone speaks enough English to get by. We wanted to see a small island near here called Delos that is home to many relics and ruins from Ancient Greece and the purported birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Unfortunately the strong winds kept all boats except the large cruise ships in the harbor. We did go swimming in the sea on the hotel's private beach, which was somewhat protected from the wind.

Tomorrow we leave for Rome. The weather is expected to be hotter, but we'll manage. If we have similar internet access in Rome, maybe I'll post an update, but I make no guarantees. Goodbye from Greece!

Last Post as a Bachelor

2006-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'm posting live from the Trost residence in New Berlin, Wisconsin with T-minus 39 hours remaining until the ceremony begins. We're finishing up the remaining details/projects for the wedding on Saturday. Most things are on track, and I'm certain it will be a great time. Kristin even made up some really cute activity books for the four little kids coming. For those who will be at the wedding, we look forward to seeing you. For those unable attend, we hope you'll be thinking of us.

So far Kristin hasn't been a bridezilla. Some computer problems made for some moments of frustration yesterday, but everyone survived. We seem to be handling the last minute stress of every wedding very nicely.

I better get to bed. We have to get up early to get more stuff done before the rehearsal (like get a marriage license). I'll post again after we get back from the honeymoon on the Mediterranean. Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't rain on Saturday!

Répondez s'il vous plait

2006-06-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this important announcement from Miss Kristin Trost:

Hello and welcome. :) I haven’t accepted the whole “blog by marriage” thing mentioned in previous comments, but by posting this on David’s blog I can accomplish several things at once, 1) I can put up the post, 2) not start my own blog, since at this point I have no intention of doing so, and 3) I can continue to whine about everyone else’s lack of regular posts (except for Nikhil) without being hypocritical. That said, thanks to David for letting me use the space and enjoy. ~Kristin

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Partying in DC

2006-06-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my bachelor party (I know, this post is a week late, deal with it). Greg and I flew out of Omaha to hang out with our East Coast friends, namely Chris and Clarissa, Kennon and Liz, and Nikhil. Saturday afternoon was spent at a Washington Nationals game where we watched them lose to the LA Dodgers. We then traveled to a Hooters for a nice meal and wonderful "ambiance". We then ended the night at a place called Dave & Busters. Sorry, no strippers for those who were wondering. We toured around the monuments on Sunday and finished the weekend with a viewing of X-Men 3. Add in some Mario Kart throughout the weekend and it turned out to be a great time. I was happy to be able to see my friends who are no longer in South Dakota. Thank to all of them that helped put it together. I hope we can all get together again soon.

News Update

2006-05-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

Maybe someday I can get better at more regular postings, but for now I guess you'll have to live with me posting when I feel like it.

First, a big congratulations to my lovely fiancée Kristin Trost for receiving her masters degree in "counseling & psychology in education" this past Saturday. I'm glad I found a smart one. Let's hope that now she can get a good job in Huron. We have a lead, but nothing solid to report yet.

Second, last Thursday we closed on the house that was the subject of the previous post. Kristin won't be moving to Huron until after the wedding and I still have my apartment until August, so I won't be moving in until the end of June at the earliest in order to save on utility costs. It will be nice to have plenty of time to get things moved in and arranged.

Third, I'd like to wish my Grandma Wheeler a happy 90th birthday. Her birthday was actually last week, but we had the big family gathering yesterday in order to coincide with Mother's Day. She and my grandpa are still living on their own, and I'm glad that they're still living an active life.

Breaking News!!

2006-04-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Kristin and I bought a house. As some of you may know, we have been in the housing market for the past few months. The first house we made an offer on didn't work out because the owners wouldn't come down far enough. After another month or so of looking, we started negotiating with another owner for a house. About an hour and a half ago, I received a phone call from my real estate agent telling me that our last offer was accepted.

The closing date is set for May 12, 2006. Before then I have to get final approval on a mortgage and get the house inspected. If either of those don't turn out well (which I doubt will happen), then I do have the option of rescinding the contract. Other than that, I'm now obligated to buy and the owner is obligated to sell.

Our address will be 1528 Lawnridge Ave. SE. That won't be effective until July 1, since we won't move into it until we get married. If you want to see the info on the house and some pictures, click here. Then click on "Search the MLS" on the left side. Check the box for "Total SqFt.", type 2520 in both boxes, then click the Search button. The only option should be our house. Click on the picture and there you have it. For those who've been to my parent's house on Riverview Dr., it's about a block north and one street over from it.

[4/15/06 Update: the house as been removed from the MLS, but you can still see it here (direct link). There aren't as many pictures, but you'll get the idea. I don't know how long the link will be active.]

So goodbye world of monthly rent payments. Hello world of monthly mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, lawn care, utilities, appliances, furniture, repair bills, and.....wow.....what the heck did I just do?

Shoutouts

2006-04-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day...crazy.

I'd first like to give a big shoutout to my fiancée Kristin who turned 25 today. Happy Birthday!! I love you!

Second, a shoutout to another engaged couple, Eric and Michelle. They managed to get a story about themselves in the Volante. Check out the story here. (Registration required for access to complete article.) I'm sorry Nies, but our engagement story is still better.

On Immigration Policy

2006-04-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

Illegal immigration is the hot topic the past few weeks, so I thought I'd weigh in. There are three sides to any solution. Without anyone one of them, the problem won't get fixed. (For the debaters, I'm skipping, sig/harms, inherency, and solvency and going straight to plan side.)

1. Stiff penalties for Employers - This is the first and most important plank. Why do immigrants leave their families and come to the USA? Jobs. They can make a lot more money here working for less than minimum wage than they can working at home. So the best way to stop illegal immigration is to reduce the incentive to come here, which means reduce their job pool. To do this, it must become economically disadvantageous for employers to hire illegal aliens or to be negligent in checking their status. Fines have to be steep, and linking them to the economic advantage gained would probably be useful.

2. Increase Border Security - We need drastic increases in border security. Longer fences in appropriate places are prudent, but mostly we need more eyes with binoculars. I know the US/Mexico border is long, but we have to deal with the border we have, not the border we'd like.

3. Guest Worker Program - This is needed to face the economic reality that there are jobs that American citizens won't do except for exorbitant wages. If immigrants are willing to do the work at reasonable wages, then why not let them? They get more money, goods are cheaper for Americans, businesses get more profit, everyone wins. The sticking point is when such a program turns into amnesty. Should illegal immigrants be granted complete absolution? No. Should they suffer some criminal sanctions like the probation and fine in the leading Republican plan? Yes. The details get more complicated, so I won't get into them. It'll suffice to say that it's not logistically possible to deport all of the 11 million illegal aliens here, so letting them stay won't be the worst thing.

Now I am by no means an expert on immigration (national ID card was the plan I ran in high school debate as a freshman, which is a really, really bad idea). So if any of my more learned friends would like to critique, it would be more than welcomed.

Honeymoon Plans

2006-03-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Two things happened today that indicated that it was time to blog on the subject of our honeymoon. When we first started discussing the subject, Kristin said I'm in charge of the honeymoon (since she's basically in charge of the wedding). My only requirements are that it be some place warm and sunny with a beach on an ocean or sea, and we're going right after the wedding. At first I was looking at the Caribbean since it is a typical destination for newlyweds. After doing a little research and not finding anything that jumped out me, I decided to expand my search. I began looking at the Mediterranean, specifically the Greek islands and Italy. I talked with a travel agent in town and she put together a nice package that consists of four days on Mykonos and then five days in Rome. After playing with the quality of hotels until it was within our price range, I finally put down the money today to get the plane tickets. That's the first thing I mentioned above.

The second requires a little more background. Fr. Joe Forcelle, the Catholic priest in Vermillion, did our marriage counseling. At our last meeting, we mentioned that we're looking at going to Rome for part of our honeymoon. He then informed us that there is a newlywed section at the weekly audience of the pope and that there's a monsignor from Aberdeen who works in the Vatican who we could contact about getting tickets to it. So I emailed that monsignor and he replied by giving me the address of an archbishop to contact. I wrote that archbishop a letter, and today I received back a letter from him (in a envelope with a stamp featuring Pope Benedict XVI). It's a simple letter saying we can use it to pick up tickets for the July 12 audience. So Kristin and I are going to see the pope. We're pretty excited about it, and I'm not even Roman Catholic. I mean how often do you get to meet the pope?

Anyway, that's the news for today. This vacation may be stretching the edge of my budget, but we're only going to have one honeymoon, so I'm happy to make it memorable.

A Call for Referendum

2006-03-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Gov. Rounds signed the abortion ban (HB 1215) into law. You can read the text of the law here. I believe this law should be referred to the voters. The law, like most others in SD, will not take effect until July 1. Citizens have 90 days after the adjournment of the Legislature, which will officially be March 20, to submit petitions to refer a law to the voters at the next general election. The petitions must have 16,728 signatures to hold the referendum. According to a Rasmussen poll, South Dakotans are split 45-45 on their support of the law. And according to the SD Sec. of State's website, referendums overturn the legislature's decision 83.3% of the time. Although the ballot is getting crowded, this needs to be done for two reasons: 1) the people should directly decide when the state makes sweeping decisions on such a widely-debated topic, and 2) the people should directly decide when the state makes expensive, futile gestures. Let me explain...

Now I am pro-life. I believe that society has the ability to determine when life begins and to take measures to protect that life. However, I am also pro-reality. The last time the US Supreme Court reconsidered the core holding of Roe v. Wade was in 1992 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In that case, Justices O'Connor, Kennedy, and Souter staked out a middle ground that maintained the right to abortion, but lessened restrictions on state power on the subject. Justices Blackmun and Stevens voted to maintain strict restrictions on states, while Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, and White voted to remove the restrictions on states. Although technically there was no majority, there were 5 votes to uphold the core holding that there is a right to abortion.

In the last fourteen years, Pres. Clinton replaced Blackmun and White with Ginsburg and Breyer, who both voted in Stenberg v. Carhart to invalidate a Nebraska law prohibiting late term abortions. So before the two most recent additions to the Court, the vote was 6-3 to uphold Roe (Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg & Breyer v. Rehnquist, Scalia & Thomas). Rehnquist was replaced with Chief Justice Roberts. Assuming Roberts votes to overturn Roe (which is by no means a sure thing), the vote is still 6-3. O'Connor was replaced by Justice Alito. Again assuming he votes to overturn Roe, the vote is now 5-4.

The votes simply are not there to overturn Roe at this time, so South Dakota's abortion ban does not have any chance at surviving. The state will spend a lot of money on a fool's errand. If another change is made on the Court that replaces a pro-Roe justice with a conservative one, then we have a shot. But right now it is simply not worth it.

As Lent Begins

2006-03-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season of Lent. For those who don't know about Lent, it is the 40 days (excluding Sundays) that precede Easter. It is generally a time for reflection, preparation, and repentance. Before we celebrate the greatest of Christian feasts (Easter), we must ready ourselves through self-denial. Although I already knew my denomination (Episcopal) encouraged giving something up for Lent, I learned this year that it also recognizes the practice of not eating meat on Fridays. Of course, like most things in the Episcopal Church, nothing is absolutely required. However, I choose this year to observe this method of fasting and abstain from meat (excluding fish) on Fridays. We'll see how it goes.

The real reason for this post, though, is that I would like to have a small discussion. Part of the Ash Wednesday service in my church is the reading of Psalm 51, which is a psalm of penitence. Verse 5 reads, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." In the spirit of reflecting on our own sinful nature, I ask you the following: Is this verse proof of (or at least evidence of) original sin?

Does this mean I'm really an adult?

2006-02-15T23:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Kristin and I started the search for a house. Not to rent, but to buy. Within a few months, we could be the owners of a whole house. That sounds crazy to me. No longer will I be able to call someone if something brakes. I will be responsible for fixing it or hiring someone to fix it (most likely the latter). I will have to buy homeowner's insurance and pay property taxes. And probably get a lawn mower. Oh, and some furniture would be good too.

This is definitely not an easy process. There are a good number of houses on the market in Huron, so we have a decent selection. The hard part is deciding between the many variables. Do we take the house with the fabulous kitchen, or the one in the better neighborhood? There are many intangibles to measure, and it's even more difficult since many of them require seeing into the future. Plus the timing is always difficult. If we wait too long, we may not get any house we like now, but we don't know what could come on the market in the spring.

When we make a decision, we'll post some pictures. So wish us luck!

Fun with Government

2006-01-30T23:30:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow President Bush delivers the State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress. Because everything is more fun with alcohol (and because I still have half a case of Bud in my fridge from New Year's), I developed the following SotU drinking game.

