Catching up….
That’s what I’d really like to do, but it seems that is unlikely to occur in the next few months, so right now, I have to content myself with not getting TOO far behind. It occurred to me this morning that while I’d popped by RSE to see what others had written, that I had been otherwise quite absent for over a week or so. So, here’s where that mix of politics, personal, and catching everyone up comes in.
Two Saturdays ago, if you were reading, you saw a post from Triple Hash which included a photo from a U.S. Senate debate taking place in Kearney. TH and I were both involved in organizing that debate, and we’ve been involved in working through the Republican Liberty Caucus to get people organized for our County GOP conventions. Nebraska has a primary—held in mid-May—but it’s a primary that really means nothing for the presidential race. All of our delegates to the national convention are chosen through the convention system. We’re coming up on a deadline here in Nebraska, and are starting to get nervous about filings for the convention.
I went on leave from my Campaign for Liberty post—beginning the 15th. The limits of a 501c4 operation in the midst of a campaign cycle just made it necessary from our perspective. In point of fact, the whole operation is on something of a sabbatical, as all of us are more interested in election politics that issue advocacy right now. Which means that working within the Republican Liberty Caucus is now our priority.
My classes are going well. We’re in the downhill stretch of the term, which ends March 15. I’ve enjoyed these classes. Several of my students have even asked if—for their papers—they could review Ron Paul books. I swear I’ve never said anything about being a Ron Paul supporter, although I suppose that those listening carefully could catch something of a libertarian streak in me… I’m on deck for another American Government class, as well as an International Relations class, in the spring term.
Today, I’m grading papers, in between checking a sign up sheet that the RLC-Nebraska has put together online for delegate filings for County Conventions (I’ve had to update counties and legislative districts on some of the sign-ups). Oh, and I helped my oldest daughter file her tax return.
By Friday, we’ll start knowing how well we did as far as delegate sign-ups for our convention process. The deadline for filing is Thursday, March 1. We’ve got folks planning on going into their Election Commissioner’s office shortly after that to confirm who has signed up. Depending on how well (or miserably) we’ve done at getting people to file, the next couple of months will either be spent looking forward to our conventions, or dreading them.
In other “stuff”: 1) I’m now the Moderator-Elect of our church. I served a term as M-E and then two years as Moderator about 10 years ago (wow, could it really have been that long ago?). During my term, our pastor decided to leave, launching us into a search process—I told them I’d only serve again this time if our current minister promised not to leave while I was in office… 2) I have a group of ladies, most of them significantly older than me, who I meet for breakfast (one I transport) every Friday morning. I may be polishing my halo, because while I love these ladies, it’s not unusual for one or two of them to call me needing transportation to the doctor, grocery store, or other “odd things” done. I help them out whenever I can, and really don’t mind, but sometimes running other people places on my non-class days can put me a little bit behind in things I need to do. Oh well, I get everything done, just not always in as timely a manner as I’d like. 3) Scouting is taking on a different role in our lives—our daughter is at an age where she and her cohorts aren’t so interested in regular meetings, and are more interested in “activities.” Isaac, our 3rd grade “Bear Cub Scout”, promises to grab that time back, though, as he’s getting more and more involved, and interested, in Scout activities.
LLE
