Georgia Tries to Steal Tennessee's Fluids

While I know it's misleading, I'd like to point out that Georgia is a coastal state while Tennessee is landlocked.

Seriously, what gives? Isn't "We're talking about augmenting some water needs, and as you know, the Tennessee has got plenty of water in it" a little bit socialist for a Republican from a Southern state?

Then again, I support retroceding the District of Columbia to Maryland, consolidating Connecticut and Rhode Island, Delaware and either Maryland or Pennsylvania, North and South Dakota, and perhaps North and South Carolina, so perhaps I'm in the minority. Despite its illegal secession, however, I'm fine with West Virginia staying as it is (unless it wants to merge with Ohio or Kentucky, which I'm also okay with).

Lesson of the Day

Not everyone appreciates joviality.

Happy Dirty Forehead Day!

I went to Ash Wednesday services this morning, at the heretofore-nearly-mythical hour of 7AM. For whatever reason, no one who received ashes from one of the priests seemed to have it show up very well on their foreheads. I guess what I told my black campers at KAA when they asked me whether I had any lotion still stands true: "White people don't ash." [What would I need with lotion? Meanwhile, these poor kids were waking up with chapped knees, of all things...I considered buying some out of mercy (but forgot).]

As for Lent, some friends of mine last week mentioned that they like to not only give up something but to add something positive as well. I'd already felt led to give up meat (including seafood!); I'll be adding a rosary each day to that.

I did have an odd-but-gratifying experience at the service this morning, though. I recognized a girl who I'm pretty sure is Episcopalian go up and get ashes, which wasn't that odd. I then saw her get in the Communion line and I was a little concerned, as most of us Anglicans don't really know that we're not supposed to take Roman Catholic Communion. Right before it was her turn, though, she properly crossed her arms and received a blessing instead. Hooray for cultural sensitivity!

QOTD

"I'm pregaming Lent."

-a friend of mine last night at a party, after I pointed out she had a drink in each hand.

In Which I Attempt to Make T.S. O'Rama Spend Money

For whatever reason, I've been listening to a lot of Celtic Punk Rock lately, especially bands like Flogging Molly, Enter the Haggis, Young Dubliners, Real McKenzies, and Oysterband. I'm like 1/16th Scottish and 1/32nd (Northern) Irish, so I guess it's legit.

Flogging Molly...well, they seem to me to be the Celtic version of Streetlight Manifesto: very talented, catchy, and...absolutely empty inside. Not just indifferent to religion, but openly hateful of it. As much as I enjoyed listening to the music of their album Drunken Lullabies, I kept noticing lyrics that just rubbed me the wrong way. Thus, no link-love for them.

Enter the Haggis, as T.S. already noted, is a mixed bag. "Gasoline" is really catchy, although perhaps a little overwrought. "Minstrel Boy" [I can't find a decent version] is a punk cover, virtually guaranteeing that I'll like it. "Music Box" and "Martha Stewart" are both good, although the latter is probably a little hard-edged for some tastes. There's also a really funny song on Let the Wind Blow High that I'll let you find for yourself.

The Young Dubliners and the Real McKenzies each cash in on the aforementioned punk cover craze, with, respectively, "The Rocky Road to Dublin" and "Farewell to Nova Scotia".

Oysterband is a bit older, and their songs are a little more mellow, too. I think "20th of April" is my favorite, although it was surprising to hear them singing in Spanish. "Another Quiet Night in England" is also good, and manages to be pro-worker without engaging in class warfare. Lastly is "One Green Hill" which could almost be a drinking song. [I couldn't find online versions of the latter two.]

My last post on this prompted T.S. to buy Casualties of Retail by Enter the Haggis; let's see if he feels the urge from anything above.

Today's Law School Tidbit

"So far as the law courts were concerned, the feoffment with livery of seisin created a fee simple absolute in X."

I'm still working on decoding this.

I Guess This is an Endorsement

"May God forgive us if we condemn a million plus children a year to death by abortion because we're angry at John McCain."

-John Hawkins

I'm not a big fan of McCain, but he does have his up-sides. While Romney might (might, because who really knows?) be better on The Issues, McCain's tolerable. With Iraq and Afghanistan to conclude successfully, likely vacancies on the Supreme Court, a Democrat majority in Congress, the prospect of Hillary! or the Obamessiah, and how hard it is to get two social conservatives elected in a row (Bush I only barely counts), maybe we should take the deal and live with it.

Besides, maybe he'll surprise us and surpass expectations, rather than disappoint us as Dubya has (which isn't to say that I'm not profoundly glad we had him over Gore or Kerry). Let this be a reminder: we can't delegate to the President the responsibility of being the People of God and living bearing witness to Him. That said, having a President who isn't hostile to our goals gives us a lot more room to work than having an active opponent.

Let's hold our noses, be thankful for the half-loaf we've got instead of pouting over the whole one we don't, and work to elect McCain. Maybe we can learn a few lessons about over-reliance on government, how to wage a successful campaign, and the importance of being thankful for what we do have along the way.