For every time you hear applause - 1 drink
Standing ovation from both sides of the aisle - 2
Booing from the Democrats (not just one or two) - 5
Every time the president acknowledges someone in the gallery - 1
If the person is in uniform - 2
If the person is the head of a foreign country - 3
For every time the president mentions democracy in Iraq - 1
If he says "stay the course" - 3
If he talks about withdrawing troops - 6
For every time the president mentions Iran - 1
If he mentions "serious consequences" in the same sentence - 5
Every time the president pronounces "nuclear" as "nuke-uler" - 1
If he says it in reference to Iran - 2
If he says it in reference to what we'll do to Iran - immediately drink all the alcohol in the house
If the president mentions Social Security - 2
If in addition he says "personal accounts" or "privatize" in the same sentence - applaud happily then take 4 drinks
For every stat the president cites indicating the economy is growing - 1
If America actually realizes that the economy has been growing for more than a year - gawk in amazement, then drink 3
Every time the camera focuses on an individual senator or representative - 1
If that senator or representative is asleep - 3
If that sleeping person is Senator Ted Kennedy - laugh heartily and drink 8

There are probably a few other drinking games out there specifically for tomorrow's speech (I don't know, since I didn't check - I wanted to be original). Those are probably more thorough than mine, but they were most likely made by poli sci majors still in college. I still have to work the next morning, so I can't get plastered . . . just nicely toasted.

Oh, and for the Democratic response, just hit mute. You don't want to spit out beer (or whatever you're drinking) in laughter. Plus you're probably too drunk to understand what they're saying anyway.

Remember, this is written for those drinking beer. Substitute shots at your own risk. Enjoy!

A Week of Responsibility

2006-01-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

My parents, along with my aunt and uncle who live in Huron, abdicated all of their responsibilities and took off for Mexico for the week. Therefore as the only adult Wheeler in the community, I am saddled with their duties, namely taking care of my cousin Alex (age 13) and managing my parents' apartments. Luckily Alex is pretty easy to handle. My only real job is to make sure he gets supper and doesn't ruin the place. So far no one has called about the apartments. Let's hope that it keeps up (knock on wood) until my parents get home. Of course, they're staying an extra week since they don't have a minor child at home.

In other news:
Judge Alito was approved by the Senate Judiciary committee on a 10-8 party line vote. I looked back and noticed that I hadn't commented at all on Judge Alito. I think that's because I can't say I have anything new to offer. I've already declared that I'm in favor of conservative judges (please remember there is a difference between a judicial conservative and a political conservative--see previous link for details.). I watched a good portion of the committee hearings, and Alito appears to fall into this category. I encourage my senators to vote for the confirmation on the Senate floor. Senator Thune has already declared that he will, whereas Sen. Johnson has yet to decide (email him here). And if you watch any of the floor debate this week, please read this post before you do it. That way you can see behind the rhetoric.

Update: Senator Johnson has declared that he will vote in favor of Judge Alito's confirmation. I applaud him for having the courage to break from the majority of his party.

I'm Back

2006-01-17T23:57:00.000-08:00

After a month-long sabbatical, I have returned to the blogosphere. I apologize for my extended absence. It was a combination of holiday sloth, random distractions, and general apathy. I wanted to post a bunch of pictures that I took with my new digital camera. Unfortunately, I took them all at the highest resolution, so they're too big. The geocities account that I use to host my online pictures shuts you down if too many bytes are downloaded from your site, and the large files eat up that allocation with one access of the page I made for the pictures. This discouraged me, and I have yet to regain the desire to figure out a solution. Hopefully I will soon.

In other news:
The Vatican changed the rules on what happens when unbaptized babies die. According to the old rule, such souls went to a place called Limbo at the edge of Heaven. It wasn't paradise, but it wasn't hell. Limbo was the solution to the conflict between the doctrine stating that one cannot get to heaven without being freed from original sin by baptism and the fact that young babies have no ability to commit other sins. (Limbo also described the state of the doctrine itself, since many theologians just said that only God knows the answer). Under the new rule, the babies go straight to heaven.

Why the change? I couldn't find the theological justification. (I first heard about this whole story this week on TV news channels. When I searched the internet, I couldn't find anything. I found that weird. So the only link you get, is this one to Wikipedia.) According to Rob Corddry on the Daily Show, some attribute the change to a desire to be more palatable to third world countries where infant mortality is high. I believe he put it best when he said that apparently the Vatican decided that instead of approving contraception, it was easier to reorganize the entire netherworld (link - click on the first This Week in God clip to watch the video).

In more other news:
Today the US Supreme Court issued its ruling in Gonzales v. Oregon (link in pdf). This case concerned whether a federal law that restricts use of prescription drugs to "legitimate medical purpose[s]" allows the Atty. General to prevent use of drugs for assisted suicide. The Court decided 6-3 that Congress did not mean to alter the states' traditional role in regulating medicine. I actually haven't read the decision myself, so I can't give any real legal analysis. I did peruse the official synopsis at the beginning of the opinion, and it appears that most of the analysis actually concerns dry administrative law (actually a topic I studied in law school).

One interesting thing to note is that this is the first case in which Chief Justice Roberts dissented. He joined Justices Scalia and Thomas in arguing that causing death can't be a legitimate purpose. (This is actually one small point in the case, since as I said it was really about admin law, but no one wants to hear about that, so the news focuses on the juicy stuff.) I'm glad to see that Roberts is with Scalia and Thomas since I generally agree with their analysis (but don't take that to mean that I agree with their analysis in this case since I haven't read it). Of course, this was expected. I'm just happy to see it in action.

On the policy of assisted suicide, I actually have a lot of trouble with making up my mind. On one side I have my general belief that death is bad, which largely motivates my stances on abortion and the death penalty. On the other side, I like liberty too. In this case, it is a person deciding to take his or her own life instead of deciding to take someone else's, so I can draw a material distinction between it and the two other issues. On the first side, allowing suicide as a legal option can put pressure on elderly people who don't want to be burdens on their families to prematurely take their own life. Back on the other side, only the individual can make a decision about his or her own pain and suffering and how he or she grapples with death.

For me to really make a decision, I'd have to see how the law was written and what safeguards are in place. From what I heard, the Oregon law had safeguards like limiting it to those with only 6 months to live, requiring approval from a panel of doctors, and requiring the individual to administer the drug to him or herself. Whether these are enough, I don't know. If had to vote right now, I'd probably error on the side of liberty and allow it. Of course, please see the new disclaimer at the top of the site.

Planning a Party

2005-12-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

The announcement to which Brenden alludes is about the annual New Year's Eve party. Back by popular demand, I have requisitioned the use of my parent's basement once again in order to host this soirée (because my apartment is too small, lacks a pool table, fire place, and bar and they'll be out of town). The party will begin at 9PM.

So far I have confirmed that Chris and Brenden will be present. Kristin is planning on attending assuming nothing prevents her from driving back from Wisconsin in time. The rest of you need to let me know what you're planning (please leave a comment on whether you're coming, not coming, or what circumstances must take place in order for you to attend). And if you're reading this then you're invited to the party (since only my friends read this). Kennon and Liz are tentative depending upon the travel plans of the elder Baumans. Kari, Greg, Eric and Erin, I think you all should make the journey to Huron. Nikhil, does this mean you'll be coming? There will be beds, couches and floor space available for those who need to stay over night (regardless of whether the need is because of travel plans or an inability to stand without the room spinning).

If you are coming, a contribution to the "supplies" will be appreciated. Whether you bring a liquid or a solid is up to you. We will of course bring out the Scotch 'n' Dew for Chris and maybe do some Tequila Boom Booms in honor of our Italian friend Franky. What other crazy things will happen? Well, that's up to you.

Narnia

2005-12-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

On Friday evening I was hanging out in Barnes & Noble in Sioux Falls waiting for Kristin to get off work. While there, I wandered past a table of books devoted to the Chronicles of Narnia. I remember watching and reading these stories in middle school; however, to my amazement I learned something new: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is not the first book in the series. It is actually the second. "The Magician's nephew" is the first book. Intrigued (and having nothing better to do) I began to read. It's not a long book, so I got through the first few chapters before Kristin met me there.

The book's title character is a boy named Digory Kirke (special note: this is the first time in my life I can recall seeing Kirke spelled in the same way my middle name is, excluding other relatives on my dad's side). It tells the story of the creation of Narnia, how it was first discovered, how the witch got there, what the lamppost is all about, and how the magical wardrobe was created. Digory grows up to become the professor you meet in the second book, although interestingly enough he never discovers the secret of the wardrobe.

Anyway, I was very much interested in knowing this background information before seeing the movie, so on Saturday while Kristin worked on some homework I finished the book. We went to the Sunday matinee and both enjoyed the movie. Although I haven't read that book in years, the movie appears to be a great adaptation of the book I remember. It doesn't quite have the same "epic" feeling when compared to the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, but I think that is directly related to it's PG rating (which is definitely appropriate given that the story is ideal for children). I still highly recommend it to everyone. It is now likely that I will seek out the rest of the series and read it again.

A New Dawn

2005-12-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

First, since I never gave an update on what happened last week, I quick fill you in on that. I went to work on Wednesday and had power when I got home around 6pm (which had been on since around 4:30). So that was a total of around 67 hours that my apartment did not have power (not counting the 2 hours Monday morning). My next door neighbor, a teacher in Wessington Springs, didn't have work all week because the whole town didn't have power. Things are still icy here as temps haven't yet been above freezing. Saturday is supposed to get to 38 degrees, which will finally get all the ice off all of the sagging trees and make the roads a little less ice-packed.

Now on to the real reason for the post. This morning I did something new: exercise. I purchased a membership at the community gym/health/fitness center last week (the Nordby Center). Today I got up at 5:15am to attend a strength-training class. The class is every Tuesday and Thursday, and I hope to make it a regular occurrence for me. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say it was "fun" either. Maybe that's because my body isn't used to it. I heard it can take 2-4 months of regular exercise before your body and mind really adjust. After that you don't have to will yourself into exercising. Hopefully that will happen soon, because for now it's going to require a lot of willpower to keep this up.

Of course this getting-up-early business is not easy. My life for the past 7 years has been more geared to staying up late and getting up late. I figure with the whole 8-5 job thing I have now, it's time to change the schedule. I'm sorry friends, but you won't be finding me up late online anymore. (If you do, tell me to go to bed.) Given that half of my friends (and my fiancée) are still in college (and hence on the late schedule), this will cause some inconvenience, but I think we'll manage. Let's see if this exercise thing sticks. Wish me luck!

Winter Wonderland

2005-11-29T02:24:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful. Those words have taken on new meaning for residents of eastern South Dakota. We're all currently living through a very bad blizzard. It is the worst possible combination of rain, ice, and snow.

It started Sunday afternoon with freezing rain blanketing everything in sight. Then the snow and wind came last night and today. My cable (TV and internet) went out around 6-ish last night. Three of my new friends in the apartment complex got together to watch a movie, and then sometime between 9 and 10 (about 10 minutes from the end of the movie) the power went out. I quickly learned what it was like to live by candle light (as we were trying to conserve flashlight power). I went home, piled on the blankets and went to bed.

This morning I got up and the power was on (it had been since around 6am), but no cable. However, when I tried calling on my cell phone to determine whether school had been canceled (as that is the best indicator of whether the courthouse will be open) I found that I could hear the person I called, but they couldn't hear me. Soon after that, reception ended altogether. I decided the best thing was to make an attempt to go to work. While I was getting ready, the power goes out again. I press on, but when I get to my car, I realize that I can't open the garage door without electricity. That was the end of my attempt. I knocked on the door of my neighbor (who's a teacher and one of the friends mentioned above) and she said school had been canceled. We then ended up spending most of the day in another friend's apartments playing various games. I also roasted a hot dog over three tea candles (which actually worked). When the sun went down and power had not yet been restored, we finally got a cell phone to work (none of us have a land line) and called my parents. They came and got all of us. We ventured back to the apartments around midnight, but the power was still out in that small section of town, so we all came back to my parent’s house. That’s where I am now.

My apartment has been without power for approximately 17.5 hours straight and I don’t expect it to be back on anytime soon tomorrow. School is already canceled again. At least tomorrow we’ll now have power and cable with which to enjoy the day off. Assuming the wind dies down tomorrow, I’d guess that I’ll be back to work on Wednesday, but that’s not for certain at this point. Please keep us all in your prayers as it could be days or weeks before some rural residents get power back. Updates will come as warranted.

News accounts: here, here, and here (Huron mentioned in national story).

Successful Weekend

2005-11-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

Well we made it to Wisconsin and back without any mishaps or problems. It was a delightful 4-day weekend. My dad spent 8 whole hours each way in the car with Fletcher (Kristin's dog). Of course, the dog just slept in the back seat the whole time. We spent Saturday afternoon looking at different hotels and golf courses for possible rehearsal dinner locations. My parents will make the final decision on that later. Sunday afternoon was spent in Milwaukee proper with some time experiencing exotic flora in "The Domes". That evening Kristin's mom treated us to a delicious dinner of honey-glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and corn. Along the way I met Kristin's sister Jennifer and brother Ryan. I also had the opportunity to meet my sister's boyfriend Tony. Although I can't really get to know any of them over the course of just one weekend, they all seem to be nice, upstanding people. This all bodes well for the future.

