Politics and Pucks

Things Like This are Why I Like Studying Politics

2012-01-10T18:46:00.000-05:00

As someone who studies politics, I sometimes get discouraged by the system. However, there's a reason I like studying politics. There's a lot of times in American politics, where we see a lot of silliness and humor. We have the annual White House Correspondents Banquet where the whole press corps takes a few hours to make fun of itself and of elected officials. At the same time, the President and their cabinet get to have a chance to make fun of themselves and then listen to a comedian as well!

There's also elections and the crazy advertising and people who are involved, that the media generally does not cover. Sometimes, these people are running for irony, others because they're serious. Meet Vermin Supreme. He's a Democratic candidate running for President in New Hampshire. He was seen at a debate recently, and here's what he had to say:

Anyone whose closing statement is sung to the tune of "the chicken dance" has my vote.

The full debate can be seen here, but I think this highlight reel is pretty fantastic.

(Via Mediaite)

GOP Candidates, Roll Intitiative

2012-01-03T12:41:00.002-05:00

Today is the Iowa Caucus, the first primary event of the GOP 2012 Presidential race. If you have been keeping up with the polls, you can tell that the outcome is essentially a crap shoot. Predicting the outcome of the Iowa Caucus is crazy at this point, as the conventional logic has been thrown out the window. I'm suggesting that we just "roll initiative" with 20-sided dice to figure out who wins. (Edit 6:15PM) For those who aren't familiar with the concept of rolling initiative, it is essentially rolling the order of attacks in D&D. The highest initiative goes first, next highest goes second, and so on. In this case, we're determining the outcome of the Iowa Caucus.

So I just rolled one of my 20-sided dice and just uploaded them in the order I rolled them. I then assigned them alphabetically (1st roll to Bachmann, 2nd to Gingrich, etc.). None of them had bonuses, modifiers, or anything additional to take into consideration. This would be more accurate if I did a Monte Carlo simulation, but I don't have enough time today to do that. So here's my prediction of the caucus:

Michelle Bachmann rolls:

Newt Gingrich rolls:

Ron Paul rolls:

Rick Perry rolls:

Mitt Romney rolls:

Rick Santorum rolls:

The dice have spoken. I guess randomness likes late surges, hates liberty, and ignores the polls. Now will the people vote the same way?

A New Podcast for 2012

2011-12-31T13:29:00.000-05:00

On this New Years' Eve, I want to take a moment to tell you about a new awesome endeavor I'm undertaking this next year. I'm reviving a podcast about hockey with a few friends: The New High Sticking Podcast. James (a former roommate) and I did a hockey radio-show/podcast back in 2007. We were unable to continue it due to James' graduation from Purdue, and my taking an RA position in the summer of 2008. After some time we've decided to revive it with some new energy.

We will be starting sometime next week and details will be emerging, but I thought I'd take a moment to tell you that we did a test last night, and sounds like it will be a pretty informative pod cast. We will have fans and writers from around the continent weighing in on the major issues of the day in the realm of professional hockey. We're very excited about it, and I will keep you informed about it here on this blog.

For those wondering what I'm thinking about with the Iowa Caucus, there's a post coming up tomorrow about it!

Rep. Rokita Writes Me Back About "In God We Trust"

2011-12-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

If you read this blog or my Twitter, you know that I have written Rep. Todd Rokita some letters in the past and have been annoyed with his responses. They're mostly partisan and just assume that I wrote a letter to the Congressman about how I appreciated the bill he helped vote down or pass. Well, I have received a new letter I just received from Rep. Rokita about HCR-13. This bill reaffirmed "In God We Trust" as the motto of the US Government. In the letter he asked me to pray for him and his colleagues, giving me specifics to pray for him. He also was proud to uphold ~~our~~ his Christian heritage.

(NOTE: I have the letter in my computer at home in IN, and will post it as soon as I get back)

First of all, when I'm disagreeing with the fact that you were interested in reaffirming "In God We Trust", don't ask me to pray for you. Yes, I'm not Christian and your district has a heavily Christian population, but at least be respectful of the fact that you do have non-Christians in your district (Remember the last election? I'll remind you that your opponent was Jewish). I also disagreed with the bill, and it seems like that wasn't even taken into consideration even if it is a form letter. If you're going to write a form letter, at least tell me how you at least understand my argument. Or at least tell me something to make me feel better if I disagreed.

All I'm asking for is some common courtesy towards non-Christian individuals. What makes you think I'd even theoretically pray for you if I was religious? You didn't make me feel better in your letter, from a non-Christian perspective (which I have). So in what way, should I pray for you then if I have no spiritual connection to Jesus? Essentially you've told me I should recognize my ties to Jesus (that I don't have). Seriously, there's some people that need to learn how to talk to non-Christian individuals and remember that we exist. Even if the majority is Christian, we still exist and are represented by you.

My Experience at Pearl Harbor

2011-12-22T19:13:00.002-05:00

This year for the holidays my family is out in Hawaii, and it's absolutely gorgeous out here (not to mention as I write this, I'm overlooking the ocean). There's some blogging I want to catch up on, even though I promised I would have blogged almost a month ago! Anyway, there's more political and hockey blogging ahead.

While I've been out here in Hawaii, I've had an opportunity to go to Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941 by the Japanese as an attempt to cripple the US in the Pacific Theater. The attack was a long time coming, but the event that may have started this reaction was in 1937, when the US cut off oil trade to the Japanese in retaliation to their invasion of China. The Japanese, as most of the armies in WWII did, relied on steady supplies of oil. There were parts of the war (the North African campaign, for example), where the supply of oil played a large role in the outcome. The Japanese forged alliances with the Germans as they expanded their influence into Europe, Asia, and Africa. In December 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed as the Japanese were looking to add a pacific buffer zone from the US. The the US lost many battleships, planes, and over 2,500 soldiers. The USS Arizona lost nearly 1,500.

I had an opportunity to go to the USS Arizona Memorial which is in the middle of the harbor. It is moving to think that so many men and women died on that tragic day, and all the men and women aboard that ship mostly did too. The memorial is said to still be living, as the oil is still leaking from the hull of the sunken ship. It's amazing to think how this surprise attack is the second largest loss of life on American soil (the largest is Sept. 11, 2001). It was very cool to see this site, but it was also humbling. It was a surprise attack, that the US probably could not have entirely prevented, however this should not discount the fact that many lives (including many civilians). I did find it interesting that there was some mention of Japanese internment camps, because that tends to be a taboo topic with respect to American History. It's a step in the right direction, but I'm someone who thinks we can do more to remember the horrors of that dark era in our history.

In addition to the USS Arizona, I had an opportunity to see the USS Bowfin, which is a submarine that was launched on December 8, 1941. The submarine saw many battles and is one of the most effective submarines ever launched. It only saw one minor casualty, a broken leg, in its service during WWII. The ship itself is tiny for the 80 men who lived onboard at a given time. The upkeep and audio tour of this ship was absolutely incredible and I really appreciated how they've maintained it. Attached was the US Navy submarine museum, which was also very cool. I learned about ICBMs that can be fired from these ships in the Cold War, as well as the other subs in history. Overall, I wish I could have spent a few days there, since there is that much stuff, but it gives me more things to see next time.

Blue Jackets vs. Sabres Pregame

2011-11-25T14:04:00.001-05:00

Tonight, I'm heading to Columbus, OH for the Blue Jackets game this evening. The Jackets will be taking on the Sabres at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets are playing fairly well as of late. They have taken 6 out of the last 8 points available, and they are within a game or two from not being the worst team in the league. The biggest change is Curtis Sanford as the starting goaltender, as Steve Mason is nursing a head injury. The Sabres have been playing inconsistent, but are not a terrible team, with Jhonas Enroth filling the big shoes of Ryan Miller.

Unfortunately I was very excited to see Ryan Miller play live, but unfortunately Milan Lucic injured him. I am also excited to see a non-Steve Mason goaltender play. I'm looking forward to a great game, from a seeming rejuvenated Blue Jackets team. The other thing I'm pretty excited about is actually snapping a few pictures of the replica cannon that the Jackets have in the arena. They fire a blank shot out of it after each goal the Jackets score. I've been to one game since they've done this, but I wasn't in the arena with enough time to go see it. So this time, I should have enough time to see it.

If you're going to the game, Tweet me if you want to meet up.

A Thanksgiving Classic Revamped

2011-11-24T14:19:00.001-05:00

Today is Thanksgiving. Many of us are reminded of it because of afternoon football and Norman Rockwell paintings. For others it's just another day closer to Christmas. In reality, it almost seems like this holiday is being overlooked anymore in favor of the holiday shopping season. I will spare you of that blog post.

Anyway, you probably will engage in political discussion with your relatives, and I just want to remind you to not start wars at the dinner table. Politics can be discussed without starting wars, believe me, I do this every day at Purdue. If you disagree, don't fling mashed potatoes, just change the topic. It's okay. Your conservative relative is not going to come full circle on Occupy Wall Street, just like your liberal relative isn't going to see the magic of Sarah Palin.

So while you're waiting for the Turkey to cook in the oven, take a second and enjoy this *new* version of Happy Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Via Mediaite)

The Case for an Atheist-Con in Indiana

2011-11-20T13:04:00.001-05:00

As I've been reading the Twitter feed from Skepticon IV, I've had a thought. I really think the time has come to bring a national Atheist-con to Indiana. There's a lot of good reasons to do it here:

1) Travel
Arguably, the travel is a burden on everyone, however, there are generally few national and annual conventions that occur in a reasonable distance to Indiana. The closest and easiest conference for Hoosiers to attend is SSA-con in the summer. Outside of that, there's very few options unless you take a flight or you want to drive 9 hours or more (Okay AA in Iowa was 6 hours away, but still it's not close). Columbus, OH is 4 hours away, and SSA-con is awesome! I love it, but it would be nice to have something else also in our area to look forward to, because after that one not very many of them are close by. TAM is in Las Vegas, Skepticon is in Missouri, other conventions are in the deep south or on the coasts. In reality the great lakes area has very few national conventions.

2) We Need Help in the Flyover States
There's only so much CFI-Indiana can do. Even though Indianapolis is the only proper city in the state, there still are a lot of atheists who struggle to find groups out in the middle of nowhere. If David Silverman and other national organizations are looking to get atheists out of the pews, do it in Indiana. For example, Purdue's campus has over 100 religious groups of the 500 or so student groups. There is only 1 atheist/agnostic specific group. We're fairly outnumbered, and we struggle to get our voice heard to start with. Despite this, we do great events and are becoming a known name in the community once again, but a boost could help us.

Then looking at the state of Indiana in general, there's a lot of good reason to have one for non-students too. Abortion is a bipartisan issue, with the Democrats leading the way. Indiana Right to Life is a Democrat institution, if you didn't know. The sentiment towards the non-religious is also not very friendly. We could use some help shaking some things up.

3) We've seen other areas of the country have conventions that are in similar positions
Alabama and Iowa have had national conventions. Those areas of the country are also highly religious, in a similar fashion to Indiana. If it's a question of location, Indianapolis is having the Super Bowl. If they can do that, they can surely host an atheist convention that is not nearly as large in scale. There are a lot of other states in the bible belt who are holding conventions, and Indiana still has not held one recently. We've had individual speakers, but not a large organized event like some of the other ones held in the US.

So seriously, I think it's time to start a new chapter of history for atheists in the Great Lakes Region. We really need to get together and plan something in Indiana or something within a reasonable driving distance, if not in our own backyard.

Dobson Using the Fear of God

2011-11-18T16:12:00.001-05:00

James Dobson has a message from God:

So vote Republican or suffer the consequences? Is that really a great way to spread the message for the Republican Party? I actually think Dobson is right about 2012 being a crucial election, but I don't think he's seeing it like I do. I see 2012 as a turning point for non-religious and non-Christian individuals.

A Republican loss in 2012 for Dobson would mean less of a platform in the public square. He's highly respected among his GOP colleagues. It would also mean that in some cases religious appeals may not work as well as they have in the past. For example, we are seeing states overturn same-sex marriage bans despite religious opposition. Person-hood amendments, which are generally sponsored by religious organizations, have been turned down in traditionally religious states (Mississippi for example). There might be a changing attitude towards religion in the US, but it's hard to say this is absolutely true without further quantifiable evidence.

However, if this is the case, 2012 is a very crucial year for non-Christian and non-religious individuals.

Rethinking Protest of Campus Preachers

2011-11-07T01:46:00.001-05:00

Last week, Purdue had the "pleasure" of having Brother Jed come to campus. Unlike our friends at UIUC, or at IU we took a little bit of a different approach that I think other campuses might benefit from, and I'll share our strategy. Now I'm sure many of you who will read this will think that I'm insane or I'm unwilling to fight the religious, but hear me out before you jump to that conclusion.

As an organization, the Purdue Society of Non-Theists decided it was best not to engage nor endorse a protest of Brother Jed. The leadership came to this decision, because they felt that it was not worth our time to just protest him. In a campus environment that is fairly conservative, among other issues, we thought that we should just let cooler heads prevail.

We also knew that we had some connections to Jed. One of our theist members, Raleigh had been communicating with Jed for about a year now, and has had some theological discussions with him. From what Raleigh has told us, he has some very complex theological positions that might be a little surprising (According to Raleigh he is what theologians call an "open-theist"). With this in mind, Raleigh had a book that he felt that he had a book that Jed might appreciate that respectfully opposes some of his complex views. If you're curious, the book is "Unspoken Sermons" by George MacDonald.

So we knew that someone was going to engage Brother Jed and he was likely going to listen. There was something else that happened.

One of our other theist members, Mario, had another great idea. Instead of letting hate flow freely, he grabbed his guitar and had a circle of friends chatting about things that had nothing to do with religion. In doing so, we took the attention away from Jed, and let people who wanted to be upset engage him, but let others who were upset join us, and just have a good time not thinking about the hateful stuff Jed was spewing.

So what am I suggesting? Don't directly engage Jed, and you might reap benefits of new members, social capital, and new allies.

So how could you do this on your campus? Really simple, and I call it "Occupy Jed". It's essentially a sit in, where you just ignore Jed, and talk about nothing he's talking about. If people want to engage him don't stop them, but don't endorse them. You might also want to make it clear to the people that are engaging them not to name drop your group. Try to keep it to topics that are non-controversial, and maybe things that won't get people angry. It's okay if people engage him, but if you can take the attention off of Jed and divert it into something a little more positive and off-topic, you win. If he tries to engage you, ignore him, and if things get hairy get the police involved.

So the thought is: the less attention we give Jed, the more frustrated he might get. For example, Jed was a little frustrated that it took 2 hours for someone to really engage him:

We got off to a slow start at 11:40, which is early in the day to draw a good crowd. A few stopped momentarily but I closed about 11:35 to wait for the next break. Even at the 12:20 break, I did not gather a crowd. I sat on my stool holding my YOU DESERVE HELL sign when four students approached me...

So the reality seems that even if we approach him with protest, it's not going to deter or alter anything. HOWEVER, this is a good time to win over your community by not looking as crazy as him. If you can show people who are disagreeing with his crap (but have never met atheists before) that we think he's crazy and that we're also reasonable, this is another win. Then next year, you can plan something more creative, because you will now have people who can speak Jed's language. And, you've probably a lot of new contacts to do new things with.

Now for those of you who think that you should protest him: go for it, have fun and take pictures! There's nothing wrong in doing so. Everyone on r/atheism will enjoy the results. I just think the time has come to be a little more creative when it comes to protesting campus preachers. So let's do it! Also, you can use the time to create stronger ties with ally groups, or build new ones with other religious groups. For people who've never met atheists, and then see that we're not *that* crazy we might change some opinions of people who generally hate us. Try it, and let me know how it goes!

Introducing International Students to American Politics

2011-11-04T02:49:00.003-04:00

A week or two ago, a fellow grad student in a non-political science class asked me for a suggestion of a book about the basics of American Government. He's an international student who is not very familiar with the American political system. Over the past week, I've been thinking about it a lot. I read a lot of books and documents that will just fly over his head. I'm just looking for something that demonstrates the basic functions and structures of the government and some introduction to major issues in American politics.

I've arrived at 3 different book suggestions:

1) America the Book by Jon Stewart
This was probably the first book that I immediately thought of. It's a funny and informative way to think about the American political system. As I looked through it the other night, I noticed there was a lot of great information, but it's masked in a lot of satire. I don't want to demean my friend, but I almost think it's too satirical for it to be helpful to someone who is unfamiliar with American politics. Don't get me wrong, I think some of the examples in this book are wonderful, and are better than many of the political science text books. The other problem is that it assumes the reader is very in-tune with American popular culture. I like this book a lot, but I'm leery of suggesting it in this case.

2) The Everything American Government Book by Nick Ragone
From the description I've read about this book, it seems very straightforward and even handed. The author was a graduate of Rutgers. The ratings on Amazon are very positive, and everything else I've read about the book makes this one attractive. Plus it was published post-9/11 which would explain some of the major changes in precedent since then.

3) American Government: A Complete Coursebook by Ethel Wood
This was the book I used for high school civics. I think it was very easy to read and very approachable. It also seems to explain everything in very simple terms. I really like that it has a lot of good illustrations and examples to explain the way the government works. For someone who is looking for the basics to be explained, I think this is a relatively good guide. It would also introduce the reader to the other parts of political study such as public and foreign policy. It also has the important primary documents: the US Constitution, Declaration of Independence, etc. My only and biggest issue with this book is that it was published in 1999 (it's pre-9/11).

I'm leaning mostly towards the third book, because of its simplicity and it's generally a good reference. So here's the open question: what book(s) would you suggest and why? Are there better other books that I might have overlooked?

