Victory Soap v. 2.0

Maybe she is smart — for Columbia. Obviously the staff at the school newspaper isn't any brighter.

Of course, as soon as I posted that I realized that it's too bad she didn't also post a smokin' hot picture of herself. Then she'd be able to give that teen beauty queen a real contest.

I thought of another thing -- she mocks her brother for (supposedly -- obviously she can't think of any other reason someone would do this) joining the Naval Academy for the same self-aggrandizing desire to impress others that she says was the reason she entered Columbia. I get the feeling that if this chickie ever feels self-awareness creeping over her, she goes out and joins a protest group until the feeling goes away, like Wasps of old playing field hockey or polo whenever they found themselves thinking too much.

And she apparently doesn't even go to Columbia -- she goes to Barnard. All I can figure is she finds the Ivy League university system as confusing as I do. (Barnard is "affiliated with" Columbia -- translation: it's where they used to stick the lady bluestockings back in the old days, and now apparently it serves as a holding tank for liberal arts students.)

The best comments were those that implied that the brother joined the USNA because he couldn't wait to spend 9 months at sea away from his family.

Some one in the AoS comment string pointed out that Idris responded to the initial wave of criticism by writing that it was just an emotional vent, don't expect it to be factual. I have to say, that made the "9 months at sea" theory look way more plausible.

And what is an "emotional vent" doing as part of a "4-part series" in a college newspaper?

I'm a college prof, and sadly, I'm not too surprised that a co-ed didn't know Annapolis was the Naval Academy or that it was run by the military. It's kind of amazing what kinds of lacunae kids have in their understanding of the world these days.

Most college-campus opinion columns aren't even good enough to put on the bottom of a birdcage. This one's just par for the course: "I, I, me, me, me, war is bad, military is bad, ooooh I'm smart, cliche the writer thinks is clever, tortured pun."

Oh, and the "ooohed and awed" mistake is sadly typical of college papers these days.

Sometimes the lack of education on the Real World frightens me. Then I remember that the kids I met in the Heartland - Flyover Country - RURAL America - whatever disrespectful term the elite-o-crats have given us this season - are much more than most Ivy-League'ers could ever dream of...and they, along with young'uns like Lovely Daughter & her family, are the hope of this country.

Dear Lord. Ya know, of all the "hey, free freak show, look at this moron!" links I've followed over the years, I think this one takes the cake. The goal of the service academies is to produce military officers!? Mom sounds like a real piece of work, too. (Though one could hardly trust that she was not misrepresented.)

The new midshipman only fled as far as Annapolis? I'm surprised that he didn't disappear into the Foreign Legion, hit the road to Deepest Darkest, or sign an oath in his own blood to crew for some insane crank's private, top-secret mission to Mars. Anything to get out of calling distance of Mom and Sis.