Traveling Man

2005-11-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Kristin and I went to Nebraska to visit Jammie, Shawn, and Parker Hermans as well as Mandy and Greg Parmeter. We all met Saturday afternoon at the new Hermans residence. It's a very nice house with a master bedroom closet fit for Imelda Marcos (shoes not included). In going out for lunch we traveled what seemed like forever to us small town residents, but was only "down the road" to them. 30 minutes later we're at a nice, swanky area with some fine dining. That evening Kristin and I traveled to Lincoln where we stayed with the Parmeters for the evening. We caught "The Legend of Zorro" at the theater (which wasn't anywhere near as good as the first movie). We then retired to their parlor for some wine, cheese and crackers. Greg and I proceeded to play a game in chess in which he won (I lost my queen in an oversight, but managed to drag out the defeat for a while).

This weekend is another adventure for Kristin and me. We and my parents are all traveling together to Wisconsin so that our respective parents can meet and also so my parents can scope out a place for the rehearsal dinner. We're preparing for our own version of Meet the Fockers, but hopefully we'll have much less drama (but the same amount of hilarity). My sister Carrie and her boyfriend will be traveling from Michigan to meet us there. It'll be one big inter-family gathering.

The Cover-up is Always Worse than the Crime

2005-10-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr. was indicted today on 5 felony counts: 1 for obstruction of justice, 2 for false statements, and 2 for perjury. You can read the indictment here. All the counts stem from him allegedly lying about when and from whom he learned of Valerie Plame Wilson's status as a CIA employee. The special grand jury was convened to investigate the disclosure of Ms. Wilson's status and any national security leaks related to it. In the process of that investigation, it appears from the indictment that Mr. Libby wasn't forthright in his answers and therefore hindered the grand juries ability to investigate.

Some Republicans have been trying to downplay the meaning of these charges. To me, that's a ridiculous position to take. Republicans impeached Pres. Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice. I was in favor of that impeachment. Whether you are the President or the Chief of Staff to the Vice President or a fast food worker, you don't get to lie under oath. If Mr. Libby is found guilty, he should be punished appropriately (just as Clinton should have been). Mr. Libby has already done the right thing and resigned his position.

Democracy in Action

2005-10-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

Harriet Miers withdrew her name for consideration for the position of Associate Justice today. I must concede that the prediction I made the day she was nominated was wrong. Although it was based on the idea that there wasn't enough bad stuff about her. In the last week, everyday brought new information that presented conflicting insights. What little record she had didn't make her look good.

So what does this all mean? It means the system works. Presidents don't get free reign to appoint whomever they choose. The nominee must go through a public confirmation process. Because of that process, senators weren't supporting the nominee. Hence, the President must nominate someone more palatable. Whether it was ideology or competence, everyone wanted something else. Thank God for democracy.

Is this a defeat for the President? To be honest, I don't think so. He campaigned on appointing conservative judges, which is something I support. Miers nomination was not in line with that idea (or at least he's the only one who thought it was). Now if he appoints a proven conservative and then loses the fight in the Senate, that will be a defeat. The ideal he campaigned on will have been rejected in the democratic process. If anything, this could be better for him. If he nominates a proven conservative and wins the fight, it could reenergize his presidency.

Minnesota Wins Game, Doesn't Celebrate On Yacht

2005-10-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

This is a day late, but I wanted to reflect. Yesterday was a big game for the Vikings. In the first meeting of the season with the Packers, the Vikings started out with their usual ineptness. Whether it was defensive penalties that negated 3rd down stops or a fumble on the play right after a 60 yard kickoff return, the Vikings couldn't do anything right. By the end of the first half I had resigned to accepting a loss to the Packers.

Then a miracle happened. Either the football gods removed the curse on the Vikings or Tice gave the halftime speech of his career, because in the second half the Vikings were a completely different team. It's like they remembered that the goal of the game was to score points. And the offensive line remembered that they were on the field for a reason. They had a spirit and excitement that I hadn't seen this season.

Now this could well be just a fluke. And I'm fully prepared for future suckage from the Vikings. But for a brief 30 minutes it was the Vikings offense I longed for. I can only hope that they keep it going.

Transparent Aluminum?!

2005-10-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Any Star Trek fan knows the role transparent aluminum played in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). After having time warped back into the 1980's, Scotty gave the formula of this futuristic material to a plastics engineer in exchange for materials necessary to save the planet. According to that engineer, "it would take years just to figure out the dynamics of this matrix!"

Well, almost 20 years they've actually done it. The Army is testing it, and it withstood a .50 sniper shot with armor-piercing bullets. So either Star Trek is real, or we're way a head of the curve. I'll let you decide which.

Now if only the Army could get the transporter figured out . . .
(Hat tip to BotW.)

Rumor has it

2005-10-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

Sources close to Kari Hammer have exposed developments in her social life: Ms. Hammer has gone on a date with a new acquaintance. Few facts are available at this time. Although still unconfirmed, apparently this acquaintance is male and has the last name of Wheeler (no relation to this reporter, so it's either just a weird coincidence or something Freudian). He is 26 years of age.

Another rendezvous has been planned for Friday. Nothing scandalous has yet been uncovered, so any comparisons to TeenagerGate are unfounded. Investigators are looking into it. Developments posted as warranted.

The Crazy Side of Democracy

2005-10-17T23:45:00.000-07:00

Dylan Wilde, a law school classmate of mine, brought to my attention a ballot measure that qualifies as the current front-runner for the 2006 Craziest Ballot Measure Award. It is an initiated constitutional amendment to add to the South Dakota Constitution a new section titled the Judicial Accountability Initiative Law (J.A.I.L.). A link to the official copy of the measure can be found here (link in pdf). The measure can also be found on the website promoting it in South Dakota and at the website of the national "movement." I actually laughed aloud while reading portions of it. Here's the meat:

2. Immunity. No immunity shall extend to any judge of this State for any deliberate violation of law, fraud or conspiracy, intentional violation of due process of law, deliberate disregard of material facts, judicial acts without jurisdiction, blocking of a lawful conclusion of a case, or any deliberate violation of the Constitutions of South Dakota or the United States, notwithstanding Common Law, or any other contrary statute.

It then lays out an elaborate procedure establishing a "special grand jury" that will decide when a judge should be denied judicial immunity. That way, if you lose a lawsuit, you can sue the judge. Because if the judge ruled against you, the judge must have been intentionally violating the law in order to make sure you lose.

Now getting rid of judicial immunity alone would make this measure the award winner, but it has assured itself victory by the lengths to which it goes in order to make sure that judges are held accountable. It funds the special grand jury by taking 1.9% of the gross salary of the judges of the state. (Why they didn't take 2%, I don't know.) If that isn't enough money, any corporation that files a court document will be slapped with an extra fee.

It doesn't stop there. If a judge brought before the special grand jury cannot afford an attorney, too bad. The measure prohibits any state money paying for appointed counsel. If the judge is a good advocate for himself, well, the measure provides that "The Jurors shall keep in mind, in making their decisions, that they are entrusted by the People of this State with the duty of restoring judicial accountability and a perception of justice, and are not to be swayed by artful presentation by the judge." There's more, but I'd be here for hours.

South Dakota is proud to be the first state that allowed direct democracy though initiatives and referenda, and I'm all in favor of them. This wild measure happens to be the by-product of the democratic process. There are many ballot measures circulating in this state. Only one measure is currently on the 2006 ballot, and it was placed there by the Legislature. The JAIL measure may or may not get the 33,456 signatures needed by Nov. 7, 2005. If it does, I think the people of South Dakota are smart enough to defeat this. They defeated the jury nullification amendment voted on in 2002 with 78% against it. (See result for Constitutional Amendment A.) Although, I guess crazier things have happened.

Best Headline Ever

2005-10-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

From FoxNews.com:

Python Tries to Eat Alligator, Explodes

I just love the mental picture. Also, it's like Alien vs. Predator, except it doesn't take two hours to get to the action.

Well, I'm off to Vermillion for the weekend to see my fiancée and possibly participate in some Dakota Days festivities. I hear that Brenden Huber and Jeremy Zell may be in the area. If anyone else is reading this and is in Vermillion this weekend, give my cell phone a call. (If you don't have it, sorry, but I'm not publishing it on the web.)

Have a great 3-day weekend all!

Quiz of the Day

2005-10-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

What is Brenden Huber doing in this picture?

A) Laughing uncontrollably because he's drunk
B) Sobbing uncontrollably because one of his drunk male friends just violated him
C) Realizing that he wasn't sitting on a toilet just now
D) Attempting to not vomit

More Supreme Court News

2005-10-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

Eric, Kennon, and Nikhil have all commented on today’s announcement by Pres. Bush that he has nominated Harriet Miers for the position of Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. I think they’ve covered it appropriately. All I’m going to add is that I predict she’ll be confirmed because there won’t be enough there to cause Republicans to vote against her. It won’t be pretty and Pres. Bush may look bad unless Miers turns out to be more qualified than she currently appears. The only way she loses is if the Dems actually mount a filibuster against her, because I don’t know if the votes are there to implement the constitutional (nuclear) option.

Her not being a judge before doesn’t matter to me. I think her different background is better for the Court than her being a female. And its not like Chief Justice Roberts had long judicial career, having only been on the DC Court of Appeals for a little over two years. The biggest strike against her is that she follows the unquestionably brilliant Roberts at the confirmation hearing table.

In other news, I went to my first practice tonight of the Huron Symphony-Orchestra. After over seven years, I’ve dusted off the drumsticks and timpani mallets in order to help bring music to Huron. I think it will be fun.

On Tom Delay

2005-09-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

A Texas grand jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom Delay today on a single count of conspiracy to commit campaign finance fraud by funneling corporate contributions to Texas legislative candidates through the Republican National Committee. For more details of the crime, try Google News. Here's the actual indictment. Rep. Delay claims that the prosecutor (a Democrat) is doing this as political retribution. (The prosecutor had previously indicted Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), but the charges were dismissed shortly thereafter.) The prosecutor very well could be acting in a partisan manner, but Delay could have also committed a crime. I'll be nice and give him the benefit of the presumption of innocence.

Politically, he now has stepped down as leader of the House Republicans as required by the rules of the Republican caucus. I've never really liked Rep. Delay that much. He has an "iron fist" attitude towards running the caucus, and demands that members stick to the party line. I'm not a fan of such enforced party unity. Also, he's had multiple ethics problems in that he's been admonished three times by the House ethics committee. One of the planks of the 1994 Republican Revolution was a higher ethical standard. It was then that they created the rule that a party leader who is indicted must give up the leadership position. So much of politics is based on appearances, and Delay has too many appearances of impropriety.

So why did he remain the leader until now? Because of what he's done for the party. He's raised a lot of money for other Congressional Republicans, so many of them are very loyal to him. He's also gotten a lot accomplished as leader, which only adds to the loyalty.

With this and the current SEC investigation of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Google New here), the Republicans are losing credibility. The rank and file members need to be more concerned about the ethical image of the party or else the Democrats are going to take back Congress soon. Sen. Frist has already announced that he's not running for reelection, so we don't have to worry about that for long. But if Delay survives the prosecution, Republicans needs to seriously consider keeping him on the sidelines.

Breaking News!!

2005-09-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Less than 30 minutes ago I checked my mail at home and found a letter from the Board of Bar Examiners. The relevant part reads "I am pleased to inform you that you received a passing score on the July 2005 South Dakota MPT/MEE/MBE." Unfortunately, the Board doesn't tell you your score unless you fail, but I'll live. All that's left now is to be sworn into the bar.

Why I'm not a doctor

2005-09-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

So today I started on a new assignment. I'm to draft an opinion on a habeas case. (For an explanation of habeas corpus, click here.) The underlying case was a murder, and without going into the specifics, she (yes, she) pled guilty to a Class B felony, which has a minimum and maximum sentence of life in prison.

I was familiarizing myself with the trial file and habeas file before I dived into the thick brief in support of the defendant. In the trial file is a manila envelope upon which was written "State's exhibits 1-11" and "Defense exhibits A-C." Exhibits are important, so I open it up and take out the contents. What are the 11 state exhibits? Pictures. And not the kind you put in your wallet. You see, the victim was hit repeatedly in the head with a hammer. The pictures were of the scene....the body.... and close ups of the head. And that's when I remembered why I 'm not a doctor.

When I was a young whippersnapper I wanted to be one. I had two uncles that were doctors and it seemed like a nice profession. But sometime around late middle school I realized that I'm not a big fan of real gore. I can handle blood and movies, but detailed explanations of severe bodily injury make me squeamish. Pictures of such things are even worse. I think I empathize too much, and it's the thought of the pain that the person went through that I have trouble with. Last summer when I interned at the state's attorney's office, I saw picture of a guy who got his head smashed in during a drug-related roll over accident. I had to lie on the floor for a good 15 minutes. (Just to clarify, I went into law because I found that I liked public policy and government much more than medicine. This aversion just helped solidify the change in goals.)

Luckily I was able to handle the pictures in this case. Because the trauma was in the back of the head, there weren't any pictures that showed both the face and the trauma. That helped. It's easier when I pretend this is CSI. Anyway, I know that such pictures sometimes come up in my line of work, so I'm trying to get used to them. Hopefully I can do it.

