In doing research for my Linguistics paper on the metaphors used to talk about blogs (wee!), I came across this really interesting article that none other than Berkeley’s own Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the Kos of Daily Kos, wrote for The American Prospect about a year and a half ago. Kos reflects on the time he spent in the army right after high school, and why he switched from being a presinct-captain Republican to a card-carrying Democrat. It struck me as incredibly poignant, especially with an election nearing, as people are evaluating their own beliefs in choosing a candidate to vote for. It’s a short article, so you should definitely check it out!

P.S. How meta is it that in the midst of writing a paper about blogs, I should be compelled to post one of my own? Oh, academia.

So my Linguistics professor told us a funny story the other day in lecture. Apparently when Senator Larry Craig held his press conference to address the charges of his airport bathroom cruising, the VERY FIRST WORDS out of his mouth were, “Thank you all for coming out today.” Perfect, no? I wonder if he was aware of the awesome double entendre that helped him kick off the press conference with a bang!

Language snarkiness aside, it’s September here at Cal, which means IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER YEAR OF KICKING ASS! For those of you who’ve been around the block before, welcome back, and for those of you who are newbies (shall we dub thee Baby Dems?) welcome!!

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If you read the April 1 article referenced in Jovanna’s post yesterday, you’d see that a spokesman for Barack Obama declared that, unlike Hillary Clinton’s folks, their camp would not release Obama’s fundraising numbers. But according to a CNN article published today, only 3 days later, it seems that Obama’s people have changed their minds! Not only that, but these released numbers revealed the fact that Obama is only $1 million behind Clinton! With still a year to go before the primary, the money game is already heating up…

P.S. In (slightly) related news, I was quoted on a KCBS radio piece on presidential fundraising!

As you, your professor, The Daily Cal, and probably even your mom already know, Barack Obama paid a visit to our fair Bay Area last Saturday afternoon to give a speech outside of Oakland City Hall. I arrived at 12th Street around 12:30 in the afternoon to help sell t-shirts, buttons, and stickers for the campaign, and although the gates for the event didn’t even open until 3:00 (not to mention the fact that Obama himself didn’t begin speaking until around 4:30), crowds were already lined up around the block by 1:30!

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Last Friday, Senator Dianne Feinstein graced our very own Cal campus with her glorious presence as part of a conference put on by Boalt to address climate change policy. Feinstein presented the conference attendees with five bills, all of which are designed to lower both future greenhouse gas emissions and the country’s dependency on fossil fuels. In between emphasizing the value of a moderate bill that can be strengthened and recognizing the fact that policy isn’t always perfect, DJ DiFi dropped some mad-crazy metaphors, declaring that “we are looking for the access ramp to the freeway for change,” and warning that global warming may be approaching a “tipping point;” sounds to me like the cow of the ozone layer is in some serious trouble! It’s great to hear that concerns about climate change are transforming into tangible policy changes, and that our campus can be the catalyst for these discussions and plans to be made!

The Daily Cal has more.