Guns Have No Place Outside the Armory at Purdue

2011-11-03T02:59:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, a Purdue Student Government Senator proposed legislation that students be allowed to carry concealed firearms on campus. Here's some of the rationale:

"...I think of my little sister and how someday she could be walking on this campus. If anyone ever tried to hurt her I would want her to at least have the option of defending herself...

...An Indiana resident with the proper licensing can carry on Purdue’s campus with no fear of repercussions since he or she could only be punished through University Regulations,” Briggs wrote, “which obviously don’t apply to him or her if this person is not a student, a member of faculty, or staff. This means IU students have the right to carry here without enforceable punitive actions being taken while Purdue students can’t..."

Personally, I'm not moved by this argument. Let's consider that Virginia Tech has had 2 incidents where there was an active shooter on campus. There have been multiple other incidents where people were either thwarted or succeeded with gun violence in other arenas that aren't universities. This is a serious issue even if it has only effected a handful of people.

I'm not going to say people have no rights to guns, because that's just silly. I am suggesting however, that guns are not necessary on Purdue's campus outside of the armory. Guns are a hobby that people in this country enjoy, and there's no reason to stop them from having this hobby in a closed and safe environment. The armory hosts a number of gun-oriented organizations, and there's no one complaining about how they cant shoot cans or targets on the Math Building. If you're going to complain about there being no outdoor locations, those exist nearby and can be accessed through the gun-oriented organizations.

The biggest point to think about is this quote from Purdue Police Chief John Cox:

“When we get that 911 call and we send two to three uniformed officers and there are two or three guys shooting at each other, who’s the bad guy?” he said. “Our officers are trained to eliminate the threat. When there’s chaos, the officers aren’t going to know who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy."

"Unfortunately, what that means is it could end up in tragedy and I’d have to explain to someone’s parents we couldn’t tell who the good guys were and the bad guys were.”

I personally do not feel safer when more people have guns concealed. Sure, you might know how to be safe about it, but there's no reason to have one. Besides, if there is an active shooter and you kill him/her there's no telling you'll be protected from the law. Even if there is safety classes, just letting people carry guns will make people who don't know much about (and frankly aren't all that interested in owning) guns feel unsafe around campus. Just because you know how to fire guns, doesn't ensure everyone does.

Let's just keep it the way it is, no guns on campus unless you're in the armory. Let's stop being paranoid about other people coming to kill us. Even with safety classes, it doesn't prevent the fact that the door would be open to incidents like those that occurred at Virginia Tech.

(Via Purdue Exponent)

Open Thread: Student Life as a Pokemon Battle

2011-10-31T23:52:00.000-04:00

In the past month or two, I've been very inundated with homework and research. I've submitted a paper to a regional political science conference, and have had a plethora of papers to write, and another blog I'm writing for a class (if you're interested in politics, social media, and the Internet, you should check it out!). Thus, I've obviously been lacking on my blogging on here. However, I think I've found a video that explains my daily life:

I hate it when homework uses Facebook. It's almost as bad as teaching your golem selfdestruct! So here's the discussion question: If I use copious amounts of coffee to complete homework, have I effectively taught myself "fury attack"? Or am I just using focus energy? Feel free to add your own observations of ways you can train yourself in terms of Pokemon training.

Analysis and Predictions of the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination

2011-10-30T14:58:00.000-04:00

We are roughly two months away from the Iowa Caucus, and now might be a good time to start trying to separate the serious contenders. Keep in mind two months still is an eternity in election politics. So let's take a look at the pack:

MICHELLE BACHMANN (MN)
This campaign is seriously faltering. Rep. Bachmann, to me, does not seem very serious. To be completely fair, Bachmann only seems to speak to a small segment of the population, and part of that segment is asking her to stop running for President. Bachmann also seems to stay very vague when it comes to her business ventures, while other candidates have opened up about it. I think Bachmann needs to perform better at the debates if she has any chance of winning.

HERMAN CAIN (GA)
This candidate is a real surprise. Not only is he polling rather well, but he has been very actively campaigning. I have to hand my hat to his campaign for being very active. I think he will have a hard time explaining a lot of his gaffes to general public that may not share his same views on economics and social policy. It also scares me as a voter that Cain is not very knowledgeable of foreign leaders. If Cain continues to perform well in debates, and keeps off of race as a subject of conversation, I think he's a serious contender.

NEWT GINGRICH (GA)
Newt Gingrich feels very out of place in this campaign. He is not polling very high, and if he wins the nomination will be scrutinized for a lot of his mishaps in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He's carrying a lot of baggage he doesn't want to talk about. I think the press will also be especially tough on him, because of his continual criticism towards the press. He has not been particularly amazing at the debates and not making much headline press. I really think he has to perform well at the next debate in order to continue considering a nomination.

JOHN HUNTSMAN (UT)
I think is a very good candidate for the Republican Party. The problem is that he's a moderate in a party that is increasingly conservative. The fact that he's willing to go on The Colbert Report really shows that he's willing to go outside the safety net of Fox News and speak to other audiences. He has not been very enticing for the Republican base and is not polling very high as a result. I think he has a future in the Republican Party, but 2012 will not be his year.

MITT ROMNEY (MA)
Right now Mitt Romney is the front-runner. The problem is it seems like a Romney candidacy would be an unpopular decision to the base. They don't like that he's Mormon, or that he has passed a state-mandated healthcare package. Although he's defended it several times, he's not changing their opinion. He also seems to be making gaffes, but they are only gaffes to a non-Republican audience. This campaign also seems very reminiscent of the John McCain campaign of 2008. Romney also has a bipartisan appeal, which is again not something that the Republican base wants. If he wins the nomination, there's a good chance he will have to pick a running-mate who is very conservative, similar to Sarah Palin.

RON PAUL (TX)
If there was a time where Ron Paul could theoretically win a national nomination in the Republican Party, this one would be it. I think Ron Paul's libertarianism has resonated with a small group of people who have some money, but don't realize that not enough people will vote for him. Rep. Paul has won a few straw polls, and that's great for his campaign. The problem is that his supporters are not very concentrated enough to really win him any states outside of Texas.

RICK PERRY (TX)
This is a sinking ship. Gov. Perry entered the race with high expectations, but is not meeting them. He has been very reminiscent of George W. Bush to some, and unable to defend a lot of his decisions as governor. He's popular among Evangelical voters, and that seems to be the extent of his popularity. He's also threatened to skip debates. If Gov. Perry does this, consider the campaign lost. Otherwise, I think he needs to show that he can debate in some capacity. Even if he's not the best, he will have to communicate his ideas to the American public if he wins the Presidency. Right now, I don't feel confident if he would be able to do so.

RICK SANTORUM (PA)
Not a chance he can win. He's more interested in focusing his complaints to people who are outside of the scope of this nomination rather than winning voters. I think he'll be around in symbolism, but that's about it.

So yes, I think Romney or Cain can win the nomination. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw Rick Perry or Ron Paul make a small comeback, but I think it will be too little too late by the time that would happen. Overall, I think Romney has the best chance of winning, but he (like John McCain) would have to really make a strong case to the Evangelical base.

A Moment of Political Irony

2011-10-24T22:59:00.000-04:00

It is a rare day where Pat Robertson says something that I agree with. However, today is that day:

Pat Robertson is explaining some of the ideas that Anthony Downs writes about in An Economic Theory of Democracy. Taking outlandish claims, as Robertson is suggesting, may prove to be detrimental in an election, because they are out of the mainstream...

Wait a second. Did Pat Robertson just say that Republicans should abandon their effective strategy for the past 15 years and stop playing to the base?

So, Pat (if I can call you that), let me ask you a few questions. Is it okay if the Republicans stop defending DOMA? How about we take away the national day of prayer? I assume the answer is no. Okay, so are you then willing to take back your statement or tell me I'm taking it out of context? No answer.

So I guess I'll just have to sit here, wait and appreciate the irony until you ultimately respond!

(Via Right Wing Watch)

Herman Cain Sings!

2011-10-19T16:07:00.002-04:00

Herman Cain may not be the most attractive candidate to vote for, but he has other impressive talents. He can be very funny, and has a very nice singing voice.

Wow! What a voice! Bravo Herman Cain! Now can someone explain why he would put on the choir garments to sing? It felt a little out of place...

Herman Cain is Running to be CEO of the United States

2011-10-17T14:01:00.003-04:00

Purdue alum, Herman Cain is fast becoming a contender in the race to be the 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate. He seems to be winning straw polls, and doing a lot of media appearances. However, I think there are four reasons he will not win the nomination:

1) He is Very Close to Glenn Beck
If there's one person that many Americans cannot stand it's Glenn Beck. Did you know that Herman Cain made an appearance at the Israel Rally Glenn Beck held? I should mention that both the left and right in Israel protested that rally and called Beck an extremist. Then he showed up on Beck's TV show and made some interesting comments about the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Cain agreed with Beck that the Wall Street protesters are Marxists. To be honest, there may be a few, but not everyone who supports Occupy Wall Street necessarily subscribes to that philosophy. Cain is one of the only candidates making appearances on Beck's Radio/Internet/TV show. Rick Perry (R-TX), Ron Paul (R-TX), Rick Santorum (R-PA), and others have also appeared on Glenn Beck's program, but it seems as if in the past few months that Herman Cain is the only one making repeat visits. I could be wrong about this, but this is a pattern I've noticed.

2) The Lack of Political Experience is Going to Hurt him
Herman Cain may have run corporations, but it seems more like a CEO than a Presidential Candidate. Just like Newt Gingrich, he doesn't appreciate the "gotcha" questions, and understandable. However, I think these "gotcha" questions really illustrate his lack of political experience, and possibly even more about his level of political knowledge*. The President deals with a lot of issues that effect a lot of different people, and it's expected that the President would have some type of background knowledge on a plethora of issues. While the President does hire advisors to assist him/her, the President needs to be knowledgeable of politics.

3) Presidential Candidates Don't Discuss Race
Here's more of a reason that Herman Cain is running to be CEO and not President. When you're President, you cannot make statements like this:

It's really not all that presidential to try to take major stands on issues like race. This is not something that will be relateable to everyone. As President, Cain would be representing everyone, and this statement is not one that is necessarily that everyone agrees with. While race is still an issue in this country, making profound statements about race is generally not presidential unless it relates to their administration's specific goals. Imagine if President Richard Nixon or President Lyndon B. Johnson were more public about their racial preferences. It's generally not a good idea to bring up cultural taboos in public discourse.

4) "9-9-9" is a Terrible Repeatable Phrase

Jon Huntsman (R-UT) said at the Bloomberg debate, "9-9-9 sounds more like the price of a pizza." I think he really made a very strong point here. Sure, it's repeatable, but has been more the butt of more jokes than any real discussion. It's nice to have that publicity, but I also feel that he again is trying to think of the US Government as a large corporation. If the phrase sticks, then it's a great marketing ploy. However, when in political science it has been shown continually that the public does not generally pay a great deal of attention to politics, the general public are going to see the 9-9-9 plan in more of the light that Jon Huntsman joked about. Also on a side note, the 9-9-9 will be an economic burden on low-income Americans**.

Herman Cain is a candidate who seems to be more of the CEO type than a Presidential candidate. As someone who has more experience in business and not politics, this is to be expected. Even if he values his inexperience as a strength, he must convince the larger public that it is a strength. I feel that he really has not exhibited this very well. I also think that Cain has a hard time discussing non-economic issues which may also cost him when it comes to debates on other issues that effect people. In essence, Herman Cain may just represent the zeitgeist of the Tea Party, and its political clout.

*-It's hard to label yourself a strong advocate for Israel in the American public if you're in favor of a Palestinian right of return

**- Food for thought, New York City's sales tax is about 9%.

Why I'm Not Occupying Wall Street

2011-10-12T12:37:00.003-04:00

In the past few weeks this Occupy Wall Street movement has really picked up some steam. It's a pretty amazing statement for people to be living on Wall Street and taking such drastic measures to make a strong point. It's amazing to see people my age marching and occupying the streets of major cities. I think it sends a strong point to older generations that my generation cares about politics.

Now, you must want to know why am I sitting on the sidelines? I've got a few very good reasons:

1) Lack of a Coherent, Repeatable Message
Okay before you accuse me of saying that I don't know what I'm talking about, let me explain. The problem that a lot of people covering the protests are having is what the intent of the protests are. In my uneducated opinion, it is about the point that Wall Street plays a very large role in our politics, and that most of the time they are favored over anyone else. Essentially that the Wall Street investors, CEOs, etc. are much better off than 99% of the country. I understand this point, but I feel like there's also a missing set of talking points. "I am the 99%" is a great tag-line, but there seems to be no coherent, consistent, and repeatable message outside of that. It's almost as if there is too many interests trying to be heard all at once. This is the biggest reason the press is not able to understand the purpose of the movement.

2) They're going to get co-opted by someone with money
The same thing happened with the Tea Party movement. If the idea gets popular enough someone with money and wants major influence in government, will want to profit off of these ideas. Dick Armey, the Koch brothers, and others did this with the Tea Party. Non-profit institutions brought the Tea Party on-board and essentially co-opted them for their similar interests. The same thing is bound to happen with this movement in some capacity. Even if some cannot be bought off, someone will take the money and run (especially in this economy).

3) Okay What do You Exactly Want to Happen?
Whose attention are you vying for? Democrats? Republicans? Millionaires? Whoever it is, they don't seem to be taking a policy stand for change. Democrats are carefully cheering, and Republicans are somewhat concerned. They see imagery, but that's about all they're seeing. A lot of political people don't even know what the movement's intent is (see point 1). Now let's say this movement grabs someone's political attention, what do you want them to do? If you want the law to be enforced and better policy, you might be able to accomplish some of that. However, if you're asking Wall Street to get out of politics, that's probably not going to exactly happen for a variety of reasons. Campaign donors, and the fact Wall Street can lobby is enough to keep politicians at bay.

4) Skepticism of the direction
Don't get me wrong, I agree with some of the points being made at these protests. I am more skeptical of where this is going to go. If the left-leaning individuals in this country want to have their own Tea Party, that's okay. I don't think this is exactly going to have staying power, however. I think the interests of this movement are way too diverse to really go anywhere substantial. The Wisconsin protesters had talking points that were universal, and clear motives. This movement does not exactly have that. This is a problem that most left-leaning movements like Occupy Wall Street face. Most populist movements in this country are very conservative in nature, because their interests are usually fairly narrow and involve a lot of similar goals. The left in this country has too many different goals and interests that not everyone can agree on maybe 3 or 4 that could help narrow the focus.

So in closing, what I see is a generally good idea with good intentions and a narrow set of goals, is becoming too broad. This is coming as a result of more people getting involved with different goals in mind. I am not saying that I oppose the occupation, but I'm merely pointing out that I am skeptical of the movement being able to achieve its goals, if it has any beyond dampening Wall Street influence.

The 2011-2012 NHL Preview

2011-10-06T15:08:00.001-04:00

Here's my picks for the season. I noticed I didn't do this last year, but I'm bringing it back! Here's what I see for this season:

Eastern Conference

	Atlantic		Northeast		Southeast
1*	Philadelphia	1*	Boston	1*	Washington
2*	Pittsburgh	2*	Buffalo	2*	Tampa Bay
3*	NY Rangers	3*	Toronto	3	Carolina
4	New Jersey	4	Montreal	4	Florida
5	NY Islanders	5	Ottawa	5	Winnipeg

Western Conference

	Central		Pacific		Northwest
1*	Chicago	1*	San Jose	1*	Vancouver
2*	St. Louis	2*	Los Angeles	2	Minnesota
3*	Columbus	3*	Anaheim	3	Calgary
4*	Detroit	4	Dallas	4	Edmonton
5	Nashville	5	Phoenix	5	Colorado

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Round	Eastern Conference	Western Conference
1 vs. 8	(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Toronto	(1) San Jose vs. (8) Detroit
2 vs. 7	(2) Washington vs. (7) Buffalo	(2) Vancouver vs. (7) Columbus
3 vs. 6	(3) Boston vs. (6) NY Rangers	(3) Chicago vs. (6) Anaheim
4 vs. 5	(4) Tampa Bay vs. (5) Pittsburgh	(4) Los Angeles vs. (5) St. Louis
2nd	(1) Philadelphia vs. (4) Tampa Bay	(1) San Jose vs. (5) St. Louis
2nd	(2) Washington vs. (3) Boston	(2) Vancouver vs. (3) Chicago
3rd	(2) Washington vs. (4) Tampa Bay	(1) San Jose vs. (2) Vancouver
Cup	(4) Tampa Bay	(1) San Jose

Call me crazy, but I think this is San Jose's year.

An Open Letter to Rep. Todd Rokita

2011-09-27T13:56:00.000-04:00

Dear Representative Rokita,

My name is Mike Brownstein, I'm aMasters student at Purdue University in Political Science who livesin West Lafayette, IN. I was unable to attend your event in Lafayetteduring the recess, but I wanted to make sure I stressed a point thatyou seem have a strong opinion about. I am speaking about the factthat you make it clear that the federal government has no business inhelping students to be able to afford college.

As an out-of-state student, who hasbeen living in Indiana full-time, this makes me furious for a fewreasons that I will respectfully explain.

If you don't have any interest indefending students, you are really doing your children's generation a disservice. While I agree with you on the notion thatnot everyone should be entitled to a college degree, the people thatare pursuing college degrees are the ones who will make a differencein our communities. They are our future corporation managers, CEOs,politicians, and others who will shape the world we live, with theirleadership. By giving up on the students that work hard to get abovea degree which is a barrier to entry, and discouraging people togo to school, the brain-drain problem that is persistent in Indianawill exacerbate. I, for one, do not plan on staying in Indiana when Igraduate, and many other smart people I highly respect are leaving aswell. It's because of politicians like yourself and others in ourcommunities who feel it is better for them to help themselves than tohelp their communities.

