Lightning struck the Empire State Building yesterday:

Pretty cool. Reminds me of the time (which I’ve mentioned before) I was in Chicago, standing outside the Museum of Natural History, when lightning struck the Sears Tower — but my view was blocked by a giant stone pillar. Harumph! Good thing the photographer in New York yesterday had a clear view.

Speaking of the Sears Tower… check out this view from the 3L boat cruise yesterday:

It was actually a full rainbow, though I couldn’t capture the whole thing in one picture. I wouldn’t have caught any of it if Mike, Kevin and Charles hadn’t told me to come over and look… after which they proceeded to argue over who should get the hat tip on the blog. Heh. Well, they can all consider this a photographic hat tip:

Incidentally, I have a lot of other 3L Week pics that I haven’t posted yet, but (as with my tornado photos) I haven’t had time to organize and upload them because of all this packing. Ugh.

Packing up 2 1/2 years in South Bend into cardboard boxes = annoying, tiring and time-consuming.

Sasha standing on those boxes = cute.

Our parents arrive tomorrow night (mine) and Saturday morning (Becky’s), we back up our Penske truck Saturday, I graduate Sunday, and we leave for Knoxville Monday morning. So, needless to say, the packing continues apace.

The day’s big news is the compromise on illegal immigration:

In a striking reach across party lines, the White House and key lawmakers agreed Thursday to reshape the nation’s immigration laws and give millions of illegal immigrants legal status. At the same time, borders would be tightened.

The compromise brought liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans together with top members of President Bush’s team on an issue that carries heavy potential risks and rewards for all involved.

The Senate will wade into an emotional and wide-ranging debate on the issue next week that promises to test the unlikely coalition that produced the deal. Almost instantly, the plan brought vehement criticism from both sides of the immigration issue, including liberals who called it unfair and unworkable and conservatives who branded it an overly permissive “amnesty.”

The proposal constitutes a far-reaching change in the immigration system that would admit future arrivals seeking to put down roots in the U.S. based on their skills, education levels and job experience, limiting the importance of family ties. A new class of guest workers would be allowed in temporarily, but only after borders were fortified and measures were in place to ensure the rules were followed.

I’m too busy packing for our big move to read up on the details of this, so I don’t really have an opinion at this point. But I figured it should be on the blog, so others can comment on it. Snd since CNN didn’t see fit to issue a breaking-news alert about it — apparently believing that Paris Hilton, Don Imus and Anna Nicole Smith are more important than immigration reform — this post was necessary. :)

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to resign at the end of June, bank directors announced in a written statement.

Visit CNN for the latest.

THE ANGRY RIGHT
In Item # 35647 Why Republicans Are Not Libertarians No Matter How Much They Say So, the Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party has introduced a petition to ban Ron Paul from any further Republican debates. Why? Dr. Paul - agreeing with the CIA and the 9-11 Commission - pointed out in the last debate that when you attack people, they tend to want to hurt you. Instead of addressing his point about blowback, Giuliani then attacked a straw man that Paul said we invited 9/11. The only reason nobody else on stage said anything is that the moderator forced them to move along. (Dr. Paul has also said other crazy libertarian things, like that we should use military force against al Qaeda.) And before anyone starts, no, the fact that it isn’t the government trying to silence him doesn’t make it better.

THE SICKO FROM THE LEFT
Michael Moore is making a documentary called Sicko. In it, he attacks the health care industry of America. Fair enough. As part of it, however, he makes a trip to that bastion of freedom and prosperity: Cuba. Castro obligingly used him for his own propaganda, though Fred Thompson notes that Cuban filmmakers have a nasty habit of finding themselves in state mental institutions. I don’t get it. I really don’t. Who takes even a glancing look at history and thinks Communism is a good idea? Jesus, the only reason insurance even exists is because of capitalism. You don’t need walls and armed guards to keep people inside a capitalist country. Some people want walls so we can keep them OUT! You don’t see people risking their lives to escape capitalist countries to make it into Communist ones. Maybe some people might take a hint? PS Michael Moore: the word liberal means of or pertaining to freedom. If you’re going to support a dictatorship over a limited republic in stark contrast to historical liberalism, STOP CALLING YOURSELF A LIBERAL!!

Whether or not I end up at NMSU next fall or head to Abilene Christian as I’m hoping, I’ll have big opportunities ahead of me.

My grades just came in (I finished my sophomore undergrad year). Relevant here: I scored 88 on the midterm for Consumers and the Law and finished with an A-, so my paper was done well. On my presentation (which involved hand-drawn illustrations of NM drunk driving laws), the delivery was good enough to merit second place for most outstanding presentation.

Sweet.