(this is) durkin.org

The President of a local university says that she isn’t planning to retire. It is interesting to note that the board of trustees at said university are meeting this week to discuss the “leadership transition” at the school.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the former employee, now dead guy they found by her pool last week.

And to update the Alabama Politics link from yesterday, the black leaders were denied in their attempts to place excerpts from the I have a Dream speech next to the statue of the Ten Commandments.

If you ask me, none of that shit should be there. At least, not as a permanent part of the building [I'm sure that allowances should be made for presentations and exhibits]. Judge Moore explains himself by saying that since the Ten Commandments were a part of the Founding Fathers’ rhetoric and played heavily in the formation of the Constitution, he is championing their display in public buildings and says they will contribute to an increase in general moral character.

Well, maybe, Judge Moore, but they also thought that leeches were tip-top medicinal practice and that slavery was not such a bad thing.

And I think they also pretty specifically outlined a separation of church and state, but I can see how that might be easy to overlook.

And to the black legislators - what’s up? I can see your point [sort of] and I understand what you think you are accomplishing, but you are really missing the bigger picture here. Its not that Moore displayed what he wants and won’t let you have your display, its the simple fact that Moore has displayed an obvious religious symbol on state property giving the clear impression of state sanction of said religious symbol.

I kinda think that might infringe upon a given citizen’s constitutional rights, don’t you?

p.s. - turns out Judge Moore is a poet. But not a very good one.

Link.

And now the good Governor retracts, thanks to his daughter.

And the good Governor speaks. Through his ass, that is. This morning, I can’t believe I voted for this guy.

Parents should talk with their children about the consequences of their actions and about “how their image affects their ability to succeed in life,” Siegelman said.

“Parents ought to be there talking to their kids and saying, `You know what kind of fool you look like with an earring? If God had wanted you to wear earrings, He’d have made you a girl.’”

I think mostly I’m disappointed in this whole affair. One the one hand I’m disappointed in our Governor, whom I took to be a bit more progressive, or at least more savvy. More importantly, it seems to me that there are much larger issues for us to be worried about, such as quality of education or equal access to said quality education. Now, the Hoover school system is reportedly a good one, don’t get me wrong, but I think we could be focusing our energies in more constructive areas.

And we could be a bit more honest about this situation… simply put, if a boy wants to wear an earring, he should not be denied access to his school. I think that is a bit extreme. [Now, certainly there may be some sort of exception, gang symbolology, playground hazards - but those should be enforced across gender lines.]

As for the Governor, I understand that election year is coming up, and he has some stiff competition, and that his platform during the last campaign [depending on where you stood it was either "I'm not Fob James (the previous governor)," or the Education Lottery (which was voted down soon after he took office] is totally moot if not damaging baggage, and so he’s warming up to the conservative crowd and all that. Sure. It makes sense in a conservative state to do that. But there are better ways of doing it, that’s all.

I think I could go on and on about this crap. “If God had wanted you to wear earrings, He’d have made you a girl.” Shit, by that logic, if God had wanted girls to wear earrings, He’d have put holes in their ears for them. Give me a break, Don.

Returning from vacation always stinks. Even when you are ready to come back, it stinks. But that’s why we go. I guess.

No pictures, at least not yet. I did, however, gain a shit-load of weight. We are not ready to discuss numbers. Mostly because we cannot believe it.

I did not get eaten, bitten or even otherwise physically pestered by sharks. Other folks were not so lucky. Or gators. I did have some time to re-read the Lord of the Rings, and I have a question… What’s up with Gandalf - Man or Elf? Really, I’m sure that there are whole pages devoted to this sort of thing, but if you know the answer, let me know.

08.10.01 | Vamanos a la playa
Yeah, so I’ll be MIA for a little while, nothing major just some much-needed beach time.

See you in a week. Or so.

My indoor soccer team is struggling.

I think I may have mentioned that before. We have yet to win a match. But that’s ok, cause its all about having fun, right?

Sure it is. Me, I’d like to win a few, though. Or at least feel like we are playing well. But no - it does not seem that will come to pass. [sigh]

Over the weekend, someone hit a racoon in front of our building. Three days and a rainstorm later, what is left is still there. Morbid and gross! you say? Try looking out my window sometime.

But enough about that. Did you know that Adam Curry has a weblog? [link via lyd] Scratch that - did you know that Adam Curry was still alive?

Me neither.