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Classes are finally over! W00T!!!!!!!! XD I still have four exams and a paper to write by the 16th, so I need to start studying and working on those. But not right now. Having a little R&R is not a bad thing at all. :D This whole semester seemed interminable, and now that it's practically over, it seems like it flew right by. Since when did that happen? Anyway, after writing two 11-page papers and doing a Japanese skit this week, I feel exhausted. I'm so sleeping in tomorrow!
This week has been rather busy, though not as busy as you'd think. A lot of annoying homework assignments, the last big paper, the skit, readings I still would like to catch up on. But nothing too intense. And I'd rather have exams than papers, because exams only take three hours and papers can last forever if you're not careful enough. Even though I barely finish exams on time, but anyway...XD And this one paper I need to do is only about 2-4 pages, and doesn't seem to be that hard, so I want to try to get that done as soon as possible. And buy cards and maybe gifts for Christmas for my folks, though I'm sure that can wait. ;-)
Other than exams, next week and the couple of days afterward shouldn't be too stressful, especially since I hardly study for exams anyway. :3
A few interesting links this week:
Vermont Town Turns to College in Bid to Guide Change
Holy shit, my college's been mentioned in the New York Times! XD But yeah, I know a couple of people taking that class, and they've told me it's really interesting, if a lot of work to do all that interviewing and research, and then doing that presentation this week. It's a great idea, really: breaking the stereotypes of the small Vermont village while trying to find ways to make it develop without sacrificing its unique ideals and values. Fascinating stuff.
Obama Shows the Instincts of a Large Political Figure
A good counterargument to all the naysaying and cynicism over Obama's cabinet picks, by both conservatives and liberals. The writer pretty much expresses many of the views I have on what Obama is doing right now. I would go into more detail in a longer rant, but I'm not in the ranting mood, as you could tell above and by the time I'm wriitng this. :D
In this article about Democrats that really need to go away (assessments I certainly agree with), I found this very interesting comment about the real people who shouldn't be on our side if we really want to see the "change we need":
"Rather than call out individual Democrats or suggest they "go away," how about some "types" who pipe down for a bit...
"CHANGE FANATICS" -- who apparently think that CHANGE means running down to the local convenience store and hiring the cashier to be a Cabinet member simply to get some "new blood"
"ANTI-CLINTON FANATICS" -- who spend so much time criticizing Bill and Hillary Clinton that they seem to overlook eight years of the Bush-Cheney administration or the good aspects of Bill Clinton's eight years in office.
RAHM v. DEAN FANATICS -- who seem to forget, whatever their personal problems and rival strategies, ran appropriate candidates in more conservative areas and WON AND ran a fifty-state strategy from the DNC (emulated by the Obama campaign)
INSTANT GRATIFICATION FANATICS -- who can't even wait for Obama to take the oath of office before getting snarky, disillusioned, etc.
IGNORANCE OF THE CONSTITUTION OR THE WORKINGS OF CONGRESS FANATICS -- who do not understand the rules of each house, the mechanics of a filibuster and a super-majority, the advantage of having a President and majority in both houses of Congress v. a President of one party and majorities of the other."
All I can really add to this is, "YES PLZ." "Change" doesn't mean bringing in entirely new people, or those on the far left of American politics like Dennis Kucinich or Bernie Sanders; as much as I'd like to see them in, it's always best to have people who know the issues, who know what they're doing, who know how Washington works, who have experienced how the problems our country faces began so that they can give sound suggestions on how to fix them, who have strong opinions about things and aren't unwilling to share them with Obama, even if it means he doesn't agree with them or ultimately won't take their advice. (In other words, no more yes-men. That's a change, is it not?) And the choices Obama is making are personnel choices, not policy ones, since he won't have any power until January 20th; the people he chooses does not preclude at all what policies will be made once he's sworn in. I admit there's a lot of uncertainty about what will happen now -- whether or not Obama can do all that is expected of him, which, with him being human and with democracy working slowly as it was meant to be, is not at all likely -- but this means we need to reserve all judgement, positive and negative, until he starts making real policy decisions. Because of this uncertainty, it's easy to get caught up in cynicism, in how the needs of the country aren't being addressed RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW. But as someone far wiser than me once said, "Cynicism is what passes for insight among the mediocre." Anyone who thinks Obama is a traitor to his constituents somehow, or that he lied or that he will only keep the status quo, have let their emotions cloud their judgement and rational thought. Of course, it is the duty of all Americans to criticize what the President does if they feel he is doing something wrong, or against their interests. But like I said, Obama isn't making any real policy decisions -- he isn't in power just yet. We need to make sure he keeps his main promises, that he doesn't become ineffectual, but he can't do anything that would warrant such attention if he's not in office yet. We need to be patient, to wait, to hope.
