College is too hectic. Life is moving too fast. This blog screams "pause" when I need it. It challenges me to think about the world differently, to view things through different lens, and to appreciate small details in life that together form a mosaic of wholesomeness. I'm a college student living in Austin, and I have a lot to share.
The op-ed from Ross Douthat of New York Times apts portrays the kind of challenge that contemporary politics faces: "The progressive bias toward the capital-F Future, the old left-wing suspicion of faith and domesticity, the fact that Democrats have benefited politically from these trends â all of this makes it easy for liberals to just celebrate the emerging America, to minimize the costs of disrupted families and hollowed-out communities, and to treat the places where Americans have traditionally found solidarity outside the state (like the churches threatened by the Obama White Houseâs contraceptive mandate) as irritants or threats"
Douthat's point speaks directly to the plight of minorities under redistributive policies: more broken families and communities as I have suggested in my previous post. Republicans need to do a better job pointing out the flaws of modern liberalism in order to reclaim credibility in the eyes of the "emerging America." America has a proud tradition of immigration and inclusion. The tolerance inherent in the American society, as result of our unique history, is something to be proud of and something worthy of preservation. There is a place for civil institutions, such as places for worship, schools, and universities, in our society. They need to play a larger role in stabilizing our communities, yet unfortunately, they themselves are broken and in need of reforms.Â
Last week, I was onboard M1, the MetroBus, being bored as usual, sifting through tweets on my iPhone - just like any other day when I normally catch the bus to go to work â when I suddenly heard a particularly intriguing exchange between two African American males sitting next me. It went something like this:
[Man #1]: Man Iâm telling ya, it just ainât like what we had before [disclaimer: I truly have no idea what the entirety of the exchange was all about, but what I did gather was a snippet of reality that simply resonated with me personally]
[Man #2]: mmhmm, thatâs trueâŠ
[Man #1]: we used to get together with the families, parents would join the kids for kickball on the weekends, and weâd always have plenty of food for everyoneâŠnow it just ainât the same no more
[Man #2]: I feel ya. I know exactly what you are talking about, man. Now we have the younger generation behind bars, with no respect toward the older ones, just ainât the same no more
[Man #1]: yeah man. I mean back thenâŠya knowâŠfamilies were tightâŠIâm telling yaâŠwe was what we had
##
I have to confess that halfway thorough their exchange, I had both my ears perked up (totally disregarding at that point what the Twitter-sphere was buzzing about) and proceeded to absorb everything I heard - or eavesdropped, rather.
For whatever reason, that conversation stuck with me for a good part of this past week as I went on with my life. I meant to jot it down last week to reflect on the meaning of it all but didnât have the time to do so. However, at the time, I immediately appreciated what the man was trying to get at: families and communities are broken, and we have increasingly started to express ourselves through institutions other than our immediate families and communities, whether be corporations, government, universities, or yes, the prison system, to a degree that the people closets to us are becoming ever so aloof.
As the percentage of children born out of wedlock had gone through the roof over the past several decades, among those are 73% of African Americans and 53% of Latinos, as reported by the New York Times. Astonishingly, blacks are 2.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than Latinos and 6 times more likely than whites. 1 out of 9 young black male (age 20-34) is behind bars according to the latest data from National Institute of Justice. Our nation needs a renewed dialogue about education, criminal justice, higher education, psychological development, and etc. to identify ways to strengthen our communities. Ignoring these issues will lead to more broken families and more unstable communities. The most racist thing we can do as a nation is to turn a blind eye against these tough statistics and pretend like they donât exist. We need honest dialogue about how to reduce these rates, more so than ever, and I happen to believe that family and community are central to solving these issues. Strengthening these institutions would allow for more opportunities for all Americans. Doing so will not only lead to a more prosperous and stronger country, but indeed, it will be the right thing to do. That requires, first, that we pay more attention to these issues and proactively listen to these lost voices coincidentally heard onboard a metrobus.Â
*This post originally appeared in College Republicans at Texas's blog, the Dissent, on November 5th, 2012 by the same author
Yes, we CAN Believe in America: Vote for Real Change
Governor Romney has been performing well in the polls leading up to the Election Day on Tuesday. The Gallup poll last week from 10/22-10/28 had Romney leading Obama by five points! Governor Romney is up in Florida by 6 points according to a latest poll in the state. Romney is up slightly in Virginia. Rasmussen reports on 11/1 that Romney is tied in Ohio andWisconsin. Rasmussen also reports a Romney lead in Colorado by 3 percentage points and Iowaby one percentage point. The latest poll in New Hampshire has Romney tied with Obama.
For more than a year and a half, young Republicans like myself have grown accustomed to hearing the inevitability of Obama winning re-election here on the UT campus. Not long ago, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi came out and smugly dismissed the chance of Mitt Romney ever winning the White House.  Well, good thing we know the former speaker doesnât really have a track record of reading the public mood. This narrowing down in the polls speaks more to the will of the American people who are disillusioned with what they were sold in 2008 and are ready for real change.
Governor Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan bring with them an economic vision to return crucial investment and spending decisions back to the private sector and individuals, to allow for entrepreneurs and small business owners to flourish, and to put trust in the ingenuity of the American people to continually innovate and create under the auspices of a free market economy.
