Push Comes to Shove

Finally, I'm back to the blogging world that we are all too familiar with. Yes, I've been reading others' posts and commenting, but I haven't posted anything with any sort of content in well over a week. Well, here it is.


What I've Been Up To


Well, a lot really. As Summer turned to fall and Autumn soon to ashes, the deep slumber that is ahead for the living world hasn't been evident in my life. Things have picked up dramatically for me in the past weeks leaving me to believe that the old saying "life ain't easy" will reign true throughout the rest of my being. Work weeks have consisted of more hours, class periods have been growing longer, exams more frequent, and sleep hours less prevalent. Some of the things I've been working on at work as of late have included:


Terri Land Event

Basically, I had to have people at the office to meet our Secretary of State. Mrs. Land came in to a crowd of around 25-30 people, including a few local Republican candidates, and Bill Caul - our 99th District State Rep. Mrs. Land then proceeded to meet the volunteers/candidates, and then found the farmer's market across the street where she brought back apple cider that ended up staying at the office for my enjoyment, thank you Mrs. Land! I must say it was about the most delicious apple cider I've had to date.
Earlier in the day, I rose bright and early (keep in mind this is a Saturday which is a precious sleeping day for us college students) to put together 1,000 literature packets for this event. We ran about 400-500 of them by the time we noticed a nice little typo in which said "Vote for Expereince". (If you can't find the typo, the word experience is spelled wrong). We killed the production and printed the new ones. This left us scrambling, but we didn't end up needing all 1,000 for that day anyhow.
Relieved? Yes.
The event went pretty well I thought. It wasn't phenomenal, but it was pretty decent. Whenever I look decent at my job it's a plus.


Mardi Gras Parade

This event was handed to me about 2 days ahead of time. We had to get volunteers around for a Friday parade through the city of Mt. Pleasant. We got plenty of support, and the event was a huge success. Quite a few of my friends came, and Bill Caul bought us pizza afterwards. It was nice to have dinner with a State Representative, it humbles you in a way.


CMU Homecoming Parade

This event went really well. We had to go through town again as a unified Republican Party. U.S. Congressman Dave Camp (Representing Michigan's 4th Congressional District) lead the way, along with local candidates, and again, Bill Caul. We had a large amount of candidates and volunteers, it was a lot of fun.

Now that we've caught up a little on what I've done, I want to share a little bit about how I feel about the Presidential Race.

First off, before you all exit out of my blog, it's worth noting that I will be taking part in a Presidential Debate Night! event on this Sunday the 26th at 7:30PM. It will either be located in Kulhavi Hall, or Anspach 161 or 162. I will be representing John McCain, and will be debating a representative of Barack Obama.


The Real Debate

Finally, John McCain came out swinging. This time he wasn't ranting and raving about terrorists and affiliations though. This time it was substance, socialism, and character. John McCain started off by taking a hard line that he is for the small businessman, the backbone of our economy.


Joe the Plumber

Why is a plumber relevant? Because Barack Obama finally made the mistake I've been waiting for. Obama is a socialist, there's no tip toeing around that. His plan is to tax the highest 5% of Americans and write a welfare check to those who are in the bottom 30%. This is a form of income redistribution. He said he wanted to "Spread the wealth around." As a direct beneficiary of this specific plan, I can see how wrong this is. I always use my very successful uncle in Pennsylvania as an example in arguments. I always say:
"Why should my uncle in Pennsylvania, who's worked his butt off his entire life, pulling 50 hours, 80 hours a week, traveling all over the world to get where he is today - why should he pay for my healthcare? Why should I get a piece of his success? If he wants to give me a gift, he gives me a gift. If he wants to donate to charity, he donates to charity. Where is it the government's responsibility or right to tell him that he's been too successful and they think it's more fit to spread his wealth elsewhere?"
This is my common accusation of Robbin Hood Economics, where you rob from the rich and give to the poor. Joe Biden would tell you that it's "Patriotic to pay more taxes." This is funny to me considering he didn't even pay for his own house, his campaign money did. How is that anything short of socialism, or even take it a step further, communism?


Healthcare

What has the government ever run that has been successful?

Social Security?
Nope.

The Airlines?
Uhh, nope.

Fannie May and Freddie Mac
Wow, this is getting ugly.

Why would we want to trust our government to run a socialized, nationalized healthcare plan? Not only this, once again, where is it the government's responsibility to take the top 5% and say they're responsible for funding this? When you look at national health care plans, such as the one in Canada, there is a huge problem. Canadians can't get into hospitals for emergency situations. Everyone is in to the hospital for the common cold, so emergency treatment is usually done in the United States at full price. That should tell you something. If we implement this, it sacrifices our quality for expense. If Doctors don't make more than a plumber, why would they have any incentive to stay in Med School for 7-10 years? A lack of quality healthcare leaves us with a bigger problem than lack of insurance.


