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| It was a good 4 year-run, zbadtzmaru. but all things must come to an end. All further entries will be found at http://www.xanga.com/judiciouslee. We even have a inaugural post up already. See ya'll at the new site! | | |
| El and I are going up to San Francisco today. Judge is sitting by designation on the Ninth Circuit so we'll acompanying her to oral argument. But that only takes up half of Friday so the rest of our weekend will be playplayworkplay. sweet.
I was dying at work but someone withdrew their motion this morning so I have a fleeting lull. I figured I'd post something relatively random.
As you may or may not know, I have a politico man-crush on Mr. Obama and I think you should have one too. And not simply because he's the junior senator from my home state or that he was the first black Editor-In-Chief of the Harvard Law Review or that he's an eloquent, thoughtful, and charismatic person or that he has a chance to be the first minority president of these United States. I believe that you should whole-heartedly support Barack Obama in his campaign for the President of the United States because he is the best hope for drawing our nation out of the polarizing grips of the ideological demagogues and up to a society of reasoned, intelligent policy-making.
As I've reflected more deeply on my own worldview, I've realized that I am ultimately a pragmatist at war with his idealist tendencies (or better known as a moderate). I fully appreciate and recognize the need for immutable truths to undergird our understanding of the world, how we make laws, and how we treat one another. But to restrict one's position to an "all or nothing, our way or the highway" mentality, and by proxy insisting that our laws reflect this absolutism, is utter naiveté bordering on abject foolishness. Issues like banning all abortion, constitutionalizing a ban on homosexual marriage and kicking out all the illegal aliens are merely red herrings to draw Christian voters focus away from issues that are primed for advancement. I mean really, what tangible and legitimate results has George Bush's administration achieved in these areas during his presidency?? I submit to you that no such progress has been made in EIGHT YEARS, and during Bush's campaigns, Karl Rove knew full well that no such change was going to occur. They were tantalizing promises, full of bravado and the right buzzwords, but ultimately hollow. Abortion is too entrenched in our society and there are too many interests groups fighting on its behalf to achieve the types of results Christians were hoping of Bush's administration. Same with homosexual marriage. So why waste so much breath and money on these issues that affect a segmented portion of society without focusing on issues that affect everyone?
Global warming, the lack of universal healthcare, and a failing education system are all gorilla-sized problems that affect people in both red and blue states. It reflects a pragmatic view of our country to focus on these issue because these are the areas primed for positive change without the burdensome squabble of republican/democrat or christian/heathen ideologies. And this has always been Barack Obama's stance and why he should be the one to lead our country out of the clusterbeep that was the Bush era. I believe he is humble enough to know that there is always room for discussion and consensus but resolute and wise enough to know that difficult decisions will be made. And any argument that Barack is too inexperienced is unpersuasive, at best and uninformed, at worst. Arnold Schwarzenegger, of Jingle All The Way fame, is currently doing a better than commendable job of running a state with one of the world's 10 largest economies without a lick of political experience. I could go further, but I'll stop here. Suffice to say, you should hope Barack beats Hillary (it's all about the matchups, people).
GO BULLS!!
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| Oy, life is so busy these days...
since turnabout is fair play, I wanted to give a shout out to Joe and Young, who got engaged last week. Congrats suckaz. Some pics of us hanging out in SD after their engagement...
And don't forget to show your moms a little love this Sunday.
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| so over the course of the last few month Eleanore and I have had random brushes with celebrity...
- Alberto Gonzales - for all ya'll legal nerds, I suppose the Attorney General of the United States qualifies as celebrity. He was visiting my judge two weeks back and so he decided to stop by my office and we shot the breeze. so yep, me and Bert are best buds now. hopes he makes it through those senate subpoena's okay...
- Alex Kozinski - for all ya'll even more hardcore legal nerds. Superjurist on the Ninth Circuit. He was also stopping by to visit my judge and so I had to run out and get lunch for him. Judge Kozinski apparently likes turkey sandwiches.
- Junior Seau - eating a table right behind me and El and this Italian place in San Diego. A bit smaller than I imagined he would be. Likes to drink martinis and sing lines from Savage Garden's "Truly, Madly, Deeply". I kid you not.
- Dat Phan - winner of the first run of NBC's Last Comic Standing. Eats pho at the same Vietnamese place El and I frequent
- Yul Kwon and Becky Lee from Survivor - Thanks in part to my bro-in-law, we got to meet and talk with Survivor winner and all-around superstud Yul. He gave a speech at KASCON, which was being held at UC-SD this year. Seems like a really nice guy. Took the time out to talk and take pictures with everyone who was waiting to speak with him. Even gave us his contact info and told us to get in touch if we ever wanted to get plugged into the political scene in D.C. I think he's trying to back Barack Obama for his 2008 presidential campaign (more on Mr. Obama in a later post). Also networked with Becky, who seemed pretty cool too. Apparently, she parlayed her Survivor fame to start up a fund for battered women support groups, which she has been involved with over the course of the last 8 years. good stuff.
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| I was going to post something substantive this weekend since I finally got a breather, but I guess it'll have to wait b/c the weekend's already over...
Suffice to say that SD is pretty stinkin' awesome and life with my wife is even more freakin' awesome.
Anyways, check out these three albums that been on my iPod's heavy rotation... they're all a touch of U2 mixed with Sigur Ros mixed with Radiohead.
The Listening - Rock and Roll Worship Circus Becomes The Listening
Future of Forestry - Twilight
Sleeping at Last - Keep No Score
 
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