Indeed, our country requires a government that takes pride in entrepreneurs and small business owners and not looks down upon their success. Our country requires a government that respects the principle of federalism, its inherent limits as the federal government, and statesâ rights. Our country requires a government that understands that globalization and a 21stcentury economy invariably call for a skilled workforce and matching skills with those of our graduates. Our country requires a government that understands that spending within its means is a necessary virtue, one that budget strapped families all across the country are trying to practice on a daily basis.
The decision in this election cannot be starker. The choice cannot have a more fundamental impact on our collective trajectory. The next four years will determine whether or not America will continue to be the economic powerhouse and the Land of Opportunity for the first half of this century. Â The next President will have important economic and geopolitical decisions to make here and abroad that will affect our long-term influence in the world.
We ask you to go vote this coming Tuesday for the Republican ticket, if you havenât already done so. Information regarding how and where to vote in Travis Country can be found here. For other polling places in Texas and more information about voting, we refer you to the Secretary of Stateâs website.
Under four years of Barack Obama, our national debt had increased by $5.4 trillion, with trillion plus deficit under every year this President has been in office. We cannot afford four more years of failed, misguided policies of this administration. Our future depends on principled leadership based on fiscal conservatism, limited government, liberty, and the free market. We ask you to vote for change â change we can believe in.
After you have ritually left work, have the courage to really leave it. Let your computer and phone idle while you live a little. And there's even a work upside too: You'll be fresher when you get back to work, more productive knowing you have to be because work will stop, and more creative as you integrate non-work ideas into your work life.
"Take Your Life Back" by Peter Bregman | Oct 23, 2012
If you recall from the movie, 50 First Dates, there was a scene when Lucy (Drew Barrymore) meets 10-second Tom at the hospital. Well, recently I have found myself not being able to remember things very well - actually it has been going on for quite awhile now (kind of embarrassing). I have confided to my friends of my concern that my inability to recall the simplest things - even in short-term aka "10-second Tom" syndrome - has been a source of personal frustration. I surveyed a few websites and came across some thematic tips and suggestions on things we can do to improve memory retention:
Pay attention to the things you are trying to remember in the first place - if we simply pause for a few seconds every once in awhile and actually trying to register the information, we enhance our ability to remember. When a person introduces him/herself, repeat his/her name by saying, "nice to meet you [name]." This apparently increases the like-hood that you'll remember that person's name by 30%.
Be selective in what you choose to remember - don't overburden your brain with useless, over-tedious information. Remember the important information and big ideas
Create associations and use mental images to help you remember - I plan on attending a career info session this week with Dell, I need to apply for an internship position, I have to call local t-shirt vendors to get quotes for an organization, as well as blogging for another org. So for this particular train of thoughts, I visualize that I am sitting in front of a Dell computer, typing (as in blogging), with a phone in in one of my ears placed against my shoulder, and I'm doing the Hook'em Horns sign. If that seems odd to you, great. That's the fun part of it. By trying to come up with a mental image, I am reinforcing the retention part of trying to remember things...
Repeat, Recite, and Review -Â pretty self-explanatory
Write it down! - get into a habit of keeping a notepad to jot things down; this diffuses your brain's burden of having to remember everythingÂ
Some more advance tricks:
Engage your emotions - tie your need to remember to a goal of yours (for a sense of accomplishment) or connect it to some other emotions i.e. Create humor out of the things you are trying to remember
Use your environment - when you place your tie and jacket next to your bed to remind yourself to dress up the next morning, you are using your environment to help you remember; or whenever you use landmarks to help you with directions on the road, etc.
Overlearn - this goes off the assumption that you have plenty of time...which is not always the case, so I'd like to think of it as learning through variety; think of different ways to interpret the same information
Most articles also emphasize the importance of a balanced diet and exercise. One last piece of advice that was a common theme: practice, practice, practice! Remembering, like all things we do, requires conscious effort on our parts in order for us to see desired result.
                                               Picture: Eric Gray | AP
Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin has been all over the news for the last few days. The University has gone through a coordinated PR campaign to defend its race-conscious admissions practices. I am not going to belabor the facts on the case. Plenty of news articles, editorials, and social media statuses have already done justice to the facts. I want to take a different route, step back, and examine the underlying hypocrisy of this whole ordeal, and that is race-conscious admission, no matter how we sugarcoat it, is inherently racist.
UT admits a vast majority of its students through the Top 10 Percent Rule. The remaining proportion, about one quarter of each freshman class, is admitted using a holistic process that, among many things, includes race as a factor for determining admission. It is found that the Top 10 Percent Rule has been more effective in ensuring diversity on campus. Greater proportion of minority students gain entrance to UT through the Top 10 rule. The race-neutral rule allows for Texas's most brightest students to come to a top public university from all corners of the state. It already accomplishes the University's desire for a diverse campus. Why the need for another set of rules that goes out of its way to take race into account? Doesn't that in turn judges applicants at least partly on the basis of their skin tone? True, Abigail Fisher probably wouldn't have gotten into UT anyway under either the Top 10 or the holistic review process, but that's not the point. The point is that the University's continuance to use race as part of its admissions process unnecessarily hinders the progress made in the last several decades toward greater racial integration and minority access to higher education. I believe high school graduates of all races and backgrounds should have a shot of attending the University of Texas, provided that they compete equally on controllable factors, such as grades, extracurricular activities, community service, work experience, personal essays, etc., out of which race is not and should not be a factor for admission, for it can not be fairly applied.Â
Stress is inevitable. That is something that either we experience or innately know already, yet it sounds strange as an idea. I was stressed out last week with two mid-term exams, and the weekend was nothing short of a blessing. MSNBC reports back in 2008 that as many as 1 in 5 undergraduates are stressed in college, and four in ten say they endure stress often. As college students, we constantly think of ways to de-stress, but stress creeps up on us beyond our conscious control. Focusing more on our diet, working out more frequently, sleeping more are all valid ways to help us physically de-stress, but the underlying psychological stressors are still at play.