Not a good day for the Vikings

2005-09-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

What the hell? Every anti-Vikings fan out there is having a field day as Culpepper is back to his old self again with FIVE interceptions. And on the two fumbles and the Vikings had their worst game in a long time. If not for the 17 penalties on the Bengals it would have been much worse. I could barely muster a clap when Culpepper rushed for a TD in the 4th. Of course the commentators pretty much blamed on a) no Randy Moss and b) not changing the playbook since Moss left. I'd like to think that the coaching staff was smart enough to account for those, so I think it's just the team not clicking yet. Not having Moss and getting many new players is guaranteed to change the chemistry. Anyway, if they don't figure it out soon it's going to be a long season. My only consolation is that the Packers lost too and that the score doesn't matter when it comes to the final record. Whether you lose by 2 or 29, a loss is a loss.

Delayed Report

2005-09-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

For some reason when I get home at night from work I find that I don't have any drive to blog. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm having a blogging slump. I often have things I want to blog about during the day. However, when I get home I spend time on the net yet the browser never finds it way to over to my blog. Who knows.

Anyway, here's one story I wanted to tell. First the background. Kristin came up to visit last weekend. She surprised my by coming up on Thursday night instead of Friday afternoon as I expected. She was getting back at me for completely surprising her last weekend when I showed up on Friday night and she didn't even know I was coming. We both like those kinds of surprises. So one evening for supper we go to Mazatlan in order to prove that it is the same place as Viejo (which it is because the owners are related). While there we enjoyed the music played over the speakers, which of course was Mexican. The funny thing is that it was polka. I kid you not - actual Mexican polka. Although that in itself is amusing, it's not the end of the story. During one song, for maybe 30 seconds, it turned techno. That's right, Mexican techno polka. I swear that I saw German Mexicans (or Mexican Germans) with the rave lights and fluorescent sticks dancing wildly. I was half expecting to see Trevor show up in a sombrero with a bratwurst. It was quite amusing. After that CD was over, the stereo turned to the next, which was an entire album of Mexican birthday songs.

You can't make this stuff up.

Roberts nominated for Chief

2005-09-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Pres. Bush announced this morning the he has nominated Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice. That was quick, although understandable since Roberts's confirmation hearings are to begin tomorrow. Of course they're likely to get postponed until after Justice Rehnquist's funeral. Nies and I were rooting for Justice Scalia to be promoted, but he's 69. Roberts, on the other hand, is 50, which gives him a lot more time to serve.

Rehnquist Dies at 80

2005-09-03T23:41:00.000-07:00

Breaking News--

Chief Justice William Rehnquist died tonight after a battle with thyroid cancer. He served on the US Supreme Court for 33 years, 18 as chief. I much appreciated his decisions that gave power back to the states. In Con Law we got to know a lot more about the justices as people, and I took a liking to the chief then. I won't go into the political ramifications of his death at this time. There will be time enough for that later.

Ellsworth is Saved

2005-08-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

The verdict is in. The BRAC Commission voted 8-1 to remove Ellsworth AFB from the list of bases to be closed. It's a good day in South Dakota. The Washington Post and the NY Times both call it a big victory for Sen. Thune in the first or second sentence of their stories. I think Gov. Rounds also deserves a little credit for it. I guess Sen. Johnson and Rep. Herseth should get some too. I'd say the whole delegation worked together pretty well to make this happen.

Update for the sake of Updating

2005-08-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

It's been 10 days since my last post, so I figured I should put something up. To be honest, I just haven't had anything to blog about. I go to work in the morning, come home in the evening, talk to Kristin either by internet or phone, watch some TV, and go to bed. Last weekend I went down to visit Kristin in Vermillion and to finally meet her dad (I met her mom at the beginning of the year). Her dad's very nice. They look like they're going to be very good in-laws.

My job is very nice. About the half the time I get to watch various proceedings just to get the experience. The other half is research and writing. In law school, such work was boring and tedious. Here, it's actually quite enjoyable because I'm working on a real case. While I don't make any decisions, I know that what I'm doing has an impact. The very first case I worked on was whether a defendant had been unconstitutionally searched and seized (I said he wasn't because he lawfully consented to everything).

One of these days I'm going to get my hands on a digital camera and post some pictures of my apartment (and my beautiful view of the world's largest pheasant). Of course, I should probably clean the place, as in finally put my stuff away after moving.

Well, the laundry's done, so it's time to fold it and then go to bed.

Top 5 Presidents

2005-08-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here they are. And note that GWB was not considered because his presidency is not yet over.

Top 5 Republican Presidents:
1. Abraham Lincoln - for all the reasons mentioned by Nikhil and Kennon
2. Ronald Reagan - he made being conservative cool again through his ability to clearly articulate his beliefs
3. Theodore Roosevelt - trust-buster, big stick diplomacy, maker of national parks, and Noble Peace Prize winner
4. Dwight D. Eisenhower - the original "Stronger at home, respected around the world"
5. George H.W. Bush - The last slot was hard to fill, but I'm persuaded by Kennon on this one.

Top 5 Non-Republican Presidents:
1. George Washington - hands down THE greatest president. Circumstances did give him the best opportunity to shine (rivaled only by Abe and FDR), and he did. What seals it for me was his steadfast desire to make America a real democracy. He had soldiers ready to take over the government and hand him the monarchy, but he refused. Turning down such power is the greatest measure of president.
2. Harry S. (yes, I used the period because he signed his name with it, despite its lack of standing for anything) Truman – taking over in the middle of the war couldn’t have been easy and he made the hardest decision of any president, plus he was a Freemason
3. Grover Cleveland – having the nuts to run again after losing puts him at the top by itself and those nuts helped him stand up to economic special interests
4. JFK – had he lived he probably wouldn’t have made the list, but his foreign policy was good, he handled the Cuban Missile Forces quite well, and “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” is one of the best presidential quotes ever
5. FDR – I’m loathe to include him on the list because while he did pull America out of the great depression, the way he did it destroyed the real meaning of the Interstate Commerce Clause. But in the end he does make the list because you can’t win the presidency 4 times without having skills.

Top 5 Ceiling Fans:
1. Rattan Ceiling Fan
2. Nautical Ceiling Fan
3. Ceiling Fan with All Wood
4. Baseball Ceiling Fan
5. Bill Clinton – he was the master of spin, although he wasn’t the one blowing

Look What Kennon Started

2005-08-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

In the comments to my last post Kennon suggested that everyone name the top 5 presidents of your party and your opposite party. In response, two friends have posted theirs on my site. I think that deserves a bump from the comments to the main post, so here they are--

From Will Williams, a registered independent:
1. TJ
2. GW
3. Abe
4. James Knox Polk
5. Ronnie
Addendum: 6. Bubba: you can fault him for his sexual overzealousness--and his comfortable relationship with dishonesty--but those were 8 of the best years in American history in terms of prosperity and security. Plus, he was just a cool guy. I'd like to hang with Slick Willie.

From Jammie Hermans, also an independent:
1. Linclon
2. FDR
3. Washington
4. Teddy Roosevelt
5. Harry Truman
I actually just took a history class and we talked a lot about Presidential rankings. I'm not a very political person... at all. I'm also independent. These are just presidents I liked policies and actions of. I don't 100% support [all] of their actions.

Thanks for posting on my site! I'm going to think about my list on my way to and from Watertown tomorrow. I'll post it when I get back.

P.S. - Polk???

Top Five Reasons I Won’t Post Top Tens

2005-08-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

In response to the fad created by Nies and Brenden, I present you my list. I'm not saying that everyone else should stop, just providing my reasons for not joining in. Enjoy!

5. I can like things without feeling an incessant need to rank them like Nies
4. Writing them takes too much time
3. VH1 does a good job ranking everything possible and making a 4-hour show out of it
2. I’m too lazy to go all the way to ten
1. I’m so indy I don’t even listen to music

Back in Huron

2005-07-31T23:45:00.000-07:00

I'm now in my apartment in Huron, SD. Kristin came up with me up Friday night and we spent all day Saturday moving my stuff in. In the evening we attended a wedding and two wedding dances. Kristin tired me out with her insatiable desire to swing dance.

I have my new modem/wireless router ready to go. The cable company is coming tomorrow to turn my internet and TV on. (I don't know who's wireless I'm using now.) I still have much unpacking to do, yet its now bedtime.

I did survive the bar exam. Everyone came out thinking it was a grueling experience, I'm glad that we're all in the same boat. Now we have to wait 8-10 weeks for the results. Luckily, my job (which starts tomorrow at 8am) doesn't require an actual law license. Therefore, failure on the exam would only bring about exorbitant amounts of embarrassment and not loss of employment. My only consolation is that I felt like I failed the MPRE (the ethics portion of the exam that I took last fall), yet I passed that with room to spare. Hopefully the same feelings will lead to the same result. Keep your fingers crossed.

One day down, One to go

2005-07-26T23:45:00.000-07:00

I'm reporting from the Ramkota Hotel in Pierre where the bar exam is being administered. Eric Nies and myself (as well as many other people) have completed the first day of testing. Please see my earlier post for an explanation of what we did today.

Here's a funny story for you. Eric and I paid $100 extra to use our computer on the first day (the money goes towards the license for the special software used). I got up in the morning in time to report at the scheduled time of 8am. Around 7:30am I receive a call from one of my law school colleagues telling me that if I had signed up to use my computer, I have to get downstairs pronto. Apparently, somewhere in the letters I had received there was a special provision that computer users had to report at 7am. Luckily, I hurried down there and got them to let me in the room (they hadn't yet actually started the test yet). It took a little pleading, but I got in. I was a little flustered at the start of the exam, but managed to get my head in the game quickly.

All in all, it was a good day. The feared MEE wasn't too bad. I'm pretty sure I have a passing grade so far. Hopefully I won't blow it on the MBE tomorrow. With that, it's past my bedtime. To give notice, my next post may not be until I'm settled in Huron with access to the internet (probably Monday), but I'll try to post sooner.

Appropriate Arguments in a Judicial Confirmation

2005-07-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

While I was taking a Google News break from trying to memorize contract law, I came across this news article from the LA Times. I was disturbed by what I read. If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you're aware of my thoughts on the appropriate role of judges in society. But even beyond that, I think most people would agree that we want judges to be fair and impartial. According to this article, opponents of the confirmation of Judge John Roberts are hoping that he isn't impartial. Let me quote the quote from Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA):

"Americans deserve to know if nominees will be on the side of justice and individual liberties, or if they will side with powerful special interests."

(As an aside, I try to refrain from using Sens. Kennedy or Hillary Clinton in my arguments because Republicans tend too often to reduce arguments to "Kennedy and Hillary are for it, so it must be bad." Although I'll admit that usually I am against whatever they're supporting, I prefer critiques based upon policy and not personality. I leave the rants to Nies.)

So based on a bare reading of the quote, Sen. Kennedy wants nominees to choose sides ahead of time. This is absolutely what judges are not supposed to do. The article continues about how opponents of the confirmation are using such "populist" rhetoric, specifically referring to the political campaign of Al Gore. The debate in a political campaign should be nowhere close to the debate in a judicial confirmation.

I can't stress enough how such arguments are destructive to the concept of the impartial judiciary. No side should be making arguments based upon who a judge should be for or against. If the law says powerful special interests win the case, then they get to win the case. To do otherwise will give unelected judges the ability to determine what policies are good and bad in our nation.

Now some confirmation opponents are doing it correctly. Toward the end of the story the Alliance for Justice argued that his views on the commerce clause would undermine many laws they support. This is at least an argument based upon his interpretation of the law and not what side he's on.

If Judge Roberts has an honest-to-God bias for any group, then it is a proper line of inquiry, but such a finding cannot be based upon a statistical average of the winners in his cases. It must be based upon sound evidence that Judge Roberts intentionally (or at least highly unreasonably) construed the law in a manner favorable to one side. No such argument has been made and I doubt it will. My guess is that Sen. Kennedy is hoping just to get people fired up instead of making real arguments about bias.

I saw the same thing happen a few months ago during the filibuster debate. I watched Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) (yes, on C-SPAN) go through a list of sympathetic parties and say how horrible it was that Judge Janice Brown decided against them. She actually made the argument that Judge Brown was pro-rapist because she wrote an opinion that favored the rapist's rights as a defendant. Sen. Feinstein had absolutely no explanation behind any of her arguments, no substance as to why Judge Brown was a bad jurist.

In the end, I'm writing this post so that any one who reads this will be on notice to pay more attention to arguments in confirmation battles. If the argument has no explanation, then please disregard it. Or at least do some research before believing it.

Gotta love reactionaries

2005-07-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

For my initial reaction to the announcement of John G. Roberts as President Bush’s nominee to the USSC, see Mr. Bhat’s site. I’m posting because I just had to point out this quote from the NARAL. This comes from a collection of quotes from Nikhil’s beloved Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

"We are extremely disappointed that President Bush has chosen such a divisive nominee for the highest court in the nation, rather than a consensus nominee who would protect individual liberty and uphold Roe v. Wade." - NARAL Pro-Choice America.