On the topic of graduate students, Iwould like to remind you that we are also students. Although we holdundergraduate degrees, our commitments to the university are muchgreater. We do not usually have the free-time that undergraduateshave. For every hour in class, I have to work about 8 hours, on topof other day-to-day expenses and responsibilities. Most of us areliving in poverty, to pursue a degree because we know that a higherdegree will put us in a better position for a career. Some of us have thepassion to teach at the college level and further research that willhelp humanity. While you may see this as a waste of time in my field,I beg you to reconsider your insistence for the federal government tostay out of student affairs. I, for one, am an unfunded grad studentwho is working a part-time job for income. I make barely enough topay my rent each month, because of my inability to commit more time.Loans (and whatever is left of my meager savings) cover most of my expenses because it is next to impossible forgrad students to hold a full-time job and commit to a full-timegraduate school load.

Your district contains Purdue University, a prestigious institution. The fact you have the gall to tell students they're not worth your time is appalling. We cannot pursue thesecareers when people in positions of power feel that their citizensseeking an education are a waste on the system if they cannot fundthemselves. We might not have the funds to help everyone get throughschool, but please consider that we are doing this out of necessityof the current job market, or because we have aspirations to teachingat the college level. If you're passionate about teachers, some of usat the graduate level would appreciate if you would put some of yourenthusiasm towards our livelihood. Many of us become teachers in all aspects of our education system. We also pay back our loans, and are asafer investment for not only the budget, but society as well.

Recently, in a letter to your constituency, you wrote this about the victims of the 9/11 attacks: “

Theysacrificed their lives for their fellow Americans, and in doing so,they showed the world what it means to be an American. Someone whodoes what is right, regardless of the outcome. Someone who looks outfor those in need.”

As a grad student and as potentially a future educator, I don't appreciate your insistence that we are a drain on the system.We're the people who are going to teach your kids. We're the people who are going to be your kids' business partners. Don't leave us in the dust. Not investing in college students will not only hurt your children's' education, but also deprive them of opportunities to be successful.

Thank you for your time,

Michael Brownstein

The Pink Floyd Social Media Experience

2011-09-24T14:40:00.001-04:00

[Cross-posted from The Internet Industrial Complex]

Nyan cat is "keeping the lunars on their path"

Today I found a really neat musical experience that is occurring on social media. Pink Floyd next week will be re-releasing much of their discography on a large box-set. To celebrate and hype the release, the 1974 Wembeley performance in London of Dark Side of the Moon will be played every hour until Wednesday on YouTube. The experience has been entitled "The Greatest Gig in the Sky", a play on words of one of the tracks on the album. While the video is playing, fans from around the world can take part and communicate with each other on Facebook and Twitter. The feed is even located on the YouTube page itself.

What makes this even more interesting is that Dark Side of the Moon usually indicates the current trends in music. It is one of the most sold albums of all time, and always listed among the best in rock music history. Charles Arthur of the Guardian observes that when this album becomes popular again, that there is a new audio platform that is becoming popular. Similarly when it comes to video mediums, when porn producers pick a video format, everyone else tends to follow suit. What I think we may be observing here is that socially shared music is a popular trend in music, if not listening to music via YouTube.

If you have an hour between now and then, I highly recommend it. Pink Floyd has been one of the most influential bands in the history of rock music, and this experience is one of the major reasons why.

Racism has No Place in Hockey

2011-09-23T14:15:00.001-04:00

Wayne Simmonds

Last night, racism reared its ugly head in the realm of hockey. During a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings in London, Ontario, a banana peel was thrown at Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds, who is black, said the following to the press:

"It was a banana. Hopefully, that wasn't directed towards me being black."Because if it was, that's just somebody being ignorant."

Commissioner Gary Bettman and many others have reached out to say that racism does not belong in hockey. The NHL has a nasty history of discrimination problems, but has become a lot more open and tolerant in recent years. In fact Kevin Weekes and Willie O'Ree have become delegates to the NHL for the Black Congressional Caucus earlier this week.

Willie O'Ree (Right) talks to Kevin Weekes (Left)

Even if race relations in the NHL have improved, problems have still existed. For example, back in 2002, Kevin Weekes had a banana thrown at him during the Stanley Cup Finals with the Carolina Hurricanes. This makes the situation even more peculiar, because the Red Wings were on the ice during both of these incidents. Peter Worrell has reported experiencing problems while playing with the Florida Panthers. Even the Canadiens' P.K. Subban was victim of a gaffe on TSN last season by Darren Pang (which Pang immediately apologized in the following intermission. It was also noted that it was a complete mistake that he deeply felt awful about).

Despite the issue of race, it's good to see that the players are both supportive and even making light of the situation:

“Didn’t know London, Ont. was a stop on the Mario Kart tour,” the Hurricanes’ Anthony Stewart (@EhStew13) wrote.

“The incident that happened in London tonight involving my best friend Wayne Simmonds was simply disgusting,” said the Blues’ Chris Stewart (@CStewSTL25), who lives with Simmonds in the summers, wrote. “It’s 2011, ppl [sic] need to grow up.”

Racism has no place in sports. As fans, we should do what hockey players are taught at an early age, leave the prejudices at the door of the locker-room and support your fellow teammates. We have to remember, that hockey truly is for everyone. It's good to see that the NHL has been very quick to react to issues of racism in the game, and hope this reaction continues if there are future incidents.

(Via Philly.com)

DADT, LGBT, and Honoring the Troops

2011-09-23T09:37:00.002-04:00

Rick Santorum has not ever been known to be a friend of LGBT individuals. He's compared the LGBT lifestyle to beastiality, and has said that the redefinition of his name to a crude sex term is evidence of the LGBT community "waging jihad against him". Last night at the Fox News/Google debate, Santorum said the following about Don't Ask Don't Tell:

It's sad that I expect this behavior from Republicans and their conservative followers. Soldier Stephen Hill has just been shamed by a culture of people who highly respect military service.
This isn't the first time that someone who served was shamed for their service. Senator John Kerry had his military service called into question during the 2004 election by a 529 group called Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. They ran ads like this one:

What about the late Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA)? In a House debate in 2006, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) called this veteran a coward:

It seems like if you're not conservative in the military, that your service means nothing to Republicans. For a party and culture that likes to promote how much they love the troops, these examples make you wonder if that is really true. I think it is an absolute shame that Stephen Hill was booed at the debate, and Rick Santorum validated that response. If you served honorably in the military, you deserve the same respect as anyone else who did. If Republicans and conservatives really love the troops, that would mean they would embrace anyone who served. If they would stop using it as a political pawn, it would probably be greatly appreciated by the American people.

An Atheist Gets Schooled on Sept. 28

2011-09-21T11:06:00.001-04:00

On September 28, I will be giving a talk to the Purdue Society of Non-Theists entitled: An Atheist gets Schooled: My Trip to a Creationist Home-Schooling Conference. It will be at PHYS 333 at 6:30pm.

It will be about my experience last summer going undercover for Hemant Mehta at the annual meeting of the Illinois Christian Home Educators in Naiperville, IL. Ken Ham, and others spoke about creationism, as well as other topics surrounding home-schooling, education, politics, and Christianity. The post that I co-authored on Friendly Atheist about our under-cover experience sparked a large response from the Christian home-schooling community.

It should be a great time, and I hope you can join us!

Tea Party Challenge to John Boehner in 2012

2011-09-20T13:32:00.001-04:00

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), is going to have a Tea Party challenge in the 2012 elections:

If John Boehner is a socialist, does that make President Obama a fascist? The Tea Party is popular in southwest Ohio, but does this guy expect that he's going to become Speaker by defeating Rep. Boehner? I mean the guy sounds a lot like Alvin Greene to be completely frank.

Actually what will happen if Boehner is deposed, is that Eric Cantor would likely become speaker. In that case, which I would say would be worse for the GOP than Boehner.

(Via Mediaite)

Ron Paul Fans are Normal...So They Say...

2011-09-15T12:27:00.000-04:00

If you've read r/circlejerk or had conservative friends that are ga-ga for Ron Paul, you would likely say that Ron Paul supporters are a bit eccentric. You have to really hand it to them they are good at spreading the message about their candidate. They also think their guy is being slighted by the news (and there's a degree of truth to it). They're so enthusiastic about Ron Paul and they're willing to do things like this guy I saw on my way to work in early August:

This guy proceeded to tell me how Ron Paul is a man of truth.

They really want to get the message out about their favorite Congressman. If you go on any social networking website, you will likely see someone talking about how they like Ron Paul. This is great for exposure, but they're sometimes taking it a step too far. Take this incident for example:

This is the reason why Ron Paul supporters are really not taken seriously. They are verbally abusive at times when it's unnecessary. The guy is clearly being aggressive in his speech, when he knows he's wrong here. He's at 4 times the legal limit, and clearly he's guilty of DUI. The yelling after the fact, is something Ron Paul would have as a problem in a general election. Paul will have distance himself from his supporters, because of their inherent zealotry. It turns people off because these people distract away from Ron Paul himself. So the reason I usually say Ron Paul is unelectable is because of this problem.
(Via Mediaite)

I'm Not Buying the Blu-Ray Star Wars Films, Nor Should You

2011-09-13T17:55:00.000-04:00

Like many other Star Wars fans, I'm upset that George Lucas is touching the films...again*. These changes came in the Blu-Ray re-release of the films**. It really angers me that George Lucas, who took a stand against editing classic films, continually edits these. I'm happy he hasn't edited any of the Indiana Jones movies, because at that point I will declare war on the Skywalker Ranch. Han shot first and the Ewoks sang their hearts out. There I said it.

I'm a huge fan of the Star Wars saga. I'd be more willing to forgive George Lucas for the remakes if he would just stop editing the originals. These films help me get through tests, research papers, and other times when I'm upset with things. At this point the Star Wars films are classic cinema and really should be preserved in their original form. The only editing that should occur is touching up the special effects enough that they look like the original in High Definition.

As a point of comedy, what if Nintendo sponsored the recent edits, would it look like this?

Let's not make too much noise, because George Lucas might consider it.

*-Full Disclosure- First time I watched the movies I was 10, and I watched the Special Edition from the 1990s. I have since watched the originals, and completely agree that the originals are better.

**-It might help if I don't even own a Blu-Ray player. Still, on principal, I refuse to buy (or receive) this box-set.

Crosby Shows Why All Sports Need to Take Concussions Seriously

2011-09-08T12:03:00.001-04:00

Sidney Crosby usually doesn't garner a lot of praise from me, and today I'm going to change that. The other day, Crosby announced that he is not considering retirement following a concussion he suffered last season. Rob Rossi writes:

Crosby, out with a concussion since Jan. 5, skated yesterday morning for about an hour before speaking publicly about his status for the first time since April 29.He called playing this season "likely" and said he "wouldn't bet on" speculation that the concussion could force him to retire after scoring 215 goals and 572 points in 412 games in his six-season NHL career.Carrick said Crosby was referred to him last month because of lingering concussion symptoms that included "fogginess, dizziness, light-headedness and an inability to do different things at maximum function." After three weeks of treatment, Crosby said only the headaches remain — and those only after he approaches 90 percent exertion during workouts.

I applaud Crosby for sitting out with his concussion, and not rushing to get back on the ice. While to some this may seem like a back-handed compliment, I mean it sincerely. I really think this is one time where I think people should take note of his leadership. He suffered a pretty bad concussion and this is a major concern of NHL players, and he is doing the best he can to come back from it.

The league that really needs to take notice of this is the NFL. If the NFL's best player took a light concussion, they may be back in the next game. The culture of football is not favorable to people who sit out with "small" injuries, and that needs to change. If there's any sport that needs to take concussions seriously it's football. Many of their players suffer from these injuries, and they just blame it on the nature of the game. When the average career length is around 30 games (which is under 2 seasons), you have a serious problem. You might as well be a hall-of-fame player if you make it through 5 seasons. It's a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

The NFL is addressing the problem, but not in a way that will solve the problem. They must change the culture of the game to do it, which is something that is doable. Maybe the league should reward coaches that bench concussed players. How about changing the rules that reduce concussions. I know that the second suggestion here is not a very popular one, but it would help the health of the players. The NFL should follow the NHL's lead and take concussions seriously. If one of the NHL's top players can take his time to be completely healed from his concussion, it shouldn't be wrong for a top NFL athlete to do the same.

On Race and Tea Party: A Response to Commenter Criticism

2011-09-06T19:50:00.000-04:00

One of the most popular posts on this blog is one that I wrote last summer that showed a video of a Tea Partier with a Confederate Flag talking to a young African-American teen in Baton Rouge, LA. In the exchange the teenager seemed a little upset with the Confederate flag. Since I posted it, I've received responses from the Tea Party faithful that have essentially called me an idiot for not considering that these people were "bad apples". I've also been told a lot of other things about myself that are very untrue. Today I received a response from Soopermexican that states the following:

One Sparrow does not a Spring Make. Also, you're an idiot. Why the TeaParty is not racist ===> http://bit.ly/TPrtRace

So I decided to read this post by Soopermexican, and I still disagree. Soopermexican claims:

According to CNN polling taken after the 2010 election, some states have a much higher approval for the Tea Party than others, as we might expect. Now, the Congressional Black Caucus has gone all around the country trying to rile up the unemployed black folk to blame the Tea Party for historically tragic unemployment figures in that community. Is this fair?Let’s take a look at some American states by their approval of the Tea Party and also the rate of African American unemployment. If you were an academic, you should expect that if a state is pro Tea Party that they would be more likely to be racist. Now that wouldn’t be represented by merely the unemployment of African-Americans because historically, they have higher levels than most Americans. What if we looked at the rates of African-American unemployment as compared to that of white unemployment? Let’s take a look!

He then shows a few charts that doesn't really illustrate much other than that. However, I would like to say that I am an academic, I'm not convinced unemployment rates are exactly what you want to measure here. Unemployment rates are percentages of the out-of-work African-Americans in a given state, and by this argument larger numbers should be in more racist states.

Racism occurs at other levels outside of employment, so measuring unemployment rate is not going to exactly going to show incidents that occur outside of work. What if a neighborhood that decides to hold a Klan meeting in local park? Measuring unemployment won't catch that incident, because in that case the perpetrators would be white, and may hold views that have been in the community a long time. Maybe to make your analysis cleaner you need more variables. How about percentage of the community that are minorities? Racism is not strictly an issue that effects African-American individuals. What about historical popularity of the KKK or John Birch Society in a local area? Some communities are the way they currently are, due to factors surrounding that issue (especially in some parts of the Midwest). The presence of either may have encouraged some minority communities to relocate. Also, both of those movements (moreso the John Birch Society) were quite conservative and reactionary in the same way as the Tea Party. What about Tea Partiers in office? You could measure how conditions have changed for African Americans since they have taken office. That would be a much better indication, coupled with current polling data about the popularity of the Tea Party.

As for Soopermexican's conclusion:

My point is this – if there is such great disparity in Tea Party approval among states, then why isn’t there a matching, corresponding disparity among relative unemployment rates? Apparently the Tea Party racists hate blacks, but hire and fire them at the same rates as Whites? Or maybe there are the same relative rates of black ownership of businesses hiring other blacks in these Tea Party states – but that would mean that blacks have even greater opportunities in Tea Party states than others.

Since you have a small sample, you're looking at a small number of cases. Plus, you very well could be looking at something that has no trend. A larger data-set would help you solve this problem, and might make it more convincing. How do we know that this is actually just a fluke among the states you picked? How come Ohio isn't on your list? Every President, since Ohio became a state, has carried Ohio to win the electoral vote. Arguably, Ohio is a snapshot of the America. The communities within the state vary wildly in culture and political ideology depending on where you are in the state.

CNN is credible, but that's one polling company that uses a certain polling methodology. There's others that are good, but you need to check more than just CNN or Rasmussen*. Then you can see if your assertion is broadly correct.

It doesn't take a PhD to recognize this analysis proves nothing, and really just raises more questions rather than answers. Seriously, next time you call a political scientist an "idiot" get some better evidence to back up your research.

*-Rasmussen generally is terrible for measuring polling. Most of the polls are skewed further right than everyone else, mostly because their methodology favors people who are more likely to agree with conservative ideology. They use mostly land-lines which favors older individuals, who tend to vote Republican.

Could GLBT Politics Mean the End of the GOP?

2011-09-06T13:27:00.001-04:00

GLBT politics have been long seen as a wedge issue in American elections. In recent years the support for GLBT issues has increased, and subsequently is becoming less of a wedge issue. Many have suspected that this is a generational issue. Robert P. Jones writes:

On the more contested issues of same-sex marriage and adoption of children by gay and lesbian couples, millennials are approximately twice as likely as seniors to support them. While only about 1-in-3 seniors support same-sex marriage (31 percent) or adoption by gay and lesbian issues (36 percent), more than 6-in-10 millennials support both issues, with 62 percent favoring gay and lesbian marriage, and 69 percent in support of gay adoption.

This is not surprising considering that Democrats are stronger (I use that term lightly) behind GLBT issues, due to their demographics. The Republicans on the other hand are mostly against GLBT issues, for the same reasons. Like the changing opinion of GLBT support, the Republicans seem to be taking a losing position:

Cultural transformations are always difficult to discern on their leading edge, and there is always the possibility that unforeseen future events may alter event strong trends. But it is notable, for example, that 2011 is the first year that supporting same-sex marriage is not a minority position. The growing support for gay and lesbian rights, driven in large part by the millennial generation, makes it likely that we will look back on 2011 as the year marking a sea change in views on gay and lesbian issues that will change politics on both sides of the aisle.

