Thanks to my dad for sending along this excellent New Republic article explaining convincingly why Joe Lieberman is the best Democratic candidate for president. I would excerpt it, but I’d end up quoting the entire article. Just read the whole thing, okay? :)

I like Lieberman; I have all along. Yes, I’m slightly uncomfortable with his censor-ish tendencies, but honestly, what’s he going to do if elected that’s so worrisome? Personally rip up the First Amendment and order all the studios to clean up their act or else? Joe and Hollywood don’t get along, that’s for sure, but really, I just don’t see him as some great threat to freedom. (Howard Dean is a much greater threat to freedom, in the sense that his nomination would virtually ensure four more years of Bush and Ashcroft.)

Anyway, Lieberman’s positive qualities are overwhelming, especially as compared to his competitors. TNR elucidates wonderfully. For me, the central question is simply whether Joe will survive as a credible candidate long enough to get my vote. If he’s still alive and kicking when Connecticut and 12 other states vote on March 2 (yes, I’m voting absentee in CT — I missed the deadline to register in AZ), then I will very likely vote for him. If not, I will probably vote for whatever “anti-Dean” has emerged by then (Wesley Clark is my tentative favorite after Lieberman).

[UPDATE, 7/31/06: Welcome, ND Nation readers! As you can see, this post is more than 2 1/2 years old. It is the origin of the phrase “Irish Trojan,” which is now the name of this blog. Anyway, for more recent posts, visit my homepage.

Incidentally… I’m looking for extra tickets to several Irish home games. I have various tickets that I’m willing to trade. Click here for details! If you’re looking for tickets to Georgia Tech, Purdue, Stanford, North Carolina or Army, you may be interested. Please e-mail me at bloy [at] nd.edu if so!

Oh, and as for the “wussiest songs of all time” contest, it’s an honor just to be nominated!]
 
 
* * * * ORIGINAL POST BELOW, FROM JAN. 9, 2004 * * * *
 
 
Having received an e-mail yesterday officially welcoming me to Notre Dame Law School (they received my deposit check and enrollment form on Wednesday), the self-descriptive phrase “Irish Trojan” occurred to me at some point this afternoon. Catchy, eh?

Naturally, since everything always goes back to Ireland — and more specifically, to the Clancy Brothers — this passing thought inspired me to write an entire song: a knock-off of The Irish Rover. It is entitled, of course, The Irish Trojan.

I present it here, in its entirety, knowing full well that my dad is probably the only reader who will fully appreciate it (though Sean may remember some of the tune from when I used to sing The Irish Rover on the playground in third grade). Now then, I don’t want no grief about how the rhymes with “Trojan” are imperfect. Nothing rhymes with Trojan. :) I did my best. The scansion is also suspect in spots, and there is one place where “Dame” is rhymed with “dame,” always a no-no. But what can I say? I rather like it anyway.

The Irish Trojan
by Brendan Loy

In the year of our lord
Twenty hundred and two
Brendan’s life’s road arrived at a fork
Which career path to take?
Which profession to choose?
For the erstwhile journalism dork
Going to grad school seemed daft
But he tired of his craft
His inspiration frozen
So to much shock and awe
He decided on law
Now they call him the Irish Trojan

Seven big-city law schools
Back east, close to home,
Were the ones whose admissions he sought
But he also applied
To a Midwestern school
‘Twas a virtual afterthought
For Rebecca, his dame
Sought out Notre Dame
To join their history program
Brendan thus followed suit
Though he planned no such route
Nor to be called the Irish Trojan

When the offers came in
And the rejections, too
Brendan’s options were narrowed to four
UConn, BU, Cardozo and old Notre Dame
Were the choices he had to explore
Cardozo was free
No tuition or fees
Their offer made them golden
Few indeed could foresee
That a day there would be
When they’d call him the Irish Trojan

The scales started to tip
On a fateful road trip
With fair Becky in May of ‘03
They decided to spend
A few hours in South Bend
Took the tour — after all, it was free
Around campus they walked
And oh! What a shock!
It seemed the fates had chosen
For he loved every inch
Now the choice seemed a cinch
Soon they’d call him the Irish Trojan

Brendan’s not in the habit
Of closing the book
On his options when they’re still alive
So he dragged out his choice
And considered it well
Though his friends for finality strived
But a trip to the sticks
And two football tix
Convinced him to quit rovin’
Now he’s finally enrolled–
Hail green, cardinal and gold–
And they call him the Irish Trojan!

Hehehe.

Hmm. That second-to-last line makes me think of a possible follow-up song… “It is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen! His undergrad was cardinal, but his law school, it was green…” :)

On a more serious note, the first day of school at ND is Aug. 23. Expect a countdown to appear on this site fairly shortly — and also expect that word “probably” to be removed from my self-description at left.

President Bush is set to announce an initiative to go back to the Moon, and go to Mars. (I wonder if he will also demand that we “do the other things.”) His target dates are rather far off into the future, but hey, this is better than nothing.

More bad news for Governor Rowland:

A new University of Connecticut poll, conducted after Gov. John G. Rowland’s speech Wednesday night, suggests the governor’s plea for forgiveness did him no good and may even have worsened his standing with the public.