College students have to juggle multiple things in any given day. If we are lucky, we can keep count of what we are juggling; if not, additional things encroach upon the exercise forcing us to juggle even more things at once. How many times do we find ourselves adding on to our to-do list throughout the day? How scary is the thought of a quiz-in-ten-minutes that you really thought was not taking place for a good two more days? Stress is constant because change is constant. The key is to get into the habit of managing stress.
From my readings on this topic, I've compiled these five steps we can do to manage stress:
Lower your expectations to reduce cognitive dissonance. Often we get stressed over things that didn't turn out the way we wanted them. Often, too, we were wrong with our expectations for these things from the get-go. In effect, we manufacture stress as result of our unrealistic expectations. Â
Focus on "good" stress. Stress can be good to boost our performance. Research shows that moderate stress can help us achieve maximum performance. We simply don't want to have too little stress, leading to mediocrity and complacency; nor do we want too much stress, resulting in poor short-term memories, pimples, increased body odor, and lowered immune system among many things. Think of a bell curve.
Focus on what's within your control. It makes no sense to worry about things that you have no control over. You can better use your energy elsewhere.
Hang out with positive people. When you surround yourself with positive people, stress won't have as much effect on your well being. Invest in your emotional piggy bank by forming and maintaining good relationships.Â
Take a deep breath! We take this simple, cliched advice for granted. Try it for instant result.Â
One thing that is important and has helped me personally deal with stress is comparing my life occurrences to real life-changing events experienced by others, such as death or terminal disease in a family member, losing one's house to the foreclosure crisis, divorce, fleeing one's country due to political or religious persecution, natural disasters, or even losing financial aid and won't be able to continue with one's schooling. When you peg your day-to-day "stress" to these incidences, you'd realize we freak out about the most miniscule things in the world, often unnecessarily. That is not the way to live. Do not let stressors hold back and prevent you from reaching your fullest potentials.
The good news is that stress can be managed. All it takes is some mental preparation and the will to combat something that you partially created out of your own psych and expectations. For Longhorns, it should be comforting knowing that we are not among the Top 15 stressful colleges ranking. Good thing Playboy still ranked us #4 on this year's Top 10 Party Schools. There are definitely outlets for Longhorns to de-stress. We need to be more resourceful in our planning, framing, and approaches in managing stress.Â
[Video] Learn to manage stress is important because no one wants to become this guy.
This weekend I attended the Texas Tribune Festival, a public policy forum hosted by the non-profit newspaper, the TexasTribune. I have been reading Texas Tribune since my freshman year in college. I attended a talk by Evan Smith, the CEO and President of the newspaper, earlier in the spring, when he was at the Communications School to talk about non-profit journalism. Evan has a hilarious personality. He has a way to diffuse tensions on politically sensitive topics. He has been an effective leader and visionary for the Tribune; Texas is fortunate to have people like Evan to preserve what is left of journalism as a means to ensure political accountability.
The Festival kicked off Friday night with Governor Rick Perry talking about the Satan...and how faith-based folks need to be involved in politics. Despite dodging many questions, I thought the Governor handled the forum really well - cracking jokes at the right time to diffuse tension in the room. When Evan asked the Governor at the onset where he would like to sit on stage, Perry told him, "I'll be on your right. Evan, I will ALWAYS be on your right." Or when the Governor referred to Austin as a "blueberry inside a red tomato soup." The Governor has a natural charisma that is not apparent if you paid attention to him during his unsuccessful Presidential campaign.
My key takeaways:
The Governor clarified on his position on in-state tuition for undocumented students by defending the fact that the decision was a consequent "aftermath" of a federal government that fails to defend the border; and as the Governor, he and the legislature had to deal with it, and the legislature voted nearly unanimously for it back in 2001, save four dissenting votes
The Governor called for four-year tuition lock for incoming students at all public universities. He also cited the number of institutions (9 going 10 - I need to fact check this) that had successfully created a $10,000 degree
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to ask Julian Castro and Ted Cruz a question at a forum titled "The Future of Texas Politics." I asked about how they would address the skyrocketing cost of higher education and student loan debt in a dismal job market where close to half of college graduates can't find good paying jobs. Castro basically told me to not worry about it because education in a 21st century global economy is so important, so I should not be afraid to take out loans (speaking like a true liberal). Thankfully, my private scholarships and my parents have graciously been funding my education, but I know many of my peers rely on student loans to attend college. But taking out thousands of dollars of loans to attend UT and possibly not find a job in four years is an indictment against higher education. If we truly care about higher ed, then we need have a serious conversation about cost and quality. I'll be the first one to say that college is not for everyone. We need to be innovative offering different options for future students to obtain a degree and be successful in the workforce.Â
Other forums like the ones on Family Planning and Voter ID got intense and heated, but overall it has been an informative weekend. I hope more and more Texans would pay attention to some of these issues that have a long-term policy effect on all Texans - I'll admit that state politics is not as front-and-center as national politics, but it is nonetheless important. Â We need to ask ourselves what kind of state do we want to live in? What kind of environments should we foster to maintain our stellar record of economic growth? What are the challenges we face along the way? How can we best keep our legislators accountable to Texans? We need to think about the future.Â
You may have noticed that I havenât blogged for a little over a month now. A lot have happened in the last month of so. It is also no coincidence that school has started on August 29th in the meantime. Two weeks prior to that, I took some leisure considerations to furnish my apartment, just a little. My roommate and I went around to Goodwill stores eyeing for bargains that only budget-strapped college students would find gratifying.
