"Talk nerdy to me"

I have a collection of tshirts that I adore, and affectionately refer to them as shirts to piss off my father. Now, it's not my fault he and I disagree on everything except baseball. And it's not really my fault that I've matured past wearing dumb tshirts all the time to only a small collection of really witty ones.

My newest additions are from a dear friend of mine that goes to Smith College. As you know, this is a womens' college in the hippie enclave of Northampton, Mass. Also, I am of the strong opinion that Lura should move there because she'd totally fit in with all the theater/culture in town and the schools are great/my nephews are going to be well-educated. Anyway, the Smith debate team raises money by selling tshirts every year to debaters around the league. I bought one and my friend threw in an extra for free. The one I bought says "Talk nerdy to me." This is especially awesome seeing as we were watching Star Trek whilst discussing the shirts. She also gave me the popular "My girlfriend goes to Smith" to wear when we partner for tournaments (did I mention how awesome we did at the Brown debate tournament? Cause it was WICKED AWESOME). The league favourite is a James Bond throwback: "Everyone loves a cunning linguist."

A few weeks ago I attended a lecture by Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States" amongst other things. He was touring with the History Channel peoples to advertise for "THE PEOPLE SPEAK," a documentary that will be airing the first week of December. I was pleased to acquire, for free, an all-organic cotton shirt that says "Democracy is not a spectator sport!" Indeed.

My favourite shirt is, of course, the one that says "Karl Marx: Sharing is Caring."
A close second is an Economist shirt that says in a bottlecap: "Think Responsibly."

The problem with all these awesome shirts is I don't really wear tshirts anymore. I never did like wearing them to class, and I have become uncomfortable without wearing a collar out. As a friend of mine said, aghast, when I took her to the pub I frequent "This is a bar for people that wear collared shirts on purpose!" She intends to take me to a goth bar in Cambridge to broaden my horizens, but not until after finals.

Speaking of which, see that last post that discussed that wicked hard writing class I'm taking? Well, guess who's first in the class.

Now guess who the professor called "one of the most brilliant students I've ever taught."

Might I remind you this was a tenured professor who has spent over 30 years at my elitist institution? And yeah, I had to share that. I'm pretty proud. I've worked REALLY hard, but I'm pretty proud.


On Facebook I regularly post news articles and videos in a series I call "This is what's wrong with America" (I know, I've never been good at titles). I'm thinking about posting everything here too. We'll see.

I've never been so happy to get a B.

So Harvard has this one writing class that everyone has to take, even transfer upper-classmen such as myself. You MUST pass this class with a B- or better to stay in the program. I'm in the class with a bunch of other kids in the same program as me.

The class started out with 21 students. And one TERRIFYING professor who announced this would be the hardest class ever.

Week 1: Writing proficiency test.

2-3 people drop out/are asked to leave afterwards.

The professor continues to push us harder and force more work upon us. Student hang on, but just barely. We lose a couple more.

Drafts of the first paper are turned in. We're required to meet with the Prof about the papers outside of class.

So my time to meet with him arrives. I'm scared. I brace myself. And----what? He's wicked awesome, 1-on-1. He likes that I went to BU. He used to teach there and knows some of the professors I had. He likes that I was a Core student. He doesn't particularly like my paper, but he likes my writing.


The next week, I arrive to class confused. Is he awesome or terrible? As he would say, is he the Tiger or the Lamb?

Well, we turn in the final version of our 15 page papers. He announces approximately 40% of the class failed.

Once again, I shake with fear.


But we joke around during and after class. He says things that are so BU it's ridiculous, and glances at me knowing I understand. When no one speaks up in class, he calls on me to answer whatever he's asking.


Papers returned. I got a B! WOOHOO! I think that's just about the highest grade he gave out. He said I used "thus" too much. Prof. Ricks would be horrified that I used "thus" at all.


11 people are left in the class.

We discuss short stories of Thomas Wolfe today...and I am called on to play devils' advocate when needed, and to answer a couple of theory-type questions.

