Power-thirsty President Obama taunted the minority party after the passage of his bill, telling them to "Go for it," in response to the Republican calls for repeal. He then made 15 senior appointments without any Senate consent, which included a union lawyer whose nomination has previously been blocked by a filibuster. Ignoring Republican objections, he also neutralized the party's filibuster threat with one of his many parliamentary maneuvers, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, in order to pass his legislation on education along with the bill.
Once again, we have just undergone a drastic and impulsive "change" without any actual opinion from the public, with little or no media coverage, and through the ever-growing tyranny in Congress.
So what has Mr. Obama forced upon us this time?
The Wall Street Journal reported that, "Democrats attached to the bill a major overhaul of student-lending laws, which eliminated a federal subsidy for private tuition lenders, federalized most student loans and plowed the savings into expanded federal higher education aid. Republicans say the bill will destroy the private student-lending market."
Essentially, the President attached to the health care bill yet another piece, fitting the Democrat's platform, but having nothing to do with the original topic of health care that was actually voted on in the Senate. But in ObamaPolitics, little things like Constitutionality, legality, citizens rights, the free market, or representation have never actually mattered, so I suppose none of this should surprise us. The only real connection this new legislation appears to have is that it too is a government takeover within the private sector that will give them further control over ideological state apparatuses and the lives of the American people. Our current President's systematic takeover has now extended into the lives, health care, income, and even modes of education of the American public, gradually eliminating every channel that can be used for resistance in this country, and arming the federal government with the means of the total control and domination of the American people. What is left for them to take over? The current President has certainly done his homework. For anyone who has been assigned reading on Marx or socialism in school, or is perhaps familiar with Althusser's discussion on Ideology and the State, it is clear that this president will not stop in his quest to "change" America into a socialized nation in every way but the label.
And the worst part? By the time people realize what the labels "ObamaCare," "Change," and "Progressive" are actually entailing, it will be too late.
So yes, fellow students, celebrate what the media is claiming to be "more affordable education." Never mind that part of the reason tuition is so high in the first place is due to the fact that Universities knew that they could charge all that they wanted and the government would be footing most of the bill. Never mind that the government is being granted the power to determine who goes to school and who doesn't, with finance as its tool and the destruction of the private student lending market as its insurance.
As reported by the Washington Post, Steve Wymer, spokesman for the Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee explained, "We want students to have as many lending options as possible. To make the federal government, the Department of Education, a monopoly bank is not the best thing for students."
And he's right. Once again, Mr. Obama and his workers in Congress have forced through yet another change, without a single vote of support from the other party. Once again, we are seeing the way the Democrats will quickly form a plan and, without any consideration for the consent of the governed or for the long-term consequences beyond what their partisan politics can predict with their complete lack of experience in the private sector, we now have another drastic change. To get a student loan, we will now wait for a response from the government and hope that we get the answer we're looking for. And if we don't, then I suppose we're screwed, because the government is now also the monopoly is student lending, leaving us no option once again but to succumb to its ever-growing power.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
I Support Sanu!
Americans across the nation have had it. We are tired of the dirty politics, the unresponsiveness, the backroom deals and the lack of transparency. We are tired of trying again and again to find officials who will actually live up to their title of “representative” and carry out our will-the will of the people- rather than simply pushing their own partisan agendas. The blatant tyranny we have seen from leaders in Congress has shown us that we must be far more careful when it comes to choosing citizens to serve their fellow voters through representation. This time we must bring about positive and responsible change that will uphold our values and that will hopefully be able to stop the damage that is still being done, attempt to undo it, and to then actually improve upon the issues that we wanted to fix during the last wave of elections. The country is sinking, so now more than ever, we need to vote responsibly, because our candidates need not only to bring about the improvements we’ve been asking for all along, but to fight the steady regress that Congress has been subjecting us too. But where can we find candidates that we can actually trust to bring about this change and live up to these standards?
I didn’t have to search far before finding an ideal candidate, a woman who exemplifies exactly what our electoral revolution is calling for through both her platform and the way that she lives her life according to those same ideals. Sanu, an immigrant who moved here after having grown up in India and Nepal, started out at McDonalds and paid her way through college. She earned her MBA from Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and has now gained 17 years of experience in the business world. Now living happily in Bloomington with her husband Fred, the support of a close family, and a job at Best Buy that she loves, Sanu proved that the American dream is still very much alive, and attainable for anyone willing to work for it.
I do not live in her district, so I can’t vote for her, but voting is only one of the many ways that we can support these candidates. Because we are fighting this revolution to win back our representation in every district, it is important that we unite to support these candidates as a whole. We will need to win every district that we can if we want a chance to bring the power in government back to the hands of the people as it was meant to be. Because I can only support her through writing and volunteering, I am going to do all that I can to let people know about Sanu Patel-Zellinger from District 40B in Bloomington. She stands for the same principles and believes in the same changes that our revolution would like to see. I will not only be supporting her in my free time and volunteering over the summer when I don’t have classes, but I will be following her campaign, so hopefully you will all see plenty of updates here. I have known Sanu all my life and was absolutely thrilled to hear that she is running for State Representative. For what she stands for, how she views serving her Bloomington neighbors, and what she will do when she is elected, I support Sanu Patel-Zellinger for State Representative.
I didn’t have to search far before finding an ideal candidate, a woman who exemplifies exactly what our electoral revolution is calling for through both her platform and the way that she lives her life according to those same ideals. Sanu, an immigrant who moved here after having grown up in India and Nepal, started out at McDonalds and paid her way through college. She earned her MBA from Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and has now gained 17 years of experience in the business world. Now living happily in Bloomington with her husband Fred, the support of a close family, and a job at Best Buy that she loves, Sanu proved that the American dream is still very much alive, and attainable for anyone willing to work for it.
