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April 28, 2005
Updates
After a good night's sleep, it occured to me this morning that perhaps the laughing was due to the fact that I have a weird habit of shaking my chips. You see, I usually like to get the flavored kind, but all of the flavor sinks to the bottom of the bag. So a few shakes up and down helps even it out. Or so I tell myself.
It couldn't have been her phone conversation, because she was still in the process of dialing. So we'll just assume that the chip shaking was the source of the humor. In which case:
Go ahead, you can laugh all you want,
but I got my philosophy.
-Ben Folds
Follow-up story number two: the motorcycle I've admired seems to be sick. The poor owner was sitting on it today giving it gas and trying to keep the idle up, but the engine sounded weak and whiny. Sadness.
Quote of the Day:
Bush: Stretch?
Do you mind if I call you Stretch in front of...
Journalist: I've been called worse.
-Q&A session after President Bush's televised address.
Posted by Megan at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)
Why?
I went to the lounge.
I walked up to the vending machine.
I bought a bag of chips.
I turned to head back to my room.
A girl walked into the lounge with her cell phone.
Looked at me.
Laughed.
Why?
Posted by Megan at 02:35 AM | Comments (4)
April 27, 2005
Best of the Olaf
My beloved school (and it's beloved president) made the Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web Today! Sure, they got the name of the school wrong ("St. Olaf," not "St. Olaf's"), but I sent them a correction, along with more quotes from the president and my very own article!
Posted by Megan at 05:38 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2005
Chucky G.
The quote of the day goes to IA's very own:
"'Those of you that are bad-mouthing every other suggestion out there, suggest your own plans,' Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the normally mild-mannered committee chairman erupted at one point during the hearing. 'Doing nothing is not an option, because doing nothing is a cut in benefits,' he added. 'Grandpa Grassley gets Social Security, but my granddaughter, when she retires 56 years from now, if we do nothing, is going to get this cut that you're talking about.'"
Posted by Megan at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2005
Coulter Ignities Discussion
Here it is: my Ann Coulter piece, post student editor slaughtering -- I mean editing. Note the comments and how one particular kid seems to have way too much time on his hands.
Here's the opposing point of view. This poor kid is not only just a freshman, but he's a Prof's son, too. Tsk tsk. Note how all the commentors on his are having a grand time patting themselves on the back for hating Ann. Oh, if I didn't have a life, the things I would spend my time doing...
Oh, and here's the Star Tribune article on the speech. Note the last two lines if nothing else. Guess who made those shirts? You have to love the chisel tip Sharpies.
Posted by Megan at 03:42 PM | Comments (1)
April 21, 2005
Light Bulb
The best ideas come a) in the shower or b) in bed.
I was just getting out of the shower when I had this brilliant idea: Make buttons that say "I play well with conservatives." Hand them out to civil liberals.
Posted by Megan at 06:22 PM | Comments (0)
Armageddon Watch
Posted by Megan at 01:41 AM | Comments (1)
You Do Me Proud
Ann Coulter found my beloved school, St. Olaf, to be so absurd that she actually posted about it on her website.
Posted by Megan at 01:05 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2005
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Here's an article I wrote for our school paper. It's a point-counterpoint, so it will be balanced with an anti-Ann Coulter piece. (Ann spoke at our school this past Sunday.) I'll link to the actual column once it is published and put on the web. Special thanks to Pat for his editing.
-----
I refuse to defend Ann Coulter.
She doesn't need to be defended. If you are one of the few liberals to have read a complete book or article of hers instead of a quote devoid of context, only then may you argue with me. In her writing as well as her speeches, she proves her intellect and wit. Plus, when members of her audience interrupt, yell obscenities, or throw food, she refuses to back down.
Coulter is a strong woman. And this is why liberals have their panties in a wad: she is a conservative. An intelligent, witty, fearless conservative woman.
Liberals would love Coulter if she were one of them. They somehow take offense at her straight talk but have no problem with Howard Dean's unabashed ranting. Coulter isn't even considered mainstream, as the chair of a political party would generally be. And she doesn't scream, either.
Some attendees of Coulter's speech Sunday seemed unable to grasp Coulter's style. They seemed to truly believe that she was prepared to dial up John Ashcroft that very evening and report an un-patriotic student at St. Olaf College. After all, don't conservatives sick the (former) Attorney General on dissenters on a regular basis? Those who have deemed this a racist comment based on the ethnicity of the questioner would do well to examine their own assumptions; Coulter uses this line routinely when responding to queries from students of all races who refuse to relinquish the microphone.
Others in the audience simply embarrassed me. I did indeed realize beforehand that Coulter is a provocateur and therefore, by definition, would rile the crowd. But I was operating under the illusion that in our community, respect and tolerance would be shown even to a conservative. On the contrary, various derogatory terms resounded through the house of God even before Coulter uttered a word.