I completed my summer internship with V&E. I recently accepted a fall internship position with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank based in Austin. One of my best friends departed for Paris to study abroad in an exchange program; I cannot express how thrilled I am for her to experience France with her own personal savings - so proud of her! Whatâs more? UT played against Wyoming in the first football game of the season on August 31, 2012, beating the Cowboys 37-14. The second game against New Mexico this past Saturday, UT shut out the opposition with 45-0! Offense got better in throwing the ball the second game, something that was amiss in the Wyoming match, but the overall strength of the team (defense) still requires much improvement. One of the highlights from the game had to be Matthew McConaugheyâs regal wave to a sea of Longhorns from his VIP box; semi-inebriated gals decked out in burnt orange, tip-toeing in cowboy boots tried to catch a sight of the movie star.
I am thoroughly enjoying my Marketing, Finance, and Organizational Behavior classes in McCombs â which by the way is ranked #7 by U.S. News for 2013. McCombs Career Week took place this past week. I penguin-ed up in suit and tie for three days straight, as I networked with numerous recruiters from top Fortune 500 energy and consulting firms, such as ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Accenture, Capegemini, PwC, and a number of other mid-size firms. I am focusing my energy (lolz) this semester in getting that summer internship required for my McCombs degree. I look forward to researching some of these companies in depth, participating in their info sessions, applying for internship positions, and overall leveraging the wonderful resources available to me at McCombs, from top business faculty to career advisors and to my peers.
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I am also very excited for the two student organizations I am involved in this semester: College Republicans and Helping Hornz (a community service organization). I am an officer in each organization. Both groups are relatively small, with huge potentials for growth and development. My broader goal is to develop both organizations into self-sufficiency by motivating the people in each organization to take upon leadership roles to effect positive change. I would like to collaborate with other student organizations, innovate, come up with creative ways to engage members, and effectively implement measures to accomplish these goals. I canât wait for what these organizations will accomplish this year! I will keep you apprised.Â
Obama has been leading in the polls. Recent polls from CNN and Fox News (which was conducted by one of my UT professorsâ polling firm Shaw & Research Co.) put Obama on top by 7 and 9 percentage points respectively, which is above the standard margin of error. Gallup poll conducted Friday put both campaigns at a 46-46 tie. Rasmussen tracking provided Romney with a two point advantage. Mr. Obama has also been leading in most of the swing states. Romney needs a good convention, a good vice presidential pick, and good debates to carry him over the top: it is an uphill battle for sure.
As for the VP speculation, the Romney campaign has been trumping up its VP selection by pestering supporters with emails asking them to donate for a chance to find out the identity of Romneyâs running mate and rolling out a new Apple app as a tool for supporters to be the first to find out about the pick. In a recent CNN/ORC poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, Marco Rubio came out on top of the list, with Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Chris Christie of New Jersey close behind tied for second. Ok look, as much as I would like for Paul Ryan to be Romneyâs running mate, I do not think that is very likely purely out of strategic concerns. Nate Silver, a respected statistician turned pollster, puts Wisconsin (10 electoral votes) at a mere 2.8% as a deciding state to carry Romney over, while he pegs Ohio (18 electoral votes) at 34% decisive to a Romney win. Wisconsin already has Scott Walker, the governor who took on the unions and survived a liberal, special-interests campaign to unseat him. Walker is also speaking at the Republican National Convention to trump up support. In addition, the President has been leading in Wisconsin for weeks now. These realities alone deprive Paul Ryan of a chance at VP, not to mention the Left has successfully painted Ryan as a radical affront on the women and the poor through his budget plans. Ryan himself is not vastly popular in his home state with 30 some percent approval. If Ryan is picked, more negative ads will flood the air to bring down Ryanâs credentials and paint him as killer-of-Medicare-as-we-know-it, which is a liberal way of deflecting from the real issue: entitlement reform. I am a huge fan of Paul Ryan. I think he is one of the few Republicans in Congress who had the balls to offer a bold plan to reign in the countryâs fiscal binge. But in a tight election year, Ryan may be too âboldâ of a pick. Ryan will be red meat for the "gotcha" mainstream media's dog-and-pony show, a good pick for the Party's fiscal hawks, but bad for the electability of a Republican presidential candidate in a tough election year.Â
Bobby Jindal, Republican governor from Louisiana, has been a name thrown around as well. From a strategic standpoint, Jindal makes absolutely no sense for Romneyâs electoral gains. Jindal has a phenomenal resume that arguably outshines Romney. Why do you want to make a sequel of Batman and focus solely on Robin (McCain/Palin)? The campaign would be stupid to pick Jindal as the VP ticket. Â
Other names include Bob McConnell, Rob Portman, and Marco Rubio. According to Nate Silver, Rubio has a net positive impact of 2.8% in his home state, while Portman has 1.1%. Bob McConnell has a 3.5%, but Virginia has only 13 electoral votes, 15 less than Florida. Rubio is predicted to increase Floridaâs win chance by 15%. In the same blog, Silver however predicts that Portman and McConnell will have the most likely impact (about two percentage points) on winning the election. Thatâs how the numbers look today. Here are some qualitative considerations.
