Whining? I must not be conveying my intended tone - it's more a commentary of realistic understanding of me where a bunch of people think of me as Mr. Goal, accomplishment, and stuff that doesn't fit myself-as-slacker belief system.

Oh I've seen people cheat, no doubt. It's gaming the system to comment on something you had no control over as though you authored it, and do an analysis based on someone else's work. It's gaming the system to do what you are paid to do, then turn that in for a grade. It's gaming the system to hang out with the professor, then be assigned "research" or special 1 cr classes to get extra A+ that are exempt from the class curve.

Sucks you can't get a MA, but awesome that you stick with it. Your area of study seems particularly challenging.

I think my JD was probably gaming the system.