This is why the prospect of a Republican President scares me right now. Of the Republican candidates seeking the nomination, four of them have signed a pledge to preserve heterosexual marriage. The fact that they see this as the will of the American people should be telling with the polls that are being released indicating the opposite. The GOP seems to be in it's own little world where the Tea Party is king and no one else has a voice.

(Via The Washington Post)

A Conservative Comedian Named Eric Golub

2011-09-05T11:33:00.001-04:00

At Sarah Palin's event over the weekend, there was a siting of another attempt at conservative comedy. Eric Golub made this speech at the Tea Party of America Rally in Indianola, Iowa:
How is this comedy, and not just another rant by a Tea Partier?

A little more about Eric Golub is that he blogs at a site called Tyggrrr Express. He mostly blogs about politics and football, attempting to be funny. It really just comes off as more of a ranting Tea Party blog. I should also mention his blog looks like it never left Geocities.

Clearly, Eric Golub doesn't appeal to a wide audience. I guess my quest for a funny conservative comedian continues.

(Via Crooks and Liars)

Israel Should Just Apologize

2011-09-02T15:20:00.000-04:00

Over the past few weeks, Turkey has not been thrilled with the behavior of Israel. Today, Turkey has expelled the Israeli foreign minister, and recalled its military support. The point of contention has been over a flotilla that the Israeli navy attacked in 2010. The flotilla was intended to be a humanitarian mission, carrying humanitarian supplies under a Turkish flag. The two sides provoked each other leading the Israelis to board and raid the flotilla, which additionally led to a number of deaths (some of which were Turkish citizens). Barak Ravid of Haaretz writes:

"As Israeli soldiers were viciously attacked by dozens of violent activists of the (Turkish) IHH organization, they were forced to defend themselves. In the course of that action, nine of the rioting activist that endangered the lives of Israeli soldiers were killed," they said.

The senior source in the Prime Minister's Office clarified that in accordance with the Palmer report, Israel once again expresses regret over the loss of life, but does not apologize for its soldiers' acts of self-defense. "Like every other country, Israel has the legitimate right to defend its citizens and soldiers," said the source.

There is no dispute here that Israel, as a sovereign nation, has the right to defend itself. However, it's unclear who provoked who in the original incident. In my opinion, both sides are equally guilty, but that really doesn't solve some of the larger political issues here. So let's look at the blockade and then back at Turkey to look at the larger puzzle.

Israel's blockade on Gaza has been a point of contention in the international community. In 2009, UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay mentioned that Israel is violating the rules of warfare. According to the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, there are restrictions to blockade use:

102. The declaration or establishment of a blockade is prohibited if: (a) it has the sole purpose of starving the civilian population or denying it other objects essential for its survival; or (b) the damage to the civilian population is, or may be expected to be, excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from the blockade.

Even if Israel rationalizes the blockade as a form of national security (which is a rational argument), it's still not legal. Israel has legitimate concerns of there being military and other materials shipped through Gaza to be used against them. This means that all shipments, whether humanitarian or not must cross through Israel's hands. This can be viewed as starving the people of the Gaza strip. The bigger problem is that Israel sees the UN as an anti-Israeli organization. Israel historically has not been a fan of the United Nations.

Going back to the issue between Turkey and Israel specifically, Turkey wants Israel to apologize for the deaths in the flotilla event, and Israel says they won't apologize for self-defense. Turkey then said if they don't apologize by Sept 2, 2011, they would impose sanctions, which is exactly what has happened. Even more interesting, Barak Ravid writes on Haaretz:

According to the top Turkish official, Israel and Turkey were in fact already on their way to resolve the issue that has stood between the long-time allies for over a year, saying that the two countries were well on their way to agreeing on an apology, when Israel reportedly "stepped back" at the last minute due to what the Zaman has called "intra-coalition squabbles while making a political decision."

I really can't blame Turkey for taking this position. Israel will claim it's their sovereign right to defend itself, but there's a difference between defending yourself and violating international law. Considering the relationship Israel has had with Turkey in the past, it's shocking that Israel is willing to cut off Turkey. Israelis take holiday vacations to Turkey, but in 2010 Israeli tourism called for a boycott of visiting Turkey. Turkey has also been a very important player in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel may not realize it now, but they have a lot to lose here.

Israel should just apologize and end this debacle. Even when the US asksthe Israelis to apologize, they won't. I know that there's a lot of pride in defending Israel, but this situation will only get worse if Israel continues to hold out. The next sanctions Israel experiences might not be just from Turkey, but from the global community.

I'm the Author of Politics and Pucks AMA

2011-08-28T15:07:00.001-04:00

I think this is a good time to take a few minutes to talk. Because I have started a new blog, I've decided to take a moment to answer a few questions that might pop up:

Q: Mike, why are you ending Politics and Pucks?
A: I'm not ending this blog. There will be less blogging likely, but this blog will still remain. The new blog, The Internet Industrial Complex is one I'm starting for a research seminar on the "Social Internet". It will cover a lot of topics in social media and the Internet, which is part of my research interests. It will not be like this blog, but rather something a little more professional. By the way, this is sounding like an awesome class so far.

Q: That sounds like you're transitioning to WordPress, something you've mentioned in the past. Are you?
A: Possibly. At the moment, this blog will be staying exactly where it is. If I find that I want to move this blog there, you will be given ample warning.

Q: What will you write about here, since the other blog sounds an awful lot like your content already?
A: The new blog I've started is very different. Like I said before, it's going to be a bit more professional, and something that I will be paying a little more attention to for the moment. Again, there's no reason to abandon this blog.

Q: Are you thinking about any changes for this blog?
A: Yes I am, and I'll announce about it once I finalize it.

Q: Are you going to write more about hockey?
A: I definitely will. I now have NHL Network, Versus, and a slew of other channels with hockey in my cable package. I have no excuse as long as I watch TV and read news once in a while. There's also an election coming up too, so there's a lot of political things going on.

Q: Should I read your new blog?
A: Absolutely! Well, if you want to at least. Just keep in mind there's a different focus on the other blog.

If you have any other questions for me, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will address them in an AMA style.

Be Careful How You Ask For Help

2011-08-26T18:20:00.002-04:00

Here's some great advice on asking for help in chemistry. Sometimes, it helps to have the periodic table memorized. If you don't, your interaction with chemists may turn into Abbott and Costello routine.

(Via SMBC)

On Michelle Bachmann

2011-08-22T22:57:00.004-04:00

This post is a collaboration between Ryan Coons and myself. Ryan has been staying on my couch the past few weeks. This is purely editorial and comedy.

The night was growing old. Mike was playing Return to Dark Castle; Ryan was going on Wiki-walks. We were chatting politics, as we generally do, usually about the crazy Republicans and their horrid pasts. Michelle Bachmann popped up into the conversation, like she does.

So, we wiki’d her, and saw that Michelle Bachmann has been a keynote speaker for "You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International," which is apparently the Christian Spinal Tap. You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, or YCRBYCHI (no, seriously) is a ministry that goes into high schools and attempts to reaffirm “disappearing” Judeo-Christian values via the Christian rapcore/nu-metal band Junkyard Prophet. We could, and probably ought to write about them, but it’s a lot more effective to let them damn themselves by talking to you:

Junkyard Prophet (previously known as Reign of Kings) is the crux of their ministry and their primary media outler. Their leader, drummer, Bradlee Dean, is a de facto Tea Party advocate, with a “degree” from the Institute on the Constitution. He also has put together a movie entitled My War, which is apparently a documentary about many different facets of society as seen from Dean's perspective. Fortunately, their ministry appears to have been contained to the Phantom Zone of reason which is the Midwest, and the deep South. Presumably the international part implies and only refers to the occasional jaunt into Canada, much like Erie International Airport.

You might also have noticed around 2:33 in the video, that this ministry is located in Real America, by which I mean Anandale, MN. Their headquarters is a storefront, next to Pizzaworks and Deli next door. across the street from a bowling alley, and round the corner, is a Snooty Fox Adult store. So this neighborhood is surely one to be saved. Not to mention this is actually located within Rep. Bachmann's Congressional District.

By their own running tally, they’ve performed 331 of their high school assemblies. This is one of their singles, "Betta Beware"

If this is truly their message, they should avoid the following:

- Sean Hannity

- Glenn Beck (actually, everyone should, in an abstract, general sense)

- Fox & Friends

- Infowars

- Alex Jones

Because this group cannot heed their great advice, they have engaged the media. by recently, suing Rachel Maddow for defamation. The funny part is that the defamation suit can’t actually point out an act of defamation. You see, when there's public information, and someone uses said public information negatively towards you, while citing it -- that's not “defamation” -- that's “news.” If Maddow claimed that YCRBYCH kills thousands of newborn children each day with their legions of invisible pink unicorns with laser-beam horns, that would be defamation*.

Bradlee Dean has been a guest on Alex Jones' Infowars, and others shows that wish to support this right-wing patriot, who is trying to save America from its doom by endorsing the genocide of the LGBT community, noting that:

Our position is not libertarian because we cannot accept the idea that sex is a private language. But we are not authoritarian because we do not believe that persecution is going help homosexuals.

Okay, so that is kind of hateful towards GBLT individuals, but that's not all!

Bradlee Dean is also a regular contributor of “Sons of Liberty,” an AM talk radio call-in show advocating a world where America is to defend itself from other governments to prevent the creation the New World Order.

So if these guys are using the media to put out their message, we figured that we might as well see what they have done on-line as well. To do this, Mike suggested using Klout scores**. Bradlee Dean has a klout score of 46, which, after some goofing around, was determined to be equal to the early-90’s monstrous balladeers, Nelson. Ryan still listens to some of their singles, even though he holds them accountable for the fall of hair metal.

“Really? I score better than Nelson -- I mean, c'mon!” said Mike, incredulous.

We kind of lost track of things for a while, wondering where they laid on the scale of influence. Then, we went one step further and compiled our findings into a table. We were kinda in the zone.

Name	Occupation	Klout Score
Lady Gaga	Mother Monster	92
Barack Obama	President of the United States	89
Charlie Sheen	Winner	82
Chris Jericho	Nine-time WWE Intercontinental Champion	78
Boy George	Solo artist; former lead singer of the Culture Club	77
David Hasselhoff	Actor, singer, and übermensch	75
PZ Meyers	Noted cephalopod researcher and blogger	74
Michelle Bachmann	Patron saint of lost causes	72
Pee-Wee Herman	Legendary wicked-awesome children's show host	72
The Red Scare Bot	Automated demagogue scaremonger	69
Debbie Gibson	Singer and Actress	65
Amy Fisher	Murderous porn star	60
Mike Brownstein	Political scholar and ice hockey enthusiast	60
Sylvia Browne	Spiritualist author and known felon	51
Nelson	Writers of the worlds most monstrous of ballads	46
Ryan Coons, a/k/a Yellow Hatguy	Experimental physicist, nuclear engineer, and hack writer	46
Bradlee Dean	"Real American Hero"	46
Infowar	Bizzaro World's version of Reddit	42
The Westinghouse AP1000 Nuclear Reactor	Passively-safe Generation III+ PWR	35
Junkyard Prophet	Christian rapcore/nu-metal band	29
Ally Sheedy	Impossible, perfect standard by which all women are judged.	10
Darren Italiani	Middle school math teacher who teaches karate on the side.	10
Dale Bozzio	Lead singer for Missing Persons	10

The point is, Michelle Bachmann is running for President of the United States. She has crazy friends, and that these skeletons will come out since she's kind of out in the open. The fact she has not even made a press announcement about how she is going to distance herself is not surprising and should be taken as a note of merit for her background. Her silence speaks volumes. Better yet, she endorses this. She wants your kids to be subject to this during school hours -- instead of learning science, math, art, music, or metal shop. These are the tomorrows she will create all over this great land. We must stop her, because metal shop was awesome.

*-unless she thought that was true from a reliable source

**-Ryan didn't know that the metric is not that, but he was having to much fun.

Since When are Governors Supposed to Hate the Police?

2011-08-22T17:39:00.001-04:00

In the past week or so, there has been a lot of new information about Rick Perry, that has been making its way to the media. Well, there's been a new video leaked about the governor, circa 2000 of Rick Perry in a traffic stop:

If you recall, earlier this year Ohio Governor John Kasich (R), berated a police officer in public for pulling him over.

Since when has it become fashionable for governors to trash their state's cops? I can understand that the sitting governors are upset about breaking the law, but you're not above it. Even if President Obama was pulled over for speeding, it would still be against the law. There's no excuse for governors to think they're above the laws, and disrespect their own law enforcement, when they are citizens like anyone else.

(Via Mediaite)

The Star Wars Parenting Tips

2011-08-21T14:49:00.000-04:00

I felt that it was necessary to make this post, because I have a lot of friends who are now getting married, and some having kids. I thought I'd recommend that you consult this video, before you have the Star Wars talk with your kids:

If you have older kids who are going off to college, you may want to remind them about this:

The Ron Paul Alarm

2011-08-20T12:19:00.003-04:00

Back in 2008, Stephen Colbert did a short clip about Ron Paul that has stuck with me. Anytime Ron Paul makes a statement, I think of this:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Democrats, Abortion, and Religious Identity in the 2012 Election

2011-08-19T17:38:00.001-04:00

Religious identity is something that is being seen more and more as an indicator for party preference. David French of The Washington Post's "On Faith" blog, believes that the social conservative agenda surrounds one issue: abortion. Some political scientists will generally agree with him, citing that the Republicans are notorious for using wedge-issues to get themselves into elected office.

French then goes on to write:

It’s no secret that American politics are polarized, and as one political party is increasingly identified by faith, the other is increasingly secular. In the last several election cycles, church attendance has been a leading indicator of voting preference. The more often a person goes to church, the more likely they are to vote Republican. The less often they attend, the more likely they are to vote Democratic.

This is a terrible development for faith in America. Even worse, it is unlikely to change. The combination of faith identification and party identification has created a profound barrier not just to dialogue but also to basic civility. The famous “Jesusland” meme created after the 2004 election is just one manifestation of the contempt generated by the political and religious polarization.

This is where I will disagree. The people are not exactly polarized, it's the political elites that are more differing. The other point to make here is that the Democrats are not exactly secular.

Being religious and being a Democrat is still acceptable. In fact, I'd argue that it's still not exactly acceptable to be non-theist in some parts of the Democratic party. Many Democrats differ on some issues of church and state, with most leaning in a secular approach. Democrats at the state-level in Indiana, are generally pro-life because Indiana Right to Life was founded by a Democrat. Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) is also pro-life. So the abortion issue is not exactly a religion one, in the case of Indiana.

When it comes to being non-theist within the party, it's accepted to a degree. Let me start here with saying that there is only one openly non-theist member of Congress: Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA). Outside of Rep. Stark there are many closeted members within the Democratic party. Some might hide their preference to retain office in more religious areas, others may hide their beliefs because of internal norms. While it may be acceptable to support church and state separation, there's still a problem of identification because it's still seen as a stigma.

Even if the United States is a center-right country, levels of religiosity are decreasing. Republicans are siding with the Religious Right, and the shrinking demographic of the highly-religious. This strategy will bite them eventually, and that may very well happen in 2012. The Democrats on the other hand have an even harder task with religion. Although they are mostly in favor of church and state separation, there is still a stigma towards being non-theist within the party. Until more candidates run for office as openly non-theist, the Democrats may continue to be viewed as a "safer" option rather than the "safe" option by non-theists.

(Via The Washington Post)

I Doubt Karl Rove Meant It

2011-08-18T11:10:00.001-04:00

I woke up today, to hear this soundbyte from Karl Rove on Fox News:

It's odd to hear neoconservatives talk about non-believers in a neutral or even positive light. As someone who's been watching politics for awhile, I don't believe this at face value. Before you get excited over hearing a major Republican strategist talk about non-believers in this light, let me tell you what has happened in the past when bold statements have been made on Fox News. Usually what tends to happen is that an appearance on Sean Hannity's or another pundit's TV show "erases" the fact the bold statement was even said.

Here's an example. Sen. John McCain quoted Wall Street Journal article on the Senate floor calling the Tea Party hobbits. Shortly after making these comments, Sen. McCain made an appearance on Sean Hannity's show:

As you can see, Sen. McCain backtracked. Until Rove can have the gusto to stand up to Sean Hannity or any of the other Fox News pundits and say the same statement, I am not convinced. On the Record where Rove made this comment, does not count because Greta Van Sustren really isn't a pundit, but rather a lousy interviewer. If Republicans make great comments and then backtrack when they talk to Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, or even Glenn Beck it's as if the comment was never made in the first place. It's sad when bold statements go to die at the hands of the ideologues of Fox News.

A Pokemon Intervention

2011-08-15T12:56:00.002-04:00

My good friend and fellow Purdue Alum, Ryan Coons is sleeping on my couch. It has come to my attention that he has requested an intervention of two things: Harry Potter and Pokemon. I was really into Pokemon as a kid, and not as much Harry Potter*. So I figure the best way to introduce him to it is to have him watch the first 2-3 episodes of the anime.

As Jennifer McCreight has told me, the anime is wrong and should just make him play Pokemon Blue (Which I have, and still play from time to time). I contend the anime is sufficient and gives him the basics in how it works. Granted I agree with the notion that the anime is wrong with how things work, and they took at a lot of liberties with it, it lays the foundation for Pokemon in a succinct fashion.

How would you stage a Pokemon intervention?