OK, that turned into a mini-rant, didn't it? XD
Anyway, take care, and see you soon.
This week has been rather busy, though not as busy as you'd think. A lot of annoying homework assignments, the last big paper, the skit, readings I still would like to catch up on. But nothing too intense. And I'd rather have exams than papers, because exams only take three hours and papers can last forever if you're not careful enough. Even though I barely finish exams on time, but anyway...XD And this one paper I need to do is only about 2-4 pages, and doesn't seem to be that hard, so I want to try to get that done as soon as possible. And buy cards and maybe gifts for Christmas for my folks, though I'm sure that can wait. ;-)
Other than exams, next week and the couple of days afterward shouldn't be too stressful, especially since I hardly study for exams anyway. :3
A few interesting links this week:
Vermont Town Turns to College in Bid to Guide Change
Holy shit, my college's been mentioned in the New York Times! XD But yeah, I know a couple of people taking that class, and they've told me it's really interesting, if a lot of work to do all that interviewing and research, and then doing that presentation this week. It's a great idea, really: breaking the stereotypes of the small Vermont village while trying to find ways to make it develop without sacrificing its unique ideals and values. Fascinating stuff.
Obama Shows the Instincts of a Large Political Figure
A good counterargument to all the naysaying and cynicism over Obama's cabinet picks, by both conservatives and liberals. The writer pretty much expresses many of the views I have on what Obama is doing right now. I would go into more detail in a longer rant, but I'm not in the ranting mood, as you could tell above and by the time I'm wriitng this. :D
In this article about Democrats that really need to go away (assessments I certainly agree with), I found this very interesting comment about the real people who shouldn't be on our side if we really want to see the "change we need":
"Rather than call out individual Democrats or suggest they "go away," how about some "types" who pipe down for a bit...
"CHANGE FANATICS" -- who apparently think that CHANGE means running down to the local convenience store and hiring the cashier to be a Cabinet member simply to get some "new blood"
"ANTI-CLINTON FANATICS" -- who spend so much time criticizing Bill and Hillary Clinton that they seem to overlook eight years of the Bush-Cheney administration or the good aspects of Bill Clinton's eight years in office.
RAHM v. DEAN FANATICS -- who seem to forget, whatever their personal problems and rival strategies, ran appropriate candidates in more conservative areas and WON AND ran a fifty-state strategy from the DNC (emulated by the Obama campaign)
INSTANT GRATIFICATION FANATICS -- who can't even wait for Obama to take the oath of office before getting snarky, disillusioned, etc.
IGNORANCE OF THE CONSTITUTION OR THE WORKINGS OF CONGRESS FANATICS -- who do not understand the rules of each house, the mechanics of a filibuster and a super-majority, the advantage of having a President and majority in both houses of Congress v. a President of one party and majorities of the other."
All I can really add to this is, "YES PLZ." "Change" doesn't mean bringing in entirely new people, or those on the far left of American politics like Dennis Kucinich or Bernie Sanders; as much as I'd like to see them in, it's always best to have people who know the issues, who know what they're doing, who know how Washington works, who have experienced how the problems our country faces began so that they can give sound suggestions on how to fix them, who have strong opinions about things and aren't unwilling to share them with Obama, even if it means he doesn't agree with them or ultimately won't take their advice. (In other words, no more yes-men. That's a change, is it not?) And the choices Obama is making are personnel choices, not policy ones, since he won't have any power until January 20th; the people he chooses does not preclude at all what policies will be made once he's sworn in. I admit there's a lot of uncertainty about what will happen now -- whether or not Obama can do all that is expected of him, which, with him being human and with democracy working slowly as it was meant to be, is not at all likely -- but this means we need to reserve all judgement, positive and negative, until he starts making real policy decisions. Because of this uncertainty, it's easy to get caught up in cynicism, in how the needs of the country aren't being addressed RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW. But as someone far wiser than me once said, "Cynicism is what passes for insight among the mediocre." Anyone who thinks Obama is a traitor to his constituents somehow, or that he lied or that he will only keep the status quo, have let their emotions cloud their judgement and rational thought. Of course, it is the duty of all Americans to criticize what the President does if they feel he is doing something wrong, or against their interests. But like I said, Obama isn't making any real policy decisions -- he isn't in power just yet. We need to make sure he keeps his main promises, that he doesn't become ineffectual, but he can't do anything that would warrant such attention if he's not in office yet. We need to be patient, to wait, to hope.
OK, that turned into a mini-rant, didn't it? XD
Anyway, take care, and see you soon.