I do not live in her district, so I can’t vote for her, but voting is only one of the many ways that we can support these candidates. Because we are fighting this revolution to win back our representation in every district, it is important that we unite to support these candidates as a whole. We will need to win every district that we can if we want a chance to bring the power in government back to the hands of the people as it was meant to be. Because I can only support her through writing and volunteering, I am going to do all that I can to let people know about Sanu Patel-Zellinger from District 40B in Bloomington. She stands for the same principles and believes in the same changes that our revolution would like to see. I will not only be supporting her in my free time and volunteering over the summer when I don’t have classes, but I will be following her campaign, so hopefully you will all see plenty of updates here. I have known Sanu all my life and was absolutely thrilled to hear that she is running for State Representative. For what she stands for, how she views serving her Bloomington neighbors, and what she will do when she is elected, I support Sanu Patel-Zellinger for State Representative.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Health Care Update
Despite the loud public disapproval of the notoriously bulky and controversial health care bill, the Senate voted 219 to 212 in favor of passing a bill that we are told will cost $848 billion over the next ten years, but will actually cost about $2.5 trillion over ten years without the legislative gimmicks (tax hikes, spending cuts, and most new spending beginning in 2014) that are implemented by top Democrats to hide actual costs from the public. I shall elaborate more fully later. And, thankfully, not one Republican voted for the partisan bill, and quite a few Democrats didn't as well, despite the extreme and threatening pressure exerted on them by leaders of their party. It's nice to know that at least some of the members of Congress are bearing in mind their Constitutional job descriptions when they choose to vote.
Then, on Tuesday, Obama signed the trillion-dollar health care overhaul into law, in his usual style, which included a ceremony and positive, professional images to be posted across his media. Pelosi leans over anxiously, watching happily as the President of the United States proudly signed a document opposed by the majority of the people, but fitting his personal ideologies, and those of his closest members. Grouped in this picture, we can see the happy smiles of the tiny group of people controlling this nation. And the textbook pages in civics classes are being flipped right now, as kids try to understand how the man praised by their teachers as an official sworn in to protect our Constitutional rights, can ignore our voices and make decisions for the entire country based on what he and a few other radicals feel is "right." Those poor kids, sitting at their desks and scratching their heads as they compare what we are seeing with the definition of our form of government and wondering if there has been some kind of typing error, have no idea just what this generation has gotten them into.
The major provisions of this bill will not take effect until January 1, 2014, due to the fact that we will need to raise 10 years worth of revenue in order to pay for the first 6 years of "ObamaCare." Provisions, such as increased funding to high risk pools, however, will take effect immediately.
So what can we expect from this health care bill? Why is the American public so upset? Well, despite the idealistic naivety of loyal liberals who truly do believe that this bill is going to "help poor people," a packet of paper this long, expensive and politicized cannot be summed up so simply. The intention of this bill is stated to be to "expand access to health insurance, reform the health insurance market to provide additional consumer protections, and improve the health care delivery system to reduce costs and produce better outcomes," according to the Senate's Legislative Notice Summary. What this translates to in the real world and economy is this: To pay for the expansion of insurance coverage, the bill is going to increase our taxes by $493.6 billion dollars, reduce Medicare spending by $464.6 billion, cut $134.9 billion from our hospitals, $120 billion from Medicare Advantage (MA), $14.6 billion from nursing homes, $42.1 billion from home health agencies, and $7.7 billion from hospices according to that same summary. The U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee also noted that, "Among more prominent taxes, the bill includes a new 40% excise tax on health insurance plans that exceed $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families, raising $149.1 billion over 10 years..." It explained that there will also be a new Medicare payroll tax collecting $53.8 billion from Americans working to earn a higher income, a $60.4 billion tax on health insurers, $22.2 billion tax on drug manufacturers, and a $19.3 billion tax on Medical device manufacturers.
Now, I'm no economist, but I'm pretty sure that you cannot force companies to produce more and to pay higher taxes for doing so, and to then lower their prices and somehow stay above the water. Anyone with the most basic sense of economics can see that what this plan is calling for simply cannot work beyond the sheet of paper it is written on. But apparently, the handful of men and women with power in this country, are somehow missing this. No wonder the teleprompter only gives us vague descriptions of the goals of the bill. If it told us what the bill actually includes, even more Americans would be upset. I mean, a majority already is of course, but can you imagine what would happen when the rulers' remaining followers realize that the benefits they were promised are short term and only being received by a small group at the expense of everyone else? The only way to allow for such an explosive growth in government, would be to mask it as something else. No one in their right mind, if aware of the actual consequences (which harm everyone, including "the poor"), would support nearly half a trillion dollars more in taxes ($494 billion), another half a trillion in Medicare cuts ($465 billion), premiums that are on average higher than what we already have in the private sector, 24 million still uninsured, along cutting the money we spend on doctors and hospitals.
Aside from the fact that this document is unconstitutional (and not just in that it tries to remove judiciary checks on the Congress so that they can have the authority to do this), arguably illegal and so witlessly slopped together that it will succeed only in further harming all that it claims to assist.
Luckily, my fellow unrepresented citizens, we will have a chance to undo this grave mistake so that we can implement a more rational, intelligent, economically sound plan for reform. Our health care system needs fiscally responsible reform, because if we create a big Change that then drowns key elements of the medical system (i.e. insurance companies, hospitals, medical professionals), then we will only be paying ourselves and the following generations further into debt in order to complete the destruction of a fundamental societal institution. I for one am extremely annoyed that some group of politicians has just ruled that they can take the money of my parents' generation, my generation, and of my children and my grandchildren, in order to destroy our medical system through the type of pure and utter failure that it appears only large and inefficient governments have the power to so extensively commit.
I will include more updates, including updates from various news sources, but for now, I have to get to class.
Feel free to check out the Budget Committee's fact sheet on the Democrats' Change, as it was planned in Congress here, if you're curious:
http://budget.senate.gov/republican/pressarchive/2009-11-19HealthCareFactSheet.pdf
The Senate summaries can also be found online and I encourage everyone to read (or at least skim) as much as your mind can handle so that the public can be more aware of what we are up against. Thanks for reading!
Then, on Tuesday, Obama signed the trillion-dollar health care overhaul into law, in his usual style, which included a ceremony and positive, professional images to be posted across his media. Pelosi leans over anxiously, watching happily as the President of the United States proudly signed a document opposed by the majority of the people, but fitting his personal ideologies, and those of his closest members. Grouped in this picture, we can see the happy smiles of the tiny group of people controlling this nation. And the textbook pages in civics classes are being flipped right now, as kids try to understand how the man praised by their teachers as an official sworn in to protect our Constitutional rights, can ignore our voices and make decisions for the entire country based on what he and a few other radicals feel is "right." Those poor kids, sitting at their desks and scratching their heads as they compare what we are seeing with the definition of our form of government and wondering if there has been some kind of typing error, have no idea just what this generation has gotten them into.
The major provisions of this bill will not take effect until January 1, 2014, due to the fact that we will need to raise 10 years worth of revenue in order to pay for the first 6 years of "ObamaCare." Provisions, such as increased funding to high risk pools, however, will take effect immediately.