*-Before you get upset with me: I'm not the biggest fan of Harry Potter, but I don't hate it. I read the first 4 books, and saw the first 5 films. If you love Harry Potter I have no reason to have ill will.

Can Mitt Romney Talk to a Crowd?

2011-08-11T18:53:00.002-04:00

Mitt Romney is not exactly "winning them over" in Iowa. Although Romney is a favorite overall, he's struggling there. This is also considering he was initially skipping the Ames Straw Poll. It also doesn't help your general likability among independents when you have soundbites like this:

I've read and seen that Mitt Romney is a bit out of touch when it comes to talking to the everyday person. Remember the last time he ran for President?

I think this is more proof that he really can't work over a crowd or deal with hecklers. If Romney were to become President, he will need to be able to do both, and clearly this is not how to handle it. Maybe Romney has the right idea when he is avoiding Iowa to in the first place. This could help, but if one of the other candidates gets a huge swing in momentum from the caucus, he could be in a lot of trouble.

Talking to a crowd is one thing the President has to do well. If the President fails to do that, the media will make a mockery of him or her.

EDIT (9:08 PM): Romney is NOT skipping the Fox News "softball game" this evening.

Press Comedy I: Castro Falls Down

2011-08-10T13:56:00.001-04:00

This is a new feature I'll be adding to this blog called: Press Comedy. It will feature gaffes, media comedy, and other press conference shenanegans from the past and remind everyone that politics and other media gatherings, has its fair share of comedy and laughable moments.

This week is an old one, but it's sure to delight. Back in October 2004, Fidel Castro gave a televised speech. As he was walking away this happened:

Keep in mind, Cuban viewers did not see this on live TV. The USA Today writes:

Less than a minute later, Castro appeared live on state TV, sitting in a folding chair and sweating profusely in his olive green uniform, and explained what happened to viewers across the island of 11.2 million people.

He said he felt like he had broken his knee and perhaps his arm — "but I am all in one piece."

"I will do what is possible to recover as fast as possible, but as you can see I can still talk," he said. "Even if they put me in a cast, I can continue in my work."

Granted, Fidel Castro was 78 at the time, there had been speculation that his health had been declining. In the United States, this sparked a lot of conversation that is still ongoing of the Health of the Cuban President. Raul Castro, Fidel's brother is slated to take over upon the death of Fidel, and over the past 5 years Cuba has been transitioning him to power.

Despite the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs, and other revolutionary incidents of the Cuban Island, the eventual fall of Fidel Castro could be seen as a trip over a stair.

Love Letters to the Human Race

2011-08-04T10:34:00.000-04:00

Another great comic from SMBC:

Talking Points Sometimes Never Change

2011-08-02T20:03:00.002-04:00

So I was surfing YouTube, and found this clip from The Muppet Show of Sam the Eagle talking about conserving the environment:

This was taped back in the 1970s and 1980s, and it still sounds like the Republicans when they talk about the EPA. Funny how that happens!

Can Newt Gingrich Boast About His Twitter Following?

2011-08-02T14:45:00.001-04:00

In this coming Presidential Election season, I expect that we will be hearing a lot of stories about the social media aspect of the campaigns. This starts with a story today that a former Newt Gingrich staffer mentioned to Gawker that 80% of the Twitter followers Newt Gingrich had were fake. This accusation is coming a day after Gingrich was complaining about the fact that the press has not mentioned his Twitter following. Gingrich stated:

"And it says, 'now it's true that Gingrich has 1.3 million followers and (Michele) Bachmann only has 59,000, but she's getting more new people every week.' It turned out I have six times as many Twitter followers as all the other candidates combined, but it didn't count because if it counted I'd still be a candidate; since I can't be a candidate that can't count. So we've been a little bit like a sailing ship in the middle of a hurricane in which we are sailing straight into the teeth of the media, and that slowed us down.

So let's think about this for a moment. If you have over 1 million Twitter followers, you're doing something right. Let's not forget that Newt is not even polling near 10% in almost any poll, and only raised $4 million last quarter. He's not the most popular or wealthiest candidate which would make this story a little odd to me. So to test this proposition that Newt Gingrich is an amazing Twitter user, let's see how many people are following Gingrich and other famous and not-so-famous people. If you equate Twitter following with high popularity, you'd assume that a high following to list ratio might be able to solve the problem. People generally use lists on Twitter to follow groups of people, rather than following or to aggregate their larger Twitter feed. The data is very crude and only accurate as of August 2, 2011. It was taken from each person's Twitter page and then searching their Twitter names on Klout. So here's my data*:

Twitter User	Title	Following	Lists	Ratio	Klout Score
Newt Gingrich	R-GA	1325895	9380	141.3534115139	72
Ashton Kutcher	Celebrity	7306917	71801	101.7662288826	86
Barack Obama	D-IL, POTUS	9419362	150983	62.3869044859	89
Lady Gaga	Artist	12193982	210913	57.8152223903	93
Sarah Palin	R-AK	619312	16461	37.6229876678	76
Glenn Beck	Conservative Pundit	424712	12254	34.6590501061	70
Kevin Weekes	Hockey TV Anchor	36641	1549	23.6546158812	62
Mitt Romney	R-MA	62824	2765	22.7211573237	70
Justin Bieber	Celebrity	11430378	507244	22.5342793606	100
PZ Myers	Atheist Blogger	72430	3310	21.8821752266	74
John Kasich	R-OH	22329	1327	16.8266767144	62
Michelle Bachmann	R-MN	65982	4185	15.7663082437	72
Me	Random Grad Student	839	70	11.9857142857	52
Orrin Hatch	R-UT	21116	1856	11.3771551724	73
Dennis Kucinich	D-OH	21217	1904	11.1433823529	58

As you can see Newt Gingrich has the highest ratio of followers to lists of anyone on this list. That's surprising considering we have Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Ashton Kutcher on this list. This would imply that Newt Gingrich is more popular than the most popular people on Twitter. Even if Klout scores are not entirely accurate, it seems like this issue has been taken into account in the metric. I should also mention that none of the names that are running for the Presidency in this dataset are over 1 million followers, except for Newt Gingrich. This is surprising considering the front runner is not even close on Twitter. This does not mean that Gingrich is more popular, but that he is as Redditors call it: "a karma whore." He is someone who looks more popular than he really is, which can be confirmed by the Klout scores (take as you will).

So is Newt Gingrich a big deal on Twitter? Sort of, but he's not the most popular candidate, because Michelle Bachmann does have a higher Klout Score. Also, just because you have 1 million followers, doesn't mean that there's an engaged audience. Advertisers, bots, or people who just don't use Twitter that are following you, may likely not be engaged in discussion on the Internet. So in reality, Newt Gingrich is using dirty tricks comparable to the same ones he blames the Congressional Budget Office for fudging budget numbers.

*-If you'd like to use this data, that's fine, all I ask is that you cite/link it to this post.

Rep. Allen West Has a Woman and Hockey Problem

2011-07-31T13:00:00.002-04:00

Last week Rep. Allen West (R-FL) sent a threatening email to fellow Floridian Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) about a comment she made on the House floor about Rep. West's district having a a lot of medicare recipients. The email said the following:

Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district

...

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

This is unacceptable. As the House Women's Caucus has mentioned: this would be flagged as sexual harassment in any other job. It should warrant a reprimand, but the Congressman refuses to apologize. This kind of behavior is despicable, because Rep. West should know better than to do this. Rep. Schultz made an observation about your district, and she has the right to mention her observation. The only malicious intent there was, is that there are a lot of medicare and medicaid recipients in South Florida.

Besides being a misogynist, Allen West also has made me angry for another reason: he cannot take a slapshot correctly. In a video I found on YouTube, Rep. West can be seen shooting a slapshot here:

To Rep. West's credit, earlier in the video he mentioned that he remembers the Atlanta Flames, since they weren' t there for very long. However, he's holding the stick wrong while trying to take a shot! I'll forgive the bad skating form, but I cannot forgive the fact that he is holding the stick wrong, and attempting to take a shot with it. You don't take shots with a backhand! Watch this:

I hope Rep. West sees that holding the stick with the backside of the blade forward is not how a shot is taken. As for a backhand shot, you take it differently, but I think there's someone in Washington who might be able to help you both of these shots. If you watch, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) demonstrated how to do a slap shot and a backhanded shot. He might have not won the Presidency, but at least he can shoot a puck and hold a hockey stick correctly. Now that you know, don't do it again. Also, criticism on the House floor should be expected, and does not warrant sexist remarks.

Something to Think About with Marriages

2011-07-30T13:00:00.000-04:00

Surviving the World makes a very strong point:

A Funny Thing Was Seen on the Way to Columbus

2011-07-30T12:18:00.001-04:00

So I saw this car in Ohio on I-70 on the way to Columbus:

I think the fringe is alive and well in Ohio.

Off to Columbus for the Weekend

2011-07-29T07:42:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm off to Columbus, OH this weekend for the 2011 Secular Student Alliance national conference. I'll hopefully be able to post a little bit from the conference, but just in case I can't there's some posts upcoming. I hope you have a great weekend, and just follow my Twitter account to follow the craziness!

If you're going, I'll see you soon!

Sen. John McCain Says Something Awesome

2011-07-27T21:07:00.002-04:00

Today on the Senate floor, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said something awesome:

If that's the case about the Tea Party, who is Sen. McCain in the lore? Gollum?

I admire Sen. McCain's courage to come out and speak out against the Tea Party, after essentially adopting their talking points for his own election. He also mentioned that it was foolish of Senators in Congress to think that this would pass given there is a Democratic majority. Not to mention:

McCain did not mention which senators he was referring to. But also on Wednesday, Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, tea party boosters, joined many tea party activists who rallied on Capitol Hill demanding passage of the "Cut, Cap and Balance" plan.

Something to think about with the Tea Party is that this could be their downfall as far as legitimacy. Many populist movements tend to fall apart after they take on an enemy too big for their own good. For Sen. Joe McCarthy it was the military, where he claimed that the communist elements were among them. At that time, he lost a lot of respect from his colleagues. I really think that if this is not the downfall of the Tea Party, the next election will be. A recent Washington Post-ABC Poll shows that the Republicans (65 percent) are more unpopular in their handling of the debt-ceiling negotiations than the President (52 percent). The United States is flirting with default, partly due to the Tea Party's insistence on Republicans not compromise with their rivals.

(Via CNN)

Beck Invokes the Nazis with Recent Terror Attacks

2011-07-26T16:10:00.002-04:00

Yesterday on his radio show, Glenn Beck compared the victims of the Norweigan terror attacks to the Hitler Youth. Wait, what?

According to Beck:

As the thing started to unfold and there was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like the Hitler Youth. Who does a camp for kids that’s all about politics? Disturbing.”

So Glenn Beck has justified these kids' deaths because they were at a leadership camp for kids interested in politics. He is also justifying the fact that we shouldn't care about the fact that a country (that is an ally of the US) has been torn apart by tragedy. This just makes me sick.

Also, should I mention that the Young Republicans, a group of kids who are interested in politics have retreats and summer programs for its members. This also includes a national convention in Puerto Rico earlier this month where I'm sure Republicans and leaders from around the country surely spoke about leadership and training. That sounds a lot like a meeting where they would talk about the benefits of being full-blooded American. How about the Secular Student Alliance Convention I'm going to later this week? Surely those people are goose-stepping communist terrorists.

The point is that the kids are interested in politics as much as Glenn Beck thinks that isn't the case or it's wrong to expose kids to it. What is wrong with training the kids to be leaders in their communities? Every organization you can think of does this to keep their organizations alive. The difference between this and the Hitler Youth, is that none of these organizations are mandatory by the government. Just because Norway was once under Nazi rule, does not make it a Nazi nation today.

What additionally makes me sick is the insistence by some in the right-leaning media to sweep the fact that the terrorist plotter in the Norway attacks was a Christian, anti-Muslim, right-winger. He also emailed a manifesto to many people as he saw that his ideas are pure and rational. Many Americans were quick to point fingers to Muslim terrorist cells, but that wasn't the case. Next time this kind of attack happens, let's let the nations do their investigations before we start assigning blame. It is despicable that anyone commits these atrocities whomever they are. It is equally despicable to blame the victims.

(Via Mediaite)

Politics and Pucks turns 2!

2011-07-25T19:25:00.000-04:00

Today is the second blog-iversary of Politics and Pucks. As always, it has been a blast putting this
blog together, and I know over the past year, I probably have written a bit less than I would have liked, but it has still been great. I really enjoy writing this and hearing your thoughts. In this next year, I'm hoping to put together some somewhat small yet noticeable changes (more details upcoming). Without repeating myself too much more (as I do in other posts), thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to read in the future. Feel free to contact me if you have any topics or anything you'd like to discuss!

As a blog-iversary gift to you, I present Marilyn Monroe:

Politically Relevant Music XV: Young Folks

2011-07-24T14:03:00.000-04:00

After a bit of a hiatus, here's a new edition of Politically Relevant Music. This edition, we take on generational gaps with Peter, Bjorn, and John's "Young Folks". Released on the 2006 album Writer's Block, and was a big hit in the US.

So where's the political relevance. There's a clear difference between the political thought of the older and younger generations in the US are very, very different. I see this as the disconnect between the generations, and a hopeful future discussion and negotiation of the two generations compromising their opinions for the greater good. As for the differences, it's evident in attitudes towards the size of government, religion, and social issues. With a culture of hard-liners in Washington, D.C. it's a hope of many that compromise will one day come.

Lafayette Needs Some Rain

2011-07-23T14:52:00.002-04:00

The past week it has been unbearably hot and dry. For some it has affected their allergies, and others it has just been super dry. I really can't stand this heat. However, let me show you how dry it is here:

The Celery Bog that is 50 ft from my apartment is just about drying up. Normally, the water comes up to the blacktop path at the bottom. This is the most dried up I've seen the bog, not to mention the lawn is pretty dry too.

We definitely need some rain, and it looks like we're going to get some tonight.

Let's Support Jen's Blogathon!

2011-07-22T20:58:00.001-04:00

It's my favorite time of year. Not only is NHL Free-agency open, but it's also time for Jennifer McCreight's Blog-a-thon fundraiser for the Secular Student Alliance. As a friend and fan of both Jen and the Secular Student Alliance, I'm excited.

As usual, I'm planning on doing some fun posting of my own this weekend. Because I'm not doing a whole lot this weekend, and I want to support the cause, I will donate $5 for every blogpost by myself or someone else on Politics and Pucks make on Saturday and Sunday*! At the moment I've planned to write at least 3 posts (ranging in topics). I will keep a tally and at the end of the weekend I will be donating the cash.

Good luck Jen and SSA!

*-Guest posters, please contact me with a topic and I'll give you the green light.

President Obama Faces Question on Faith-Based Initiatives

2011-07-22T13:01:00.005-04:00

President Obama held a town hall meeting today at the University of Maryland mostly focused on the debt. He did receive an interesting question about the hiring and discrimination practices of faith-based initiatives:

I like that the President was pressured on the issue, and I think it was important to mention. The President made probably the best answer he could, being put on the spot. I would agree with Amanda Knief (who is speaking at the Secular Student Alliance convention I am attending next week) that the regulations don't go far enough. Being put on the spot, I'll say the President gave the best answer he could in this situation. [edit 3:15 PM] It was a campaign promise that he has not delivered on, and a question that is fair game.

My bigger question, that I will probably try and ask Amanda next week is whether she thinks that this is an issue the President can actually solve, and what mechanisms the President could use to solve the problem. [Edit: 8:35 pm] I'm sure Amanda would agree with me that only rescinding the executive order that President Bush put into place would not solve the problem. Religious-based organizations, like any firm will try to make the environment advantageous to their interests. They also have the ability to say that everything within their organization such as the day-care or a food pantry. They'll claim that the pantry is a sanctuary, and the day-care is educating their children with the faith they need. More importantly that they're essential to the core of their organizations. This easy justification that is made will be difficult to negotiate, because of the First Amendment, however the taxpayer funded organizations need to have a streamlined form of discrimination policy.

Great job Amanda for asking this difficult question!

Al Franken Slams DOMA Study

2011-07-20T22:45:00.003-04:00

In the past few days, President Obama has signaled that he is in favor of the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In a hearing today about these marriage laws, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) said the following to Focus on the Family:

Sen. Franken has a point. Usually in a study like that, there will be rigid definitions of nuclear families. Also, if Focus on the Family et al. who are avidly for DOMA and marriage-amendments are going to misread studies, people might as well call them out on it. When you're fighting an emotional issue, this kind of cherry picking is sort of expected. This is why when you listen to or read testimonies, you might as well take a look at the studies. This is just one example of many that mis-quote or mis-cite scholarly research.

On a side note, I've been reading Al Franken's book Lies and the Lying Liars Telling Them (Yes, it's awesome and I'm a little late to the party). Although this might be a little short-sighted, Sen. Franken is very thorough when he does his research.

I'm not by any means suggesting that Sen. Franken's research is 100% flawless (no one's research is), however I think Sen. Franken is on point in this hearing.

(Via TPM)

My New Computer

2011-07-17T11:57:00.008-04:00

Over the past few weeks I've been building a computer due to the fact that my other computer has fallen apart. So I thought I'd share what I built with you:

The computer's name is Prof. Henry Jones, which many of you would know as Indiana Jones. The reason for naming the computer this, is due to the fact that there was an Indiana Jones marathon going on in the background while it was being built.

As for the specs, it has:
-i5 processor 2.8 GHz
-1 TB Hard Drive Space
-8 Gb of RAM
-NVIDEA GeForce 465 GTX 1024 Mb Video Card
-ASUS motherboard

Most importantly, thank you to Tom who helped me put it together. The total cost of the build was in the ballpark of about $850, and it was well worth it! Now time to download all the software and drivers!

