Cheney's Foot in Mouth

Lynne, not Dick.

I was very curious to see how Jon Stewart would handle interviewing the wife of the guy he has ripped more frequently and severely on his show than anyone other than President Bush. Awkward!

I figured he'd ask her some softball questions about her new book, throw in some mild jokes about her husband, and call it a night. That's probably what her handlers expected as well. Instead, he managed to draw her out on gay marriage, Iraq, and terrorism (after the obligatory fluff about her book), and basically, he worked her, simply by asking smart follow-up questions and engaging her in debate rather than letting her get away with canned pablum. In doing so, he backed her into uncomfortable corners, and in the end, gave her just enough rope with which to hang herself.

A couple of the better exchanges:

On her own husband's administration professing a desire for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage:

LC: [Discusses how open-minded and progressive she and Dick are about gays and people of all races]
JS: So you vehemently disagree with the Republicans when they say gay marriage should be in the constitution, banned...
LC: I think that the whole idea of an amendment opposing gay marriage is wrong, and I've said so publicly.

On the slow progress in Iraq:

LC: One of the good things you learn when you study history is that some of these things are not so easy to do. [Discusses America's own drawn-out process in drafting a constitution after the Revolution]. So, you know, these things are tough. But, take the historical perspective, understand what's going on here's a little tough, and maybe that gives us a little more patience.
JS: Do you feel like, we were, at the beginning of it, told it was gonna be easier than maybe it turned out to be, even though the people that...
LC: No.

But the highlight was the discussion on the state of terrorism over the last six years, in contrast to the Clinton administration. Totally botched by Cheney, to the extent that it was actually shocking to watch her say something so stupid. And Stewart let her off the hook at just the right moment, when she'd already been clearly beaten, and anything further would have just been piling on. Rather than running a fake punt up 50 late in the fourth quarter, he took a knee and let the scoreboard speak for itself.

Fiancée, Family, Football, and Food

Gina was in town for the last month doing an externship in the South Bay, and it flew by quickly, but we packed in a lot considering how much we both had to work. We went to my brother's wedding, celebrated Stanford's victory over the #1 team in the country with the Lopez twins, watched undefeated Hawaii barely stay that way, celebrated eight years together with dinner at Chez Panisse, and walked the Golden Gate.

Most important, of course, was the wedding (just beating out the USC game). The whole thing was held at the beautiful home of a family friend in Atherton. First came the ceremony at the top of the property, overlooking the hills, with the owner of the place also acting as officiant.



Then we took pictures throughout the property...



...including on their vineyard. Yes, the place is huge.



And finally the reception down by the pool. This is the head table, with everyone else situated around the pool. Somehow they fit everyone in and made it look really great.



Even some of my aunts and uncles from Korea made it for the big occasion.



Two of my new brothers, a pro golfer (left) and a mixed martial artist (right). The third is attending film school in London. Cool family! And they're from Vancouver, so they're huge hockey fans. I fit right in.



We had a blast, and we're thrilled to welcome Leslie to our family. And my parents get to do this all over again in 8 months with Gina!



The night before the wedding, Andrew, Gina, and I went to campus to welcome the football team back from its huge upset in Southern Cal...



...along with Landry Fields and the Lopez twins (no idea who the girl is). Hit the books, big fellas! God they're huge in person.



And the hero himself, Tavita Pritchard. Overheard at the rally: "Tavita's getting laid tonight, right?" Um, yeah.



We also caught the 14th-ranked Hawaii Warriors play Hubert and Gerald's Spartans in San Jose, where Hawaii escaped with an overtime win to keep their BCS hopes alive!



On one of her rare off days, Gina met up with me and some of my law school buddies at Berkeley for lunch at the Asian Ghetto (mmm, Korean BBQ).



This past Friday was our 8th anniversary, and we celebrated with dinner at Chez Panisse. I had my best meal ever there about nine years ago, and while it wasn't quite that good this time around, it was still excellent. More importantly though... eight years!!! I subtly mentioned that it was our last dating anniversary before marriage, and Gina not-so-subtly replied that just because we would soon have a wedding anniversary didn't mean we would stop celebrating this one. Good to know.



The next day, Gina's last before heading back home, we hung out in the city, including a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge during sunset.





We closed things out with pizza at Zachary's, and I gotta say, it lived up to its very lofty expectations. Maybe the best pizza I've ever had. When I finally have people over at my place, we'll definitely take out from there.

Gina's back in Hawaii now, so it's back to the grindstone. Hope I don't end up like this guy.

Ann Coulter Needs Perfecting

It's almost hard to believe someone would be willing to put this out there, even as a calculated move to generate publicity. Even for Ann Coulter, this is over the top.

Jews Need Perfecting

Pinch Me

I used to say that Cardinal runs thicker than blood, but I lied. With Stanford in a shockingly close game against USC late in the third quarter, Gina and I left the TV for my brother's out-of-towner dinner on the eve of his wedding. Family first. Damn it.

I had planned to keep tabs on the game, but in the chaos of meeting so many new people and catching up with old ones, as well as introducing Gina to everyone, I forgot about the game. Oh well, I figured USC would probably pull away in the fourth quarter, as so many of our opponents have done this year. I got to see us put up a good fight.

At some point during the festivities, my cell phone started vibrating non-stop. It was really annoying, and I kept reaching into my pocket to silence it. Who the f*** keeps calling me? Leave a freakin' message!

Then it hit me. Holy crap, we must have won! I turned to Gina and said, "I think we won the game, my phone won't stop vibrating." I reached in, checked my text messages, and sure enough, there were five waiting for me, with lots of exclamation points. Then I checked my voicemail, and another five messages, also with much exclaiming. Same thing on Gina's phone.

We were obviously crushed to miss the thrilling ending, but it's still monumental. WE BEAT USC!!! Go crazy, folks!!!

They did a midnight gathering at Maples to welcome back the team, so Andrew, Gina, and I headed to campus and got to see the team arrive and Harbaugh talk to us about the victory. The turnout was amazing. Just goes to show, winning cures all, especially historic winning. 41-point spread!!!

Time to set my recorder for the replay...

What the Heck's Fall Break?

My understanding is that it's a week for 2Ls to interview for jobs. Since I'm a mere 1L, it's a week to relax, a couple of minor assignments aside. So I'm spending most of it in Palo Alto with Gina and Andrew, culminating in my brother's wedding on Sunday.

Being back down here, I realize how much I miss the Peninsula. I'm enjoying the East Bay well enough, but this is where I truly feel at home. Today I biked around town running errands, and it felt good just to get a haircut from my normal barber and cruise through familiar terrain. I'm in no hurry for this week to end.

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with the Google crew for lunch. Can't miss a chance to grab a free mea... er, catch up with old friends. We can discuss GOOG's meteoric 80-point rise in the two months since my departure. Good to see I was so integral to the company's success!