The evening of the State of the Union is, quite seriously, one of my favorite evenings of the whole year. As a student of politics in college, there is something I've always found very intriguing about these nights. All of Washington gathers on Capitol Hill, all three branches of government. There is pomp and pageantry and tradition aplenty on this one night in January - everything from the seating of the First Lady, to the copies of the speech given to the VP and Speaker, to the Sergeant at Arms bellowing to the Congress the arrival of the president. As Chris Wallace said this evening, this night bears the closest resemblance to the parliamentary system of England - cheers, jeers, boos and applause from all corners of the chamber. There is just something about this night that I've always enjoyed - a new blueprint for the country unveiled, the constant clamor between the two parties, the incessant standing and applause throughout the whole of the president's address. There's just something about this night that really displays the democratic ideal of this country - however cracked and broken it might seem every other day of the year.
A new president took to the podium for the State of the Union this year - he addressed the nation last year as a newly elected president, so that speech wasn't considered a State of the Union address. This was the first SotU by a different president since I was fifteen years old. The speech was, in a word, predictable - full of the same rhetoric we've heard for the past several months. And following the speech, one year into his presidency, I remain unconvinced - unconvinced of his policy, unconvinced of his politics, and unconvinced of his intentions for this country. Call me a right-wing nutjob, a moron, an idiot, whatever you will..... but I am just not convinced.
I watched George W. Bush deliver the State of the Union address for six years - from 2002 to 2008. His first State of the Union came four months after the deadliest terror attack in the history of this country. And I may have been an idealistic teenager back then, but when I watched George Bush deliver a State of the Union address, there wasn't a shred of doubt in my mind that here was a man who believed wholeheartedly that the policies he was enacting, however unpopular with the left, were in the very best interests of his country and its citizens, his constituency. He was a man entirely convicted, driven by a deep love of country and a fierce loyalty to protecting her citizens. I don't see that in this current president. I see a chief executive blinded by his own perception of "doing what is right" - even when his policies are so grossly unpopular with the American people. We see a president passionately embroiled in the healthcare debate - a policy move determined to be painfully unpopular with the electorate, as shown by the Senate victory in Massachusetts and by the dozens and dozens of protests throughout the summer. Can he not just take the hint?
Maybe I am just another example of partisan politics. One could certainly argue this same point with George W. Bush - a president blinded by his own convictions, even when grossly unpopular. And perhaps I am just another right-wing nutjob who is stupid enough to laud George W. Bush. Yet I remain convinced that in the wake of September 11, 2001, there was no man in this country more dedicated to preserving my life as an American citizen than, in the words of many leftists, that moronic, monkeyfaced Texan who can't read.
And as for his successor, his politics, policies, and intentions for this nation?
......Right now, I am just not convinced.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
things i'm learning about living with someone else
1. We both tend to hang onto things that don't necessarily need to be "hung onto". For example: I still have about a dozen copies of surplus wedding invitations, college textbooks (I am particularly attached to my constitutional law book), and seemingly dozens of tee shirts that I just can't part with. He's the same way, except with other things - oodles of miscellaneous papers, video gaming equipment, and more clothes than me, it sometimes seems.
2. With all of this stuff comes the need to downsize and be terribly organized - things we aren't necessarily good at. I've attempted to tackle our master bedroom and get it organized at least three solid times since we've been at this apartment, and each time I make a true dent in the process, but inevitably wind up tired and discouraged. It's my hope to get off to Target tomorrow and invest in some big plastic storage containers, just to get the clutter out of the way. We can tackle and eliminate the excess stuff later, it's the organization I'm really after right now.
3. Our next apartment has to have the following qualifications (in no particular order of importance): a larger kitchen with more storage space, in-apartment laundry, and extra storage space somewhere on the premises. To think, we saw an apartment this summer with two of those three qualifications, and we were too timid to jump on it right away, and ended up losing it. At the time we signed our current lease, I didn't want to say that we "settled" on the apartment, but looking back on that moment six months ago, we definitely rushed into this property. We (or, probably, just I) were so worried on having the apartment situation resolved before B left for Texas that we hurriedly filled out and dropped off an application at this complex the day before his flight. I'm realizing now that the rent on these apartments, for the amenities we have, is a bit inflated. Good to know for future reference! :)
Pardon these mindless ramblings - I just spent a good ninety minutes on attempting to organize our master bedroom and I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all.
a presto
2. With all of this stuff comes the need to downsize and be terribly organized - things we aren't necessarily good at. I've attempted to tackle our master bedroom and get it organized at least three solid times since we've been at this apartment, and each time I make a true dent in the process, but inevitably wind up tired and discouraged. It's my hope to get off to Target tomorrow and invest in some big plastic storage containers, just to get the clutter out of the way. We can tackle and eliminate the excess stuff later, it's the organization I'm really after right now.