The Ant-Hill God

2011-07-16T14:58:00.001-04:00

I never watched Malcom in the Middle when it was on the air, but I just found this funny clip from it. Dewey is the youngest and talks about what it is like to be the ant god.

(Via Reddit)

Friends With Benefits Discussed on Fox News

2011-07-15T21:23:00.001-04:00

Today I was watching "The Five", Fox News' replacement for Glenn Beck's show. First of all it's trash, and an hour of picking on a Fox News liberal. So they were discussing a quote Mila Kunis said at an event for her new movie Friends with Benefits:

GQ: Your new movie is called Friends with Benefits. Ever been in one of those relationships?
Mila Kunis: Oy. I haven’t, but I can give you my stance on it: It’s like communism—good in theory, in execution it fails. Friends of mine have done it, and it never ends well. Why do people put themselves through that torture?

As someone who has been in one of these relationships, I can see why she would say this. Some people (both men and women) enjoy it, and there should be no problem as long as it's consensual for both parties. The communism analogy to me is funny, and a little out of place. Of course, someone at Fox News heard it and they had to discuss it:

Wow! This is why I hate this show. Not only is there rage inducing banter, it's not very even in any sense. The fact that Andrea Tantaros said "women can not have sex like men" bugs me. It seems like she is buying into the whole theory of being sexual outside of a committed relationship is depression inducing. She didn't cite it, but probably is thinking along the same lines. It perpetuates the problem that this country has with sex

Being male looking at this, my biggest issue was one that was a different comment. Greg Gutfield told Bob Beckel* that he supports feminist causes because he can act like a pig and get away with it. This comment makes me annoyed. I am a straight male who supports womens' rights because they affect us men too. I don't support them so I can make sexist comments and act like a chauvinist. In fact, I rather not be that. I support women's rights because women are people too, and have the right to make decisions about their actions like men do. Women should have the same right to do whatever they want, and the right to contraception if they choose to be sexual. The real difference between men and women are biological necessities that we have that are unavoidable. Unfortunately some people like Greg Gutfield don't see this, and don't care. This is why I speak out for women's rights, because it's wrong that there is a sexual inequality in our laws. The fact that women are "slut-shamed" by these same people is disgusting as well. The fact that this culture does repress women to some degree is wrong and really awful. We're not as bad as Iran, Saudi Arabia, or Afghanistan, but on some days we're right up there.

So my fellow men, let's be better advocates and continue to call out men who do this. It's appreciated and necessary for us to do this.

*-I don't have a problem throwing Bob Beckel under the bus because he is on this channel to be a character that every one can point to as an example of liberals are arrogant. Not all liberals are arrogant, but he is and gives them a bad name. The only reason why Beckel is working at Fox News, is probably because they pay better than the alternative.

(Via Mediaite)

The Debt Problem: Who's to Blame and a Plan of Action

2011-07-13T21:40:00.005-04:00

August 2nd is a day that will hopefully not live in infamy as the day the US defaults on its commitments for the first time in its 235 year history. In the current political environment, it seems like there is less compromise and more disagreement over fundamentals. The Republicans would rather see no tax increases, and cut almost all spending. Democrats see a revenue problem, and are asking for corporate tax loopholes to be closed to raise said revenue. This seems like a problem that would have seen compromise in a Congressional body 30 years ago, yet today there's no budging or hints of a compromise.

Republicans claim that the election in 2010 was one that indicated that Americans voted for debt reduction and jobs. In the first 6 months, we've seen neither. What we have seen is a highly conservative agenda that has made abortion more of an undue burden, curtailed union power, and sought stringent definitions of marriage. This leads many Americans (such as many of my unemployed friends) to ask: "Where are the jobs?" Not too long ago, the Republicans have been shouting that the debt-ceiling must be kept at all costs. Now, we have a potential mess of an economy that Republicans are willing to allow happen. Why? Politics.

The Republican Party is concerned about getting the Presidency, and they know that blame for the economy will fall on the President in sour economic times, with respect to public opinion (Neustadt 1990). So the Congress feels it will get no blame for holding up the economy. The House of Representatives has a Republican majority, which is very important in this situation because they are the origin for all spending bills and the fiscal budget. Although, most people do not remember that, we have to also remember that most people do not pay attention to politics and its polarization (Fiorina, Abrams, and Pope 2011). So really, no one is watching the political side-show, but are more concerned about their wallet. I'd argue more people are watching this debt-ceiling crisis, and understand that the consequences are dire.

What will happen if we don't raise the debt-ceiling? Big problems. The US will not only default on its loans, but many other government functions and employees will not be paid. If you say that government employees don't matter because they're overpaid, let me tell you the following. First of all active military members will not get paid, and that will cause a morale problem. Not only that, but those of you who say that we all should be supporting the troops because they're sacrificing their lives for my freedom should consider that the troops will be fighting on their own dime. Uncle Sam won't be able to pay them, so they might as well be mercenaries in the most extreme of scenarios.

Secondly, our credit rating will decrease. Moody's investment, the credit rating firm, is already considering lowering our credit rating, and we haven't even defaulted yet. The uncertainty that the markets are experiencing now, will continue until there is some sort of plan. The Republicans only want a short term plan, while Democrats have been pining for a longer term plan. Why? Republicans don't want Obama to be re-elected and force him to make a tough decision during the election season. Republicans would rather go through all of this again, in 90 days rather than solve the problem for let's say the next 2-3 years. They'd rather watch the markets fluctuate for the next 18 months, than see any economic recovery, all in the name of obtaining the presidency. The markets will rally briefly with a short term plan, but go right back to where we are at the moment when the agreement is close to its end. I know the Republicans want some responsibility in spending, but this is not how to accomplish it. Also Republicans want no tax increases, ever. The problem is that tax increases will be necessary when the US finally gets itself out of its economic woes. The Democrats are not looking to increase taxes in the next few years, while the recovery is still on-going. We pay some of the lowest taxes in the world, and the middle class is disappearing as a result (Bartels 2008).

Lastly, public sector jobs are not charity or volunteer work. They are actually paid as well, if not less than the private sector and provide a different service. If we leave everything to the private sector, it would cost money for me to walk down the street. The distinction between public and private is something that is very mis-defined in our political discourse. Public sector jobs go well beyond the duties of bureaucrats. They are the police, the fire-fighters, and other necessary functions for society. How about the people who work for the national parks? Park Rangers don't make much and they know almost everything necessary for the conservation and protection of the lands they work on. They deserve to have a decent salary because they had to go to school and work their way up the chain of command to get their jobs. That sounds very much like the private sector. These people do not have cushy jobs and they work as hard as anyone else. Sometimes the public sector can do better than the private, and vice-versa. Killing the public sector would hurt everyone, including the private sector. So the next time your house burns, I guess there's no one to save you if there's no firefighters.

So who do I blame? Democrats and Republicans. Democrats for not negotiating harder, and Republicans for not negotiating at all. In the end the Republicans call the shots because the Democrats can't negotiate all that well. Then again, this time the Republicans are playing into the fact that the Democrats will cave, and they already are doing so. The Democrats need to give the Republicans some things, but not everything. On that same note, the Republicans cannot get everything they want, if they want this government to even function enough for them to take office. They need to realize that at some point, taxes will go up, because if they don't this country will have no way to run its own government. If the GOP really wants the government to be as small as Grover Norquist wants it (small enough to be drowned in a bathtub), they should look no further than Somalia for an example of how that works.

So what now? Encourage your Congressional members to compromise. Tell them how important it is for them to not play political games with our economic recovery. Be kind, calm and courteous when doing so, they'll remember that. Just remember that this government cannot function without you involved. The more we pester them about this issue, the more we can hope they'll be swayed by the voices who will suffer. Also make sure that you keep in mind that what is in the best interests of the ultra-rich are not always in the best interests of the everyday American.

Sources
-Bartels, Larry. 2008. Unequal Deomcracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age.
-Fiorina, Morris, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope. 2011. Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America. 3rd Ed.
-Neustadt, Richard E. 1990. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan.

Herman Cain Recorded a Gospel Album?

2011-07-13T13:14:00.004-04:00

This past week it has surfaced that Herman Cain, a Republican seeking the Presidential nomination, is into Gospel music. In fact, he released his own album entitled Sunday Morning back in 1996. If there was any doubt about Cain's religiosity it's pretty much clear now. He's clearly a Christian, and seems to be willing to give into the religious right. You can hear the tracks here.

I've been jokingly telling friends that the 2012 Republican field is like getting the band back together for awhile. Well, it's looking more true than initially thought.

(Via TPM)

SMBC on Extra-Terrestrial Diplomacy

2011-07-11T14:39:00.002-04:00

Here's something that doesn't tend to get addressed much by anyone, extra-terrestrial diplomacy. Granted it's a very difficult topic to gauge discussion on when we have no idea how alien diplomacy would play out, but here's SMBC's interpretation of what it could potentially look like:

I guess it's for the collective good?

Michelle Bachmann and A Different Reason Why Evangelicals Hate LGBT

2011-07-09T18:38:00.002-04:00

If it isn't known by now, Michelle Bachmann has a bit of a problem with the LGBT community. Michelle Bachmann's husband Marcus Bachmann, is reported to own a Christian counselling clinic that offers reparative services for LGBT individuals. This type of service would be under the guise that homosexuality is a disease that can be cured, where this is not accepted by the psychology community. The whole ex-LGBT movement is a very pro-Christianity thought and based on the fear of non-heterosexual culture. So this is awful and this is known and nothing that is overly surprising, given Michelle Bachmann's political and spiritual views.

The surprising and scary part is this is federally funded. Yes, the Tea Party darling is getting funds from both the State of Minnesota, and the federal government.

To be completely honest, I think the only people who will care about this are people who don't like Michelle Bachmann. Otherwise, it will be seen as positive due to the guise of freedom of religion. Just because it is a Christian facility for counselling does not make it something that is necessarily right for the government to sponsor. To me the government sponsorship is wrong, because there should be a neutrality on the issue of religion with the government. It should not favor Christianity over other religions as Bachmann would like to suggest. Bachmann would argue that it is okay since Christians are an overwhelming majority in this country, but that is not fair to other religious and non-religious groups who exercise their protected freedoms.

There's another issue at play with same-sex marriage that does not get said often. The reason that the religious are fighting this so fervently is because it is the only part of government where religion has a lot of influence. Marriage is an institution that either is administered by the state or a religion of your choice. Therefore the reason why DOMA and ex-gay programs exist is because of the realization of this phenomena by the religious. Also considering that the Republican primary is about courting the the more conservative voters, these voters see this issue as the fraying of the American social fabric. Hence this cartoon can exemplify the real issue:

(Via The Raw Story)

NHL Player Considering Irony in Number Choice

2011-07-08T15:21:00.002-04:00

It's been proven time and time again, that hockey players have a sense of humor. Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Commodore is considering to take the number 64 with his new team. The former Blue Jackets defenseman is not exactly the best defenseman in the world, and was a point of contention for the team last season. The Commodore 64 jersey would probably be the highest selling jersey for the league if it happens. Here's what Mike Commodore has said on Twitter:

For those asking, I have not decided what # I am wearing yet...but I am considering #64. Need to talk to equip manager..decide at camp.

There has also been Internet buzz and even one of the most read NHL blogs, Puck Daddy is doing a charity drive to make this jersey number happen.

To be completely honest though, Mike Commodore plays hockey like a Commodore 64: slow, old, and 2-dimensional.

Yes Mike Commodore, I'm still a little upset over your behavior last year with the Blue Jackets

(Via Deadspin, also thank you to Christopher)

"...the 4th of July Will No Longer be Known as an American Holiday..."

2011-07-07T12:01:00.001-04:00

The first thing I think of when I think of the 4th of July is the 1996 science fiction filmIndependence Day, where aliens come to Earth hoping to wipe out all of humanity. In this film, Bill Pullman plays a President who just had his home destroyed by these aliens and now wants revenge. Before the final battle of the film, Pullman makes this very cheesy speech. It is probably the only time in my lifetime, other than 9/11, that a President has had a unanimous approval rating from a crowd.

So Funkonomics comedy on Youtube, decided to try to spread this message that Bill Pullman did 15 years ago in New York City. Enjoy!

Politically Relevant Music XIV: English Civil War

2011-07-03T17:41:00.000-04:00

This 4th of July weekend, politically relevant music looks at a traditional patriotic song from the British point of view. The Clash's "English Civil War" was a part of their album Give em' Enough Rope in 1978. The song uses a recognizable tune that comes from the traditional American Civil War song entitled "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again." If you've never heard the traditional American ditty, here's a classic version of it from the classic film Stalag 17:

The original writing of the Clash's song has its roots from the Irish-British conflict and was inspired by the Irish anti-war song "Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye". It was a highly popular song during the 1970s and 1980s on both sides of this conflict.

The class war that is being waged in our politics is evident, and as the Clash warns "it can happen again" with regards to war and conflict. A lot of the debate over the current debt-ceiling is coming to loggerheads, and it is evident that there is no clear middle ground. These parties need to find a middle ground or there could be more than a government shutdown that occurs on August 2, 2011. On this date, the US Treasury will begin to default on its investments, which would be a nightmare for this country. Minnesota already has a government shutdown over a similar issue, and this is plausible in the federal government. This song might ring true if this conflict continues, and that is why this song is still politically relevant.

Repo the Fun and Obnoxious Way!

2011-07-03T15:35:00.000-04:00

So this weekend has been mainly a weekend of watching a lot of TV and doing a lot research stuff. However, as I was watching The Empire Strikes Back for the millionth time, I saw a promo for a game show that is maybe one of the greatest concepts I have seen. It's called Repo Games:

First of all, I have no idea how legal this is, but if it is legal this is hilarious. If it isn't legal, the fact that someone came up with this idea doesn't surprise me. Secondly, the dumbest answers I've ever heard to super easy questions are coming out of this show. If you'd like to see how stupid people get on this show watch this:

Wow! That guy definitely deserves to have his car taken. I guess this really does confirm those theories about knowledge that say that we are much dumber today than we were 50 years ago. In Political Science this has been tested over and over again, and this might be some very marginal proof that Page and Shapiro (1992) might be right about political knowledge.

Roe v. Wade and Unconstitutional Abortion Restrictions

2011-07-02T16:05:00.001-04:00

In January 2011, a slew of Republicans took office touting their ability to create the environment for new jobs. Now that we are 6 months into this session, joblessness is still high and social conservatism has taken shape. In that time, the Republicans have decided to pass a slew of anti-abortion legislation. It makes me wonder how much of this anti-abortion sentiment is unconstitutional, because it makes the process of getting an abortion an undue burden. In most cases, the mother has to go through a series of hoops or the states create an environment that make it difficult for doctors to be able to perform the procedure. So let's explore what is being done in these states.

Let's start in Indiana where the state's assembly has voted to defund Planned Parenthood, on the basis that most of their funding goes to abortion. This is absolutely not true because only roughly 3 percent goes towards abortion, which is allocated by private donations. I should also mention that Planned Parenthood provides sex education and good care to medicaid patients. However, the state's "right to life" organizations would rather defund this firm because of they perform a surgery that they oppose.

In Kansas, it's increasingly difficult to have a location that can provide abortion based on ridiculous standards that have to be followed. Some facilities will be shut down due to the fact that they just do not have the space to adhere to the new requirements. If all abortion clinics close, it's assumed that theyll go to another state to get the procedure? More likely these women will take an even riskier route and have the procedure done in a back alley.

In South Dakota, women are required to get religious counselling from licensed centers. Isn't it fishy that there are no licensed counsellors? It seems like if women can't find counselling they can't have abortions. Luckily, it has been barred for implementation

In Ohio, abortions are going to be all but impossible to get. The heartbeat bill passed where abortion is outlawed if the fetus has a heatbeat (which is roughly six weeks into gestation). Federal statute says abortions are legal in the first two-thirds of pregnancy, which is clearly more than six weeks. Also the state will be making it so insurance companies are even more restricted on abortion services. So in essence, abortion and other preventative sex measures are illegal even in cases of rape and incest. This is disgusting.

All of these states have restrictions that are going to hurt more than they help. Just outlawing abortion, doesn't make it go away. Women will still have abortions, they just may die more often, which in the eyes of pro-lifers should be two lives. It is in the best interests to have this procedure available and done in a private manner in the sense that women aren't pubilcly demonized for it.

So before you start telling me how having no abortion opportunities makes the problem go away, let me remind you all about countries that do not have abortion opportunities. Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and even China do not provide any legal form of abortion services. In almost all of these countries women are forced to go to back alleys for abortions (which are risky and potentially lethal). When people like Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum say how much they back womens' rights in these countries, I wonder if they realize they are creating the same environment for women here.

Abortion needs to be safe, and not incur an undue burden on women. Also these policies need to follow the guidelines of Roe v. Wade because those statutes still exist until a moment they get overturned. So until then, you can't pretend that it doesn't exist.

Glenn Beck Signs-off Fox News Today

2011-06-30T12:34:00.003-04:00

Today is Glenn Beck's final show at Fox News. While many may be jeering his removal from Fox News, I do not. It's not because I will lose blog material or have masochistic fantasies. It's for the fact he's doing something that might catch on. Beck is starting his own online TV network with people that are visible in the conservative realm. His pay-per-view service is slated to debut on September 12, 2011, coinciding with his annual 9/12 celebration. I have no reason to support Glenn Beck and buy this service, and therefore will let Mediaite and Media Matters sum it up for me. In the over 2 years he's been on TV, I'm happy one crazy person is leaving. Maybe Beck is trying to avoid the liberal bias of reality by creating his own bubble.