McConnell is a popular governor in Virginia, a state that went to a Democratic President in 2008 for the first time since LBJ. Virginia is an important state for Obama. He has campaigned and fundraised in Virginia numerous times this year. The state has a relatively low unemployment rate at about 6%. Even though southern Virginia bordering North Carolina has higher jobless rate, that area of state, being rural, small town America will most likely go to Romney anyways. The key urban center in Northern Virginia, where an economic boom, similar to that of Austin, has brought in diverse, highly-skilled workers to IT and government contract jobs. Places like Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loundon County are some of the wealthiest counties coupled with lowest jobless rates in the country. Bob McConnell carried all three of these wealthy counties in 2009. With McConnell as surrogate, Romney can tap into these counties and steal a win in Virginia. With a Real Clear Politics polling average between 3-8/10, the country rejects Obamacare, 49.9%-42.2%, a 7.7 percentage point lead in favor of repealing. There is only one candidate who is campaigning to repeal Obamacare in this race. Team Obama has a tough sell to make in these rich counties where people are perfectly fine with their health care. Therefore, it is not overly optimistic for me to think Romney has a good chance with Virginia.
In Florida, Senator Marco Rubio has the political profile and the conservative credentials to not only solidify Romneyâs support in Florida, a key swing state, but he is vastly popular among the Tea Party brand of the party and the so-called conservative purists. And letâs face it, a rising star in the new Hispanic right? Jackpot. If Floridaâs 29 electoral votes go toward Romney, and if he takes back Wisconsin and Virginia, states that went to Obama in 2008, he doesnât need Ohio to win the election. However, admittedly, the scenario I proposed is rather rosy because Wisconsin and Virginia have been trending Democratic. In turns of resource allocation, Ohio (18 electoral votes) is still THE strategy for the Romney campaign, and he needs to do anything to shore up support to carry 50%+1 in Ohio, even if that means picking Rob Portman as his VP...or so some strategists would suggest. But a plurality, 42% of voters polled in Ohio, either donât know or havenât heard of Portman. Actually a PPP poll concludes 55% Ohioans donât know Portman in his own state! What use is that? While it is true that 16 out of 22 vice presidential picks since 1968 came from home states already in candidatesâ favor, often those are states with little electoral gains such as Connecticut, Delaware, Wyoming, etc., (Bill Turque, Washington Post), Rubio is from a state that hails 29 valuable electoral votes, the same state that had riveted the nation in 2000 with butterfly ballots and Supreme Court drama.
Nate Silver predicts that Rob Portman will boost Romneyâs election win potential by 2 points, while Bob McConnell will carry it over by 1 point. To the non-political watchers, in a current world of party polarization and divided America, that can be significant enough to carry Romney to the top on Election Day. Â
Of course, the media and the pundits love a good horse-race. To them, this is the NFL draft of politics. Couple weeks back, network television was hyping up Condoleeza Rice as Romneyâs potential VP, to all serious Republicans, we knew that was a desperate call from media running out of guesses, which is a good sign for the Romney campaign â keep them guessing. The media has been focusing on Tim Pawlenty (uh no jose), Rob Portman, and Paul Ryan in the last week.Â
Republicans need to stop fooling ourselves and put up a show for the mainstream media. Barack Obama is arguably one of the best political communicators, orators, rhetoricians, BSers in the history of the United States. He has some of the brightest political operatives working for his campaign. And despite his recent habitual lament of how the Republicans are beating him in the fundraising game, his campaign is still ahead of the game having raised some $550 million, compared to Romneyâs $395 million. To put that in perspective, Obama campaign has a fundraising advantage of $155 million that could easily employ more than 860,000 Kenyans for a year based on the countryâs per capita annual income of $1,800. Republicans should not and cannot underestimate the Chicago political machine that is behind the Obama campaign.
On an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC, Romney said that he wants a VP who has âa vision for the country, that, that adds something to the political discourse about the direction of the country.â Rob Portman doesnât seem to fit the description. Senator Rubio is a young conservative firebrand who will ignite the conservatives, tear down the stereotype of Republican old âwhite maleâ club, and provide political hope for fiscally conservative, anti-communist, Catholic, pro-family Latino voters. Going the Florida route in an electoral plan via Rubio seems like the best VP choice for me for Romney and the Republican Party. For an owner of a 200-year-old haunted house in Ohio, Portman is too spooky of a pick for the Republican Party. I understand the rationale for a âboring white guyâ as running mate; but come on, I canât be the only guy who thinks a Romney-Portman might be too boring that people may not even turn out to vote?