I realize, I've become the class pet.

Now, that's a terrible thing in grade school, I suppose. But you know what? I think this professor is cool. He's the kind I'd grab a drink with one he's not actually my prof anymore, and one I'd add to my thesis advisor commitee. So if I'm a sort of class pet, so be it. At least I get to stay in Cambridge.

As much as I love being an elitist Ivy Leaguer...

My classes are HARD.

Well, not hard hard. Just intensive. And I don't have that much time in my day.

But, for fun, I shall write briefly in Gaelic to show off my sweet skills (also, I'm going to be dribbling in gaelic here and there for practice. Deal with it):

Cad é mar atá tu? Tá mé an-tiersach. Tá mé i mo chónaí i mBoston. Tá scéal agam maith!

Ready?

Cause it's awesome news.


I'm working on a Senate campaign! WOO! Tá, I have very little time for it. But it's going to be iontach go breá anyway. I'm supporting current Attorney General Martha Coakley for senator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 'Bout time we had a female senator. I guess that's the absolute only good thing that can possibly ever come from poor Teddy being gone.


Anyways, I must get sleep, for as I said, I'm rather tired. But it's nice and chilly here, and I have the introduction of my paper written, so I believe a nice cup of hot chocolate is in order.

Slán anois!

I didn't mean to laugh at you directly to your face...

But I just couldn't help it!

This week was the opening weekend of the 2010 debate season. My team drove town to Baltimore for the Johns Hopkins debate tournament on Thursday, debated for a couple days, and headed back up to Boston last (Saturday) evening.

We decide to stop at a rest area somewhere in Maryland or Delaware and get food. But when we enter the main building, something is terribly, terribly wrong.

Blue shirts with red words on them announce: "New Jersey Tea Bagger Patriots." Now, what exactly is patriotic about demanding virtual anarchy, I don't know, but whatever. The terrible thing for us was...I and one of the guys on the team are both pretty extreme socialist. As in, we're lefter than most of the left dares to think. As in, Teddy is our hero forever.
And the rest of the team is of your typical New England democrat flavor.

We are friggin' TERRIFIED.

Imagine a Delaware rest area: there's about 30 people with these tshirts on, then there's the normal tourists and drivers that look a bit sloppy, right? Then, there's us. Since we left directly after quarter-finals at Hopkins, we're all still in suits. We look good. We stick out like a sore thumb.

Also there's the Massachusetts license plates...

At any rate, we huddle around our table, discussing how awesome Marxism is and making jokes about the word "teabagger" (that will NEVER get old!). Most of the crazy people clear out, so we figure it's safe to go.

We exit the building pretty quietly. Then comes a middle-aged couple, walking towards us. And what's her t-shirt say?

"PALIN 2012"

The other socialist and I just couldn't help it. We burst into a fit of giggles. We're both in the facebook group "I'd vote for a socialist candidate if there were one!" but, realistically, we know there won't be until we run the world. So...we accept that and move on rather than radicalizing.

And that's what these tea-baggers have done: radicalize. They get together and work each other up and spread the most obscene lies. It's getting a bit cultish for me! They need to do a few things:
a) look up the definition of the word, "democracy;"
b) look up "popular vote" and compare the 2000, 2004, and 2008 elections;
c) grow some brains;
d) accept that they lost every one of those years but third time is the charm for the democratic party;
e) SHUT UP.

Now, as a card-carrying ACLU member, I will fight for their right to assemble and make fools of themselves. But that doesn't mean I don't think they ought remain ignorant.

And certainly, if you don't like being laughed at, don't wear a pro-Palin shirt.


Boy, am I glad to be back in my liberal-of-liberals stronghold of Massachusetts...

One of the saddest moments of my life. I'll miss you, Teddy.

Ted Kennedy was my hero, idol, and generally guided my life. He could have done whatever he wanted with his life -- he had unlimited resources. But he chose to fight for the common man, for those with disabilities, for those tossed aside and called weird and different, for those too poor for college or healthcare, and so many others. I knew a few years ago that if he could choose to do this, I could do the same. And so I've followed every scrap of legislation he's been in on, linked to his website all the time (see the side links here), wrote a term paper on how he had the power to push equality through the senate...

