The part that stinks the most for me, however, is that barely 2 and a half years ago, I was walking across the stage accepting my college diploma, having never seen $8,825.40 all at once, ever, in my life. My first paycheck after that (two weeks pay!) was for more money than I had ever made in a calender year.

This sucks. I am 25 years old. I would freak out if I dropped a $10 bill.

I was watching the SNL “Thursday Weekend Update” tonight, and the Keenan Thompson sketch where he plays an economic advisor who screams over and over to “FIX IT! FIX IT! FIX IT!” Is exactly how I felt. I feel sick to the stomach about this. I know its not much money, and I know I’m young and there is plenty of time, and I’m not supposed to touch this money for 40 years anyway. But I feel sick about this.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/07/iowa.straw.poll.ap/index.html

Romney has claimed that he will win this poll due to Guiliani and McCain opting out. I think that is a blantant show of hubris, because, Boy! Won’t he have egg on his face in the event that he does not win.

Again, no mention of any of the so-called “2nd-tier” candidates, all of which have a shot at taking home top honors.

http://www.chrisdodd.com/node/1382

My candidate for the 2008 elections is GOP candidate Ron Paul. Dr. Ron Paul ran for the Libertarian party in 1988, but has been a 10 term congressman for the state of Texas. The self-described “Champion of the Constitution”, he believes strongly in individual rights. He is the only candidate who opposed the Iraq War, and favors an immediate withdraw. He is against Income Tax, the PATRIOT Act, and is in favor of reduction of Government.

According to the graph above, it appears as if moderator Wolf Blitzer is leading the pack of GOP candidates, despite not even running for office. Closely following him are the Media annointed chosen candidates of Giuliani, McCain, and Romney. Ron Paul and the rest of the so-called “2nd tier” candidates trailed by halfway or more. Despite this, Ron Paul consistently gains ground in online opinion polls, with popular vote claiming he won all three debates. It remains to be seen if, when the time comes, his online popularity will translate to the ballot box as the GOP Primaries begin.

What?

Blaming the effects of Katrina on libertarians is perhaps one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a long time. People who need the government to tell them that its a good idea to prepare for a natural disaster probably should not be living in coastal cities. And I say this as someone who lived in coastal cities for over 10 years. “Yes, yes! Bigger government is the solution! Feed me and wipe my butt, I’m lazy!”

The truth is, when people rely on our Presidents and Governors to tell us what to do, we have ceased to be citizens of this country and are now merely puppets to the beuracracy of others. Libertarianism isn’t what caused the failures of FEMA and the Dept. of Homeland Security. Tax cuts didn’t keep the school buses in the parking lots. In fact, one of the tenants of the LP is even to promote America’s heritage of freedom through “individual liberty and personal responsibility.” The results of this disaster aren’t a case against libertarianism, they are actually a strong statement in favor.

To prove my point, the massive outpouring of public support in the form of donations and humanitarian aid should show that libertarianism does work. We don’t need the government’s handouts, we can and will do the job ourselves. When the government fails us, the people will respond. Nowhere in my constitution do I see the words “I am entitled to free money from the government.” But it is the will of the people to maintain the well-being of their fellow man.

Don’t look to your government. Look to your neighbor.

And your neighbor was probably packing up his car and getting the fuck out of New Orleans.

Anyway, much in the same way as Church of Frisbee on the Roof appeals to us, so does Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. You see, the world is not billions of years old, the Flying Spaghetti monster created us all and changes the outcomes of scientific research in order to keep himself a secret.

At http://www.venganza.org/, you can read the Open Letter to the Kansas Schoolboard on why the state should consider teaching not only Evolution and Intelligent Design, but also teach Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. To not teach the whole truth would be unfair to students who are forming opinions on what they believe! That’s unpossible!