CNN just broke the news: Romney campaign will be announcing his VP pick in Norfolk, Virginia tomorrow morning (Quick! All network reporters, get on the first plane to Norfolk #BostonAirport backed up on tarmac)Â
Here's my relatively rosy Electoral Map. We will see where political tides take up in the next three months. Wisconsin was a big call for me, but let's wait and see. Â
Liberals Out There: Speak up for Rachel Elizabeth!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gERsTy2GiPM
I had a wonderful birthday celebration over the course of the last few days that some political headliners eluded me. Now I have mainly stayed away from the Chick-fil-A controversy mainly because I think it was blown out of proportion. With a slew of pictures from prominent Republicans with Chick-fil-A bags as backdrop and from kiss-ins organized by anti-groups, the whole shebang was more of a theatrical event than anything of substance. Politics is a nasty business. I get it. We have Senator Reid accusing Romney for not paying taxes for over ten years, Obama coining catchy phrases like "Romney hood" and "You didn't build that," and Sandra Fluke, the feminist warrior, speaking sooo passionately for women's right to government contraceptives; and of course, there is Chick-fil-A, with the latest victim of the episode being an innocent employee named Rachel Elizabeth. This is what happened at one Chick-fil-A drive-thru.Â
Some self-righteous duffus went to a chick-fil-a drive thru getting only a cup of water. While at the service window, he broke out in an illogical anti-corporation rant against an innocent server, Rachel, whose cool-headed, superb customer service throughout this whole thoroughfare is laudable and demands the attention of all liberals who supposedly fight for women. How dare does Adam Smith go off and berate and lecture an innocent woman whose sole job is simply there to serve him, the customer?! Who is he to question how other people make a living and publicly abuse them thinking he's holier-than-thou? Adam Smith is everything repugnant about progressive liberals that conservatives despise: people who are spineless, lack common decency, and ostentatious bandwagoners who don't think for themselves. Regardless of his opinions about Chick-fil-A, for Smith to make a fuss about the situation in a smug, smirky kind of way and to verbally harass an employee at a drive-thru (while paying absolutely nothing) all while on camera, only undermines whatever motive he had to begin with.
I seriously doubt anti-Chick-fil-A activists will claim Smith as one of their own. I just hope that people on both sides can recognize what he did was incredibly ridiculous. Just to be clear, I am all for free speech; therefore, I stand by Smith's right to speak up. But if Smith really wanted to make a political statement, he could have written letters to Chick-fil-A, given money to pro-equality organizations, and run for office himself! There are legitimate democratic channels for him to vent his frustrations, yet he has chosen to victimize an hourly-waged employee of a multibillion national corporation that has given money to certain organizations that espouse, among many things, anti-gay sentiments. Think about that causal chain! For Smith to think he is gaining "purpose" by doing this is both irrational and sad. I mean the guy waited in line to go through the drive thru window to grab his...water, creepily without asking for permission taped the whole encounter, and apparently put it up on YouTube, hmmm what kind of recognitions is Smith seeking? A "pro-gay" woman-bashing YouTube star?!
Not only does he attack Chick-fil-A for being "hateful" and "horrible," he has the chutzpah to question Rachel, "How do you live with yourself and work here?" He even challenges Rachel to "stand up" for herself. PEOPLE! This guy is a gutless bully who turtles up in his car and picks on women. Please by all means denounce his action. And what's more?? He leaves the drive-thru window feeling somehow compelled to say that he is not gay. "I'm totally heterosexual and not a gay in me" O really?? I don't know about you, but my gaydar is ringing off the chart...I feel bad for this guy. He made a fool out of himself, and he stupidly hinders the effort of pro-equality activists in this country.  Congratulations Citizen Smith, you not only managed to offend all the young, hardworking American women working in fast food industry, you have also succeeded in offending the LGBT community, the very community you attempt to stand up for in the first place? The conventional distinction between liberals and conservatives lies in those with hearts and those with brains (this is an oversimplication and a joke for the political nerds out there), unfortunately for Adam Smith, he possess neither quality.Â
American Conservatism Needs to Return to Its Roots: GOP in Dire Need of a Rebrand
Politically, Ted Cruz made national news last night by pulling off an upset and won the Texas Republican Primary Run-Off against David Dewhurst, a party establishment favorite going into the election to replace Kay Bailey Hutchinson who is retiring after this term. With heavyweights like Sarah Palin, Mike Lee, and Jim DeMint making personal appearances in the Lone Star state in favor of Cruz last week, as well as endorsements from Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, Ron Paul, Pat Toomey, Tom Coburn, and the longtime well-respected conservative thinker and former Attorney General under Reagan, Ed Meese, Cruz has the label Tea Party âinsurgentâ written all over him. The choice was clear for conservatives across the state: a moderate legislative negotiator (read compromiser, status quo) vs. a proven conservative fighter. More than 1.1 million voters, including myself, voted in the Republican Primary in a suppressed statewide turnout of mere 8.5%. Cruz won 56.8% of the vote, while Dewhurst managed to get 43.2% of the vote, a wider gap than the 10-point lead to Cruz predicated by Public Policy Polling over the weekend (source: Texas Secretary of State Election Results).