That is the most generic, pre-written statement on the list. You know that they had that written up the day Justice O’Connor announced her resignation. Now I understand that NARAL exists to support abortion rights (considering that’s what the “AR” in NARAL stands for), but do they have any sense of degree? Are they really “extremely” disappointed? I mean there are a lot more conservative judges out there.

I guess my real complaint is that it adds absolutely nothing to the debate. How do they know he won’t uphold Roe v. Wade? As I mentioned on Nikhil’s site, he’s written one brief (which is what you do as a lawyer) that disagreed with Roe because that’s the side the government was on. In fact, in his previous confirmation hearing, he out-right said that Roe was settled law and that he would have no trouble applying it. As an appeals court judge, that’s exactly right, and that won’t bind him as a supreme court justice, but there’s no basis on which to unequivocally say he won’t protect Roe. The only thing they can go on is the fact that President Bush appointed him, therefore he must be against individual liberties. That’s just intellectually dishonest. If they said it a week from now after giving some evidence behind it, then I wouldn't complain.

The conservative quotes didn’t exactly contribute much either, but at least they made the effort to use the nominee’s name.

A little help from my friends

2005-07-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?

My request has actually nothing to do with singing, the Beatles, or the Wonder Years. Because in less than two weeks I move into my new apartment, I need to start setting up utilities, etc. One of these is cable TV and cable internet. To use aforementioned cable internet, I need a cable modem. That's where you come in. I need to buy a cable modem, but I honestly don't have the time to do the research/internet shopping. (In fact, I really should be writing a practice Family Law essay right now but this has to get done.) Could some of my friends out there please advise me on a good modem to buy and where to buy it? Specific links would be really nice. I would like one that has both hard ports and wireless access. Because I would like to it last a while, a medium to upper range modem would be good, but I don't know what that looks like, so hence this post. Any help you could provide would be much appreciated. Thank you all in advance.

Fourteen Days Remaining

2005-07-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Two weeks from today I will be sitting in Pierre in a meeting room in the Ramkota Hotel taking the first half of the bar exam. The first day is all essay. The morning session is two 90-minute MPT (multistate performance test) questions. These questions test your ability to synthesize law and apply it to the facts. They give you all the law you need, so I don't have to actually know anything for the first three hours. The afternoon session will be 6 30-minute MEE (multistate essay examination) questions. These questions test my knowledge of a range of legal subjects from corporations to wills to civil procedure. The second day will consist of the MBE (multistate bar examination), which is 200 multiple choice questions in 6 hours. Luckily we get a break for lunch. The MBE covers different subjects than the MEE.

I think the hardest part will be the MEE. Why? Because it's the hardest for which to study. For the MBE we have hundreds upon hundreds of practice questions and explanations of the correct answer. For the MEE, we have some practice questions that have model answers, but you never know if you did well enough with your answer. I guess that's the nature of subjective testing.

After the exam I'll probably party with my law school classmates for the last time, stay in Pierre overnight, then drive back to Vermillion to begin the moving process. I start my clerkship that next Monday. So it's two weeks until the bar exam and just under three weeks until I enter the real world. I wish I didn't have to spend every free minute I have until then studying, especially since my move from Vermillion also means the beginning of my long-distance engagement with Kristin. Thank God for web cams and MSN Messenger.

A Polemic for Conservative Judges

2005-07-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

This is in response to the discussion started by Nies on judges by his July 3 and July 6 posts and the attending comments. Let me begin by clarifying that I use the word "conservative" not in a political sense. This is not an argument in favor of judges who agree with conservative political views. This is an argument for judges who are slow to change and narrow in their interpretation. Americans must separate judicial decisions from political decisions. I would prefer a judge that makes a decision I believe is bad policy as long as that judge did his or her best to apply the constitution or law as written to the facts of the case than a judge that ruled on the side that favors my political beliefs. For example, I am against the death penalty, yet I do not believe the US Supreme Court should find it unconstitutional. I even think that their decision that executing a minor is cruel and unusual is wrong, yet I fully supported the state legislature when it banned it the year before the USSC did. I do not want to implement my political beliefs through the courts. That is totally against their purpose.

Public policy in a democracy is to be enacted through the democratic process. The purpose of the legislative branch is to turn the will of the people into law. It is not physically possible for the will of the people to be made clear for every single situation, so we write down laws. The courts then get the fun job of applying what was written down to every single possible scenario that comes before them. It is not an easy job. Laws are not always clear on their face, and the facts are usually not so clear that the law can be easily applied to them. The judge has to do his or her best to take what the law says and then apply it. The judge is not supposed to skip over the law and attempt to divine the will of the people. Only electorally accountable officials get to do that. What if a judge does his or her best to implement the will of the people but gets it wrong? The people have no recourse to change it except by getting the legislature to implement their will again.

The problem is ten times worse when we are taking about a constitutional decision. If a judge misinterprets a law, the legislature does have the power to correct it. If a judge misinterprets a constitution, then the only remedy available is constitutional amendment. When that constitution is the US Constitution, amendments do not come easy. Therefore, a judge should not takes risks when interpreting the constitution. He or she should not try to implement the best policy or what he or she thinks the people want. He or she should be very strict when construing the language of the constitution (hence, "strict constructionists"). Only the text itself or the history of the making of the text should be used in determining what it means.

"Living constitutionalists" believe that the constitution should evolve with the time. As society progresses, its constitution should progress with it. I believe this is true, but it is not the province of the judiciary to evolve it. The amendment process (as cumbersome as it is) is how it should evolve. Living constitutionalists have no problem with the evolution happening through decisions of the courts. This is dangerous in a democracy because now unelected judges are making decisions as to how public policy has evolved. They are deciding what is good and right. Although they may do it with a good heart, it is not their role in our society. The public policy of the Framers may not be the public policy we want today. The Framers said that senators should be elected by state legislatures. We grew, decided that was wrong, and amended the document. It was public policy to not allow women to vote, but we eventually figured out it was wrong. We didn't need judges using the vague Due Process clause or Equal Protection clause to tell us what was right. I will admit that many bad public policies continue for a long time until we figure out what is right, but it worse for a democracy in the long run to allow judges the power to tell us what is really right.

Strict constructionism is a superior method of interpretation. Unlike Will's assertion, it is not judges giving up their full claim to 33% of the power. It is judges acknowledging the real limit on their power. This is why the president should appoint strict constructionists. I too hope President Bush means it when he says he will not appoint people who will legislate from the bench.

Happy 4th of July!

2005-07-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Independence Day! The Wheeler family celebration was last night at Lake Byron. Kristin came with me for the weekend, and we had a great time. We're both quite sore from water-skiing. We drove back to Vermillion today (as I have a practice bar exam tomorrow) and caught the display in Vermillion. We sat on the top of my explorer in the Hy-Vee/Pamida lot and had the perfect view. It was a very good show. Now I have to get back to studying for this practice exam.

Speaking of that

2005-06-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

After another good round of poking fun at Nies on Clarissa's blog and mine, I thought you all might like to know that I spotted Trevor on the web today. Check it out here.

Random Stuff - Mainly Movies

2005-06-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

Since my last four posts were wedding-related, I'll try to mix it up in this one. Also, posting will be spotty for the next month. I'm trying to limit my internet time while I study for the bar exam.

1. I saw Batman Begins last Friday. I thought it was excellent. I never read the comics, so I don't really care if it was true to them or not (I haven't heard anything either way). I thought it was a great way to explain Batman's "birth." It superbly portrayed the darkness of Batman that some of the previous movies missed. I loved the explanation of the Batcave and the origination of all the nice toys. I particularly enjoyed Jim Gordon, whose significance didn’t even occur to me until 2/3 of the way into the movie. Moreover, the villain from the comics (Scarecrow) remained alive at the end, which is how villains are supposed to be.

2. I’m concerned about the remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I think Johnny Depp was a good pick to replace Gene Wilder, but the first movie was such a good classic movie. The original songs were excellent and I, for one, enjoyed the oompa-loompas. I just fear that the remake will screw it up. I don’t even know if it’s a musical. I’ll give it a shot though.

3. One wedding item: for all interested, our wedding party has been set. Please see our website for details. I wanted to get Eric's girlfriend involved somehow, but Kristin is firmly against any children in the wedding. Sorry.

Save this date

2005-06-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

The date and place of the Trost/Wheeler wedding has been set.

Date: Saturday, July 1, 2006
Place: New Berlin, WI (suburb of Milwaukee)

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you'll most likely be getting an invitation. Since it's over a year away, those invites probably won't be going out anytime soon, so Kristin and I would appreciate it if you'd reserve that date for us.

Also, we have a wedding website. There's not too much on it right now, but feel free to check it out and sign our guestbook.

More photos

2005-06-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

I promised more pictures and now I'm delivering. First we have two pictures of Kristin. The first is us on the bus we took to the Barrister's Ball, a.k.a. "law school prom." The second is one of her that I took while we were at Sisseton for Easter.

These next two are more of the ring. Kristin being an amateur photographer, she took some nice close-ups of it so that I could post them.

And finally, here's a picture with no relevance whatsoever. When we were in Sisseton, we went down with my cousin and his wife to a local bar and there I found a man who many have heard about, but few have actually seen. He's Brandon Ostby, a.k.a. "Botsby." He lived on 2nd Mick with me and Chris our freshman year and is originally from Sisseton. Anyway, for those who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, don't worry about it.

Ring Pictures

2005-06-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the ring taken by Greg and Mandy. Luckily for us, Greg and Mandy just happened to be driving home on I-29 when I called them about the news, so we got together at the Coffee Cup truck stop at the Vermillion exit.

I know the picture of the ring on her finger isn't focused well, but it's hard to get good focus up close. Anway, that shot is intended to give you a general idea of what the band looks like. There are three small channel-set diamonds on each side of the center diamond. The bottom picture shows the tension setting. The top picture is for those (Kennon and Liz) who have only seen one other picture of her. I've got some really good photos of her coming, but I have to get them scanned in.

Big News!!

2005-06-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

I would like to announce that tonight during a nice dinner at the Mona Lisi in Vermillion I asked Kristin Trost to marry me. Thankfully she said yes. So now I'm engaged. All of you that thought you had a chance, I'm sorry, but she's off the market. She's mine now. For all who would like to know, the ring on the left in the picture below looks exactly like the one I gave her. The ring on the right is a representation of a tension setting, but her setting is a little different. Once we get digital pictures of the actual ring I'll post those.

For those who want to know the story, today was the 7-month anniversary of our first date (in total we’ve known each other for almost two years now). Now that in itself is usually nothing to celebrate, but it was a good excuse to get her to a nice restaurant. I took her to the Mona Lisi, which is where we had our first date and got the same booth as our first date. I arranged ahead of time for the waitress to bring out the ring with dessert. When she did, I got down on my knee and proposed. We barely ate any of the tiramisu.

We don’t have any details yet for the wedding (since we’ve only been engaged for a few hours now). It will definitely be after her graduation next May, hopefully sometime early next summer. We’ve been tossing around the idea of Memorial Day weekend, but that’s not even close to being official. Once we know when and where it will be, I’ll let everyone know.

I’d just like to finish by saying that I love Kristin very much, and I’m very happy and lucky to have her. I know we’re going to make a great couple (despite her GB Packers proclivities).

Give the Man a Break

2005-05-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in the debate over the confirmation of John Bolton as UN ambassador, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) gave a speech that has brought him much ridicule. He was expressing why he didn't want to vote for John Bolton, and toward the end of his speech his voice began to waver with emotion. Unfortunately as a result, many commentators have made fun of him for "crying." Now I don't think the senator actually cried (you can see the video here), but you can tell he was emotional. Although actually crying on the senator floor may be "unsenatorial," the waver in his voice added credibility to what he was saying. You know he actually believed what he said. It was politics behind his words. He doesn't deserve the tagline MSNBC gave him in the video. He's going against his party to do what he believes is right and that should be applauded.

Episode III

2005-05-22T03:28:00.000-07:00

So I finally saw it. I thought it was great. It brought most things to a satisfactory completion. I was especially pleased with the explanation of how Palpatine got so wrinkly. Now that the saga is complete we are faced with the ultimate question: When you show the movies to your children, do you show them

a) in chronological order (Ep. 1-6), or
b) in order of release (Ep. 4-6, then 1-3).

Let me know what you think.

Senate Filibuster

2005-05-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of debate in the US Senate over judicial nominations. The nomination for Judge Priscilla Owens has been brought to the floor for debate. The Republicans have been spending their time talking about the qualifications of Judge Owens. The Democrats spend more time talking about the filibuster rule than her qualifications.

