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Friday, March 31st, 2006
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2:02a - Underdogs and Kennedys
Well, it's about two o'clock in the morning and I want to throw some shit down on here.
The parentals are headed out to Las Vegas for some vacation action; did someone say house party? The festivities will begin Saturday night with no real end in sight. Keeping with the tradition of college basketball's final four, we are having a tournament of our own. Beer pong.
Plans are in the works, rest assured.
Things have generally been going well as of late. Today, Beth and I attended an assembly at YSU's Chestnut Room for some extra credit. The only thing better than extra credit is sex... or maybe beer pong? Hmm. Anyway. The speaker was a Catholic priest with a diverse educational background and he wanted to discuss the ethical challenges we face in terms of globalization.
I feel almost bad about using the words sex and beer pong in the same breath as Catholic priest, but what can you do? I'm sure in light of recent events there has been worse.
The man, Coleman was his last name, held a pretty liberal view on the idea of globalization. Neo-cons have tried to make globalization all their own, and we frankly haven't heard much from the left about the extremely pressing issue. But the speaker presented a strong case with many good points. He talked about labor rights, the need for international laws and courts, and the need to have safety nets to protect the poor.
Perhaps the most interesting thought was that Christians by and large live in poverty. While a vast many of these people survive on less than two dollars a day, there is not a single cow in the European Union that survives on less than three dollars and fifty cents. That's purely incredible.
We could argue endlessly about whether these people should be so indigent. I, of course, believe that no one on earth should be made to endure that type of suffering. It's one thing to believe that people have a market value and that their wealth should be equivalent to their contributions to society. But it's an entirely different ballgame when we can't even offer a plain minimum for those who are less fortunate... regardless of their circumstances.
That's enough of the political shit.
The grades have been going quite well, and if all goes as planned this semester I will have added almost eight tenths to my grade point average.
I mentioned the final four before. George Mason University has opened my eyes and made me a believer. A devout North Carolina Tarheels fan, Mason beat up on my beloved Heels early in the tourney. At first, I wanted to dislike them... but you've got to pull for the underdogs.
The Patriots have had the longest, windiest road to make it to the big show and they have done it all the same. It hits you at home for a minute. It kind of makes you believe that great things really can happen, no matter what the odds are. I'll be rooting for the George Mason Patriots to take home the title. But, even if that doesn't happen, they've already done the impossible.
Workouts are going well. I'm trying to get my running time down as much as possible. The key right now is not to have any setbacks. I want to make progress every day, but realistically I want to avoid regressing at all costs. I am still dieting well and losing a lot of the bad weight. Discipline here is pivotal.
I felt really tired a couple of hours ago, but I've kind of caught a second wind. Maybe I'll throw on a video game or something for a little while. I should get to sleep, but afterall tomorrow is Friday. Beth and I have some plans for tomorrow. We've got a dinner planned with my parents and my brother and his wife. It looks like we'll be heading down to the Amen Corner for their fish dinner which is absolute tits.
Really. Some of the largest servings of fish you've seen. Because of the Atkins diet, I'll be ordering mine broiled. To tell you the truth, you can't miss. It doesn't matter how you get it, it's gonna be damn good.
New reports have surfaced from January of 2003 shining light on secret meetings between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Apparently, these two fuckers had set an official date of March 10th for air strikes to begin in Iraq, to be followed shortly thereafter by a complete ground operation.
This isn't really news, unless you're Republican... then, I guess it's probably a bunch of lies. There really shouldn't be a single person with some sort of a brain that believes we went to Iraq for a worthy cause, much less a loosely justifiable one. This doesn't make me unpatriotic... I don't root for the army like I root for a baseball team. It makes me concerned about dishonesty and mistakes we are making, and it makes me wish and hope that our brave men and women could come home.
I was looking up some research on the Kennedy family dynasty, because I seem to hear that the Bushes are supposedly a great American dynasty now. Prescott Bush was Governor of Maine. His son, George Herbert Walker Bush, was President. His son became President, and another son of his is Governor of Florida. That's about it.
I'll end with a little comparison:
Patrick J. Kennedy- a prominent Boston Democrat
John Fitzgerald- Two-term Mayor of Boston
Patrick Kennedy's son, Joseph P. Kennedy, married Rose Fitzgerald. Joseph P. Kennedy was the original head of the Securites and Exchange Commission. He was also Ambassador to the Court of St. James (United Kingdom). The two had many children, and many of them chose to work in politics.
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy became President of the United States of America, and was assassinated.
-Robert Francis Kennedy served as Attorney General and became a United States Senator; he too was assassinated when running for President.
-Edward Moore Kennedy has been a United States Senator since 1962.
-Eunice Kennedy married Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. who was the original head of the Peace Corps and a former candidate for Vice President.
-Jean Ann Kennedy was Ambassador to Ireland.
The third generation of Kennedys had many children who sought political office.
Maria Owings Shriver is First Lady of California; Kennedy Son-in-Law Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is Governor of that state.
Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend was Lieutenant Governor of Maryland.
Joseph P. Kennedy, II is a son of Robert Francis and Ethel Kennedy and is a former Representative from Massachusetts.
Patrick Joseph Kennedy, a son of Edward Moore Kennedy, is a Representative from the state of Rhode Island.
Mark Kennedy Shriver, a son of Sargent and Eunice Shriver is a delegate in the Maryland State Legislature.
There have been several other Kennedys to hold distinctions. One daughter married royalty from Britain. The eldest of Joseph P. and Rose's sons, Joseph was shot down in WWII. Many believe that had it not been for this, he would have become President of the United States. Afterall, JFK didn't really want to go into politics at first but decided to fulfill his father's legacy after the death of his older brother.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. had plans to run for President, but was tragically killed when his plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff.
In comparison, I don't believe the Bush twins have plans to run for office.
Goodnight, and good luck.
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