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Updated 9/6/05:
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Please contact us at republicans@stuorgs.uidaho.edu with any questions, or give Laurel a call at (208) 301-3267.

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September 6, 2005 :: 2:58 AM

I wish the first CR@UI blog entry could be written on a happy note, but alas, it's been at best a very strange week in the United States. Over a million of our countrymen have been displaced in one fell swoop - a not-so-subtle reminder that even America isn't immune to acts of God. It has saddened me to see so much more focus in the mainstream media on the looting and tragedy in the South than on the positive humanitarian efforts. Granted, we have to take the bad with the good, but Americans need stories of hope to fuel our desires to rebuild and move on. Fortunately, order in New Orleans is being restored, and it seems the tides are turning (yipes... probably a really bad figure of speech to use) for the best. Our friends in the South remain in my thoughts and prayers, and hopefully yours too. As for the folks who find it prudent to loot wide-screen plasma televisions... well, I'll keep my thoughts on such behavior to myself, but suffice it to say it's probably good nobody sent me in to deal with them.

In other news, America lost a true icon this week, with the passing of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. I, for one, fully expected Justice Thomas or Justice Scalia to be elevated to CJ. In a surprise move, President Bush announced that everyone's favorite SCOTUS nominee, Judge John Roberts, is to take Rehnquists' place instead. Even though many think Roberts is unproven, this is theoretically a very strategically sound move. (I say theoretically because there's always the chance, God help us, that Roberts will turn out to be another Souter. I highly doubt it, but Bush-41 probably didn't see it coming either!) Anyway, Roberts is currently fifty years old. Provided he is the solid conservative we all believe him to be, he could head up the SCOTUS for thirty years, easy. As much as I like Thomas, I'd rather have a conservative atop the court for thirty years than risk the CJ falling into the hands of a liberal president (read: Hell-ary Clinton) anytime soon.

Locally, College Republicans at UI have kicked off their year with a bang. We had about twenty members at our first meeting, which is record-setting for an off-election-year. I'm really impressed with our group, too. We've got a broad range of views and a broad range of backgrounds, but a lot of gung-ho Republicans ready to "git r done." (Oh come on, this is Idaho - I'm allowed one Larry the Cable Guy reference!) Our next meeting is tonight at 6:00 pm (check the calendar for details) and I'm excited to get cracking on some projects. We have a lot of great ideas already, but I'd honestly like to see them take a back burner to a Hurricane Katrina relief effort, at least for a week or two. I've had the good fortune to make CR friends across the nation in the past few months, so I'm personally acquainted with a few southerners who no longer have a college to go to, at least for the time being. If we can help them out, I think that's a noble cause and one worth a portion of our time and effort.

I am one of those lucky bums who doesn't have classes on Tuesday or Thursday, so my insomnia is somewhat excusable - but even the worst of us have to sleep sometime. I'll sign off now - and see you all in the Clearwater Room for the meeting tonight at 6:00!

Blogged By :: Laurel Zimmer

Interested in blogging for CR@UI? To be a regular correspondent, send an email to Laurel to introduce yourself and explain your interest. Or, if you just have an informative, funny, weird, annoying, etc. story you'd like to share in blog form, feel free to email it to the group anytime, and we'll post it for you. (We reserve the right to edit for inappropriate content.)