Apathy...

http://winneblogo.blogspot.com/2008/10/angry-republican-student-letter-in.html

In his post, the author talks about a Republican affiliated student who thinks there is a bias on campus. While I would be the first to admit that a college campus is going to generally be a liberal environment, I don't feel any bias on campus. If there is, join a group that can help balance it.

As for the feeling of apathy on campus, I can only wonder if students are disillusioned by the current status of the government. Our foreign and domestic concerns go fare beyond one president, Congress or one specific leader. It is definitely a group effort. I think many people, including many students, are just tired of the system and how it seems to screw them over.

I'm not sure if any candidate for president thrills me all that much. Obama and his ideas really scare me, so I will vote for McCain. But, he's no picnic either.

Getting involved in change is a start. In the end, though, I do agree with my dad. Term limits...for everyone. No more career politicians. That is probably our biggest problem in government. Let's start over. I think the system is great. It's the stinkin' people that are corrupting it.

One Dinner to Change the World

Since my Dad has been working during the week in Green Bay, Christa and I will meet him in Appleton to catch dinner. We have finally agreed on Tuesday evenings because it is the one weeknight that we don't have a softball game.

Our conversations together hit on major things that have been going on in our lives, with snippets of sports talk in there as well. Invariably as conversation makes its way into current events and politics, we usually talk about the state of the world and how we could make it a better place. No matter the topic, we usually boil it down to a few keys things:

1. We need term limits for politicians starting...well, now! Vote out all incumbents now and only allow people one term. "Politician" was not meant as a career. You were a public servant in addition to your chosen career. It is career politicians that have caused many of the problems that we are in.
2. People can't take responsibility for anything. That's why loads of people are in credit card debt. People sign for mortgages they can't afford and assume someone will bail them out. That's why nothing changes in government, but we aren't willing to make a difference.
3. The political issues between nations inside and outside of the middle east go beyond anyone's ability to talk or negotiate. Sadly, it will likely escalate to some kind of war where one side or the other will pretty much be wiped. It's hard to think of another realistic. scenario.

Perhaps in the future, I may expound on one of these areas.

Our dinners will soon be running out as my dad will be done with the traveling portion of his job and will likely be working for the company in the Milwaukee area.

Election Reflections

I must say that I am happy that the elections are finally over. Elections in the last few years have been pretty heated, but this one had by far the most mudslinging and the most bad blood that I have ever seen. I could not believe how many television commercials were produced that took all of their time slamming the other candidate, but in no way promoted the candidate that made the ad! It was more "don't vote for him", not "vote for me." Somewhere in my voting history I missed this transition and I don't like the result.

The Amendment
So a fair Wisconsin votes yes? I don't think so. In the end, I am not surprised that Wisconsin voted to plan civil unions and domestic partnerships...but, I did not think it would pass by such a large majority. We will not realize our folly in voting the way we did until a few years now when we notice the economic impact. Short term, the state will realize the impact because the LBGTQ community and its allies will rise up fight putting discrimination in the WI constitution.

Governor
I voted for Mark Green, but I not surprised that he lost. It would be hard to beat an encumbant in a year when it is not good to be a Republican. So, he made a good run and he made it interesting. We'll get him the next time.

In my opinion, most of the other votes weren't that interesting. I voted straight-party republican. I voted against any raising of taxes and I voted against the death penalty.

That is all. I will review Guitar Hero after this weekend...I am planning on devoting a lot of time to it and can do a better job of reviewing the game.

Intolerance

So, I knew the day was coming. While working the desk today, I was informed that a religious group was protesting in front of the Polk Library. I assumed that is was the old guy that stands on the steps of the library and tells us all that we are going to hell. I was wrong, it was a larger group and they certainly had drawn some attention to themselves. Curiosity got the best of me, so I went to take a look before my afternoon meeting.

As I took a look at the secne, I was greeted with a large banner stating, "Homosexuality is sin". I am not sure where to begin on how frustrating this is to me. I am a Christian and I can not figure out where Jesus ever said that homosexuality was a sin. You're not going to find it...go for it, take a few minutes, search. Jesus taught love & compassion, not hatred. When I saw that sign and was ashamed for some of my fellow Christians.

I just can't condone this kind of intolerance as a Christian.

Most importantly, I was impressed by the amount of students that came out to challenge the individuals involved. I heard lots of good dialogue and good discussion. I am hopeful that this will get people to think about the importance of the upcoming election day. A shout out goes to Ken Fager as well carrying the Vote No on the Amendment sign right by the banner.

Now you all know where I stand on this issue. I would welcome your thoughts on this topic as well.