No one can replace him. And it'll be 3 months till the election. RIP, Senior Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The OUT Campaign

Atheists have always been at the forefront of rational thinking and beacons of enlightenment, and now you can share your idealism by being part of the OUT Campaign.





Atheists are far more numerous than most people realize. COME OUT of the closet! You'll feel liberated, and your example will encourage others to COME OUT too. (Don't "out" anybody else, wait for them to OUT themselves when they are ready to do so).




The OUT Campaign allows individuals to let others know they are not alone. It can also be a nice way of opening a conversation and help to demolish the negative stereotypes of atheists. Let the world know that we are not about to go away and that we are not going to allow those that would condemn us to push us into the shadows.




As more and more people join the OUT Campaign, fewer and fewer people will feel intimidated by religion. We can help others understand that atheists come in all shapes, sizes, colours and personalities. We are labourers and professionals. We are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and grandparents. We are human (we are primates) and we are good friends and good citizens. We are good people who have no need to cling to the supernatural.






It is time to let our voices be heard regarding the intrusion of religion in our schools and politics. Atheists along with millions of others are tired of being bullied by those who would force their own religious agenda down the throats of our children and our respective governments. We need to KEEP OUT the supernatural from our moral principles and public policies.


It is time to step up and...

And this is why I'm proud to be from Massachusetts.

THE BOSTON GLOBE-- WED JULY 8

Mass. challenges federal Defense of Marriage Act


Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, has become the first to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, saying Congress intruded into a matter that should be left to individual states.

"Our familes, our communities, and even our economy have seen the many important benefits that have come from recognizing equal marriage rights and, frankly, no downside," Attorney General Martha Coakley said this afternoon at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. "However, we have also seen how many of our married residents and their families are being hurt by a discriminatory, unprecedented, and, we believe, unconstitutional law."


The suit filed in US District Court in Boston claims that the Congress, in enacting the DOMA, "overstepped its authority, undermined states' efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and codified an animus towards gay and lesbian people."

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which opposes gay marriage, said, "We believe the suit will have no credibility in the federal courts. The federal courts have already ruled that the DOMA is constitutional."

He also noted that the DOMA was signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton with a majority on both sides of Congress. "The nation is very resolute [in support of] the DOMA," he said.

The lawsuit argues that the DOMA, which was enacted in 1996, precludes same-sex spouses in Massachusetts from a wide range of protections, including federal income tax credits, employment and retirement benefits, health insurance coverage, and Social Security payments.

The defendants named in the lawsuit include the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and the United States itself. Charles Miller, a US Justice Department spokesman, said, "We haven't seen it. Once we are served with it, we'll review it and make a determination as to how to respond."

The lawsuit questions the constitutionality of Section 3 of the law, which defines the word "marriage" for the purpose of federal law as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife." It does not challenge the constitutionality of Section 2, which provides that states are not required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

The suit alleges that the law violates the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which reserves to the states all powers except those granted to the federal government. It also alleges that the law violates Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, which limits the power of Congress to attach conditions to the receipt of federal funds.

"We applaud the Commonwealth's decision to seek to protect its married citizens from the harms caused by federal discrimination," said Janson Wu, staff attorney for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders in Boston, which filed its own lawsuit challenging the law on March 3.

Wu said the lawsuit brought by the organization on behalf of nine same-sex couples and three widowers relied more on equal protection claims, while the state's lawsuit relies on a federalism argument.

Gay marriages began in Massachusetts in 2004. Gay marriage has been legalized in all the New England states, except Rhode Island, as well as in Iowa. Coakley noted that the suit is focused on the impact of Section 3 of the DOMA in Massachusetts.

Coakley also noted she backs the repeal of the DOMA. "I think everybody would agree that times have changed since 1996," she said.