And herein lies the problem with the position of the Senate Democrats. Their biggest argument is that doing away with the filibuster (which prevents a vote on a matter until 60 senators vote to close debate) will do away with the last check & balance on the Republicans. Unfortunately for them, the Framers wrote all the checks & balances into the Constitution that they wanted. The check in the case of nominations is that we don't let the President appoint judges on his own. He has to convince a majority of the Senate (51 votes) to consent to his nomination. The Democrats are saying that it must be 60 votes; that without this supermajority requirement the government will fall apart. In our system checks & balances are between the branches of government, not on parties. The government will not fall apart. It will, in fact, function as it is supposed to. In our society we decide things by voting. If something is important enough to require a supermajority then we write it into the Constitution (e.g., the 2/3 vote requirement for proposing constitutional amendments or approving treaties).

The next biggest argument made by the Democrats is that not requiring 60 votes will destroy the independence of the judiciary. This is the craziest of their arguments. The independence of the judiciary is secured by lifetime tenure. Once appointed, they are not susceptible to political influence because they don’t have to worry about losing their job by making unpopular decisions. Requiring appointments to be approved by Democrats doesn’t affect their independence. It may cause a shift in the judiciary in terms of where it sits on the political spectrum, but that’s the way our democracy works. Moreover, the biggest act of interference in judicial independence was not committed by a Republican. It was a Democrat by the name of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In order to get the Supreme Court to stop overturning New Deal legislation he threatened to expand the number of judges on the Supreme Court to a number that would give him a majority of appointees. The Supreme Court then started upholding the legislation to avoid the expansion. This was a direct attack on the independence of the judiciary. President Bush only wants a simple vote on the merits of his nominees.

If you don’t like the judges getting nominated, vote for the other guy in the next election. Or vote for different senators. That’s how our democracy works. Republicans and Democrats have both been in the minority at different times in history and both have decried or extolled the virtues of the filibuster depending upon which side they were on. It’s time for the hypocrisy on both sides to end. Senators should independently judge the qualifications of each appointee and then vote for or against based on the merits. If President Bush’s nominees are actually unqualified, then Republican senators should vote against the nominations. If the Democrats can’t win on the merits of their argument, they shouldn’t rely on procedural rules to get their way.

Roundup of Recent Events

2005-05-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

As usual I should be posting more...maybe someday I'll be more diligent. Just to update everyone on recent happenings. I graduated a week ago. I now hold three degrees from the University of South Dakota: a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Public Administration, and a Juris Doctorate. The first one I received in 2002, the last two I received last week. So here's the big question: do I hang the Bachelor and Master' s diplomas in my law office? Or is that a little haughty? Let me know what you think.

I saw the movie version of the story from which the title of this blog comes. That’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the uninformed. I thought it was a good movie. A good adaptation at least. I own the book on tape and have listened to it a few times while traveling across the state. The book is the first in a series from Douglas Adams. I do believe that the movie actually contained scenes from the second or maybe third book. I can’t be sure though because I haven’t listened to the first one in a while and have never read or listened to the others. I may do that now though.

For the summer I’ll be in Vermillion studying for the Bar Exam, which is the last Tuesday and Wednesday of July. After that I’ll be moving back to Huron to join the real world (and by real world I mean reality, not the show on MTV; and by reality I mean real life, not a reality TV show; and by real life, I don’t mean the weekly Campus Crusade for Christ meetings).

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

A great judicial mind

2005-05-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here's something from the "is this for real?" file:

A law school friend of mine sent me a pdf file by email of what appeared to be an ruling from a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Apparently there was something funny going on in the first footnote of the opinion. I have reproduced below the relevant main text and then the footnote in question.

Murphy, Sr., who had sold drugs to Hayden several years earlier, showed up later that night. He was friendly at first, but he soon called Hayden a “snitch bitch hoe”1 and hit her in the head with the back of his hand.

1 The trial transcript quotes Ms. Hayden as saying Murphy called her a snitch bitch “hoe.” A “hoe,” of course, is a tool used for weeding and gardening. We think the court reporter, unfamiliar with rap music (perhaps thankfully so), misunderstood Hayden’s response. We have taken the liberty of changing “hoe” to “ho,” a staple of rap music vernacular as, for example, when Ludacris raps “You doin’ ho activities with ho tendencies.”

That's right, a federal appellate judge (Judge Evans to be exact) quoted Ludacris. Now I was a bit skeptical at first, so I went to the 7th Circuit website. Crazy enough, this is a real opinion. You can get it yourself here. Click on the opinion link to get the pdf. I'm gonna guess that this was actually drafted by a law clerk who listens to the hippty hop and believed the correction was actually necessary, but you never know. Maybe it was a bet to see who could work rap lyrics into a published opinion first. No matter how it got there, it was officially written by that judge and agree to by two others. Wow.

Congratulations to....

2005-05-04T23:54:00.000-07:00

Nobody. That's right. Nobody was completely right. Although we had a lot of players and a few different combinations of guesses, no one got it right on both pictures. The correct response was

David drew 1 & 3
Kristin drew 2 & 4

Kennon was right to assume that I would use the scout uniform. I figured no one else would use that in his or her picture. I think people were thrown off by the placement of Kristin in heaven. I can understand that people would assume I did this since she is my girlfriend. I considered it, but decided not to because I though it made the character harder to see. Anyway, thank you again to everyone who played in this weeks contest. This hundred dollar bill I was going to mail to the winner will just have to be spent on alcohol this weekend (it's graduation for those who aren't aware).

P.S. - I actually think both of Kristin's renditions are better than mine.

A Study Break

2005-04-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

I know I said I wasn't going to post until I was done with all of my class requirements, but I had to post this up for everyone. I drew one of each set and Kristin drew the other. You now get to guess which one of us drew which picture. Can you tell who drew what?

Oh, and here's the website where you can South Park-ize yourself. You can thank Nikhil for bringing this to our attention.

To Blog or Not to Blog

2005-04-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer.....yada yada.

Actually, this post is here to announce my blogging sabatical. I've decided to formally declare that I will not be posting again until after I've completed my graduation requirements for both the law degree and the masters. Not that I post a lot in the first place, but this will probably be in the range of a month. Graduation is May 7 and I have to have everything completed by then. I'll still be on MSN, but if I'm marked "busy" then I'm working on some project that is required for graduation. Ok, back to the professional report.

John Paul II

2005-04-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

The Holy Father died today at 9:37PM Rome time. Even though I'm not Roman Catholic, I still like the Roman Catholic church and respect the pope. He is for all practical purposes the leader of the Christian world (similar to how the US president is leader of the free world). This pontiff in particular will be missed by many. I think that he is fit for being titled John Paul the Great, which is a rare honor for popes. I pray for his soul and for the Christian church.

It took this long?

2005-03-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

So last week I was taking Kristin back home from Little Italy's around 11PM (after a very late dinner) and we noticed a new business on Cherry Street. Now there were some odd things about this business. First, it was open at 11PM and it wasn't a food place. Second, there was no sign out front identifying the business at all. It was in a small building that we thought was empty on the north side of the street right next to SpeedyMart (a.k.a. the convenience store formally known as ShopEZ). Third, and what initially drew our attention, visible through the front door were what appeared to be a clown and a model wearing lingerie. This was just too weird to not investigate. Kristin and I pulled into the parking lot and slowly approached the building. Inside we found a sleazy-looking guy behind a desk who was missing a tooth. He tells us that this new store is aimed at "gag gifts." The merchandise inside was almost all sexually related, although most was geared towards bachelor and bachelorette parties. The guy there said they were still waiting for a lot of product. Apparently they hadn't planned to open yet, but he wanted to open the doors instead of just waiting around for packages. So Vermillion now has a porn store. I'm surprised that it's just happening now given the high percentage of fraternity and sorority members in this town. Of course given the peculiar smell in the place, I have a feeling that maybe it's just a front for other business activities. But that's just my theory.

Rumor has it Epilogue

2005-03-21T23:08:00.000-08:00

The exciting conclusion to TeenagerGate:
This reporter has now seen the person called “Michelle.” She sat next to Mr. Eric Nies at the Texas Roadhouse while eating supper. No one thought at the time to ask her for some form of government-issued identification, but her appearance with Mr. Nies the next night at the Kari Hammer residence has quieted speculation that she was just some person paid by Mr. Nies to show up with him. (Although privately, some still believe this to be possible and cite the fact that Mr. Nies cancelled the two tickets he had acquired for the play on Sunday night as evidence that the ruse had become too expensive.) In another development, an amoeba-shaped mark has appeared on Mr. Nies’s neck halfway between his left ear and left shoulder. Mr. Nies has stated that it was razor burn but has refused our requests for him to submit to medical testing in order get a definitive answer. This reporter would like to continue investigating but has been reassigned to other stories. Apologies for not obtaining pictures. Maybe the writers at http://www.ericjnies.com will post some. (Hat tip to Nikhil for the graphic.)

Rumor has it 2

2005-03-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

To update everyone on TeenagerGate:
Further investigation has revealed that the relationship between Mr. Eric Nies and his alleged companion has become "official." There were no neutral eyewitnesses to any particular conversation, but it has been leaked that they had "the talk" and are now monogamous. Journalistic ethics prohibit us from using the term "girlfriend" because the gender and even existence of this person has not been independently confirmed. Sources say that Mr. Nies uses the name "Michelle" to reference this inamorata. There is a reference to a "Michelle" on Mr. Nies's blog, but this could be an attempt at misdirection. Someone with the same name has left a comment on the site, but the comment's unwavering support for Mr. Nies's contention concerning the Packer's quarterback has led some to question its authenticity. It is rumored that this mysterious "Michelle" will be making an appearance at the Texas Roadhouse in Vermillion, SD this Friday evening. We will report back with any findings at that time. Stay tuned.

Rumor has it

2005-03-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

From the what-good-is-the-internet-if-not-for-spreading-gossip file:
Inside sources have confirmed that one Eric J. Nies is currently involved in a relationship (with someone other than himself) that has been going on for two weeks now. Although as of yet there have been no public sightings of this person, we are relatively certain that the individual is not anyone to whom Mr. Nies has been engaged to marry in the past. The sources also confirm that the unknown paramour is of the ripe young age of nineteen. Although considered scandalous by some, sources close to Mr. Nies say that most of his friends are waiting until more is learned before considering this factor. Investigation still continues as to whether this person is male or female. Stay tuned for further updates.

My DC trip

2005-03-06T23:55:00.000-08:00

Now that I've been home for almost a week, I'll fill you all in on how my DC trip went. The trip itself was nice. The tournament didn't go so well for me. My team got a horrible brief score, so we were out from the beginning, but we still did our three roads. In the first round, I didn't do as well as I should have. I got caught off guard when twice a judge asked a question in which he misstated the facts of the case. I wasn't sure what to do. Do I correct him or go along in case that I just didn't remember that particular fact? Well the answer his that you respectfully correct the judge. My partner did quite well that round. My second round I did much better, but my partner wasn't as good. Finally, in the third round I didn't do as well, but I had a killer rebuttal. Although one judge said that my rebuttal changed significantly his view of my skills, it wasn't enough to recover completely. The other USD team went to the final round and got screwed by a liberal DC lawyer who couldn't get past the fact that they didn't choose the side they were arguing.

I've been to DC six times now and there's one thing I've always wanted to do: go to the top of the Washington Monument. And guess what? The @#$%@%#@ monument was closed....AGAIN. Now they're landscaping around the place. The sign said it was supposed to open in "early 2005." Well....it's early 2005!! Why isn't it open?!?! It didn't look anywhere close to being open. What the heck is going on here? I swear that the National Park Service is involved in a conspiracy against me (which probably also involves the Iranians, Russians, and UFOs). Kennon, I'm not coming to DC again until it's open...so work on that because I can't take the disappointment again.

My Trip to DC

2005-02-15T17:39:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, I'm going to be in the fine town of Washington, DC next week for a Moot Court Competition. I don't know my specific travel plans yet since they're planned by another member of the board. I do know that we'll be arriving on Wednesday, Feb. 23 and leaving on Sunday, Feb. 27. Here's a link to the tournament schedule (in PDF). It's in the federal courthouse, so we can't have random guests come to watch, but I can probably get together in the evening. As I'm typing this, Kennon is telling me over Messenger that he's going to be on vacation that whole time, so this post is no becoming pointless, except for Clarissa, but she's in Baltimore, and that's a little out of the way. But I'll wave in your general direction Clarissa! If you're not doing anything on Saturday and come to DC, let me know. OK, that's it.

Nope, Not Me

2005-02-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry Kari but it didn't work for me. I don't find sadistic humor all that funny. Napolean Dynamite had funny moments, but was generally not good. Clerks was OK, but nothing special.

You scored as Sadistic Humour. Congratulations, you scored Sadistic Humour. You find the little things in life to be funny, and have a great sense of humour, whether it's stupid or dark. You're probably young, and older people don't understand why it's all so fucking hillarious. Either way, check out: Clerks, Mallrats, Napoleon Dynamite, Wayne's World.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

70%

Sadistic Humour

70%

Mindf*@#

65%

Mindless Action Flick

50%

Drama/Suspense

40%

Romantic Comedy

40%

Artistic

30%

Movie Recommendation.
created with QuizFarm.com

Spotlight on Kari

2005-02-09T01:02:00.000-08:00

I've decided to randomly spotlight different friends on blog. I randomly chose Kari as the first spotlightee.

