2004- Helluva Year

******October 25, 2008- I managed to locate a few entries from a blog I had in 2004, so I've decided to consolidate them here into my new one. I completely forgot about it and reading the entries is like going through a scrapbook. I realize I'm much more mature now. And by "mature," I mean older and meaner.************************

I think this year's been quite productive. We had a presidential election which saw the reelection of one of the most polarizing presidents in history, a congressional election that gave Republicans a stronger hold in Congress, a bunch of movies, both crappy and phenomenal, and a resurgence in old-school rock. These are, in my opinion, the best things of this past year:

- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Garden State and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Best movies of the year, by far.

- Jon Stewart's America: The Book. The best book of the year, by far.

- The election. Even though my guy lost (well, my guys- my party got its ass kicked), it was cool to vote in my first ever election.

- Hot Fuss by The Killers, the Garden State soundtrack, Franz Ferdinand and Good News for People Who Love Back News by Modest Mouse are the best albums of this year. Period.

I will be spending the terminus of this year in London, England and am very excited about it. Here's to 2005!

Christmas Fever

I'm so tired of Christmas! And it's still 22 days away! It seems like it starts earlier and earlier each year. I spent the day after Thanksgiving cowering in my room watching the news. I can't believe how crazy people can be when it comes to shopping. I was watching "The Daily Show" earlier this week and they showed footage of this guy walking around a store carrying like 6 DVD players. What is up with that? I personally put all of my Christmas shopping off until the last minute, just like my homework and every other decision I have to make. The good news is, procrastination usually works for me. My papers? I finished them each the night before they were due. Did I do well on them? Probably not. But the point is, they're done. I cannot wait until break starts. Just one more full week of classes, then exams, then it's off to England! I can't wait!

Procrastination Is A Bitch

I'm not sure when I'm going to get started on my 15-page and 10-page term papers. I supposed I should work on at least one of them tomorrow. I just can't get motivated to write for hours about the relationship between Henry Hyde and his constituency. Not the most interesting stuff. But I know that if I put off the papers until the weekend, I'll regret it and end up frantically slapping down some random shit thus failing my papers, which is an option I cannot afford. I know that I'll get them done eventually but it's a matter of WHEN I'll get them done that's nagging at me right now. The thing that pisses me off the most is that both papers are for the same professor and for two relatively similar poli sci classes. My mind is so tired of hearing/talking/processing anything political that it's shutting down. Not that I haven't been thinking about this since the first day of the semester, but I've officially counted how many days are left this term. 11 days! Whoo hoo! Then it's a well-deserved six-week break where I can recouperate.

What's The Deal With The South?

As someone who lives in a conservative area populated with myopic, uber-religious, over-patriotic Republicans, one would think I would have these folks figured out by now. No. Absolutely not. I am as perplexed now (probably more so, given the results of the election), as I ever was. Why would the people who live in rural areas in the south and midwest, who mostly live in poverty and work two or three shitty jobs, want to vote against the party who struggles to give them higher working standards and social programs that could substantially raise their standard of living? I have no freakin' clue. It has to be more than just religion (or maybe not). I can't believe these people think of nothing but illegalizing abortion and gay marriage. Hopefully, the Democrats can break through to these people and show them that the Republicans care for no one but themselves. Besides, religion and politics don't mix!

The Republican Paradox

I am the typical southern Democrat. I share many Democratic philosophies as well as some conservative ones; not too far to the left or right. I am the typical American voter. As someone who has an interest in politics (quite a vested interest to be exact; I'm a political science major in college), I've noticed some incongruities in Republican thought.

First of all- they're pro-life. They're pro-life because, apparently, they're now the party of the religious and killing babies is wrong. However, they're pro-capitol punishment. OK, so sucking some cells out of my uterus is murder but frying someone in the electric chair is simply justice? Riiiight. I'm pro-choice and pro-capitol punishment; I'm consistently pro-death.