Only 11 percent of those polled said that Rowland’s solemn speech made them more supportive of the governor, while 24 percent said the televised address made them less supportive.

The first Hartford Courant girls basketball ratings in two weeks came out today, and undefeated Newington, 8-0 for the first time since my freshman year in high school, is… unranked.

The Indians didn’t even make the Top 20.

(more…)

Andrew wanted a post on Bush’s new proposed immigration policy. Here it is. I haven’t read enough about it yet to have an informed opinion, though I agree it is very important. But nevermind me — comment away! :)

I just got through watching Governor Rowland’s address to the state earlier this evening. It’s a good speech, and he seems sincere in apologizing for being a lying bastard.

Of course, the fact that he apologized for being a lying bastard doesn’t change the fact that he should also resign for being a lying bastard.

It’s like old times at Newington High, where the girls basketball team is 8-0 — their best start since my freshman year in high school — after defeating perennial powerhouse New Britain 48-31 last week and thrashing Maloney 72-35 yesterday.

The triumph against New Britain was the Indians’ first win over the Hurricanes since Feb. 25, 1997, my sophomore year. And this is the first time Newington has won the first eight games of a season since 1995-96, when they started 10-0 before losing to Southington.

Junior star Kelly McVey has been leading the way, tying a career high against New Britain with 19 points and breaking it against Maloney with 20. Freshman phenom Yasmin Ithier-Vicenty has also been making waves. It looks like the Indians could be building something here that could last a few years — a real return to glory.

Newington will play Platt tomorrow, then take on top-notch conference foes Bulkeley and Bristol Eastern next week. Here’s the Indians’ schedule.

“The ridiculous BCS system… has not only made a sham of the national championship, it is also an insult to the essence of sport,” writes SI.com’s Phil Taylor. “The beauty of sports is that they come as close as possible to eliminating the subjectivity that we endure in most other areas. We might have to debate who most deserved that promotion at work or who has the better singing voice, but who won the game? That should be crystal clear, not open for discussion. But college football deprives teams of even playing the game, at least the one that would give us a clear-cut national champion. The forces that keep the sport from going to a playoff format that would allow the champ to earn its crown on the field, not in the polls or through a computer, apparently don’t understand what sport is all about. A real competitor would rather have a real answer, even if it’s no. Anything is better than maybe.”

Hear, hear.

Here’s a better and earlier (though still blurry) shot of the gorgeous sunrise over Manhattan that I saw and Moblogged from New Jersey en route to D.C. on New Year’s Eve morning:

Almost makes you want to cry “Forth Eorlingas!,” doesn’t it? :)

More pictures of my week will probably be forthcoming soon. (I intend to test out iPhoto and some other Mac applications in the process of trying to get the pics online.) But you can already see wedding photos in the post below.

Here it is: the much-anticipated “food fight photo” that took the wedding reception by storm Saturday night:

For the uninitiated, that’s Becky’s Uncle Larry, who instigated the food fight in the first place, calling a “timeout” while, at the same moment, Grandma Dot holds a piece of a bread roll and gets ready to fire. She cocked back her arm and threw it across the room a second or two later. Now that’s a road map to peace! :)

Neither Larry nor Dot knew I was taking this candid shot, and much hilarity ensued when it, and its description, started making the rounds at the reception. (Click on the photo for a larger version.) The Boecklers — Becky’s mom’s side of the family — are rather a fun-loving, free-wheeling bunch when there’s a party to be had, in case you can’t tell. :)

(By the way, Uncle Larry is Larry Caplin, a participant along with his wife Pat in last year’s Living Room Times NCAA pools. Uncle Rick, referenced below, is Rick Boeckler, defending champion of the women’s pool!)

Of course, the point of the evening was the wedding, not the food fight. Here’s a photo of the bride and groom, Elena and Nelson, saying their vows:

Here are a bunch more pictures from Saturday:

Gathering in the hotel lobby before leaving for the wedding.

Larry takes a picture of me while I (blurrily) return the favor.

The flower girls and ring bearer walk down the aisle.

The father and mother of the bride, Becky’s Uncle Rick and Aunt Evelyn, walk Elena down the aisle.

Cameras point and people stare as the walk down the aisle continues.

A look at the inside of the beautiful church where the wedding was held.

Becky’s parents heckle their nephew Alex (Elena’s younger brother, and a groomsman) as he walks into the reception room.

Becky’s mom, Uncle Rick, Aunt Pat, and Aunt Evelyn watch the newlyweds have their first dance. Also note that I really need to clean my lens!

The bride and groom kiss after she smothered him with cake.

Rick and Elena have their father-daughter dance.

The ring bearer and one of the flower girls sleep soundly as loud music blares during the reception.

Larry shows off his Homer Simpson boxer shorts in the hotel restaurant the next morning. :)

I hope y’all have been following the Mars lander story. If you haven’t, you should be. So should I, but dammit, I’ve been travelling! :) I did read about it in the paper this morning, though, and it’s very cool.

Here’s the basic homepage for the mission, with the latest images from Mars. And here’s the fancy-schmancy Flash version with all sorts of bells and whistles.

UPDATE: In other space news… goodness, gracious, great balls of fire are falling from the sky in Spain!