So what can we expect from this health care bill? Why is the American public so upset? Well, despite the idealistic naivety of loyal liberals who truly do believe that this bill is going to "help poor people," a packet of paper this long, expensive and politicized cannot be summed up so simply. The intention of this bill is stated to be to "expand access to health insurance, reform the health insurance market to provide additional consumer protections, and improve the health care delivery system to reduce costs and produce better outcomes," according to the Senate's Legislative Notice Summary. What this translates to in the real world and economy is this: To pay for the expansion of insurance coverage, the bill is going to increase our taxes by $493.6 billion dollars, reduce Medicare spending by $464.6 billion, cut $134.9 billion from our hospitals, $120 billion from Medicare Advantage (MA), $14.6 billion from nursing homes, $42.1 billion from home health agencies, and $7.7 billion from hospices according to that same summary. The U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee also noted that, "Among more prominent taxes, the bill includes a new 40% excise tax on health insurance plans that exceed $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families, raising $149.1 billion over 10 years..." It explained that there will also be a new Medicare payroll tax collecting $53.8 billion from Americans working to earn a higher income, a $60.4 billion tax on health insurers, $22.2 billion tax on drug manufacturers, and a $19.3 billion tax on Medical device manufacturers.
Now, I'm no economist, but I'm pretty sure that you cannot force companies to produce more and to pay higher taxes for doing so, and to then lower their prices and somehow stay above the water. Anyone with the most basic sense of economics can see that what this plan is calling for simply cannot work beyond the sheet of paper it is written on. But apparently, the handful of men and women with power in this country, are somehow missing this. No wonder the teleprompter only gives us vague descriptions of the goals of the bill. If it told us what the bill actually includes, even more Americans would be upset. I mean, a majority already is of course, but can you imagine what would happen when the rulers' remaining followers realize that the benefits they were promised are short term and only being received by a small group at the expense of everyone else? The only way to allow for such an explosive growth in government, would be to mask it as something else. No one in their right mind, if aware of the actual consequences (which harm everyone, including "the poor"), would support nearly half a trillion dollars more in taxes ($494 billion), another half a trillion in Medicare cuts ($465 billion), premiums that are on average higher than what we already have in the private sector, 24 million still uninsured, along cutting the money we spend on doctors and hospitals.
Aside from the fact that this document is unconstitutional (and not just in that it tries to remove judiciary checks on the Congress so that they can have the authority to do this), arguably illegal and so witlessly slopped together that it will succeed only in further harming all that it claims to assist.
Luckily, my fellow unrepresented citizens, we will have a chance to undo this grave mistake so that we can implement a more rational, intelligent, economically sound plan for reform. Our health care system needs fiscally responsible reform, because if we create a big Change that then drowns key elements of the medical system (i.e. insurance companies, hospitals, medical professionals), then we will only be paying ourselves and the following generations further into debt in order to complete the destruction of a fundamental societal institution. I for one am extremely annoyed that some group of politicians has just ruled that they can take the money of my parents' generation, my generation, and of my children and my grandchildren, in order to destroy our medical system through the type of pure and utter failure that it appears only large and inefficient governments have the power to so extensively commit.
I will include more updates, including updates from various news sources, but for now, I have to get to class.
Feel free to check out the Budget Committee's fact sheet on the Democrats' Change, as it was planned in Congress here, if you're curious:
http://budget.senate.gov/republican/pressarchive/2009-11-19HealthCareFactSheet.pdf
The Senate summaries can also be found online and I encourage everyone to read (or at least skim) as much as your mind can handle so that the public can be more aware of what we are up against. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Our Electoral Revolution
The current President, Barack Obama, came forward promising all sorts of vague, idealistic “Change.” Yet, the change that we’re seeing now was not due to success on Obama’s part, but to the potent public reaction to his administration’s assault on the principles of our country. We are in an era of change now, but it isn’t the type of change the President was hoping for. No, that hum beneath your feet that has been steadily building marks a change far stronger. My friends, we have on our hands an electoral revolution. Across the country, the American people are realizing what a grave mistake we have made in backing down on America’s strongest principles which link to the very founding of our nation and constitution. From its birth, when America broke free of tyranny in order to create for itself a more responsive and liberating form of government, we its people have steadily begun to take for granted those basic principles that allow for the liberties that characterize us as free Americans. With the passing of time and the gradual flip of the pages of history, many have forgotten just what happens when too much power is allotted to too few people, when the government grows too bulky and intrusive, and when Congress loses sight of its role to serve and instead begins to rule. Gradually, slowly, America has been sliding down a hill, in a stealthy retrogress to the problems we had before. And it is only lately that the American public has begun to truly realize this decline.
A wise man by the name of Thomas Jefferson once warned, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground,” and that is exactly what we are witnessing today. The health care bill with all of the hazy, backroom politics that are pushing it through, despite the will of the people and without regard to the views of other parties, have demonstrated all too clearly that what we have now is no longer a democracy. Our representatives are forgetting their namesake. We did not elect them so that they could run the country as they pleased. That is not how the American democratic system was designed to function. These men and women were chosen to serve us, to provide a method through which our ideas can be implemented into our government. Hence, the line “by the people for the people.”
And thankfully, citizens are finally beginning to see that what they voted in was not liberalism, because liberals, conservatives, republicans, democrats-we all believe in a democracy. And the officials that have been elected are overstepping their roles. They have gone so far as to appoint themselves power roles that grant them all aspects of the definition of “ruler,” under the name of a representative. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and all other cronies that are now running our government against all of the principles they swore to preserve are not doing their jobs. They are stealing power from the people in order to further their own agendas. Jefferson explained, "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government..." Well my friends, this is what we are going to do. We must take back the powers vested in us by the Constitution from those who have taken it, not only because it threatens our liberties on an individual level, but because it is attacking that institution which makes possible those liberties. We were warned from the beginning that to have these privileges, we must be prepared to fight for them; to defend them from all enemies foreign and domestic. Granted, the latter is often far more subtle than the former, but during this term, it has become unmistakable. And come November, we will see the greatest change yet. We will see the American people rise and take back those seats. We will replace these incumbents with representatives who will truly stand for our beliefs, new and fresh minds that will protect and preserve our constitution in both oath and action. For those whose eyes are open enough to realize what is going on, the revolution has already begun.