The current administration is running under the mantra of "compassionate conversatism," among others ("Vote For Us Or DIE!!!" is another Bush/Cheney mantra that comes to mind). However, more people have lost their health care coverage and more children have slipped into poverty since Bush took office. Not to mention the hundred thousand Iraqi civilans who lost their lives under Bush's "compassionate" war. Bush's "compassionate" tax cut favored the wealthiest people in this country, while stiffing the rest of us with increased health care premiums and decade-high gasoline prices (Can't we just take Iraq's oil already?). That's why I find the results of the election totally mind-boggling. People still seem to think that Bush a "good ol' boy" who's just like them. Bush may act like the dumbass next door, but he is just your typical spoiled rich kid who wants nothing more than to placate his wealthy "Big Bidniz" buddies and pack the courts full of fanatical right-wing judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade and execute retarded people, thus ending all of America's problems. It's insane!

There's Always 2008...

If there's any lesson the Democrats can learn from the reelection of George Bush, it's that Hollywood, MTV, and politics don't mix. Or they at least don't translate into votes. The tremendous efforts of Michael Moore, P. Diddy, MTV's "Choose or Lose: 2004," and practically every celebrity in America proved totally futile in the face of utter voter apathy. The percentage of young people who voted this year was 17%, the exact same percentage it was in 2000. If this doesn't send a clear message to celebrities that their support does nothing to help a candidate, I'm not sure what can. I've never been sure why celebrities felt themselves masters of political theory anyway, as if memorizing lines and repeating them or making some crappy songs suddenly gives them more political clout than the rest of us. Anyway...

I'm not sure anyone was surprised at the utter ass-handing the Democrats also got in Congress. The south has now solidified its shift into Republican hands, as was evident from the election of the first ever Republican senator from Louisiana and the narrow victories of Republican senators in Kentucky and Florida. Most importantly, in South Dakota, the Republican John Thune edged out the Democratic incumbent Tom Daschle. This was a huge blow to the already battered Democratic Party as Daschle was also the Senate Minority leader.

But why was George Bush reelected? Most Americans feel the war in Iraq was not worth it, especially since the publication of the Duefler Report, and most feel as if the country is heading in the wrong direction. So why vote for the guy who screwed it up? It's the morals, stupid. When exit-polled, most people who chose Bush did so because they feel he is the better person to lead America morally. The weekend after the election, many religious leaders, including the always interesting Rev. Jerry Falwell, announced that they were responsible for the Republican victories on election day. Falwell even went so far as announcing that there was an “evangelical revolution” occurring in America. Clearly, the religious right is expecting some sort of political “thank you” from the Republicans it helped into office.

It’s clear that we, the Democratic Party, have some major reflecting to do over the next four years. We’ve let the Republicans paint us as the “gay-marryin’, gun-takin’, baby-killin’, tax-raisin’ pansies” who want nothing more than to let the French determine our foreign policy. We have got to change that perception. Naming Harry Reid, a moderate from Nevada, as the new Senate Minority leader is a good start. We’ve got four years to change our image. In politics, four years is a long time. To paraphrase a rather famous Republican, “We WILL be back!”

No WMDs!

It's nice to have confirmation of something many people across the world have known since March of last year; there were no WMDs in Iraq. Of course, Bush -n- comany will still say that the Iraq war was worth it, but hopefully America will see that they've lied to us. WMDs was the reason for war, not simply the capacity to build weapons and a hatred of America (like Iraq is the only country in that category). There's a pretty big difference in what Bush said and what the reality is. And to think, just six years ago, the Republicans wanted to impeach Clinton for lying about an extra-marital affair...

Just an Introduction

Greetings from the mountains of western Maryland! I don't really know why I've decided to start a blog but I'm totally bored at the moment and I do a lot of impulsive things when I'm feeling like this. I suppose I just have a lot to say and have no real outlet to do it. I just want a place where I can vent about my crappy hometown and other things that pop into my crazy head.

I'm from Bumfuck, Maryland. Is it a wealthy suburb of Washington, D.C.? Nope. How 'bout a suburb of Baltimore? No no. It's nestled snuggly in the mountains of Appalachia, far from the brights lights of the cities. Not a whole lot goin' on here. That's why I'm here now.

Well, I guess this is a decent introduction and I'll wrap it up now.