First of all, Tieki needs to come back and start blogging, because half the time I don’t have the time or inclination to blog, and the other half, I just make a muck out of things.  All those who want Tieki back, and would especially love to hear her take on the conflict in Israel, say “aye!”.

Next on the list:

Gov. Palin calls out the media for exploiting her candidacy for personal gain, and for the classist and elitist issues brought up.  You go, girl!  (Hat tip: Simon.)

Once upon a time, academic freedom meant the ability to say, research, and defend unpopular positions.  Now, that’s a no-go, at least in Canada.  Via Scott Jacobs at Patterico’s Jury Talks Back:

The Canadian Union of Public Employees in Ontario, the largest labor union representing staff members at the province’s universities, plans to introduce a resolution at its conference next month to ban Israeli academics from teaching, speaking, or doing research at Ontario universities if they do not first condemn Israeli actions in Gaza.

Via Michelle Malkin: the top 10 pro-abortion moments of 2008.  That doesn’t stop the anti-life coalition from starting off 2009 in full swing, though.  A South Carolina bill that would require women seeking abortions to be given information on where to receive free ultrasounds (here) is apparently controversial.  According to these whack jobs, it is bad to give women the following things: 1) access to free medical care; 2) scientifically sound information; and 3) information without any obligations to do a damn thing with it.  Let’s be clear as to how freakishly extreme the “pro-choice” movement in this country has become.  Coming soon to a controversy near you: common sense.

Obviously, blogging over the past few months just hasn’t been as much fun as it used to be.  One feels a bit out of sorts when the insane asylum has been set loose upon the world.  So, ending off this week’s Smorgasbord, the beginnings of my New Year’s resolutions, and Things I learned in 2008 (below the fold):

New Year’s Resolutions, Part I

Apparently, if you write down your resolutions, you’ll be more likely to stick to them.  Here are the bloggerly acceptable ones:

1. No more than one trip to Starbuck’s in a given week.  No excuses for 12-hour days, the impending disappearance of peppermint mochas, or the like.  One a week.
2. Blawg more.
3. Look upon the snow in Massachusetts not as proof that Hell has frozen over, but as an opportunity to get in shape with shoveling.  (Good for the core and the arms.  Total Transformation would be proud.)
4. Volunteer for the pro-life movement.
5. Do something about gimpy ankle so can participate in actual sports.
6. Stop being such a crappy correspondent.

Things I learned in 2008

1. If you’ve slept eight hours in the past three days, your body will just ignore all the bourbon you put into it.
2. If you ever go on a rant in class, which is greeted with a frightening silence, throw in “Maybe I’m just a crazy feminist” at the end of it.
3. When someone asks you to let him know that you’ve made your cross-country trip in one piece, do not snark, “If there’s a disaster, you’ll hear about it on the news.”  There will be a disaster, and he - and everyone else - will hear about it on the news.  Just for good measure, you’ll encounter another, eponymous disaster in your travels, because Mother Nature is tough like that.
4.  Don’t give blood during the summer.
5. You need one of the following three things to get out of ditches once you’ve driven into them: two people to help push you out; AAA; or an orange Mustang convertible full of firemen from the town over.  Don’t ask me how I know this.