This election was a big prize for the Tea Party movement. It also signals the political fracturing in this country and within the Republican Party itself. The Republican Party is desperately in need of a rebranding in this November election and in the years leading up to the end of the decade. Currently, many ideological inconsistencies exist in the Partyâs platform and policies that undermine the strength of the Party. Republicans of all stripes need to have a national convention and dialogue, especially with young Republicans who will inherit the Party and the country in the coming decades, about their vision for the Partyâs future and hash out the differences. Americans are looking for a fiscally responsible government that is more effective and efficient, one that does not step over its constitutional boundaries, one that respect human rights and personal liberty, and one that can provide real hope and prosperity to millions of jobless Americans. The GOP can deliver that agenda, but infighting needs to give way to reality. Party paternalism needs to stop. Dogged pursuit of out-of-touch wedge issues need to desist. Real dialogue needs to happen. A younger generation of Republicans with its own set of political values and beliefs need to be incorporated into the Party agenda in order for the Party to stay relevant.
Polls tell us that young people still favor the President 56-39. The Republican Party is not on-message with the young voters, who in my belief care more about the cultural and social issues, such as marriage equality and equal pay for woman. Republican Party needs to revisit its stance on some of these issues because frankly its hostility - rhetorical or otherwise - toward gays and women is not âconservative,â but rather stubborn and tyrannical. It is no surprise that Ron Paul, a libertarian, has been a political superstar among otherwise would-be conservative young voters.
I still believe in American conservatism with its emphasis on classical liberal values on individual liberty, respect for the Constitution, peace through strength foreign posture, and fiscal responsibility as the best course for our country. However, I feel like some of the so-called conservatives have catered to a form of lifestyle conservatism that does great injustice to the conservative movement. Their policy stance and rhetoric are grossly out of touch with young voters, who feel the constant tug-of-war between fiscal conservatism and open-minded, socially liberal acceptance of all people and human rights â a tenet that should be claimed by conservatives but is not as result of the Christian Right.
Right now, Cruz will carry the banner of grassroots conservatives in a heavily favored general election to succeed Senator Hutchinson in November. A rising star in the Republican Party, Mr. Cruz with his legal backgrounds rooted in two venerable Ivy League institutions will provide the conservative intellectual gusto alongside Paul Ryan in Washington in challenging status quo politics of overspending and overregulation by the federal government. However, if Mr. Cruz becomes a cultural warrior for the Christian Rightâs agenda, we need to revisit the conservative movement pioneered by Barry Goldwater in the late 50s and early 60s, search our conscience, and ask ourselves just what does it mean to be a conservative in the 21st century America?Â
"One cannot help but wonder whether this apparent support [for President Obama] by Americaâs younger generation reflects a thoughtful assessment of the future of America, or if it harkens back to high school student body elections, where superficial popularity carries the day. Do young voters base votes on critical thought about policies, or on the candidateâs ability to shoot hoops, text on a Blackberry, and fill out an NCAA bracket?"
I havenât blogged for a while now. It has been a hectic two weeks of starting my internship, packing, continuing with my research project, moving out of my old apartment, and striving to maintain a reasonable level of routine to my life. Summer Orientation is officially over. I am thrilled to have heard wonderful things about orientation from the new incoming class via personal feedbacks and tweets. Thanks to New Student Services, we succeeded in welcoming over 7000 incoming freshmen and transfer students to the UT campus. I am beyond excited for them to come at the end of the month to embark on a new chapter of their life here in Austin. I made new wonderful friends during orientation. I look forward to keeping those relationships strong throughout the upcoming year.
Summer Olympics in London this year has hit it off with a strong start for Team USA. Though I was puzzled by a few minute details during the Opening Ceremony, and frustrated by the absentminded point-out-the-obvious, with at times, unnecessary political commentary by NBC, I thought London has put forth a great Opening Ceremony show for the world to see with memorable moments like the Queen parachuting out of helicopter 007-style, the music through the decades showcasing British cultural evolution, classic Mr. Bean segment, the always emotional lighting of the torch, and the unforgettable sing-a-along with Paul McCartney in âHey Jude.â Firework lit up the London skyline in a perfecto ending signaling the start of yet another true international sporting tradition cherished by all nations.
When I checked this morning, Team USA is currently in lead in medal counts with 26 medals, and second only to China in gold medal count. The gymnastic team has outdone itself last night and delivered gold for the whole country to see. Those girls have shown grace and confidence throughout the whole competition. Their much deserved champion status last night is a triumph shared by all Americans as we were all riveted to our television, rooted and cheered for Aly, Gabby, Jordan, McKayla, and Kyla. And Michael Phelps, now an Olympian legend, the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 19 medals to show for, is a favorite among all Americans. When I was scrolling through my tweets last night, I saw President Obamaâs tweet to Phelps, âCongrats to Michael Phelps for breaking the all-time Olympic medal record. Youâve made your country proud. -- bo.â Now for political nerds like myself who follow a whole host of politicians on Twitter, I know that âboâ means Barack Obama himself tweeted. Regardless of my disagreements with the President on policies, that was pretty darn cool.