3. Our next apartment has to have the following qualifications (in no particular order of importance): a larger kitchen with more storage space, in-apartment laundry, and extra storage space somewhere on the premises. To think, we saw an apartment this summer with two of those three qualifications, and we were too timid to jump on it right away, and ended up losing it. At the time we signed our current lease, I didn't want to say that we "settled" on the apartment, but looking back on that moment six months ago, we definitely rushed into this property. We (or, probably, just I) were so worried on having the apartment situation resolved before B left for Texas that we hurriedly filled out and dropped off an application at this complex the day before his flight. I'm realizing now that the rent on these apartments, for the amenities we have, is a bit inflated. Good to know for future reference! :)
Pardon these mindless ramblings - I just spent a good ninety minutes on attempting to organize our master bedroom and I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all.
a presto
Thursday, January 21, 2010
reason #103 why one of us needs to enroll in law school....
we just spent the last 20 or so minutes debating the just-announced Supreme Court opinion regarding campaign finance law, and trying to decide from which angles the petitioner and respondent could argue their respective points.
a presto! :)
a presto! :)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
53 years in the making
In three weeks, my maternal grandparents, 75 and 77 years old, will celebrate 53 (!) years of marriage. For the past week, my husband and I were blessed enough to spend some quality time with them. Their winter homestead is in the Hill Country of Texas and we drove with them. Some would say we drove them to Texas - there is a bit of hesitation within my mother's family to have them make the 1300 mile trip on their own, simply due to their age and the health struggles associated with being in their seventies. I initially pitched the idea to my grandmother in October and she immediately figured that it was a setup. In part, it probably was - but it quickly developed into quality time with them that I know both B and I will always treasure.
In that week with them, we were able to learn more about them and, most importantly, experience their fierce devotion to one another. It's a devotion that isn't terribly overt - it's not romanticized and it's not overly affectionate, but it is a quiet, strong, fierce married love. They show it in the simplest ways - Gran helping Grandpa get his coat off, holding his hand as he walks down the stairs to the car, and the like. Perhaps the most memorable for me was a simple moment in the middle of the week - we had arrived in Texas in the midst of one of the coldest fronts experienced by the Lone Star State in recent history. Temperatures didn't get out of the forties (and sometimes struggled to reach them) on Wednesday and Thursday. As we were preparing to watch the BCS Championship Game (Longhorns/Tide - which didn't turn out as my Texan husband hoped it would), my grandma was in the living room reading the paper. My grandpa went to their bedroom to retrieve something, and returned with her new bedroom slippers, a gift from her children at Christmas.
"I brought you your slippers, for when your feet get cold," he simply replied, handing her the shoes as he took his seat to watch the game.
"Well, thank you, dear, that's wonderful...for when my feet get cold," my grandma replied.
My husband and I exchanged glances and my eyes nearly teared up as we watched them interact. My grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in late 2005 and has a limited range of motion due to his hips and knees being replaced several years ago. Often his fastest gait is nothing but a shuffle, and it takes him awhile to get from place to place. Yet, he had the foresight to make this simple act of love for my grandmother - just bringing her slippers to her, something that I doubt was a small act of exertion. It wasn't a grand, blissful, emotional declaration of his love for her - but it probably spoke more volumes about his affection for her than any bouquet of roses or messages in the sky could ever speak.
It was such a wonderful trip and B and I might not have the opportunity for this time alone with them in a long while. What began as "chaperoning" - as my grandma snarkily called it the night before we left - turned into some really beautiful time with them, learning more about them, and experiencing those small witnesses to their married love, which, in three weeks, will be 53 years in the making.
B and I are so blessed to have these wonderful examples of married love that we can learn from.
a presto.
In that week with them, we were able to learn more about them and, most importantly, experience their fierce devotion to one another. It's a devotion that isn't terribly overt - it's not romanticized and it's not overly affectionate, but it is a quiet, strong, fierce married love. They show it in the simplest ways - Gran helping Grandpa get his coat off, holding his hand as he walks down the stairs to the car, and the like. Perhaps the most memorable for me was a simple moment in the middle of the week - we had arrived in Texas in the midst of one of the coldest fronts experienced by the Lone Star State in recent history. Temperatures didn't get out of the forties (and sometimes struggled to reach them) on Wednesday and Thursday. As we were preparing to watch the BCS Championship Game (Longhorns/Tide - which didn't turn out as my Texan husband hoped it would), my grandma was in the living room reading the paper. My grandpa went to their bedroom to retrieve something, and returned with her new bedroom slippers, a gift from her children at Christmas.
"I brought you your slippers, for when your feet get cold," he simply replied, handing her the shoes as he took his seat to watch the game.
"Well, thank you, dear, that's wonderful...for when my feet get cold," my grandma replied.
My husband and I exchanged glances and my eyes nearly teared up as we watched them interact. My grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in late 2005 and has a limited range of motion due to his hips and knees being replaced several years ago. Often his fastest gait is nothing but a shuffle, and it takes him awhile to get from place to place. Yet, he had the foresight to make this simple act of love for my grandmother - just bringing her slippers to her, something that I doubt was a small act of exertion. It wasn't a grand, blissful, emotional declaration of his love for her - but it probably spoke more volumes about his affection for her than any bouquet of roses or messages in the sky could ever speak.
It was such a wonderful trip and B and I might not have the opportunity for this time alone with them in a long while. What began as "chaperoning" - as my grandma snarkily called it the night before we left - turned into some really beautiful time with them, learning more about them, and experiencing those small witnesses to their married love, which, in three weeks, will be 53 years in the making.
B and I are so blessed to have these wonderful examples of married love that we can learn from.
a presto.
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