And this electoral revolution is taking place in every state, at every level, and it is being fought through awareness, through public expression of opinion, and through votes. The only way we can succeed is through the combined efforts of our citizens, and through their support of a fresh wave of representatives who will replace the tired officials currently neglecting our voices from their high office chairs. We need to keep representatives like Michelle Bachmann and John Kline who toil relentlessly to carry out the will of their constituents in office. And at the same time, we have the obligation as the keepers of liberty, to replace those who fall short of these standards with representatives who will fulfill this role. To the citizens of District 40B in Bloomington, isn't it time for your voices to be heard? Isn’t it time that you elect someone who will not only say that she puts your community first and serves you, but when the time comes to vote, will actually act on that dedication? There's a new candidate running, a brilliant young woman from the private sector who immigrated to America for its opportunities and made Minnesota her home. She is intelligent and passionate and exactly the kind of candidate this revolution needs in every district. After all she went through to be a part of this country and your community; she will work endlessly to preserve the opportunities she found in America for its future generations. For those who agree that we deserve these rights and that we deserve the powers that no government should take from us, vote for Sanu Patel-Zellinger in the fall. We will bring about change, and we will have our revolution, one district and one vote at a time.
A wise man by the name of Thomas Jefferson once warned, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground,” and that is exactly what we are witnessing today. The health care bill with all of the hazy, backroom politics that are pushing it through, despite the will of the people and without regard to the views of other parties, have demonstrated all too clearly that what we have now is no longer a democracy. Our representatives are forgetting their namesake. We did not elect them so that they could run the country as they pleased. That is not how the American democratic system was designed to function. These men and women were chosen to serve us, to provide a method through which our ideas can be implemented into our government. Hence, the line “by the people for the people.”
And thankfully, citizens are finally beginning to see that what they voted in was not liberalism, because liberals, conservatives, republicans, democrats-we all believe in a democracy. And the officials that have been elected are overstepping their roles. They have gone so far as to appoint themselves power roles that grant them all aspects of the definition of “ruler,” under the name of a representative. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and all other cronies that are now running our government against all of the principles they swore to preserve are not doing their jobs. They are stealing power from the people in order to further their own agendas. Jefferson explained, "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government..." Well my friends, this is what we are going to do. We must take back the powers vested in us by the Constitution from those who have taken it, not only because it threatens our liberties on an individual level, but because it is attacking that institution which makes possible those liberties. We were warned from the beginning that to have these privileges, we must be prepared to fight for them; to defend them from all enemies foreign and domestic. Granted, the latter is often far more subtle than the former, but during this term, it has become unmistakable. And come November, we will see the greatest change yet. We will see the American people rise and take back those seats. We will replace these incumbents with representatives who will truly stand for our beliefs, new and fresh minds that will protect and preserve our constitution in both oath and action. For those whose eyes are open enough to realize what is going on, the revolution has already begun.
And this electoral revolution is taking place in every state, at every level, and it is being fought through awareness, through public expression of opinion, and through votes. The only way we can succeed is through the combined efforts of our citizens, and through their support of a fresh wave of representatives who will replace the tired officials currently neglecting our voices from their high office chairs. We need to keep representatives like Michelle Bachmann and John Kline who toil relentlessly to carry out the will of their constituents in office. And at the same time, we have the obligation as the keepers of liberty, to replace those who fall short of these standards with representatives who will fulfill this role. To the citizens of District 40B in Bloomington, isn't it time for your voices to be heard? Isn’t it time that you elect someone who will not only say that she puts your community first and serves you, but when the time comes to vote, will actually act on that dedication? There's a new candidate running, a brilliant young woman from the private sector who immigrated to America for its opportunities and made Minnesota her home. She is intelligent and passionate and exactly the kind of candidate this revolution needs in every district. After all she went through to be a part of this country and your community; she will work endlessly to preserve the opportunities she found in America for its future generations. For those who agree that we deserve these rights and that we deserve the powers that no government should take from us, vote for Sanu Patel-Zellinger in the fall. We will bring about change, and we will have our revolution, one district and one vote at a time.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Yesterday's Kill the Bill Rally at the Capitol
This weekend's rally was incredible! So, for those of you who would like to know what went on or what was actually being said, versus the small, out-of-context snippets you will be limited to when looking it up in our mass media, I provided a summary below:
Thousands gathered on the mall of the Capitol yesterday, braving the bone-chilling weather of an oncoming Minnesota spring to once again voice our disapproval for a bill that self-throned Democrat leaders in the house have apparently vowed to pass, regardless of the opinions of those their jobs entail they represent, and regardless of what the votes in Congress legitimately add up to. With the government trying to nationalize another sixth of our economy in order to characteristically implement less effective, less efficient and more expensive methods of doing what the free market-if not interfered with as it is today-could do, it's no wonder entire families reserved the day. When members of Congress, those allegedly working for the people, display such a blatant disregard for consitutional democracy, ignore the plurality of voices that constitute the American public, and attempt to change or bypass the laws and procedures set down upon them to ensure honorable proceedings, we as the American people are required to trudge across the soggy sod and cheer on representatives like Michelle Bachmann and John Kline who actually remember their constituents when they vote-and who remember that their position is not to rule and decide for the American people, but to represent them in order to facilitate a system of government for the people and by the people.
Upon arriving at the rally, the first thing I noticed, aside from the sheer size of the crowd, was the variety of signs. The crowd really did have a lot of character. It was incredible to see so many people here from different backgrounds and for different reasons, all united to protect our American ideals. I'm proud to see that some of us will forever be willing to defend and preserve the foundational liberties of a country that has given us the opportunities for everything that we have. I've included some of the pictures that I took on my phone here to give you a glimpse of the impressive turnout at the rally and the unique character of the accumulating crowd. (those with the symbolic pitchforks were asked to stand at the back for safety reasons, so I don't think I got any of them in the pictures)
Thousands gathered on the mall of the Capitol yesterday, braving the bone-chilling weather of an oncoming Minnesota spring to once again voice our disapproval for a bill that self-throned Democrat leaders in the house have apparently vowed to pass, regardless of the opinions of those their jobs entail they represent, and regardless of what the votes in Congress legitimately add up to. With the government trying to nationalize another sixth of our economy in order to characteristically implement less effective, less efficient and more expensive methods of doing what the free market-if not interfered with as it is today-could do, it's no wonder entire families reserved the day. When members of Congress, those allegedly working for the people, display such a blatant disregard for consitutional democracy, ignore the plurality of voices that constitute the American public, and attempt to change or bypass the laws and procedures set down upon them to ensure honorable proceedings, we as the American people are required to trudge across the soggy sod and cheer on representatives like Michelle Bachmann and John Kline who actually remember their constituents when they vote-and who remember that their position is not to rule and decide for the American people, but to represent them in order to facilitate a system of government for the people and by the people.