I don't claim to be a feminist, but I could not ignore the fact that the majority of these terms referred to women with poor reputations. Could it be that outspoken women are simply still not accepted in today's society? Impossible -- there are those admirable women such as Madeline Albright and Carol Moseley-Braun. But conservative women such as Condoleezza Rice, Janice Rogers Brown, and Ann Coulter are simply reprehensible.
I had the privilege to talk to Coulter after the event. In an attempt to reassure myself that she had experienced ruder audiences, I asked her if ours was at least better in relation to most colleges. I could tell that she didn't want to let me down, but she grudgingly admitted that the crowd at St. Olaf was one of the worse she has experienced. No, they didn't throw food, but they couldn't formulate a respectable question. Instead, they made statements and accusations, and on the occasions when they did pose a question, they would not allow her to answer it.
I had hoped that Coulter's incendiary speech would fan the flames of ideological debate on campus. Instead, all I have heard since the speech is labeling and name-calling. According to several students, some of whom didn't even attend the event, Coulter is a racist, a fascist, and a Nazi, to name a few. I suppose this proves her point that liberals are simply incapable of engaging in constructive dialogue, but I would have liked to believe otherwise.
Upon observing the reaction to Coulter's visit, I began to question the wisdom of encouraging PAC to bring her to campus. Maybe students on this campus just can't handle an unapologetic right-winger. Perhaps another motherly Linda Chavez-type figure would have been less traumatic.
Yet as a senior I have spent four years sitting through lectures asserting that the Holocaust never really happened. I have held my tongue when professors cracked wise about our phonetically-challenged President. I have asked myself the tough questions about my most deeply held beliefs. I have repressed my urge to fight back against graffiti and destruction and pure hatred.
Now perhaps the liberals can begin to understand how it feels.
"The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority."
-Ralph W. Sockman
Posted by Megan at 10:30 PM | Comments (3)
April 15, 2005
S-M-R-T. Smart.
"As you've probably already figured out, I'm about as close to a socialist as you can get, because I care about people and think everyone should be treated with kindness." -My journalism Prof.
"There's really almost no such thing as facts. The sun doesn't even really come up every morning -- the earth rolls around, ya know?" -Same as above.
Oh the things I'm learning at this fine institution.
Posted by Megan at 01:19 AM | Comments (2)
April 05, 2005
Haven't Learned That Lesson
I am utterly unteachable.
Scenario:
I wrote a research paper on political blogs for my media studies midterm paper. It wasn't bad, especially for the amount of time I (didn't) put into it. A few days later, I cut the paper in half and took most of the research out and voila, I had an opinion piece for my journalism class.
Results:
I get my midterm back in media studies. Grade: A. Comments from the Prof: "This is a fine and thoughtful essay. You write well in a style that is both informative and engaging. Keep doing this; writing essays, that is. You're good at it and it is a talent that deserves to be nurtured." I pack my bags and take off on a giant ego trip.
I get my opinion article back in journalism. Writing all over. Grade: the lowest I've gotten in this class. Attached were two other articles from reputable publications basically trying to debunk my thesis. The prof obviously doesn't agree with me that blogs are a good thing. But was it really that poorly written? Crash landing back to planet Earth.
Conclusion:
It doesn't matter how frequently I remind myself that what I accomplish/produce does not bear a direct correlation to whether or not I am a good person. It's painful. But I will never learn.
Posted by Megan at 08:22 PM | Comments (1)
April 03, 2005
Whimper
61 degrees and sunny. A breeze that caresses your cheek with the ethereal touch of a feather. The air smells as sweet as cotton candy. It's the kind of weather that causes all bad moods epavorate and puts a smile on the faces of even the least congenial people.
Most football players on this campus own motor scooters. They ride and park them anywhere they please. I refer to them as dork-mobiles.
One guy in my dorm owns what looks to me like a pretty decent motorcycle. It's a Honda -- nothing fancy, but it looks solid. I don't know the guy very well at all. I just know that he's an RA, and I'm fairly certain that he doesn't play football. And he seems nice.
As I was walking to the commons to get lunch, he was starting his bike up. I had a nearly irresistable urge to go jump on the back. Repressing it caused me to whimper aloud. Fortunately, there was no one within earshot.
We read an essay in my non-fiction class about a woman who rides motorcycles. Only she doesn't just ride on the back. She drives.
Most of the essay was about the sense of control this gives her. The essay was beautifully written, but I couldn't relate. I have no desire to handle one myself.
It's odd. I like control -- a little too much sometimes. Yet I would much prefer to sit on the back of a bike. I'm constantly controlling every aspect of life -- I study hard to get good grades, I try to be the best leader possible to make our College Republicans chapter thrive.
When I get on a motorcycle, I want to forget about all of that. I want to leave the rest of my life behind for just a few moments. I want to be carefree.
It seems like there's a lesson about surrender somewhere in all of this. I'll let you know when I figure out what it is.
Posted by Megan at 02:44 PM | Comments (2)