RE: University Safety Procedures
An Open Letter to Dr. Michael T. Nietzel, President of Missouri State University. President Nietzel, I respond to your official statement on the subject of our beloved University’s safety procedures. I am disappointed by the reiteration of Missouri State’s foolish and detrimental policy which prohibits legally carried firearms on our campus. We have seen in Virginia the danger of such discrimination. As a student of Missouri State University, I have at all times abided by the stated policy in that I have not carried a firearm onto campus. I have...
Read MoreVeggies, Beggars, and Smiles
The feria defines my Cochabamba. The feria is a fresh produce fair held in a stretched loop of good road near the center of town every Saturday and Sunday. My mother and I leave by 8:30 on Saturday mornings, always equipped with numerous bolsas and hopefully coated in sufficient sunscreen. We have our taxi park at the quiet end of the loop and happily enter the friendly cacophany. Outdoor markets make me happy. They’re my favorite feature of Renaissance Fairs, and I watch Notting Hill to see the booths of crafted goods and arts (well, and maybe for the clever sap)....
Read MoreStruggle to Escape, part three.
I settled easily into my AeroSur seat. There was a delay as airport security tried to find a passenger, some male, who needed to be Removed From the Plane for Questioning. Eventually they found the guy, and we were cleared for takeoff. I knew better than to eat their possibly-Amoeba-poisoned fool, so at 11:something at night I had my day’s first meal — the Starbucks sandwich I’d wisely purchased earlier. That swiftly done away with, and my brain satisfied by having seen Cuba down below… and I fell asleep. I awoke the next morning somewhere over Ecuador,...
Read MoreStruggle to Escape, part two.
AeroSur was odd. I made it through the lines and to the ticket counter. I asked if they’d take my luggage, they said no. I said I’d pay, they said no. I asked why, they didn’t answer. I asked again if they’d take my luggage, they conferenced. I said I’d pay, again, and they said no. Then, out of nowhere, this guy with badges and tags popped up behind teh counter and told them that they could. Then! I found out that it was quasi-yes but they didn’t tell me why it was a quasi-yes. Then they said they had to call Homeland Security to check my cat and the carrier. We waited....
Read MoreStruggle to Escape, part one.
Insanity. Totally bonkers and nutty and filled with stress. That’s what’s it’s like to try and fly on Lloyd Aereo Boliviano. First one cancellation, then the second. I went to the airport and they gave me a voucher for a hotel. The Red Roof Inn at MIA was perfectly pleasant. I walked next door and paid way too much for decent food at Bennigan’s. I enjoyed walking in the evening of Miami, though, after the chills of Missouri. So, okay, good hotel experience for a free night. I was told that the next day we’d have a flight. Right, whatever. I went with it,...
Read MoreAbout Lorien
I vote as a libertarian constitutionalist influenced by Hayek and Burke, and I think as an anarchist guided by the biblical principles of liberty. My government is strictly bound by the U.S. Constitution. I have fenced foil in a diaper-suit and run for political office in a skirt-suit, but my shoes were always fabulous. Both dreadful politics and inspiring design are likely to make me teary. and yes. I’m a tshirt ninja.
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