On a side note, why did Glenn Beck never tell us about this threat:

Oh wait, he probably interpreted the dolphins as divine inspiration to the Founding Fathers.

Politically Relevant Music XIII: American Girl

2011-06-28T15:31:00.000-04:00

This edition of politically relevant music will discuss a lawsuit and campaign music. Tom Petty is asking Republican Presidential Candidate Michelle Bachmann to stop using his song "American Girl". The song debuted on the self-titled album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1977.

So is this song appropriate for the Bachmann campaign? Probably not, mostly because the context of the song is being re-defined for Bachamann. What I'm wondering is if she picked it for this verse:

And for one desperate moment
There he crept back in her memory
God it's so painful when something that's so close
Is still so far out of reach

The way I read these lyrics is not the same way the Bachmann campaign is likely reading it. I'm reading it that the word "God" is being used as a figure of speech. Bachmann's campaign is using this verse to explain a political resurgence, which works, but it's kind of re-defining the whole song, which is what Tom Petty is probably most annoyed about.

The phenomenon of artists suing candidates over music is not a rarity. It's happened fairly often throughout the past 30 or so years, and I don't expect it to end anytime soon. Didn't the Bachmann campaign possibly try to solicit Ted Nugent for music? Nugent is very favorable towards the Tea Party movement, and probably wouldn't sue.

(Via Politico)

Conservative Comedian Attempt III

2011-06-26T18:04:00.002-04:00

Glenn Beck will end his Fox News show later this week, in favor of a project where he is essentially creating an online TV network to coincide with his 9/12 project event this year. While it's an idea that still puts him on par with Alex Jones, this network will not be entirely about Glenn Beck. He will be providing entertainment, education, and faith. Wonderful.

So being that I am a fan of comedy, I decided to check out what he has in store for his audience when it comes to comedy. He is giving Brian Sack, a conservative comedian, a TV show that looks like a conservative talk-radio version of The Soup. So does this comedian have the skills?

*Groan* that was painful and unfunny. Like I keep saying, I'd like to be able to like a conservative political comedian, but they're not funny. Just stating talking points does not mean it's funny.

Jackets Acquire Jeff Carter, But Are They Done Shopping?

2011-06-24T14:44:00.000-04:00

The Blue Jackets have acquired Jeff Carter from the Flyers for Jakub Voracek and a first round pick. Solid deal for the Blue Jackets. While I would have liked to have kept Voracek, he is a great young player that Flyers fans will learn to love. Jeff Carter is signed through the 2021 season making roughly $6.5 million per year. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News liked the deal:

The Blue Jackets might be the forgotten team in all of this, but if Carter returns to good health and can return to his 40-goal form, Columbus will also have come out of this looking much better than it did yesterday.

The Jackets spent money on a top six forward! Is it the end of the world?

Let's just say, it's about time the Blue Jackets were serious about getting Rick Nash a line-mate. While I love the Nash-Vermette-Umberger line, it's not what Nash needs. Vermette is a much better second-line center, and Jeff Carter will fill in a large role that no one has been able to fill yet. I really think Nash and Carter will work well together. Besides, they play together on Team Canada!

The bigger question however: are the Blue Jackets done shopping? Probably not. Another forward wouldn't be a bad idea, and re-signing Scottie Upshall would be great as well. Picking up John Madden wouldn't hurt either.

The Jackets now really need a few defensemen, I'd really like to see them go after Joni Pitkanen or Kevin Bieksa. They really need someone who can play two-ways and be a quarterback on the power-play. Also, Matthieu Garon is a UFA, meaning that the Jackets may be in the market for a goaltender. There's a lot of worry about the fact that Steve Mason may be a better back-up goaltender. If that's the case, the Jackets could try to get in the sweepstakes for J-S Giguerre or Tomas Volkoun, however I think that sounds rather implausible. I think Dwayne Rolosson, Marty Turco, or Brian Boucher would be better options.

This is going to be an exciting off-season for the Blue Jackets. They're buyers in a half-way decent UFA market.

George Carlin in Memoriam

2011-06-22T13:48:00.000-04:00

It was 3 years ago today that my favorite comedian, George Carlin, died of heart failure. He was a brilliant philosopher in addition to his comedic legacy. To be completely honest, it was Carlin who made me start questioning religion with his stand-up routines.

If you never listened to him, here's a sample of his quick wit and biting social commentary (NSFW):

Doesn't seem like much has changed, especially when conservatives want to defund Planned Parenthood.

I miss you George Carlin, but your legacy lives on!

I had an Impromptu Chat with Donn Brown

2011-06-21T13:37:00.000-04:00

The other night, I was at D.T. Kirby's with a friend in my cohort who needed to go to a few meetings. We were there chatting awhile, and all of a sudden two seats from me is Donn Brown, leader of Lafayette Citizens in Action (CIA, the local Tea Party group). Knowing I've been wanting to talk to him, I sat there trying to build up enough courage to just approach him. I was aware that he (and/or his Tea Party group) has been reading my blogs, and I forced his campaign to respond to a letter I wrote to the Journal & Courier.

After awhile, Donn asked my friend if we were political science majors, and we gladly said yes. We started having small talk and my friend discussed re-districting with him. As he started talking to us he mentioned that he was "as far right as you can get" which is code for "I'm crazy" to the trained ear. Here's some snippets of the conversations:

Donn: So what are you politically?

Friend: Republican.

Me: Left.

F: Hey, aren't you the guy who ran against Shelia Klinker in the 2010 election.

D: It seems like you read the news.

So Donn Brown's opinion of my generation is still rather low, which doesn't surprise me. It was the same response he had to us from when I first went to his "Liberalism is an Socially Transmitted Disease" lecture when we couldn't identify the recent American Idol winner. We continued:

Donn: So not all of us are perfect like you (referring to my friend), so why are you (referring to me) left? Do you like government social programs, are you in favor of government regulation.

Me: (I sat there a second to try to think over my response) Well, I'm strongly behind LGBT causes, as well as Church and State...

D: You know that doesn't exist, right? It's not explicitly in the Constitution...

M: It's implied as well as stated.

D: It's freedom of religion, not from it.

M: Sure, but you know why we were over here in the first place. Why did the pilgrims leave England in the 1600s?

D: Religious Freedom.

M: Not entirely...

...

D: Well, it's not unconstitutional for there to be prayer before a school event. You know that case down in Louisiana, there's nothing wrong with opening with a prayer. I don't see why he (Damon Fowler) would have an issue with it.

M: How would you have felt if a student got up there to read a Surrah from the Quran? I don't think you'd have the same argument. Granted I'm atheist, I come from a Jewish background, and I feel uncomfortable from both perspectives in opening with Christian prayer.

D: Why would someone want to read the Quran? The majority in this country is Christian, and the media only attacks Christianity which was why this is in the news.

M: Actually, the media attention was actually fairly mild for what it would have been if it was someone else's religion. Again, if a Surrah from the Quran would have been read, would you be offended? I can tell you there would have been a bigger media outcry. What if it was a Jewish student?

...

Friend: Who do you (Donn Brown) like in the primary?
D: Michelle Bachmann...

He kind of gave up after that with the religion issue.

Before I comment further, the rest of the conversation was nothing really exciting. He told me about how I don't read history, yet I told him I had a history minor in undergrad and that we discussed WWII somewhere in there. He's also not well liked by the larger community (even within the Republican Party).

I'm so happy he lost the election. He would be a terrible representative for the community. He's not exactly likeable, and if you're not conservative he seems to have a very different tone. He's not exactly friendly to those outside of those who are different with him. I really can't say this guy is very good for the community, because he isn't really friendly to non-whites. In actuality, Donn Brown is exactly what the Tea Party tries to distance themselves from, but can't. This is why Rep. Shelia Klinker (D) was elected, was because this condescending tone isn't really appreciated by anyone who votes.

Politically Relevant Music XII: CIA Man

2011-06-20T14:39:00.000-04:00

Politically Relevant Music is about to take on the US Intelligence community. The Song "CIA Man" is a song by The Fugs. It was released in 1993 on the album re-release of The Fugs First Album. It is also more commonly heard in the credits of the film Burn After Reading.

This song's political relevance is more seen in the concerns some citizens have with the government. Some libertarians believe that the police and CIA have too much power in this country, and this song symbolizes this a little bit. In Indiana, the Supreme Court ruled that citizens have no right to resist a police entry on their own property. Also the end of the song encapsulates this thought, by comparing the CIA to a god-figure. If anything it has become a large topic of discussion in the United States.

At Least This Time it was a Team in the Northern US

2011-06-16T14:24:00.001-04:00

Last night was an exciting night for the Boston Bruins, and their fans. The Bruins are the Stanley Cup Champions in a 4-0 defeat in Game 7! It was an exciting series, and it didn't end the way it very well could have.

I thought I'd mention a few trivia tid-bits about this Stanley Cup victory:

The Last time the Stanley Cup was awarded on Candian ice was in 1993 when the Canadiens won it.

Tim Thomas is the 2nd US-Born player to win the Conn-Smythe Trophy

Zdeno Chara is the 2nd European captain to win the Stanley Cup.

Since 1993, 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals series have gone 7 games (4 of which have had Canadian teams). Since the lockout, it has occurred 3 times

The last time that Original Six teams won back-to-back Stanley Cups was in 1993 and 1994 (Montreal and NY Rangers respectively).

So as a parting question, how does this Stanley Cup Finals rank in the annals of history? At least this time it snows where a US team beat a Canadian one for the Stanley Cup.

Politically Relevant Music XI: Heart of Gold

2011-06-15T18:58:00.000-04:00

This edition of Politically Relevant Music looks at a political science phenomenon through song. Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" is a single from Young's 1972 album Harvest. The song was actually highly disliked by Bob Dylan, who generally likes Neil Young. The Song has a lot of critical acclaim, and has been covered by a number of popular artists.

So where do I see its political relevance? It's in a political science phenomenon where people project themselves onto political candidates in elections. This means that every candidate that an individual agrees with has a "heart of gold". Conversely, no candidate is ever perfect, which gets some of the electorate very turned off by politics. It also could have to do with the fact they see the "heart of gold" but are disappointed when the candidate is not what the individual voted for. In essence some people may view politicians as unlikable, but may have standards that are too high to adhere to.

The Most Telling Question of the GOP CNN Debate

2011-06-14T15:19:00.002-04:00

I've watched most of the CNN Debate last night with the Republican candidates. In my opinion the most important question asked in this debate was by Terry Pfaff, a moderate Republican who holds public office in New Hampshire. Mr. Pfaff made it very clear he is concerned about the governing style of the Tea Party faction. His question was "how influential will the Tea Party be in your decision-making?" (Full Video can be viewed here. Start at roughly 19:30.)

I don't like this answer, not only because I'm not a fan of the Tea Party, but for the sake of independents and moderates. Many moderate Republicans and independents are not necessarily favorable towards the Tea Party. If there's any indication these candidates don't really see a problem with the Tea Party splitting the party, here it is. To answer Mr. Pfaff's question, it seems like the Republican Party is the Tea Party. Clearly, Mr. Pfaff is not thrilled with this answer from his facial expression. Michelle Bachmann's answer really probably solidified why moderates are not buying the Tea Party's rabble-rousing.

Unless these candidates can find a way to win the ideological middle of the country, they will have a hard time with the 2012 general election.

Does Scott Walker Want You to Stop Drinking Good Beer?

2011-06-12T16:17:00.000-04:00

Scott Walker has been in a lot of hot water. The Wisconsin Union protests earlier this year have brought the government to a grinding halt, and has prompted a number of recall elections. Well, it seems like Gov. Walker and the Republicans are about to do something that will make people cringe on a bi-partisan scale.

In the budget, Gov. Walker is planning to require micro-breweries to wholesale their products. This would basically treat small breweries as if they are larger businesses, making it difficult for them to grow.

Wait a second, this is a regulation created by a Republican. Aren't regulations supposed to be the worst thing imaginable for small businesses according to Republicans? Even better, isn't the government supposed to "get out of the way"?

Being someone who thinks regulations are important at certain levels, think this is silly for Wisconsin. Wisconsin is well known for their special styles of beer, and that is something they would want to export. Even the Wisconsin Historical Society recognizes the importance of beer in the state's culture. With micro-brewing growing as a hobby and economic market, it's a new vehicle for economic growth, which Gov. Walker wants to put a lid on. I thought that regulations killed small businesses Gov. Walker? Care to explain?

My Creationist Adventure on Friendly Atheist!

2011-06-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I adventured to the Illinois Christian Home Educators' conference in Naperville, IL. It was maybe one of the craziest events I've been to, where I really didn't agree with much that was said. Yes, it was worse than the Tea Party events I've ventured to (For those who are new to the site, here's my account of an immigration forum and the 2010 Tax Day Rally I attended).

You can read all about my adventure on Friendly Atheist. Thank you to Hemant Mehta for giving me the opportunity to go. It was an eye-opening experience.

David Barton: Evolution Debate Over Before Darwin

2011-06-09T00:29:00.000-04:00

Darwin published Origin of Species in 1859. I'm just saying, there may have not been a lot to debate in either direction when the Founding Fathers were around. By the way can you give me a citation of where Thomas Paine said that?

So what's the next thing that David Barton is going to lie to us about, while using the bible to justify it as good? Did the Pilgrims know all about Welfare Policy? This is revisionist history. It's obvious 18th century thought didn't concern themselves with 21st century issues that didn't conceptually exist in the 18th century.

APSA Responds to Tom Coburn's NSF Report

2011-06-08T14:45:00.000-04:00

About 2 weeks ago I told you about a report that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) released concluding that political science research and other social science is wasting NSF funds. Today, the American Political Science Association (APSA) released a statement on Sen. Coburn's report. Here are a few highlights:

In April 2011, Senator Coburn (R-OK) released a report entitled, "The National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope," that continues his focus on ending NSF funding for all political science projects, and terminating the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) division. At this time, there seems to be no legislative vehicle behind Coburn's report, but APSA, in concert with the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) and our colleagues, will keep the political science community up to date and respond accordingly.

...

Coburn argues that federal monies from the SBE directorate might be allocated through other agencies, such as the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and National Endowment for the Humanities. However, ironically, other agencies themselves are shedding social science and humanities support, such as through drastic reduction of Title VI international education and civics programs at the Department of Education and reductions at the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Throughout the report, Coburn's disregard for political science is clear. He states, "only politicians appear to benefit from other NSF studies, such as research on what motivates individuals to make political donations, how politicians can benefit from Internet town halls, the impact of YouTube on the 2008 U.S. elections, and how politicians use the Internet." Moreover, the American National Election Studies (ANES), which were originally funded in 1977, continues to be a source of personal concern for Coburn.

In the end, Coburn affords no recognition to the significant role that political science research plays in understanding and promoting democracy and democratic citizenship at home and abroad, as current events around the globe demonstrate clearly; which, Howard Silver of COSSA stated, "seem[s] odd in a world where building democratic institutions in the Middle East and elsewhere has become increasingly important."

Sen. Coburn, please stop this non-sense. Just because YOU don't see the value in it, doesn't make it waste. Social Sciences are as much a part of the National Science Foundation as Economics, and other sciences. Just because you don't see (or more importantly) agree with the work done by political scientists, doesn't mean the scientific community thinks it's a waste of time.

Politically Relevant Music X: Fresh

2011-06-07T12:42:00.001-04:00

Not only is the music video brilliant, the point being made is one that I think has political implications. Devo points out that advertising is very simplistic, yet it evokes urges to spend money on things one does not necessarily need. The further problem is that the advertising is everywhere and sometimes people do not get a break from this advertising. Devo might also be implying that sometimes it even creates a problem where the art of advertising may no longer art. The fact that many ads are very similar may mean that there could be a lack of creativity, and it may not really be an art anymore.

All these points Devo illustrate are all points that people who have issues with Corporations in America cite as a problem. Devo has found a way to satire this phenomenon and expose advertising as a scam.

Planned Parenthood Lawyers Up in Indiana

2011-06-03T01:00:00.002-04:00

A few months ago, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed a law that de-funded Planned Parenthood. Since then, it has now been found that this was unconstitutional. Gov. Daniels and the Indiana Republicans forgot (or just plainly ignored) one part of the issue: Medicaid! Indiana has been ordered by the federal government to start funding Planned Parenthood again, or else the state could lose billions of dollars of funding for government health programs.

The Journal & Courier reports:

"We are seeking a preliminary injunction and the judge had already indicated she intends to expedite her ruling," said Cochrum.

Cochrum said worldwide donations since the state's recent ruling have provided for Planned Parenthood's Medicaid patients to continue services at their offices.

President of Tippecanoe County Right to Life chapter Pastor Joe Bell said that they will continue to pray to end abortion and the federal government is trying to bully states into forcing them to conform to their immoral vales.

This isn't about values, it's the law and it must be followed. Religion is not above the law and therefore, must adhere to it. You can't side-step laws because you don't like them. You can try to pray away Medicaid, but as long as a Republican majority does not exist at the federal level, it probably won't do much.

Conservative, Religious Bloggers: Teens Having Sex Makes them Suicidal

2011-06-01T19:25:00.006-04:00

It's not everyday when you see a libertarian think-tank like the Heritage Foundation weigh in on the social issues surrounding sex and dating. Glenn Beck's news outlet, The Blaze, reports that a study on non-committal sexual relationships are "scientifically impossible." (Whatever that means). The article then cites a CNN blogger on religion, and a mis-linked 2003 study done by the Heritage Foundation on sexual activity and suicide rates in teens. They also claim abstention rates have risen by about 7 points since 2003.