Kari Jo Hammer was born somewhere in America (I assume Milbank, but I don't know that for sure) approximately 25 years ago. She grew up outside of Milbank, SD and graduated from Milbank High School (a.k.a the "Dawg-house"). She was active in debate and quiz bowl and probably some other things I don't know about.

She came to USD to study biology but woke up four years later with a theatre degree. Although we were aware of each other's existence in high school, we really didn't become friends until college. She lived on the infamous 2nd floor of Mickelson Hall with us for a while. She was the only other student to make through two whole years of Ancient Greek with me. That in itself deserves a spotlight.

She enjoys acting, poetry and dabbling in guitar. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in English and works as a TA, teaching freshman comp, lit, or creative writing. She is also the editor-in-cheif of the VLP. Her most recent work was at Spontaneous Combustion where she both wrote a 10-minute play in the span of a few hours then learned a part in another.

Finding pictures of Kari wasn't easy, but she's the middle nun here and here and I think this is a picture of her at the mic, but I could be wrong. Here's an article she wrote for the Volante a few years ago. For more information on Kari Hammer you can read her blog or her USD webpage.

Sources close to Kari say that after graduation in May she'll be moving to Minneapolis, MN to begin life in the real world. Good luck Kari!

I Hate Republicans

2005-02-02T02:01:00.000-08:00

That's right, I said it. No wait, I didn't....Howard Dean did. That's right, the man who is likely to be the next chairman of the Democratic Party stated "I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for." His only qualification of the statement: "but I admire their discipline and their organization." Wow. And to think that this man was close to getting the Dems' nomination for president. Aren't they supposed to be the party of peace and love?

While on the subject, here's a pretty catchy tune with the same name as this post. Although the writers obviously don't care much for Republicans, the fact that half of the pictures in the video were of KKK members indicates that the message isn't meant to be taken too literally. Dean, on the other hand...I take him at his word. (Hat tip to BotW.)

Congratulations to the Winners!

2005-01-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for playing this week's game. I hope you all had fun and will come back again soon.

Now, on to the answer to the big question. Which female pictured below is my girlfriend?....*insert drumroll*....Girl number 5. Her name is Kristin Trost. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she's between 5' and 6' tall, a Master's student in Counseling, and works in University Housing.

Congratulations to Nikhil and Clarissa for getting it right on the first guess. Your prize (which you must share)....*insert trumpet fanfare*....a Nikhilesqe shoutout. Again, congratulations! To our runners-up, don't feel discouraged. Your parting gift is a brand new car.* Better luck next time.

Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Tune in again soon for more fun than you can shake a stick at!

*Parting gifts not available until the year 2356

A Fun Little Game

2005-01-21T17:22:00.000-08:00

To start off, I apologize for two things. First, for not posting more quickly. I was consumed last week with my moot court brief, which is now complete. Second, for leaving Kennon and Liz hanging there on the meaning of my last post. I was kind of hoping I'd get a few more comments. Like Nikhil (and I would guess all of us bloggers) I enjoy getting people to comment on my site)

Anyway, Kristin and I did not actually break up. As you probably guessed, Kristin was the same girl that I talked to while getting into her car. We are, in fact, doing quite well together, despite the fact that on that Sunday she projected her animosity for the Vikings on to me.

Since there are some of you who have not seen Kristin, I present to you this picture:

You now have to guess which one is her. She is one of the girls (hence I didn't number the guys). After the guesses come in, I'll reveal the real Kristin. If you know her (this means you people in Vermillion), then please don't spoil the fun for my friends in the DC area or in India. Let the games begin!

One Relationship Ends and Another Begins

2005-01-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for not posting this information sooner, but I've been very busy with writing my brief for moot court competition. Anyway, here it goes:

I'm sorry to inform everyone that last Sunday Kristin and I broke up. We were watching TV together and we were having some troubles. You see, Kristin likes the Green Bay Packers (being from Wisconsin, I guess she's entitled), whereas I am a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. This particular Sunday was the day on which the two teams met (in GB I might add) in the first round of the playoffs. One team would advance and the other would be done for the year. The Vikings scored a touch on the third play of the game, and our relationship soured from there. She became agitated and distant. To show that I'm a good sport, I tried to give her a hug at various points in the game. She responded with a "don't touch me!" each time. I was not allowed to touch her again until the Packers were ahead in the game. Well, the Vikings never gave up the lead and won by a score of 31-17. That was the end. Kristin decided that a Vikings/Packers romance was not possible. It made me sad, but then I remember that the Vikings had just stomped the Pack, so that made me feel all better.

Too my surprise, on my way back to my apartment (we watched the game at Brenden's, which is across the alley) I met a new girl who was getting into her car. Her name, coincidently, was also Kristin and she also happened to be from Wisconsin. During the course of our conversation, she stated that she was a Packers fan as well. I almost left right then so as to avoid further heartache, but I didn't want to be rude. Luckily, she revealed that dating a Vikings van wouldn't be that big of a problem now that the Packers season was over. I asked her if she would like to be my girlfriend, and she said she yes.

So there you have it. I hope this new relationship goes well. It will be nice to be able to develop it while not being in the midst of the football season. Hopefully, it will make it through the next season when the Vikings don't lose any games at all to the Packers. Only time will tell.

First Post of 2005

2005-01-05T01:48:00.000-08:00

Now that I've begun my last semester of law school and that Congress is in session, 2005 has officially begun. Well, I guess it began on January 1, but I was too busy having a party to notice. Thank you to Eric and Kari for coming from opposite corners of the state to make my little gathering more than just Tye and I sitting around. Erin Strohbehn and Steph (can't remember her last name because she got married) also came over, which made everyone happy (especially Kari since she was no longer the only female). Eric was completely wasted, and since he doesn't read any of our blogs he won't be able to refute that. Because of bad weather, Kari and Eric stayed an extra day at the Casa del Wheeler. That was nice company since I was home alone. OK, bed time...oh wait...I don't have class on Wednesdays....so I can stay up! Ha!

Ode to Jerry

2004-12-30T01:48:00.000-08:00

Lennie Briscoe, to me
that's always who you'll be,
chasing the bad guys on NBC.
Law & Order couldn't begin
without that wisecrack and grin.
And of course we can't forget
a movie in which you did some actin'
a little flick called Dirty Dancing.
Good thing not far you'll always be
with all the reruns on TNT.

Jerry Orbach
1935-2004

Merry Christmas!!

2004-12-25T02:57:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 9:6 (King James Version)

For unto us a child is born,
unto to us a child is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

I hope you all take a moment to reflect. Today is the day tradition says Jesus Christ was born in fulfillment of the above prophecy. Today is the day hope came into the world as the Prince of Peace. Joy can be found in the form of the everlasting Father. Take a moment to think about the importance of the day and the importance of the child.

Realizations

2004-12-20T02:42:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my recent realizations from the past week:

1. Thanks to a stand-up comic on Comedy Central, I realized that I'll never go pro. Up until now, I was still under the delusion that one of the major sports would draft me. Ok, not really. I'm not athletic. I enjoy the occasionally softball or touch football game, but my talents lie elsewhere. I do fence every-so-often now. And by fence, I mean the Olympic sport, not the farm chore.

2. I do have a girlfriend. No, I didn't go with the method suggested by Liz (and inspired by Kennon) and use the "people are wondering" line. In fact it wasn't through a formal conversation delineating the exact boundaries of our relationship. It was through the fact that when a guy asked her out while we were at Chalky's (and this was a guy she knew, not a random guy) she replied that she was dating the redheaded guy over there (and it wasn't as a way to easily brush him off since we were playing pool with him). Assuming the definition of "official" has a lot to do with exclusivity, I would say we meet that definition. We also exchanged Christmas gifts. So there you have it.

3. I'm ready for law school to be over. I honestly can't see a benefit of another semester. I don't think I'm going to learn anything important in the last semester. Of course, I am taking courses that will allow me to coast to the end. Although, I do have to write a professional report for my MPA, and that won't be fun. I'll get through it though.

SDSU Beware

2004-12-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

BotW tipped me to this hilarious event. Apparently, Yale pulled a little prank on Harvard and got Harvard fans to spell "WE SUCK" with colored squares. The Yale group even has a website immortalizing the event.

Apparently this was a take-off of one of the biggest college hoaxes of all time. That story can be found here.

I provide this to you because I thought it was awesome.

Update? What?

2004-12-05T01:48:00.000-08:00

It hardly seems like over two weeks since my last post, but I guess it has been.

I turned 25 years old last week (Nov. 24 to be precise). A quarter-century has past since my birth. It's been a good 25 years, and I hope to have at least 75 more. If my grandparents are any sign of my longevity, it's looking good. The three alive are in their 80's, still lucid and relatively active, and my Grandma Wheeler had an aunt live to be 106. Given that and my recent hospital visit, I laugh in the face of Death. (Now watch, I'll die in an ironic car accident tomorrow. If I do, I'll be sure to post about it).

In other news, I've taken two of four finals. I should be studying right now for Fed. Income Tax, but I'm not. The test is Monday at 8:30am.

I've been on more dates with Kristin (yes, it's the same girl I posted about last month). Come to think of it, it's almost been a month since our first date. Does that mean something? Is there a traditional "one month anniversary of our first date" gift? It's so hard to tell these days. She's met the vast majority of my friends, so maybe that means something. She joined the group for the weekly Friday dinner at Roadhouse, so that could mean something. If I do get her something, does that mean we're "serious"? Is she my "girlfriend"? Can anybody answer that? There needs to be standards people! We've got to find a way to know when we're at a certain point in a relationship. Someone needs to write the Uniform Courting and Relationship Act to bring clarity to the chaotic world of dating. That way everyone will be on the same page. One of you should get on that.

Ok, I'm going to study now, I swear.

The Myth of the Mandate

2004-11-14T02:54:00.000-08:00

You want my thoughts on the election? I wanted to wait a week or so for the purpose of watching the aftermath. Everyone (well, really the Democrats) has spent the time after the election trying to explain why Sen. Kerry lost. The Angry Left blames it on the evangelical Christians who blindly follow Pres. Bush because homosexuals are scary. More moderate Dems look to the failure of Kerry to articulate a coherent position on Iraq (or anything). My opinion? It was both...and neither. Some evangelicals are real homophobes, but I don't think most are. Kerry had a plan for Iraq, although it wasn't much different than Bush's.

In reality, you just cannot say what motivated 115,000,000 people to vote they way they did. For some it was Iraq, others social issues, others the environment, and others character. For each person is was a different confluence of issues or whatever. Exit polls are practically worthless. Of course it's the nature of political people and the press to guess as to why Bush won. It would be nice to have such information so that next time they can campaign better, but in the end we just don't know. If 70,000 people in Ohio had changed votes, then we'd be lauding Kerry and trying to figure out how Bush screwed it up.

This same reasoning also denies the President the right to claim "a mandate." Practically every President claims that the American people have given him a mandate to implement the policies on which he campaigned. Because different people vote for a candidate for different reasons, you absolutely cannot say that all the people have given the winner a mandate on any one issue, let alone all issues. The only "mandate" he can claim is the mandate to exercise the powers of the executive. That does not include writing or rewriting law. Congress is the body that does that. It is dangerous to allow an election of one person to be mistaken for the expression of the will of the people. It chips away at the separation of powers that is very important to the preservation of our democracy. I'm not trying to be alarmist. I understand the nature of modern politics and that the President has become much more involved in policy-making than originally intended by the authors of the Constitution, and to some extent it is necessary with the modern administrative state. I'm just trying say that the Presidency is getting closer and closer to being a third house of Congress (or the only house). Threats to liberty come in small steps. The election of a President should not be confused with the resolution of issues.

I still got it

2004-11-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

After years of a "soft patch" in my relationships with the fairer sex, I would like to let you all know that last night I went on date. Yes, with a girl...really. No, I wasn't kidding, Kari can confirm it.

{pause}

Ok, now that you've either picked up your jaw from the floor or stopped laughing, I'll tell you a little bit about it as I put off my homework some more. We met at work. She's a hall director and I'm the judicial grad. I picked her up around five p.m. and took her to a new restaurant in Vermillion called the Mona Lisi. It's a romantic little Olive-Gardenesque place. I had a nice shrimp linguini and she had lasagna. After ignoring Eric and Chris's attempts to intentionally interrupt the supper by cell phone, we shared a tiramisu for dessert.

We then enjoyed Spontaneous Combustion at the fine arts building, which was seven ten-minute plays. Kari wrote one of them and my cousin Jeff acted in another. Some were good and some were bad, but it was a fun time. Afterwards, we finished things off with a little more dessert at Dairy Queen.

Now this was just a date. It's nothing too serious at the moment. I'll wait the requisite three days before calling her, although it's much more likely that I'll see her in the office on Monday. Anyway, if anything else happens, you all will be the ninth or tenth to know. Oh, and my election thoughts are still are their way, but I thought you'd all like to know about this first.

