Quote of the day

With friends like these Mitt, well...

Craig Robinson - the former political director for Republicans in the state of Iowa (home of the first contest for Republicans in 2016) said this:

“I hate to say this, but if Ryan wants to run for national office again, he’ll probably have to wash the stench of Romney off of him.” 

Unfortunately for him he made the comment to a New York Times  reporter.

Quotes of the day

Comments that would be considered inappropriate are somewhat common here.  Partly, I think language barrier is part of it - just not using the right words.  Culture plays another role and good ole' fashioned rudeness must also play a part.

As I was going up an elevator today a woman I don't know said, "Sir, you used to be a little bit fat.  No you are not.  What happened?"

I had no response.  I am down 20 pounds so thanks for noticing but who are you?

My  barber speaks little English but since I give a 100% tip I'm pretty sure I'm his favorite client.  I never have to wait when I come in three times a week for a shave.  Clearly this has made him wonder how much I make...

Barber: Money.  How much do you get?
Me: What?
Barber:  Money.  Month (pointing to calendar). How much you take?

I should have told him it was none of his business but instead I basically cut my salary in half and told him that.  The sad reality is that he sits in his shop seven days a week from 10AM-11PM and makes less than one-tenth what I make.  Yes, he gets to sleep during the day when business is slow but imagine spending 13 hours every day at your job.  I have no problem giving a 100% tip and now that he has asked me how much I make he'll be expecting at least that much.

Quote of the day

From a friend on FB:

A public union employee, a tea party activist and a CEO are sitting at a table with a plate of a dozen cookies in the middle of it.  The CEO takes 11 of the cookies, turns to the tea partier and says, "Watch out for that union guy.  He wants a piece of your cookie."

Why, Thank you!

I ran into a student from last semester.  He said,

"Mr. Steve, you are fat again!"

Ironically, I weighed myself this morning for the first time since I returned.  I clocked in at 208... so, yeah, I've gained about 10 pounds since last spring but I'm still 20 pounds lighter than a year ago.

But the student is right; I feel and look more fat than the scale would indicate.  Maybe the scale is broken.

Quote of the day - Cobert on BP

Stephen Colbert nails it:

"It's BP's well so the only person to blame is Barack Obama."

Quote of the day - the face of denial (and self-hatred)

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Quote of the day: Farmer Steve

A former student stopped me to say: "I overheard students talking in the hallway. You must have told them you come from a farm because they were saying, 'Why would the university bring in a farmer to teach the management classes?'"

I wish I could find a pair of bib overalls to wear to class next week.

Update:

Miram (understandably) does not understand why I'd wear bib's to the classroom: "So, you want to wear bibs to expose and reinforce a stereotype? Farms don't "manage" themselves!"

My goal is not to reinforce a stereotype but to break one. First, I loved growing up on a farm and have zero regrets. Second, I think farmers are pretty damned smart. And finally...

I am 100% comfortable in the classroom. I have few gifts - no athletic or artistic ability - but I can teach. So I'd be comfortable playing the bib overall wearing farmer stereotype to the hilt... hell, I'd wear a straw hat if I found one.

Historically, I know this to be true: Students love me or hate me, but by the end of the semester they will not be questioning my credentials. At that point they'll have to reexamine their thoughts about farmers.

Quote of the day

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons was rumored to be in an affair. When both were sighted in the Reno airport reporters followed them to a car where the governor flatly denied that he had been on a trip with the woman. He told the reporters:

"You are full of shit. You are. You really are."

The next day the Governor's office issued a statement that, yeah, they were on the same plane and "I apologize for any ambiguity or confusion caused by my answers..."

Wow. This is a state where their senator's family paid off a woman he was having an affair with.

Apparently, what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.

One of my favorite quotes of all time

Taking a break after inhaling the first 100 pages of Game Change, I checked FaceBook. In my mailbox was a question from a friend (and fellow Resident Assistant) from Coe about a student on my floor.

Being the overly eager RA I looked forward to meeting the new students during the summer orientations. Before I met any of them I met a mother who spoke with a slow-drawn accent that could easily be confused with Lousiana. She said emphatically, "M-y s-o-n is comin' to Coe to major in futball and minor in rassling."

In my three years as an RA it was very easy to pick out the one-term one-year wonders. (No matter how badly any student performed in the first semester Coe would almost always give them a second chance for the spring.) After a while I was concerned of the ethics of the admissions department. Go to Iowa with the plan to be pre-med and you're told you'll have to get accepted into the program after you prove yourself with grades. At Coe you're told, "Major in Biology. If you're accepted to the college you're guaranteed in the program. Many of our biology graduates have gone on to be doctors..." That's true, but telling that to a kid with a 17 ACT is disingenuous at best, but more accurately it's deceitful.

In the case of the kid above, Lonnie reminded me that the "futball major" was a presidential scholar. A fact that my love for my alma mater had allowed me to repress. I do remember he lasted less than two years.

