It�s been an interesting first day of school. I learned that while some people will bend over backwards to sound good and look cute, others will not bend over backwards to make a subject look interesting, and still others will cling to the rigid, ridiculous order of the past (seating charts, people? How old are we?). I can also say that the thing I miss the least about high school (yes, other than the people) is the bell. There�s a fancy old clock on campus, sure, and it dings on the hour, but it�s inaudible from any of the tens of classrooms I occupy in a given week. No more bells. Huzzah! There. I said it.

I came back to my dorm after class today and decided to celebrate the fact that such idiotic herding techniques are a thing of my past (and that I didn�t have any homework on my first day) by watching (what else) Passions. And I have to say that Luis is the most unrealistic police chief EVER. Granted, soap operas aren�t exactly known for their adherence to the most accurate depiction of real life, but Luis is where I draw the line.

First of all, what kind of person orders a house-to-house search of an entire city because he �knows� that Sheridan isn�t in Paris? And what kind of city puts up with it? That�s been bothering me all summer. Now that Luis is convinced that Sheridan is in Paris, he�s turned his psychosis in Beth�s direction, insisting that she see a doctor because her baby (read: the bag of sugar she strapped to her body because the writers� sixth-graders were reading Sugar Babies in class) isn�t moving. At the doctor�s office, Luis demands that they see the doctor right away, despite the fact that there are tons of people who have -- what�s the word? Oh, yeah, appointments �- appointments ahead of them. Then when the nurse goes off to discuss this unreasonable request, Luis goes into a rage because she doesn�t return immediately with the doctor. He starts yelling and screaming, which scares one of the other waiting ladies into labor. This man should be run out of Harmony on a rail.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, a bunch of protestors were arrested in Montgomery today when they didn�t leave the judicial building at its 5:00 closing time. I�m all for nonviolent protest (not that it did much good with Iraq), but I was filled with a special kind of glee as I watched the Bible thumpers get dragged away in handcuffs.

It�s not that the Ten Commandments are bad or wrong. They�re a symbol and their true worth gets kind of lost in all this. To the protestors, they�re a symbol of God, their Creator, and it�s almost inarguable to say they weren�t the basis for some of the laws we have today. To those who have fought against the monument, the symbolism is different. The monument symbolizes the man and the words he famously spoke last year: "common law designates homosexuality as an inherent evil, and if a person openly engages in such a practice, that fact alone would render him or her an unfit parent."

The man is a menace. Unlike Attorney General Bill Pryor, another Alabama homophobe who recently made headlines, Moore can�t seem to leave his personal beliefs at the door. His work as chief justice is being affected by his religion. He is deciding cases on the Bible, not the Constitution, and that is wrong. Come on. He snuck the 1500 lb. Monument into the building IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. He knew it was wrong and now he wants taxpayers to shell out $5000 a day so we can continue to look like fools to the rest of the nation and the world. And they wonder why Alabama gets a bum rap.

I�ll bring it home with the story of a woman on the Birmingham news earlier tonight. She and her children came to visit the monument today. She felt it was important that they see this, because it�s a part of their faith and it�s the basis of our legal system. She went on to say that she had a great respect for the law, and that�s why we should view the Ten Commandments as law. Let me put it another way. A dead, rotting cow carcass was the basis of the hamburger I had for dinner this evening. Thus, I should view any dead, rotting cow carcass I see on the highway as a potential food source. It does not follow. It�s not about the monument. Freedom of religion, yes, I know. Go nuts. It�s the man behind the monument that makes me crazy.

Reading: Syllabi. Ooh, plural. Listening to: Passions. Watching: Aw, man, I can�t even tell you how much The O.C. is my show. I want to have sex with Seth. There, I said it. And tomorrow�s the big Amazing Race finale. Go, Chipsters!