Another fun picture

2004-11-05T15:10:00.000-08:00

Eventually, I'll post some thoughts on the election, but not yet. I'll need to devote a good amount of time to that post, so doing it from work wouldn't be too appropriate. But I have no problem posting this while at work. Here is a link to a picture of me dressed up for Halloween taken by Nies on his cell phone. I'm thinking about adopting this look on a more permanent basis. What do you think?

Well hello

2004-10-25T14:26:00.000-07:00





Isn't this the way Narcissus died? Anyway, I survived the experience. This was taken in August in Falls Park in Sioux Falls. We were taking pictures for U. Housing. This pool of water was just too perfect for the picture that I had to do it. For those interested, if you look closely at my left leg you can see the small dark spot that turned out to be cancer.

Progressive (and I don't mean auto insurance)

2004-10-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

This past summer I was having a conversation with some friends in which I brought up the hilarious fact that liberals are trying to rename themselves as "progressives." One of the friends in said conversation (who will remain unnamed, but he has a blog here) made the point that conservatives can't be "progressive" because the nature of conservatism is against change. I'll admit that this point threw me for a loop. I wasn't able to immediately respond, but I have been thinking about it off and on since then. In order to examine this point, lets read the definition of each word from www.dictionary.com.

con·ser·va·tive (kn-sûrv-tv) adj.

Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change.
Traditional or restrained in style: a conservative dark suit.
Moderate; cautious: a conservative estimate.

pro·gres·sive (pr-grsv) adj.

Moving forward; advancing.
Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments: progressive change.
Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership.

I submit to you that these are not mutually exclusive adjectives. Most people like to promote better conditions. Conservatism is a philosophy concerning how those better conditions are achieved. A conservative might say, "Favoring traditional values and views is the best way to promote better conditions." Changing things doesn't necessarily mean things will get better. Although the second half of the first definition says "tending to oppose change," this does not mean no change what so ever. On the whole, conservatives won't rush to implement the newest idea or change their core values because of political correctness. A progressive conservative is one who recognizes that conditions can get better and seeks solutions that are consistent with his or her core values while making changes to policy when appropriate.

Thoughts anyone? One of these days I'll give an example of this by explaining my stance on abortion, which I call Progressive Pro-life.

Blog Blog Blog

2004-10-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to think of something to blog about, but I can't. Green Bay is up by 4 right now with 4 minutes left in the 1st half. I bet Nies is happy. Let's see if they can keep the lead. The Vikings play tonight against New Orleans.

I guess I could talk about the presidential election coming up. I saw all of the debates. I think the president's biggest problem in the debates was that people don't like his natural facial expressions. During the 1st and 3rd debate the candidates were stuck behind a podium (the agreed-upon rules prohibited coming out from behind), so the only body language you could read was their face and hands. During the 2nd, the one where the president did much better, he could use his whole body. I think this is what made him more believable and likeable. The substance of all three debates was practically the same, so I don't think it was the answers they gave. They both dodge and weave as much as possible. I think the average person picks up a lot more from the non-verbal cues, and it's hard to teach that in debate prep. Anyway, maybe I'm not giving the average person enough credit. This is just my theory of the moment.

Well, the Pack scored 3 more just before the end of the half. They need the win just to keep from going into depression. I'd hate to see a Packer cry.....again.

Cancer Watch Epilogue

2004-10-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

I've now seen both of the surgeons for a follow-up and been to the oncologist. They all say I'm doing very well. I'm no longer in a wheelchair. In fact, I'm getting around pretty well, although I'm still limping so as not to stretch out the skin graft too much. The oncologist said that I won't be put on any drug treatment like chemo or interferon. I'm a low risk for reoccurrence, but I still have to watch out for moles, especially on that leg. I'll be seeing a dermatologist once a year for probably the rest of my life just to check my body over. That and SPF 50 every time I'm out in the sun.

All-in-all this has been a surreal event in my life. Apparently I had cancer, although that's not something you can feel or makes you sick right away, so I've been quite nonchalant about it. There's even been a few people who have been more scared about this than I have been. I appreciate their feelings, but for some reason I just can't get worked up about it. Maybe it's my way of coping with it, or maybe it really isn't any worse than a bad car accident. I can't say that I've had a brush with death. My life didn't flash before my eyes, and I didn't realign my priorities. It was annoying bump in the road during my final year of law school. Yes, there are some life long effects, but it's quite unlikely that I'll die from cancer, at least not any time soon. Maybe some day the importance of this will hit me, but I somehow doubt it. So what's the take-home lesson from all of this? Redheads should always wear a lot of sunscreen. That's about it.

Thanks again to everyone for their support! Now, it's back to more fun posts. Oh, and I have a handicap permit until the end of November. HAHAHAHAHA!

Cancer Watch 2

2004-09-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I didn't get this out last week, but I spent most of the time after the surgery lying down in my as-of-yet-internetless apartment. The surgery went well. They ended up taking nine lymph nodes. Apparently that's how many nodes were draining the area of the melanoma as determined by the radioactive dye. (And because I know you all want to know, I was actually urinating in blue for the next day from the dye.) All of them were tested, and they came out clear. So right now my body is cancer free. I might not need to go on Interfon, but that will be up to the oncologist I guess.

A big thank you to Eric for driving Chris up to SF, and then also to Chris for waiting around a few hours with me until I was well enough to be driven home.

I've been hobbling around since then. I'm using a wheelchair to get around so that I walk on my leg as little as possible. The more I walk on it, the greater the chance I have of screwing up the skin graft. I have an appointment on Wednesday with the plastic surgeon, so we'll see how I'm healing then.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me. It is much appreciated!

Cancer Watch

2004-09-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

My parents and I went met with the plastic surgeon on Friday. He said that we'll have to remove an area 1.5 cm from the mole. That comes to circle about 1.75 inches in diameter. (I know I switched from metric to real measurements; live with it.) They also have to do a sentinel node biospy. This means they remove the first lymph node that drains the area of the melanoma (hence "sentinel"). If that node is clear of any cancer cells, then I'm fairly done. If that does have cancer cells, then it's a larger deal, and they'll have to remove more lymph nodes. I'll be getting a skin graft from my hip to cover the open area (that way it will be covered by a swim suit).

I check into McKennan Hospital tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:30 AM, and around 7:30 AM I'll get injected with blue dye. The dye is used to find the node to which the area of the melanoma drains. Around 10 AM I'll go under general anesthesia. If everything goes well, I'll wake up around mid-afternoon, check out late afternoon and be home by that night.

I'll be seeing a dermatologist and an oncologist soon. They'll probably put me on Interferon. After that it will be 6-month checkups, and then yearly. I'll have to be careful about my sun exposure for the rest of my life. All-in-all it's not that bad, as far as cancer treatment goes. Thank you to everyone that has been praying for me. I really appreciate it. I'll update again after the surgery and let you all know how it went. Wish me luck!!

So........

2004-09-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Funny story everyone. So I went to the doctor's last week. Yes, it was Student Health, but it's run by Sioux Valley now, so I wasn't bad. Anyway, I've had a mole on my left leg for a couple years now that I want to have removed. It's a little smaller than a dime, but anything larger than a pencil eraser should be checked. Before they take the mole off, the doctor wanted to do a biopsy to make sure it wasn't malignant. So they took a small chunk of it out, and I currently have a single stitch in my leg from that.

Well today I get back from my interview with the South Dakota Supreme Court, (I am applying for a clerkship and they came to Vermillion to do interviews.) and there is a message on my answering machine from the doctor asking me to call the clinic. I quickly comply with the request and speak with the doctor. He tells me that the mole is malignant melanoma. That's right....I have cancer.

So I'm going to be seeing a plastic surgeon in Sioux Falls in order to get a big chunk of skin removed from my leg. I have a condition that causes me to develop more scar tissue than most people, which is why we're using a plastic surgeon. He or she can better keep the scaring down.

Anyway, other than that I'm doing fine. Luckily, this really isn't that serious, but I figured I'd let my friends know. And what better way than by posting it on the internet? I just have to be careful in the future about my sun exposure. We redheads are the most susceptible to skin cancer. Ok, that's it for this post. I'm going to Minneapolis this weekend with my parents to a Twins game, so that will be fun. Bye for now!!

Holdover Post

2004-09-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Since in two days it will be a month since my last post, I'm going to put this up just so I don't go that long. I'm in the process of getting internet in my apartment, where I'll be able to post more. Whenever I'm around the internet now, I don't have time to post, since I'm either working or doing homework at the law school. I will put up a more substantive post after the weekend because a few of us in Vermillion are going to Lincoln, NE to see Gregory George Parmeter and his lovely wife Mandi.

Oh....and I love how the recent docs on Bush's military service are likely forged. That's awesome.

News from Vermillion

2004-08-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Before I begin, I'd like to thank Kennon for his gentle reminder that I haven't updated my blog in a while. I appreciate his devotion.

Well I'm back in Vermillion now. I have been for almost two weeks. I've been mainly participating in the U. Housing hall director training. No, I'm not a hall director, but I work with them. I also had to train the HDs in all things judicial, since that's my job.

I've been studying for the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam), which is the ethics portion of the bar exam. I have to pass it before I can sit for the main portion of the bar exam next summer. I'll be taking the MPRE tomorrow.

In other news, USD is now a Pepsi campus. That's right, Coke has lost this particular battle in the cola wars. I would have setup a defense with gun turrets in the old armory in the middle of campus, but it's still under construction. Of course, the forces of Pepsi easily overran the campus because they gave USD some sort of grant. At least that's what I've heard. There is not a Coke machine to be found anywhere on campus now. And worst of all, a bottle of Pepsi (or Mountain Dew) costs $1.25 at the law school. $1.25!! How did the price of a bottle of pop increase from $1 to $1.25 in the course of a day?!? (And that's a rhetorical question for the economists out there.) It's just outrageous. I'm outraged. It's outraging. I refuse to pay $1.25 for a bottle of Mt. Dew, let alone a bottle of Pepsi. I've even heard rumors that the Bump won't be able to sell Coke products. More on that when the facts are confirmed. Damn monopolies!

Ok, I'm off for more studying!

Summer Lovin'

2004-07-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering...I got absolutely no lovin' this summer. But the title was either that or "A Mid-to-Latesummer's Night Dream." Take your pick.

Well Kari posted to her site, so I figured I should too since it's been a long while. I never did write the post on gay marriage. I'm sorry to the readers who really wanted to read it, but the issue lost excitement for me. The short post is that I can be on either side of it depending on when you ask. I'm sorry, but I'm pulling a John Kerry here and waffling all over the place. I can admit it on this issue. If you want further exposition on my analysis of the pros and cons, post a comment and maybe I'll get fired up some night to do it.

Speaking of John Kerry, I watched my share of the Dem party convention. Really, it was my share and the share of at least a quarter-million other Americans. The only major speech I missed was the keynote given by Barak Obama (sp?), who is being called an up-and-coming Dem star. After watching Edward's speech, I'm willing say that some day he'll win the Democratic nomination for president. And when he does, he'll be hard to beat. He's got a lot of the Clinton charm. Republicans will have to keep an eye on him. Kerry, on the other hand, has no charm whatsoever. He made no real policy statements in his acceptance speech and is trying to get to the right of Bush on the war on terrorism. As was well articulated on the Daily Show, he's the best choice for the Anybody-but-Bush crowd because he stands for nothing. The best, and only, thing he has going for him is that he really isn't President Bush. At least Dean stood for something.

For those who are my keeper, I'll be moving down to Vermillion tomorrow to restart my life as a student one last time. Oddly, I've already had my annual not-prepared-for-a-test/extremely-late-to-class dream. It usually happens right before classes begin, but it has been occurring earlier the last few years. Does that mean something? Anyway, on my way down I'll be stopping by Sioux Valley in SF where my grandmother is. She's not in her best condition, so please keep her in your prayers.

See many of you soon!

Connecting to the Big LAN in the Sky

2004-07-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

It is finished. I have ordered a Dell 9100. I'm getting an Intel Pentium 4 processor (3.0 GHz) and a WSXGA+ screen, which is the mid-range screen. 60 GB of hard drive space, 512MB of RAM, and a 64MB graphics card. It's probably heavier than I want it to be, but I'm going to give it a shot. I'm also worried about the battery life. If I don't like it, I can return it within 21 days and get a full refund. I went with this one over the 8600 because the 9100 was $300 cheaper PLUS is has 20 extra gigs of HD space and a better graphics card. The only benefits of the 8600 are that it's about 2lbs. lighter and has a much longer battery life. Is that worth the $300, etc.? I don't know. The only catch is that it came with a free printer, but it did NOT come with a cord to connect the printer to the computer. That was $23. I had the option not to get the cord, but whatever.

Sooo....here's the big question. What do I do with my old computer and printer? Do they, like all dogs, go to heaven? Do I need to bury it or cremate it? I don't know the proper protocol. Are there stores that buy used computers and printers? Should I put it up on eBay? Anybody got an idea? Final services won't take place until I receive the new computer and decide to keep it, so I have some time, which I'll use to mourn.