The First Rule of Daycare Fight Club...

Do not talk about Daycare Fight Club.

Here's a story that will make you shake your head...and it happened right here in Fayetteville. From our own Central United Methodist Church. Apparently, some really bright preschool teachers got the brilliant idea to make the kids they were supposed to be caring for fight each other. It sounds like the gig was up when parents started noticing their kids with more bruises than normal?

Some of the changes the church is looking at include "additional teacher training and exploration of possibly installing video cameras in the classroom." Do you really have to train daycare workers not to set 3 and 4 year olds to fighting each other? And the video cameras are a good idea...and probably would have prevented this abuse in the first place.

Wow. Just, wow...

Random Musings for a Wednesday...

First of all, apologies for my extended absence. More on that below. I was finally inspired to blog again on the ride home from dinner tonight. I've had plenty of time to think over the last few weeks of non-blogging and a few random thoughts popped into my head.

First, I've noticed that every once in a while I'll get super burned out on the internet and my computer generally. It's usually when I've had to spend a lot of time doing something I don't especially like. In the case of my most recent absence, it was the damn bar exam. I won't go too in depth on that subject because I'm sure any of my friends who read this are as tired of hearing me talk about it as I am of talking about it. In the past, this burnout usually resulted from final exam time and it wasn't nearly as long. But it always gives me a good opportunity to clear my head and come up with some new things to say.

Second, I've been doing quite a bit of thinking about the presidential election. I don't particularly like Obama, certainly don't like McCain and had nearly settled on voting for Bob Barr. Over the last month, I've started leaning more toward Obama. For all of his weaknesses, a change from the policies of the past eight years could be a very good thing. John Kerry actually battled back against the McCain machine at the Democrat Convention today - something he probably should have done after the Swift Boat job four years ago. Kerry's speech hammered the dichotomy between Senator McCain and Candidate McCain. The differences are stark and the prospect of a McCain presidency seems to be only four more years of the same. We need somebody who can restore our place in the world - a country that is respected, not feared (or, in some cases, ridiculed).

From my perspective as a future (hopefully) lawyer, the Supreme Court is quite conservative enough. The Republicans have fared well with recent appointments, replacing Rehnquist and O'Connor with Roberts and Alito, appointments that will be in place for many, many years. The next most likely retirements will come from the liberal side of the bench, either John Paul Stevens (age 88) or Ruth Bader Ginsburg (age 75). With Kennedy planted firmly in the middle, if not a bit right-leaning, the balance must be preserved.

I'm also tired of the GOP playing on the fears of Americans. The "Moral Majority" and the conservative right no longer have any moral credibility. A C.S. Lewis quote comes to mind, one that I've heard quoted many times and that is incredibly applicable to the right wing:

Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

Finally, I really want to get back into doing the "If" project regularly. I know I'm several weeks behind so I'll try to catch up over the next couple of weeks. It's good to be back.

To Those Who Supported Me this Summer

A special thanks to a poster in the July 08 Bar Exam Studying Support Group on Facebook for this. I've adapted it for my situation:

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Family Member, Friend or Acquaintance:

Thank you so much for all your support during these last few months. I know I have been rude, cranky, annoying, and any other combination of terms while studying for the bar. I'm sure you're sick of me whining and reciting legal terms. I really appreciate your patience, tolerance, and understanding.

Most of you know that I took the bar exam this week and, for my sake and yours, I would like you to beg the following of you:

(1) Please don't ask me how I think I did. I don't know. I won't know until September 5 at 4:00 pm. And if you ask, chances are you'll hear "Oh my god, I totally failed... the exam was a nightmare." Or some-such variation. During the month-long wait for the results to come back, there might be tears, panic attacks, nausea, or any other physical or emotional manifestation of total and utter devastation, in which case the "How you did" question becomes moot.

(2) If I express any kind of doubt about the test (which I will) or if I keep wailing that "I know I failed" (which I'll know I did,) please don't say "I know you did great." I appreciate the spirit of those words and the support they are intending but, you don't know. In an effort to make your life and mine better, here are some other good suggestions**:
(a) "I bet everyone feels that way"
(b) "It's a hard test, it's supposed to make you feel this way"
(c) "You did everything you could, all you can do now is put it out of your mind"
(d) Hand the person a drink
**Any of these statements could be altered to have similar meaning and combined for maximum efficiency. (D) is always effective, and the more it is used the better everyone will feel.

(3) Only as a last resort use the phrase "I'm sure you passed." It might start a fight, but if nothing else is working maybe that's what the bar-taker is looking for to vent some frustration!

(4) Please don't ask about career plans or job opportunities. I just finished taking the bar. I won't know whether I have a license for months. Maybe I have something lined up, maybe I don't. Right now I just want a drink. And if I can forget everything I learned or that I just took the bar that would be even better.


Thank you very much for your cooperation.
I hope this advice saves you many headaches, and when I'm a human being again I will do my best to make it up to you.

Lots of Love,
Bar-Taker July 2008