The War

I think that the greatest gauge we have about what's going on in Iraq is to ask the soldiers themselves, agreed? They're the ones putting their lives on the line, they probably know whether the battle is worth it or not. Can we all agree on that?
I hope you said yes.
The polling came back today from members of the United States Military. They overwhelmingly support John McCain, 63% to 32%. I think that this says where the mindset of our United States Armed Forces is at. They believe the surge has worked, and they think we should finish the job we started, regardless if we went in for the right reasons.


ACORN, William Ayers, Jerimiah Wright, etc.

Is this stuff relevant? Is the fact that Barack Obama worked with a domestic terrorist that bombed the US Capitol, along with the Pentagon and was totally unreluctant of doing so, is that a reason to question Obama? Why not? Sure, voter fraud, knowing a domestic terrorist, and associating with a nut job preacher might not make Barack Obama a national security threat, but it questions his judgement. Why is it that Obama didn't sever his ties with Wright until the media found out that he was a total nut? Why is it that Obama associated with, fundraised with, and served with a domestic terrorist - only to claim he didn't know about Ayers' past when caught?
Again, do I think Barack Obama is a dangerous person?
Absolutely not.
Do I think that who a person surrounds themself with can be a direct judgement of character, judgement, and reason?
Yes.


A Much Needed Phrase

"Senator Obama, I am not George Bush. If you wanted to run against George Bush you should have ran 4 years ago."

Thank you!

A True Story

This was not rigged. It also works with 'Vote socialism 08' on occassion.

Winner Winner, Cookie Dinner

I know, the real phrase is "Chicken Dinner" but I felt my version was more appropriate.

My Future Plans

I've given much thought to what the future holds lately, and I had decided to keep my plans under wraps for a few weeks to make sure it wasn't just a "spur of the moment" type thing. I figured I had to let this stew for a while so that I could proclaim it as one of those 'Porter Goals' that you must achieve once making public.

Well, here it is.

I've recently discovered that my preferred major doesn't really hold a lot of job availability. Political Science is a great field of study, but it's not a great major. This is why I've decided to shift it to my minor. My major is a field in which will start to grow at a huge rate due to current crises. My major is Economics. I won't be a single class behind with this switch, and hopefully it's my last switch so I never fall behind. I have great intentions to graduate in 4 years or less.

Goal number two:

I don't like it at CMU. It seems like everyone is "going out" 7 days a week, and they always come back staggering drunk. I realize that stuff happens in college, but here it's literally every night. It's disgusting really. Then you get to hear about how nobody can afford to pay for this or that, yet they have enough to buy beer every night? This brings me to my next plan. I plan on transferring out of CMU. Where, you ask?

George Mason University

They are rated as the #1 up-and-coming University in North America. They are nationally accredited in Economics and Political Science. They are also located a couple miles from Washington DC. This is perfect for any type of internship or work study experience. Also, their out of state tuition is within $100 of what I'm paying at Central. They also have a great class transfer rate, which could save me a lot of money as well. This move just seems to make sense on so many levels. I get to go to a better school for the same price, I would get to go back to somewhere that I absolutely loved for the month I was there, and I could get some experience that I could never have here in Michigan.

It's official, I said it - now I have to deliver.

We're Just Stuck in a Rut

I tell you what, this is shaping up to be a "more of the same" type year. As political campaigns lavish each other, gas prices stay high, and summer turns to autumn - this is all shaping up to be just another year like the previous. The Cubs still can't win in the playoffs, OJ Simpson is on trial, and GM just can't seem to turn things around.

This leads to more of the predictability, or lack thereof, of Michigan. U of M wins their Big-10 opener, just like every year. Grand Valley is destroying every team they play in football. The Tigers are out of the playoffs. The Tigers are under .500. The Tigers can't beat the White Sox. The Tigers underperform for their expectations (is there a pattern here?). A Republican can't carry the state of Michigan. The leaves turn yellow and orange, and as soon as they do they slip away under a cover of snow until what seems to be late July.

Now there are some things that might suprise some people around the state of Michigan. U of M is struggling in football. Coleman has won 3 games this year, which is more than the past 4 years combined. The unemployment rate is up to 9% (oh wait, that's not a suprise).

What are some things that you guys have noticed that are redundant in your states, and what do you think is out of the norm this year?

I'm Voting Democratic

A "Reliable" News Source

With all of the talk of reliable news sources, and complete idiots - let's see a real one.

Keith Olbermann.

It sickens me when he gets to the part about the President giving up golf. I think that President Bush had a good point about how he shouldn't be playing golf during a war, that people don't want to see him out playing a game while American lives are being lost.

Why should someone get a show every night to do this to your own President?

Nobody's keeping Keith Olbermann in this country.

He's truly shameless.

Now here is a sociopath.