First of all, if The Blaze is going to be taken seriously by the rest of the blogging world, it needs to a better job of linking their sources. Even if The Huffington Post is biased to the left, they at least cite their sources with links. I needed to go through the CNN blog to find the Heritage Foundation study. Also, you have to remember that the Heritage Foundation is a libertarian think tank, and will publish whatever those who are paying for the studies want.

Secondly, this study is deceiving because it only looks at sexually active teens between the ages of 14-17, whereas they miss that whole segment of the population that are teenagers and are not living with their parents. Also with 14-17 year olds, they must get parental permission to take a survey on sex, so therefore these answers might be made with parental influence. When individuals take surveys they don't want to sound wrong, so there may be some lying by the kids in the survey because they feel like their parents might see their answers.

As for the part about abstention, no evidence was provided. However, the problem for the rest of the claims made here deal with terrible data and sometimes uncited data. For example there was a study from Stanford that indicated the numbers of partners that a college age man or woman has had, was un-cited. How is this argument very convincing? It's a lot of hearsay if you ask me.

Being a college student, sex can be a stressful topic. From my limited observation, this study cannot apply to older teens who are in college and may be experimenting. If there's anything we should learn from this, is that sex education is important. Repressing sexual education, and vilifying it does not solve the problem. In fact, it makes the problem worse because there are more unwanted pregnancies that can be prevented, and the risks of contracting STDs can be reduced.

By promoting policies that vilify sex we increase risks that people take, because they are undereducated about it. By educating abstinence only to teens, the culture suffers on sexual health information. I can tell you from experience, that I did not learn a lot of what I should have learned, until I picked up free condoms for the first time at the Purdue Student Health Center at Freshman orientation*. This is really not how it should be, if we want to prepare kids for the world at large.

In reality, people have sex and some actually enjoy it. Scaring people out of sex hurts the greater culture, and lowers our overall levels of education on sexual health.

*-Disclaimer: I did know that safe sex existed, but not much past that on details. My high school sex ed was not very detailed about it, because we only spent one day on it. I knew about condoms, but past that I wasn't really informed. I became much more aware of it as I was a Freshman in College.

The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals are Here!

2011-06-01T16:28:00.000-04:00

So tonight begins my absolute favorite sporting event, the Stanley Cup Finals. The Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins have painstakingly made their way through the gauntlet of the NHL Playoffs to make it to this stage. I will say it now, as I always have said, the Stanley Cup is the absolute roughest trophy to win.

This is going to be a great series! Both teams have great goaltending. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas might be one of the best "out-of-position" goaltenders out there, and the Canucks Roberto Luongo is also one of the best in the world. Both teams are going to be physical, and the Bruins are going to be a real test for the Canucks. The Bruins will also be tested by the offense of the Canucks.

My pre-playoff pick was Vancouver, but who do I think is going to win it now?

I'll take the Bruins in 7. What about you?

I'll Let George F. Will Explain

2011-05-31T14:10:00.001-04:00

This will be a rare time in the existence of this blog. I am about to agree with George F. Will. Political pundit George F. Will said the following on ABC on Sunday morning:

Someone conservatives will listen to, said it right: Palin should not have access to nuclear weapons.

Let's get one thing straight, I'm 99.9% sure Sarah Palin is not running. She's only keeping this decision on the back burner so she can rack up the speaking fees to her lifestyle. She doesn't poll well, and she would really hurt the Republicans overall. There's nothing more to this discussion, and this bus tour that she's doing is really just a way for her to keep her name in the media. I could see her backing Rep. Michelle Bachmann, and that's about all I can foresee about her Presidential ambitions.

(Via Mediaite)

Politically Relevant Music IX: Kenji

2011-05-28T13:32:00.000-04:00

This week's politically relevant music symbolizes a struggle for a memorial for citizens who were wrongfully detained in World War II. Fort Minor's "Kenji" is from their 2005 album The Rising Tied. It is the story of Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda's family experience during World War II.

While we remember the men and women who served in the military this weekend, we should stop and remember the prisoners of war and innocent bystanders whose livelihood changed as a result. The United States doesn't always openly recall this time in our history where we were not very hospitable to Japanese immigrants. The hatred that Kenji experienced when he arrived home after the internment, echoes in todays politics when it comes to immigration. There are people in this country who experience a similar form of hatred about their immigration status. When you hear people telling others to go back home, I recall this story of Kenji as a reminder of what we shouldn't do as a nation. We should never close our borders or disrespect people who want to immigrate.

What are Klout Scores Actually Measuring?

2011-05-27T14:53:00.002-04:00

Something might be fishy about Klout scores I just looked up. Apparently, JT Eberhard (43) and Jonathan Weyer (47) are both lower in Klout scores than myself (55). This is peculiar, because both of them are much more established names than myself (who isn't even established at all).

For those who don't know what I'm talking about with Klout scores, let me fill you in. It measures social media presence by telling you how influential you are, and influential your audience is by giving you a score from 0-100 with 100 being the most influential. To give you an idea of how influential some people are on Twitter here's a quick list to give you a perspective:

Jesse Galef 30
Jessica Ahlquist 32
JT Eberhard 43
Mike Brownstein 55
Jen McCreight 61
Hemant Mehta 64
PZ Myers 69

To go a step further, this blog is only read by 50-100 people per day, which is much smaller than the readership on any of the other blogs mentioned. So this begs me to ask the question if Klout is broken? I mean I'm not known by any stretch of the imagination (that I'm aware of). I am active on Twitter, but so are all of these people. So is heavy Twitter use synonymous with influence? If this was the case, the blog should have hundreds if not thousands more views. Also putting me within 6 points of Jennifer McCreight and 9 points of Hemant Mehta is flattering, but their blogs attract people within the ten thousands (if not hundred thousands). So what do you think? Is Klout a stable metric of Internet activity?

Sen. Coburn Tries to Go After Political Scientists, Again

2011-05-26T18:49:00.003-04:00

If you remember back in October and November 2009, I wrote about Sen. Tom Coburn's plan to eliminate political science from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the FY 2010 budget. Almost a year and a half later, he's trying it again.

In a 50-plus page report recently written by Sen. Coburn, he suggests that social sciences and economics which only takes $255 million in funding should be cut, as a cost-saving measure. He says this on the basis of the fact that the social sciences do nothing scientific. He cites the Japan earthquakes and tsunamis as the reason why social sciences should be irrelevant. Coburn also cites the fact that he's a doctor and cancer survivor to the reason why he has such a handle on what science is relevant. Not to belittle Sen. Coburn's MD or cancer survival, but there's more to science than just biology.

So if we're so wasteful, then why does Sen. Coburn also support organizations that have directly or their employees have in the past benefited from having NSF funding? I should mention that Sen. Coburn choose to speak at an event for the American Enterprise Institution in February 2009? Granted the AEI is private, the value of NSF funds allocated to social sciences is evident, and some of AEI's researchers have advanced degrees in the social sciences (some of which researched in school with the use of NSF grants). How about the Heritage Foundation which Sen. Coburn has a staff position? Again, some of their employees also have benefited from having NSF funding.

Let me also shed some light on the reality of being a grad student in social sciences right now. It sucks. I'm currently a second year masters student who has no funding whatsoever. I'm working a job on the side, as well as digging into my savings, to keep my bills and rent paid. I'd like to eventually teach political science at the college level, but because there is little funding to go around, I'm basically stuck in my position. Funny enough, my research interests in Internet politics is something you consider waste, yet is becoming an established sub-field of American Political Science. Not to mention a lot of technologically focused people are looking for this research. Not to mention there's subfields in technological, scientific and engineering fields devoted to Internet behavior.

Maybe we're "too liberal" for you, and if that's the case Sen. Coburn, its an unfounded complaint. Social scientists can be conservative as well, just as much as you are. Have you ever read Theodore Lowi's The End of Liberalism? I'd argue that you'd actually like, and would cite that book (even if its message is out of date). Just because the social scientists you disagree with are liberal, does not mean you disagree with all of us.

I guess the bottom line is that Sen. Coburn needs to stop picking on the social sciences, and quit telling us that we are not worthy of funding because we aren't biologists. I'm sure Sen. Coburn absolutely loves the fact that some of the NSF funding has gone to evolutionary biology research, climate change research, which he thinks aren't real. What I hear in this complaint about the social sciences, is that Sen. Coburn doesn't like being told that he could be wrong about some scientific facts. Maybe he's just picking and choosing the science he likes, which really isn't science at all.

The Rapture, Family Radio, and Playing the Press Game

2011-05-25T18:12:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, the Rapture was predicted by Harold Camping to occur. Obviously, it didn't happen, or if it did no one was holy enough to be taken to heaven with Jesus. Through this whole situation, I've really wondered how the lack of response by the Family Radio people to the press after the Rapture didn't come to be. Here's some observations of what I've noticed and perceive of the situation.

NYC Rapture Observations
It was obvious that New Yorkers were aware of this Rapture story. On every other subway train and stop I was at, there was an ad for the May 21st event. There was even people in Times Square who were likely not associated with the Family Radio calculated event who were also expecting the rapture. These people promoting the Rapture were approached in almost every instance I saw them. Some were angry confrontations, others were peaceful discussions.

Just before the Rapture I visited Hayden Planetarium, maybe the most heathen-friendly place in the city. I wanted to know what cool things I would miss out on in the galaxy, knowing my end of days fate was nearby. After that, I went with my friend to where she works near Union Square. I was at 14th st. and 5th avenue in Manhattan getting myself a delicious and spicy gyro at 6pm, the supposed 11th hour of man's existence. As myself and a friend of mine finished ordering our gyros we walked over to Union Square where there was a crowd of people surrounding a cross, and a crazy guy who was blessing the ground of the park. He even at one point said "I know Jesus is with us now". I chuckled to myself and walked to a bench where I enjoyed my gyro and discussion with my friend.

PR Aspect

Post-rapture the advertisements were still up. There were still demonstrators in Times Square (non-Family Radio)), and it simply not very believable. Camping had just seen his Rapture prediction fail horribly, and it seems difficult to continue buying into Rapture mythology. This gets me to thinking about how people can still believe this garbage from a PR standpoint. I mean just look at the New York Post front page:

My first hunch is that Family Radio is operating under the premise that "all press is good press." While they may see this as positive, I see this as highly negative. Any mention of the Rapture I had heard over the weekend was joked about. If Camping wants people to take this situation seriously, he certainly took the right steps to make it a part of the public discourse. The problem is that this was certainly a risk, in the event the Rapture never occurred, because now Camping will be seen as a fraud. You can't expect that people will believe Camping after he has had two failed attempts at predicting the Rapture.

While I may see this as bad press, Family Radio certainly doesn't think so. They will claim (if they haven't already) that they made Jesus a topic of discussion, and will bring people closer to him. While that is true, the tone of this discussion as I've experienced is mocking and sarcasm.

Does this Mean Family Radio Will be Irrelevant?
Unfortunately no. American press, still gives credence to crazies and their ideas. From their standpoint it sells papers, and that's their industry. If there's one thing that everyone seems to agree on, it's that the media tends to focus on the wrong parts of the news. It's not a matter of liberal agenda, it's a matter of what sells better to their audience. Americans tend to not be the most politically knowledgeable, (Converse 1964) and that's who newspapers and news outlets cater to. While this is true, Americans also have a long history of being superstitious which is why this Rapture story sold so well, and why I think the 2012 story will sell even better late next year.

As for Family Radio and Harold Camping lost, but it's hard to not see it as a draw in the press game. They were able to get a message out and were able to make it a topical issue, however it did hurt for Christianity as a whole. As with any social group, the craziest elements bring out the best and worst of that group. While most Christians will say this was harmless, and any attack on its faith will be crossing a line, I disagree. As a life-long non-Christian, it really doesn't help my or any non-Christian's opinion of Christianity with these types of displays and messages. It makes us actually less open to the faith as a whole. If Christians who complain about criticism want less of it, they need to be considerate of other faiths, philosophies, and non-believers. Until then, people are going to criticize it. Just remember all ideas are able to be criticized under the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Outside of the press, the real winner is science. Camping's hypothesis was false, and had awful methodology and heuristics to prove his hypothesis. Also, for it to be "real science" Camping would need to show his work, which he did not do. So in reality, we can tell who really has egg on their face.

Recalling Star Wars in Parts

2011-05-24T23:54:00.000-04:00

This video is someone attempting to retell the saga of Star Wars, having only seen parts of these films.

She actually got a bunch of the plot points, but still friends don't let friends not see Star Wars!

Politically Relevant Music VIII: "For the Greater Good of God"

2011-05-23T21:30:00.001-04:00

This week's "Politically Relevant Music" is a great song that would explain the feelings of many people following this Rapture hoax over the weekend. The Iron Maiden song "For the Greater Good of God" is from their 2006 album A Matter of Life and Death. Many of the songs on this album have a recurring theme of religion and war.

This song is extremely relevant from the events of this past weekend. Harold Camping and Family Radio stated that the Rapture should have occurred over the weekend on May 21, with the world ultimately ending on October 21, 2011. It has led some in all faiths (or lack thereof) question the reality of religion's role. The point of the song is to point out that there has been a lot of evil and war sparked in the name of God and country. The United States and other countries have adopted bad policies because of religiosity, and this song shows the extremes of those policies and ideological stands.

My Adventure to New York is Ending

2011-05-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

If you've seen my Twitter feed the past few days you could tell I was in New York City. It's been a great vacation, and I got to catch up with friends I haven't seen in awhile. It was exactly the weekend I needed, and I couldn't ask for better. There will definitely be a lot of blogging about this trip as soon as I get home, mostly because I am only armed with a smart phone once I leave this apartment. I have a lot of great stories and observations I will be sharing, including some Rapture fun, and a hockey bar near Madison Square Garden.

In reflection on my trip, I want to say that I think R.E.M. is correct about leaving this city. Love or hate Around the Sun, the song "Leaving New York" is very true:

It really is sad to leave this amazing city. I've felt at home and not out of place as I often feel when I'm in rural Indiana. I think one thing that I've definitely learned on this trip is that I belong in a more metropolitan setting. Don't get me wrong, West Lafayette is my home right now, but I really miss living in a city environment (if you can call Cincinnati that).

Thank you New York, Gin, and Emily for having me this weekend! Don't worry New York, I'll be coming back again in the future.

A Call for Rapture Day Apologies

2011-05-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was May 21, 2011, which had been predicted by some to be the Biblical Judgement Day. I'd like to ask those who are bought into this far-fetched idea of knowing that yesterday was the rapture, the same question this video poses:

Seriously, it really wouldn't hurt for those who've been trying to tell us to repent and convert that they are sorry. I mean, they have gone out of their way to tell us the end is near. Would they like to tell us that they're sorry for deceiving us all in this manner?

(Via The Thinking Atheist)

Newt Gingrich Glittered!

2011-05-18T13:30:00.001-04:00

GOP Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich has never been a supporter of marriage equality. In Minnesota, there is currently DOMA legislation that is being discussed and being pushed by the Minnesota Family Council.

People who tend to support anti-LGBT marriage legislation are probably not comfortable with the idea of LGBT in general. So, if you support LGBT, you probably aren't going to support Newt Gingrich.

Glenn Beck on Universities and My Generation

2011-05-16T08:00:00.003-04:00

On Friday, Glenn Beck hosted a special episode of his ailing TV show with an audience of college students. He invited SE Cupp, and together it was a carnival of stupid. It's kind of hilarious that SE Cupp is an MA candidate at NYU, the same university that some of Glenn Beck's "enemies" (Political Scientists Cass Sunstein and Frances Fox Piven) teach at. Such a wonderful example?

Anyway, what might be of interest to some readers is this defense of creationism:

That argument sounds familiar. Okay, so these kids are being told by a guy who has less of an education than them that their education sucks because its biased. Great. The more likely story is probably that college was too much for Glenn Beck to handle. I would have loved to hear Glenn Beck take a question of why he never stuck it out like the majority of conservative college students out there?

Then he made this proclamation:

I'm really shaking in my boots. Glenn Beck is going to arm the kids with "tools". I don't think this is going to be much of a problem for liberal groups to counter. Plus, the Tea Party movement and ideas are not exactly popular with younger generations. They are either smart enough to see through the bad policy implications or they are smart enough to know that low taxes do not pay off the debt. So, as a student involved with groups that Beck is talking about targeting, I don't see how his help is really an asset. Beck has become enough a joke in the culture that his influence may even be seen as negative by the greater public. This is again, another reason why the Tea Party movement cannot mobilize my generation.

Politically Relevant Music VII: Back on the Chain Gang

2011-05-15T15:04:00.001-04:00

This week's "Politically Relevant Music" evaluates the ideology of conservatism. "Back on the Chain Gang" is a 1982 song by the Pretenders originally about a love interest between singer Chrissy Hynde and The Kinks' frontman Ray Davies. However, the song became dedicated to the guitarist of the Pretenders James Honeyman-Scott when he died of a drug overdose shortly before the song was released.

I think this song can be reinterpreted to make it politically relevant. The song opens with someone looking at a picture of the past, a common criticism of conservatives by liberals. I could see this as a song that would explain how some of the individuals have become reinvigorated in the political discourse as a result of the rise of the Tea Party movement. It is common for members to talk about how they never were or lost interest in politics until Obama's election. At the same time the song also explains the irony of some of these Tea Partiers: they may not realize that these economic policies that they advocate favor the rich over themselves. Also, large interests from conservative think tanks, funding from high profile conservatives, and other investments into these groups and other institutions may only placate the fact that they are possibly pawns in a larger game.