Upon arriving at the rally, the first thing I noticed, aside from the sheer size of the crowd, was the variety of signs. The crowd really did have a lot of character. It was incredible to see so many people here from different backgrounds and for different reasons, all united to protect our American ideals. I'm proud to see that some of us will forever be willing to defend and preserve the foundational liberties of a country that has given us the opportunities for everything that we have. I've included some of the pictures that I took on my phone here to give you a glimpse of the impressive turnout at the rally and the unique character of the accumulating crowd. (those with the symbolic pitchforks were asked to stand at the back for safety reasons, so I don't think I got any of them in the pictures)
To start the rally, Sue Jeffers from KTLK Radio initiated the "Kill! The! Bill!" chant that would grow more and more enthused throughout the rally, our voices echoing back from the building's white marble facade. Leaning into the mic, she asked, "So how's that hope and change working out?"
Opening Speech: Congressman John Kline
Congressman John Kline provided the rally with a concise opening speech, announcing, "It seems incredibe as I'm standing here looking out at hundreds and perhaps thousands of people, that, for some reason, President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can't hear you. I don't understand that."
At this point, a man nearby in the crowd commented, "They can hear us. They just choose not to care."
Indeed, Congress has been tyrannically unresponsive to the majority, as can be seen by the bill's continued support under Pelosi. As Kline warned, "The Bill is still there. It still has mandates. It still creates bureaucracies. It still creates a czar. It still imposes hundreds of billions of new taxes. It still increases spending. It still increases the debt. It still raises Health Care costs...And all of the budget gimmicks are still there." He also went on to discuss how Obama, Pelosi and other major proponents of this bill will be trying to "disrupt the order of the Senate" with reconciliation and other "parliamentary tricks." As a matter of fact, he pointed out, "Speaker Pelosi wants to pass [the health care bill] without voting on it at all!"
Barb Davis-White
The next speaker, Barbara Davis White, introduced her section with an appropriate Ben Franklin quote. "When asked if he'd created a monarchy or a republic, Ben Franklin responded, 'A republic. If you can keep it.'" Through the crowd's roar of approval, she declared, "We are here today because we are going to keep our republic! Keep the hands of our big, bloated government off of our lives and families!"
With the firm stance and commanding presence that the rally's speakers had so well mastered, Barbara Davis White continued, "On March 18th of this year-next week-this bill passes. It will swell our government which is already out of control...We are still hearing they have not even read the bill. Nancy Pelosi wants an unconditional...pass." Pausing for the crowd, she added, "Nice try Queen Pelosi."
The personality and passion behind what Barb was saying truly set her words apart. At one point, to the humored surprise of the crowd she exclaimed, "and the liberals keep reminding me I'm black!...Well, I have not forgotten what big government does to minorities...With entitlement programs that have not worked and are never gonna work!" She also discussed the barrels of money our goverment is continuously dumping into planned parenthood, at which point she argued that, "Abortion is the number one killer of black people in this country!"
She rejected the current administration's Congressmen's plans to tax medicare and our investments, explaining that in the next 9 years, we could lose 115 million more job opportunities a year. We would also lose $1.37 in GDP for every $1 collected. "I say that is theft!" she yelled out to the vocal crowd before her.
"And to Mr. Keith Ellison," she added, "You called me out so we're just gonna have to take it to the streets. Upon recieving their endorsement, I'm gonna be running as a candidate." I'm sure District 5 will be glad to have such a straighforward, honest and deliberate personality on their side, born and raised in her community and more concerned about the needs of that community, than of the separate agenda in Washington.
(for more info on Barbara Davis white, visit http://www.barbdaviswhiteforcongress.com/.)
Dr. Lee Karisko
Next to speak was Dr. Lee Karisko, a Canadian physician now working and living in Minnesota. Having worked as a medical director in a socialized health care system, he reported an average wait time of 17.3 weeks. Patients wait 17 months for a CAT Scan and 13 months for an MRI. In addition, people wait between two and two-and-a-half years to see a specialist!
16 percent of the Canadian population has no access to primary care, and newcomers to town, unless they have pre-established connections, wait 5 years to see a family doctor. Five years!
Massachusetts exemplifies this. They currently have the most expensive health care in the union. The problem with socialized medicine, like the medicine Congress is trying to force on us presently, is that the fundamentals of that system have been proven to simply not work. In such a system, the government comes between the patient and the doctor, setting the patient's interests and the doctor's judgement as second priority by specifying how doctors can run their practices, and micromanaging something the eventual appointed public officials will have little or no understanding of.
Dr. Karisko pointed out that "the Canada Health Act was thirteen pages long, and look at how much damage it did." Ours is over a thousand pages long. "Furthermore," Karisko added, "A hundred more federal bureaucracies will be created. How can this be good?" He went on to explain that government health care increases government power, controlling the citizens. That and our current system can be vastly improved by measures through individuals. He called for the government to give this back to the hands of the people. Tort reform, expansion of health savings accounts, market forces and solutions to drop costs and expand services were amongst the preferable alternatives he listed. He summed up by quoting Vladimir Lenin, who explained that "Socialized medicine is the keystone to to the arch of the Socialist State."
And, unfortunately for Americans, the doctor was right. Reagan paraphrased the Socialist agenda of candidate Norm Thomas, saying that "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But under the name of Liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without every knowing what happened. One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian program." By passing socialized medicine, we truly will have made the most important step in becoming a socialist nation.
Ed Morissey
The next speaker, Ed Morissey ("Captain Ed"), writer of the blog "Captain's Quarters" from October 2003 until February 2008 and now full-time blogger for True North and Hot Air, delivered the next speech after a hearty welcome from the audience. He thanked everyone for joining him in "express[ing] [our] opposition to the most expansive government takeover attempt in our history." He announced that he was proud to contibute to "this national movement prompted by a government that has become a force for its own perpetuation instead of a servant to its constituents.Washington has forgotten that it represents the people rather than their own interests. That arrogance has awakened this country, which has come together like never before to say 'No!' to the nanny state, and to tell Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama to butt out of their lives." He continued, "The American people have overwhelmingly rejected ObamaCare" and that "They're trying to cram this through before the next recess...before you have the chance to tell them exactly what you think of it for a second time!"
