Life imitates farce - Richard Gephardt

*N.B. While webcrawling for this saturday's um... 'exercise' I ran into this pretty compelling stuff in light of recent developments...
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Mr. Speaker and members of the House, I stood on this floor yesterday and implored all of us to say that the politics of slash-and-burn must end. I implored all of you that we must turn away from the politics of personal destruction and return to the politics of values.

It is with that same passion that I say to all of you today that the gentleman from Louisiana, Bob Livingston, is a worthy and good and honorable man.

I believe his decision to retire is a terrible capitulation to the negative forces that are consuming our political system and our country.

And I pray with all my heart that he will reconsider this decision.

Our founding fathers created a system of government of men, not of angels. No one standing in this House today can pass a Puritanical test of purity that some are demanding that our elected leaders take.

If we demand that mere mortals live up to this standard, we will see our seats of government lay empty, and we will see the best, most able people unfairly cast out of public service.

We need to stop destroying imperfect people at the altar of an unobtainable morality.

We need to start living up to the standards which the public, in its infinite wisdom, understands that imperfect people must strive towards, but too often fall short.

We are now rapidly descending into a politics where life imitates farce. Fratricide dominates our public debate and America is held hostage to tactics of smear and fear.

Let all of us here today say no to resignation, no to impeachment, no to hatred, no to intolerance of each other, and no to vicious self-righteousness.

We need to start healing. We need to start binding up our wounds. We need to end this downward spiral which will culminate in the death of representative democracy.

I believe this healing can start today by changing the course we've begun.

This is exactly why we need this today to be bipartisan. This is why we ask the opportunity to vote on a bipartisan censure resolution, to begin the process of healing our nation and healing our people.

We are on the brink of the abyss. The only way we stop this insanity is through the force of our own will.

The only way we stop this spiral is for all of us to finally say -- enough.

Let us step back from the abyss and let's begin a new politics of respect and fairness and decency which raises what has come before.

May God have mercy on this Congress and may Congress have the wisdom and the courage and the goodness to save itself today.

ANC round 2?

There will be no Warren. The monkey will take the bar this summer (hindi po pwede ang barista? )

In all likelihood there will be no Kucil. Let mother focus on taking her review subjects.

Likewise there will be no Francis. I don't know the events of the past sem have left me unsettled / distressed in a way I can't describe.

I don't know if I can muster the same level of elan and bravado that I had last year.

I don't know if I can muster the energy I had last year

I don't know if I can

I don't know

I don't even know if I should.

P.S. Of course I know I'm just not willing to admit it to myself just yet.

The World's a playground.

The World's a playground. You knew that when you're a kid but somewhere along the line everyone forgets it.

I've been carrying that around in my Facebook for a while I think. So bloody true, for my part I've forgotten that it is a playground, my playground. Lately I've been complicating life with too many concerns when in fact in the end I only have one true concern at this point; The bar.

Hard to admit but beyond that miserable eye-of-a-needle sieve called the bar all other concerns seem minute and secondary.

God knows I've meet enough barristers who are worried about thier chances at the bar to know that not even the most arrogant and self-deluded can take the bar foregranted.

Am I ready for the bar? Obviously not!
Will I be ready by 2011? Not at the rate I'm going!

That being said I need to take this whole law school gig a bit more seriously.

That being said as well, I need to get back to my 1st sem mentality.

Law School is like politics and love.

a.) Expect only that which you yourself are willing to give.
b.) Giving does not mean you will receive.
c.) The important thing is to enjoy what you are doing
d.) or if you aren't enjoying it at least know why you are still doing it
e.) cape lucum et fac vestigium