Read about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. And be touched by his noodly appendage.

http://www.monhaut.com/campaign/

This is the campaign website we wrote last spring (Spring 2004) for my presidential campaign in RH399: Election Rhetoric. I never liked the policy on Education, but the Social Security policy and the (not included on the website) Tax Reform policy regarding a flat-tax national sales tax where awesome. Enjoy the website, its completely unmodified from the version that we published. Maybe one day I’ll update it for my current political views. In that class, our group wasRepublican, however I ran the campaign as a Libertarian-Republican. Most of the planks are Republican stance, but you can see an injection of Libertarian philosophy in many of them!

Associated Press CNN article

One can only hope this improves our image with prospective students, employers, and financial backers. But I don’t see how it can; the people have clearly spoken, and what many see as a liberal outpouring of emotion is clearly a conservative feeling of resistance to change. Many people probably wanted him out just because he isn’t Hulbert. We may never know why so many people were so upset with him. The only real beef I had with him was the insulting e-mail I received telling me that my scholarship funds (along with the rest of the senior, junior and sophomore classes) would be reduced in order to provide more money to the incoming freshman. What? You mean that there is a plan to give them money by taking from us? What happens in three years, when those freshman find out that they are going to lose money to the new freshman class of 2009? Its a trickle-down error that frankly I’m disappointed is not leaving with the ex-president (last I checked, my scholarship has been reduced by a full $550.)

I truly hope that any student or employer seeking graduates does not shy away from Rose-Hulman. We are a great institution, and any student should be honored to attend and any company should endeavour to have as many graduates from here as possible.

The members of the faculty will be conducting a Vote of No Confidance later this week. Regardless of how the Vote of No Confidance turns out, the decision ultimately rests with the Board. Involving anyone other than the Board is where I have to draw the line. The public, those who are not affiliated with Rose, don’t need to be made aware of the events going on in our administration. I have no problem with students organizing a meeting with the Board, or by presenting them with the facts via e-mail, print, or other means, as long as its done in a proper fashion.

I don’t think that Midgley is being treated unfairly, because I feel like he has treated us unfairly. These students are simply responding to the past year of upsetting treatment. I was willing to write it all off as first year settling time, but then I got the e-mail about reducing my scholarship money in order to provide more money for the incoming freshman. Wouldn’t the same effect have been achieved by attempting to increase the endowment? By showing others that Rose-Hulman is THE BEST and encouraging them to donate to scholarship funds? Instead, the backlash is likely to REDUCE our endowment. The negative impact of this redistribution will take years to recover.

I believe the best solution is for Jack to resign as soon as possible, and launch a search for a new president. Parting ways peacefully will take steps towards restoring our image in the public eye.

I did not attend today’s protest. While I don’t agree with the premise, I certainly understand my colleagues’ wishes to make known to the administration and the board of trustees their disapproval of Jack Midgley. The things that he has done have seemed suspicious, and many times without legitimate excuse. However, I don’t approve of the negative publicity this will attract.

I came to Rose-Hulman because it is the best. My father came to Rose-Hulman because it is the best. For the past six years, US News and World Reports have ranked our school as “#1: The Best”. I would hate for the reason that we don’t continue to receive this honor be that students rose in protest against our leader. It would be ironic if Jack had nothing to do with our losing that recognition, but our own headstrong students.

Having said that, I have recorded the 55 second spot that ran on tonight’s Action 10 News at 6. (You need the xvid codec in order to watch, if you don’t have it already.)

I’m glad that people feel that something needs to be done and that they take a stand; inviting the public, especially the media, however, was probably not prudent. This is our matter, something we need to work out on our own.

I got to meet a lot of interesting people, and hear different sides of issues relating to the EU and Europe as a whole. I think that I am definitely going to be attempting to go to law school after I graduate, I just need to take the LSATs and apply to schools, and try and get scholarships. Being in an organization that is governed by rules of order, like the SGA or the EU simulation, is an appealing concept to me. I don’t know what it is, but I enjoy politics. And when you can leave the room and still be friends with someone you were just arguing with, I know that it can’t all be that bad.