He also explained that poll after poll has shown just how unpopular this ObamaCare effort has gotten. Last week an Associated Press poll showed that 68% of Americans oppose using "reconciliation" to pass health care reform. CNN's poll two weeks agao showed that 73% wanted Congress to start from scratch or forget it altogether in this session, matching the 72% who said that same thing in November. And all nine national polls taken in February showed opposition to ObamaCare ranging form nine to twenty points. He encouraged the crowd not to forget the goals and tactics of the Democrats come November.
(To hear more about his speech or see it, visit Ed Morrissey's blog at:
Representative Mark Buesgens
Next to speak was Rep. Mark Buesgens, who provided us with the legal and historical aguments against the current Democrat leaders' tactics and bill. Recalling the 10th amendment, stating that, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
"It's time we take our country back!" he declared.
Twila Brase, President of the Citizens Council on Health Care
Regretfully, I was working my way through the crowd to meet up with one of my fellow College Republicans at this point, and was not able to take down any quotes from her speech. I apologize for not representing her along with the other speakers, especially since I'm sure she delivered an intelligent and informative speech. Perhaps True North, Hot Air, or another conservative blog will post what is missing here in mine.
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann
And finally, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann delivered the keynote speech, to complete the rally she so dutifully organized. I'm sure others will wholeheartedly agree with me in stating my appreciation for all that she does for Minnesota and for her constituents.
As a direct introduction, she declared to the mall, "They can't spend money any way they want and stick us with the bill! That isn't how it works!"
Michelle also reiterated what Glenn Beck said this week in explaining that, when FDR took office, there were no entitlement programs. Yet last year, we spent trillions! With government spending already out of control, we are now seeing a government takeover of health care, to make the problem more extreme. She summed up the Wall Street Journal, saying that health care would bring three things. First, they will subsidize coverage so costs explode. Then, they'll raise our taxes "as much as they can possibly get away with," until they realize that even that is not enough. And finally, Obama will hand it to an unelected committee limit our health care and to control prices by government order.
"This is not about Republicans!" she declared. "No republican in Congress will vote for this!" Indeed, the Republican party's strength in unity on this issue may not be enough to stop the bill in our current system of one-party rule, but it definitely is a force to be reckoned with when one realizes that the American people are against this as well. With the majority of the population and the entire minority in Congress, hopefully, this bill can be stopped. Michelle enforced this idea, congratulating the crowd, "Public outrage has caused this bill not to go through so far, which is a testimony of how effective you have been!"
She went even further, saying, "If Scott Brown can win Massachusetts, I think Minnesota can go red!" Bachmann encouraged her constituents, predicting that we'll be changing Congressional leadership this November. "This is a ONE-TERM PRESIDENT!" she exclaimed, to the appreciative roar of the rallying crowd.
After touching on current polls, Michelle Bachmann dove into the scandals and controversy surrounding the bill. Much to our disappointment, there are all too many examples of the current corruption in Congress. The ones she focused on included the sudden appearance of story, which wasn't released until he crossed Pelosi by saying he wouldn't vote for health care. And, like others in the small but hopefully still growing string of Democrat Congressman choosing to represent the voters instead of Pelosi and Obama, not voting as they are told leads to such catastrophic career damage that he was forced to resign. Michelle recognized this "Democrat-on-Democrat pressure," including Nancy Pelosi's signature move of filing ethics charges against those who cross her. "This is how they operate," she explained. "But they don't scare us! They're not gonna take our country!" Honestly, though, is this what we call a democracy? How a representative votes should depend on those they represent, NOT the tactics of power-hungry politicians twisting everyone's arms and threatening people with their careers to fall in line.
What's worse is that the government has already taken over 30% of our private economy. Michelle warned, "Between September of 2008 and July of 2009, [the federal government] took over 30% of our private economy. And over 50% of all homes in the U.S. today are backed up and guaranteed by the government....They took over Chystler and GM..and are running these companies into the ground!...We're already seeing almost 50% of the economy then taken over by the government."
Therefore, it all comes down to this week. As Bachmann called out, "The don't get to nationalize a sixth of our national economy without us voting on it! This week they want to pass a bill that claims the bill was already passed...So we have to vote on how to debate a bill that we've deemed has already passed!...There is no record that exists in American history that says Americans have passed a bill they have never voted on. They think they're so clever, but that's tryanny!" She reminded us that classes of elementary school history students are led through this capitol, learning about how our government works, about how both chambers need to vote on a bill to pass a law. "It sounds more like a Chavez tactic in Venezuela than Jefferson's" Bachmann argued. "The government is working against us...and they've got it all backwards! They work for us!"
And, as for the current Congress's disregard for rules, she responded, "They took an oath to uphold the constitution. They need to live up to it!"
Michelle Bachmann was forceful and energetic, commanding, yet very connected with the crowd. She invoked rhetoric that would cast her as one of us, struggling along with us as a fellow citizen of our nation, while also motivating the crowd to express our disapproval of this bill with our representatives-state and local. Her speech is on Youtube, so below is the link, in case anyone wants to see it for themselves (which I highly recommend). Enjoy!
The thing I loved about this rally was that there was so much energy! It never ceases to amaze me when Americans stand up, calling on the powers vested in them by our forefathers, to protect their liberties and the integrity of our nation. This reminds up again and again that freedom is not free, and that, to keep our liberty, we must constantly be ready to defend what we cherish and deserve from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Remember, we were warned about these challenges by Jefferson himself. And we will not have a Republic unless we can keep it that way! Keep up the good work in our effort to defeat this bill everyone!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tomorrow's Kill the Bill Rally!
As a reminder for anyone reading this, tomorrow is the Kill the Bill Rally at the Capitol (in St. Paul) from noon to 1! Before this bill is forced through congress, let's all try to remind our representatives that they were chosen to represent their voters, not to succumb to the bribery and Chicago-thug politics that have characterized this new term.