Governing in the 21st century

It is entirely possible that Democrats will lose their 60 seat majority after Tuesday's special election in Massachusetts. In a normal world 59/100 seats would be a fantastic advantage. Of course, that was before it was clear that Republicans would refuse to negotiate on anything. Now it requires 60 votes for each and every issue. Biden has a good quote on the issue:

This is the first time every single solitary decision has required 60 senators. No democracy has survived needing a supermajority.

California plays by the same rules. Republican governor Ahhnold and the Democrats in control of the legislature have come to agreement on reducing the massive California budget deficit. The problem? Minority Republicans in the Assembly are able to stop it.

Biden's right: No democracy can survive needing a supermajority.

Quote of the day

For the record, I am more comfortable speaking my mind here than I did working for Susan Hamilton, but tonight a colleague surprised me with:

"So you think we have less academic freedom here?"

I gave him my best, "Watcha you talkin' about, Willis?" face. He understood immediately.

Quote of the day - Liberal Professor

A conservative friend saw this picture and said....

"The beard definitely cements your “liberal professor” persona – I’d keep it."

I am not doing anything until Christmas day. I'd like to see how much it grows out. If it does I'd like to play Santa next year and I'll start growing it earlier. (Also, keep on the look out for a good Santa suit.)

To the Liberal professor comment I'd tell Matt that Judge Bork is a conservative as it gets and he has one.

Quote of the day

Today is the first day back to work after a ten day break. I decided to grow a beard during the break and it's coming along but very gray. My boss decided to grow a goatee during the break and his looks kick-ass... a comment I was making to him when a colleague came along and said,

You know beards usually make a person look older, like Steve here, but your goatee makes you look ten years younger.

This wasn't typical Arab sucking up, it was true on both counts.

Before I shave it off I will take some pictures but for now it's still a work in progress.

Locals are less than 1% of the private workforce

I was told before arriving that you could spend an entire day out and about and never encounter an Emirati working. It took moving here to fully grasp that. From The National newspaper here's the quote of the day:

"Although nationals comprise a fifth of the UAE population, they account for less than one percent of the private sector workforce."

This led me to wonder, when have I ever encountered an Emirati working for a non-governmental agency or the cable/internet duopoly? I can only remember once at one of the stations I sent money home. A man was dressed as an Emirati, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was one.

Student quote of the day

Last year my boss kindly let me focus on getting adjusted and didn't ask me to advise students registering for classes. As I'm now a "veteran" I've been meeting with students for the past week.

Student: This is your first time advising, isn't it?
Me: Yes.
Student: It shows.

I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of my chair. Literally. It's a first to have a student with near perfect English also able to make such a cutting comment. I almost felt like I was back home dealing with students in the US.

My advisee realized she had insulted me and started to apologize. I interrupted her:

Me: It's OK... I know I'm new. I'm trying not to screw this up. What made it so obvious to you?
Student: You are asking questions. Our previous advisors sign our papers and we leave.

Oh.

Facebook quote of the day

One of my former students posted this as his status:

"I think one of the greatest things about modern America is the computerization of medical records. As a volunteer sheriff I can look up anyone's psychiatric records or surgical histories. Yeast infections... there a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from that old bread factory..."

It's not like this guy to make stuff up in postings, but it is a bit hard to believe any county would let him be a volunteer sheriff, whatever the hell that is.

Grassley learned the lesson early

Today's quote of the day is from Josh Marshall at Talking Points Media. In NY-23, the hard right took out the Republican candidate in favor of the Conservative Party candidate. The result?

Every non-hard-right congressional Republican will have this episode in mind going forward in the next year -- it will shape votes and positions on key issues.

Win or lose tomorrow the right wing will be embolden and the moderate Republicans will be even more scared. Since they fear a primary (or a third party candidate like happened in NY-23) you can expect normal Republicans to reach for their pitchforks next year.

Grassley was the clear point-man for Republicans on healthcare. What he saw this summer in his town halls in Iowa scared the bejebus out of him. He stopped negotiating in good faith and got as far away as he could.

That's how far the party has gone to the right: Chuck Grassley - once considered one of the most conservative members in the senate - was scared of being considered a socialist-liberal by his party.

Quote of the day: Ferentz

After Iowa's last second, fourth down win over Michigan State, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said,

"We give the fans their money's worth."

Yeesh, I'm glad I slept through this game. At 8-0 the Hawks have proved they're both lucky and good.

Quote of the day - Andrew Sullivan

Sullivan summarizes the reaction of Obama's Peace Prize: "premature and thoroughly deserved." He says:

"Both are right. I don't think Americans fully absorbed the depths to which this country's reputation had sunk under the Cheney era. That's understandable. And so they also haven't fully absorbed the turn-around in the world's view of America that Obama and the American people have accomplished. Of course, this has yet to bear real fruit..."

When I arrived here I was not surprised how those here viewed America. I was surprised, however, by how much that attitude changed by the election of Obama. The people of the world want to like the US. In that way the award was deserved.

But I'm still in the "premature" camp.

Quote of the day

"Conservatism has been has been converted into a religious belief, and now compromise doesn't have a prayer."

- Neil Gabler