Look forward for Team USA to further deliver and make us all proud for the next couple of weeks! TEAM USA!!!
Most of the things we have we bought because we didn't understand them...A real work of art you never entirely understand, and anyway, if I had waited until I thought I understood I'd never have bought anything
Herbert Vogel, 1977
Herbert and Dorothy Vogel have been collecting art all their life. The couple has lived in the same one-bedroom apartment in Upper East Side of Manhattan since 1963. They were not well off by any standard. Dorothy was a librarian. Herb was a postal man. The couple did not have any children, just cats and reptiles. They lived off of Dorothy's salary, while using Herb's earnings to purchase and collect art. Over the past several decades, the couple went on their Saturday excursions hunting for worthy artworks that were both "affordable" and can "fit into the apartment." Over their lifetime, the Vogels collected over 4,750 works of art, an estimated worth of several million dollars.
In 2009, they stopped collecting art. Instead, they partnered up with the National Gallery of Art and proceeded to donate 2,500 of their lifelong collection to 50 art museums across the country, choosing one from each state. The Blanton Museum here at the University of Texas at Austin was chosen as the one of the recipients of Vogels' collection under the Fifty Works for Fifty States initiative.
The Vogels' love and passion for art were inspring and mesmerizing when I visited the Blanton the other day with a couple of friends to see the exhibit, "The Human Touch." Â For me, the Vogels are the archetypal art collectors we are not necessarily rich, in the material sense, but I have no doubt that the couple has lived a much happier life being closer to beauty and humanity, and simply pursuing what they love together.Â
I came across this really good article the other day. It resonated me so much that I'd like to delve into it a bit more. The article challenges the often touted notion that we need to stay busy in the current world. College students, young professionals, even children are over-scheduled and are stretched thin. This constant almost obsessive effort to remain busy, appear busy, sound busy is self-induced and unnecessary. It is an addiction; "Itâs not as if any of us wants to live like this; itâs something we collectively force one another to do." I cannot think of how many times my parents call me and I have to sound busy, as if to satiate their expectation that I should be busy in college. Or how I obsessively keep up with two separate calendars, one on my laptop and one in a planner, in addition to a notepad to jot down to-do lists and sort them based on urgency and importance. Or perhaps how I try to squeeze in thirty minutes of a show or an hour of coffee meeting with an acquaintance.
Living life on a tight, hectic schedule cannot be ideal. It is suffocating. Why do I feel bad about taking a nap when I should be doing school work? Why do I feel "too busy" to not go to the gym or simply go for a jog? Why do I constantly feel that there is not enough hours in a day? What happened to those seemingly empty hours when we enjoy doing nothing? Who says doing nothing is not productive? As the author points out, reflection and thinking are ways to help us collect our thoughts, reevaluate our actions, and calm our nerves. If we live life by the minutes, what room is there for us to improve ourselves through self-examination? Isn't it Aristotle who advised us that an unexamined life is not worth living? How in the world can we examine anything if we keep ourselves busy all the time? This article serves a warning bell for those - like myself - who have a desire to be superproductive, who cannot stand "doing nothing" because the feeling of "wasting time" undermines our self-worth. We have to let go and not be so rigid with our schedules because there is so much to life than just a schedule.Â
"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets."
So apparently citizens of the Los Angeles County will have the pleasure of voting for or against mandatory condom usage for adult film performers in explicit language on the ballot for the fall. Woohoo! Power to the people!
From a safety standpoint, namely preventing STIs from transmitting among pornstars, the ballot initiative makes sense. AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been lobbying for mandatory condom usage for years. It could not find any state wide politician taking up its cause (EVEN in liberal California?!) There apparently have been cases where young adult performers have contracted HIV/AIDS through sexual intercourse on the job, so as humorous as this sounds, it is a real issue for the multi-billion-dollar porn industry entrenched in LA county. Not only having sex without condom increases the health risks of participants, the act sends the wrong message to thousands of consumers of modern internet porn.Â
This all makes sense, except one point; and please do pardon my ignorance and lack of imagination on - shall we say - Â certain logistics in a mandatory condom usage law: HOW IN THE WORLD IS THE GOVERNMENT GOING TO ENFORCE IT!? I would rather not envisage a new legion of city employees, who are hired with taxpayer money and carry the professional title of Condom Inspector?Â
Condom Inspector (Operator): O we will be there in a jiffy, no problem. One of our undercover agents snuck in some Viagra into Juicy World during our last arrest. We should be able to catch them in the act.
Yeah...
Education is crucial in empowering sexually active participants to make good healthy choices. Industry standards need to be revisited in order to mitigate health risks of contracting STIs. Employees and performers working in this industry need to be notified and educated fully on the risks involved in their job. Ultimately, the decision to be employed and to participate in certain acts is a conscious decision taken by the performer. Decisions have consequences. Government should stay out of individual decision making matrix, despite its good intentions. Beyond the mere impracticability of enforcing such a law, the government is encroaching upon private decisions. This level of paternalism undermines the human spirit by imposing government-knows-best solution in place of personal responsibility.  If TSA agents can grope private citizens at airports in the name of safety, and local police and government workers can "spot check" whether private employees are using condom or not in the name of safety, how much further can the government push the constitutional boundaries of privacy before the very notion of privacy and liberty will cease to exist.Â