Because the majority of Americans are against this bill, our new cheif rulers in government have decided that we the people lack their moral enlightenment and need not be listened to. This bill is not about improving the health care system, and whether by taxes, rate increases, a sharp decline in the quality of our medical care, or a combination of these, we will pay dearly for a decision we have no say over. Whether or not you agree with the current President's ideals, America operates as a democratic system. This means that the women and men we elect are consenting to represent us-our opinions, needs, beliefs- and not rule against our will for the good of personal ideology. Health care "reform" is not in the best interests of those in America who believe in accountability, and those who work for and earn what they recieve. And, Mr. Obama, if I wanted someone else deciding what's best for our country and gathering to themselves the full power to do so, regardless of the will of the constituents, I would have chosen a conveniently located regime, perhaps in a place with warmer weather, and served my suffering there.
This is about more than just health care reform everyone It's about preserving our right to decide what to do with our money, our country, and our future. The Obama regime is powerful enough. Do we really want to give them an even larger role? More things to spend too much money on, more ways to put our and the following generations in debt, more excuses to increase their control over our lifestyle choices and yet another opportunity to take money from our paychecks to bail out their consistently failing programs? I don't know about the rest of you but I am not ok with sacrificing the high quality health care in our country, bred by free market competition and affordable to anyone willing to prioritize health insurance, in order to gain yet another dead weight for the American public to carry. Besides, it isn't a free market system that's failing here. What's failing is a free market system infected with and burdened by politicized measures created by people whose main motivation is to look good to a very specific group of people at the expense of everyone else to keep that group dependant on their party and thereby guarantee votes. If we were truly trying to improve our health care system, we'd start by working depoliticize the system. Scale down on frivolous lawsuits, excessive benefits and free rides to people perfectly capable of working, and short-sighted government regulations that add to the issues they claim to solve.
Anyways, sorry for how rough and unorganized this rant was, but this issue is really upsetting. I just can't believe that the bill has gotten this far. I will write up my perspective on the health care bill and the recent disregard for America's people and constitution in a more organized and clear way once I've slept off my midterms. Hope everyone can make it to the rally tomorrow!
Because the majority of Americans are against this bill, our new cheif rulers in government have decided that we the people lack their moral enlightenment and need not be listened to. This bill is not about improving the health care system, and whether by taxes, rate increases, a sharp decline in the quality of our medical care, or a combination of these, we will pay dearly for a decision we have no say over. Whether or not you agree with the current President's ideals, America operates as a democratic system. This means that the women and men we elect are consenting to represent us-our opinions, needs, beliefs- and not rule against our will for the good of personal ideology. Health care "reform" is not in the best interests of those in America who believe in accountability, and those who work for and earn what they recieve. And, Mr. Obama, if I wanted someone else deciding what's best for our country and gathering to themselves the full power to do so, regardless of the will of the constituents, I would have chosen a conveniently located regime, perhaps in a place with warmer weather, and served my suffering there.
This is about more than just health care reform everyone It's about preserving our right to decide what to do with our money, our country, and our future. The Obama regime is powerful enough. Do we really want to give them an even larger role? More things to spend too much money on, more ways to put our and the following generations in debt, more excuses to increase their control over our lifestyle choices and yet another opportunity to take money from our paychecks to bail out their consistently failing programs? I don't know about the rest of you but I am not ok with sacrificing the high quality health care in our country, bred by free market competition and affordable to anyone willing to prioritize health insurance, in order to gain yet another dead weight for the American public to carry. Besides, it isn't a free market system that's failing here. What's failing is a free market system infected with and burdened by politicized measures created by people whose main motivation is to look good to a very specific group of people at the expense of everyone else to keep that group dependant on their party and thereby guarantee votes. If we were truly trying to improve our health care system, we'd start by working depoliticize the system. Scale down on frivolous lawsuits, excessive benefits and free rides to people perfectly capable of working, and short-sighted government regulations that add to the issues they claim to solve.
Anyways, sorry for how rough and unorganized this rant was, but this issue is really upsetting. I just can't believe that the bill has gotten this far. I will write up my perspective on the health care bill and the recent disregard for America's people and constitution in a more organized and clear way once I've slept off my midterms. Hope everyone can make it to the rally tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Letter Published!
I sent in my letter to the editor last night and it was in the paper this morning! From the response I've had so far, I feel that this has been a succesful foray into editorials and can't wait to write more. I hear one of the newspapers on campus is taking freelance articles. Hopefully I can continue to do my part to carry a voice that tends to be marginalized on campus.
Here's the link in case anyone's curious:
http://www.mndaily.com/2010/03/08/ideological-intolerance-campus
Already, I've been hearing a great response from fellow CR's and even friends at the breakfast table who aren't Republicans. It's definitely rewarding to hear that there are students on both sides who agree with what I'm saying and are glad that someone said it. That was the point after all. Anyways, I hope you like the article and I promise to get working on another as soon as I'm done with this my midterm this week. :)
Here's the link in case anyone's curious:
http://www.mndaily.com/2010/03/08/ideological-intolerance-campus
Already, I've been hearing a great response from fellow CR's and even friends at the breakfast table who aren't Republicans. It's definitely rewarding to hear that there are students on both sides who agree with what I'm saying and are glad that someone said it. That was the point after all. Anyways, I hope you like the article and I promise to get working on another as soon as I'm done with this my midterm this week. :)
Monday, March 8, 2010
My Letter to the Editor
Vandalism on our Panel on the Washington Avenue Bridge:
Our Tolerance of Intolerance
Our campus prides itself on the claim that we are a community of diversity and tolerance, embracing various backgrounds and perspectives and encouraging students to express themselves in a manner that promotes and protects this environment of acceptance. When I came to the U, I imagined in my naivety, a place where all of these perspectives and viewpoints could converge in an open intellectual forum, fostering this universally beneficial and education exchange of ideas. Unfortunately, what I came to realize was that the "tolerance" here excludes certain groups and ideologies from its graces.
An example of how we fall short of these ideals was provided recently through an act of vandalism on the Washington Avenue Bridge. Someone wrote "Get a clue" on the College Republicans' panel. Now, whether or not you agree with conservative or libertarian viewpoints, acts like this are unacceptable. Such expressions enforce the mindset that there is only one correct ideology and that anyonw who sees things differently is clueless or misinformed. And, as such, this also constitutes a blatant disregard for our efforts as a community to foster an environment of tolerance and respect. Republican students have as much a right to believe as they do and just as many reasons for doing so. And to be truly tolerant, we must be able to respect not just those who agree with us, but those who disagree with us. Yes, this would appear to be a commensense defintion, but since we are still dealing with frequent acts of hypocritical intolerance, it was apparently still worth iterating. I'd like to see us as a campus actually live up to the standards that we so proudly claim to meet in our orientations and college pamphlets and to express ourselves in a manner befit such a community. Students should not be alienated and disrespected on campus-in classrooms, clubs, social settings, and volunteer events-due to their ideologies. Straying from the curriculum in classes to poke fun at Republican candidates, insult conservative media sources, enforce party stereotypes, allow insulting or degrading partisan discussions and promote partisan political messages that alienate students who are paying just as much for an academic education as their liberal counterparts counts as a deliberate disregard for the rights of these students to freedom of speech, beliefs and expression. This is not to say that all ideological discrimination goes one way. We are one community, and the fact that this intolerance is occuring is both the fault of those perpetrating it and those allowing it to take place. In general, we need to remember that we aren't simply addressing ideas, but the people behind them.
Having personally experienced ideological discrimination to a shocking degree, I can tell you that it is extremely frustrating to go out of my way to consider and respect my peers' opinions and in return, to be attacked or rejected from the conversation for expressing my own. From volunteer groups to classrooms, clubs, and dorms, these anti-right attitudes and stereotyping are both insultingly prevalent and tragically tolerated. While we are consistently bombarded with the message that stereotyping is a harmful dividing force in a community, political stereotypes are applied with such regularity, that I can't help but wonder if we as a student body have gone so far in believing them that we fail to categorize such pigeonholing as discrimination. We need to stop seeing a liberal as a certain type of person and a conservative as another. I hope my fellow students can at least agree with my saying that our opinions and ideologies are complex, and our beings far more complex. By reducing each other to elements of a category and falling prey to the primitive "us" and "them" mindset, we are missing out on the many nuances of peoples' opinions and therefore also failing to truly understand one another. By banking on these stereotypes, we are allowing ourselves to become more and more ignorant, and call me crazy but, I'm pretty sure an increase in ignorance wasn't quite what we were hoping for when we took out our rather large student loans.
We came to this University for its tolerance and variety, but it appears that, in the political realm at least, what is most socially tolerated is intolerance. Let us work to create a more productive intellectual environment by engaging in respectful modes of discourse that we can actually benefit from. And then perhaps someday we will truly be as tolerant as we know we ought to be.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Blog Introduction
I'll be honest, blogging is pretty new to me. I started blogging about a year ago for fun but nothing really came of it. I thought of plenty of things I wanted to write down, but my thoughts never reached a keyboard, or if they did, they were never edited. Looking back, I'm actually a little embarassed of my earlier attempt. There was no rhyme or reason to my writing and rarely a purpose to what I was saying. This time, though, I am starting a blog with an actual purpose and focus in mind.
I am currently in my second semester of college, finishing up the last of my liberal arts requirements and starting on my psychology major. Like many freshmen, I'm still figuring out my plan. I'm considering a double major, and am currently experimenting with classes that will let me test my interests, while also working towards the fulfillment of my psychology major. The U of M has so far proved to be a great school, with a variety of interesting classes to choose from and plenty of opportunities to get involved. I also love that I've been able to leave my comfort zone in the suburbs and submerge myself in a new, bustling community. I'd always vowed as a kid never to live in a big city due to pollution and crime stats and whatnot, but I must admit, it has a certain charm. Minneapolis holds so much culture, activism, activity and people. And in my opinion, our student community benefits immensely from this convergence of different backgrounds, perspectives, viewpoints and passions. So many enlightening contrasts await those who choose to indulge their eyes and ears in order to gain more complex understandings and to broaden their perspectives.
Unfortunately, even in such a multifaceted community as this, tolerance and diversity only extend so far. I recently drafted a letter to the editor of the Minnesota Daily, a student newspaper, addressing my opinion on this issue. I'm posting a copy of the final draft on this blog because a large part of why I've started this rests in the limiting and one-sided atmosphere on campus when it comes to politics. Somehow, the same students who argue for the right to free speech and tolerance of multiple viewpoints, and the same students who claim to be part of a group that is somehow more open than its opposition, are suppressing all voices and viewpoints differing from their own. We preach against stereotypes in ethnicity, culture, gender, socioeconomic statuses, etc and then say nothing when we hear stereotypes in ideology. I'm sick of having to hide the fact that I'm a Republican because I don't want people to shun me or stop associating with me. I'm sick of people insulting members of my party openly and applying stereotypes to us unfairly in order to demonize us. And I am sick of students on our campus attacking others for seeing things differently, and fighting opposition to left-wing views with character attacks instead of a respectful debate on the issues at hand.
I am a Republican, and I have a right to be so.
I am currently in my second semester of college, finishing up the last of my liberal arts requirements and starting on my psychology major. Like many freshmen, I'm still figuring out my plan. I'm considering a double major, and am currently experimenting with classes that will let me test my interests, while also working towards the fulfillment of my psychology major. The U of M has so far proved to be a great school, with a variety of interesting classes to choose from and plenty of opportunities to get involved. I also love that I've been able to leave my comfort zone in the suburbs and submerge myself in a new, bustling community. I'd always vowed as a kid never to live in a big city due to pollution and crime stats and whatnot, but I must admit, it has a certain charm. Minneapolis holds so much culture, activism, activity and people. And in my opinion, our student community benefits immensely from this convergence of different backgrounds, perspectives, viewpoints and passions. So many enlightening contrasts await those who choose to indulge their eyes and ears in order to gain more complex understandings and to broaden their perspectives.
Unfortunately, even in such a multifaceted community as this, tolerance and diversity only extend so far. I recently drafted a letter to the editor of the Minnesota Daily, a student newspaper, addressing my opinion on this issue. I'm posting a copy of the final draft on this blog because a large part of why I've started this rests in the limiting and one-sided atmosphere on campus when it comes to politics. Somehow, the same students who argue for the right to free speech and tolerance of multiple viewpoints, and the same students who claim to be part of a group that is somehow more open than its opposition, are suppressing all voices and viewpoints differing from their own. We preach against stereotypes in ethnicity, culture, gender, socioeconomic statuses, etc and then say nothing when we hear stereotypes in ideology. I'm sick of having to hide the fact that I'm a Republican because I don't want people to shun me or stop associating with me. I'm sick of people insulting members of my party openly and applying stereotypes to us unfairly in order to demonize us. And I am sick of students on our campus attacking others for seeing things differently, and fighting opposition to left-wing views with character attacks instead of a respectful debate on the issues at hand.
I am a Republican, and I have a right to be so.
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