It's Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day today.  Since my mother lives several hours away I didn't get to see her today, but I do get to see her in two weeks.  My cousin is getting married, which means I'll be visiting the great state of Iowa.

Where is the Republican Party Headed?

Demographics is important in marketing. If your customer base is shrinking, you've got a problem. Products often change in order to offset the changing demographics of the customer base. In politics, the same principal applies. It's hard not to see that the Republican party is in need of change. Here are four fundamental changes that need to occur in the Republican party in order to stay relevant.

1. Embrace real libertarian principals: The mantra should be that small government is an effective government. Encourage private investment. The tricky part is all politicians (even Republicans) can't help but bring home as much pork as possible for their local constituents. I really do believe this needs to be the central most talked about concept in the party. Which leads to my next point...

2. Back off social issues: Abortion and gay marriage will no longer fire up the base. Time is working against you on these topics. Public opinion is rapidly changing on gay marriage and more and more "pro-life" supporters are becoming more moderate on the issue. I don't think this trend will change.

3. Adopt an immigration plan that appeals to the Hispanic population: At least partial amnesty is going to be necessary. People will not vote for you if they see you as breaking up families.

4. You can no longer count on the south: States in the south are up for grabs. The entire northeast is becoming untouchable. Democrats made waves in the last election because they became electable in all 50 states. They didn't cede any ground.

Personally, I hope the Republican party heads in the opposite direction. Sometimes parties need to end.

I'm getting so old.

Ugh... I'm getting so old. I'll be 25 on July 1st (two months away). I think that is the age where you start to transition from young adult to real adult. I guess it comes as a somewhat welcome relief. At some point everyone starts to grow up even if they don't want to. Oh well, a mid-life crisis is only 15 years away. It could be worse. My favorite age so far has been 19. 19 is perfect. Your old enough to have a fake id and young enough to still be excited to just go into a bar and enjoy a drink with your friends. I still wouldn't go back and do it all over again. Maybe this year I won't lock myself in my room for a whole week and sit in the dark grumbling about getting a year older. Maybe.

Should Obama Prosecute Bush Era Officials for Torture?

Politics has recently asked a question with few good answers. It's no secret that during the Bush years, the United States began to change its definition of torture, freedom, and the right to privacy. Many of us in the states were willing to give up some of our rights in the belief that it would keep us safe. As time went on, and these infractions on the basic values long held by Americans throughout our entire history became worse. Eventually, people started to take issue with these core changes.

With the end of the Bush era and the beginning of the Obama administration, changes were made swiftly. Recently, official memos regarding the Bush era changes have came to light. People have generally been shocked by the depth of these abuses of power. The question raised is whether the people responsible for these apparent violations in abuse of power should face the consequences of their actions.

While I have no doubt that a focus on the past abuses of the Bush Administration would be horrible experience for the country. Personally, I believe that to ignore these criminals would be a greater injustice. These people have hurt America. Exposing them is to face the problem in hopes that the mistakes won't repeat themselves.

After President Nixon resigned, President Ford faced an issue of whether to pardon Nixon for his crimes. He chose to spare the country the very real pain and injury a trial of the former president would cause. Over 30 years later, the crimes of the Nixon administration were repeated. Maybe action now, while painful, would prevent another repeat of these crimes in 30 more years.

Miss California Deserved to Lose

There is quite a bit of controversy going on over Miss California's remarks in the Miss USA pageant. Normally, I wouldn't get too into something like this, but Miss California was asked a very important and very relevant question by Perez Hilton.

She was asked about about the hot topic of gay marriage and whether she believe other states should also follow suite with states that have legalized gay marriage. (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont have legalized gay marriage at this point).

Her answer sparked outrage and controversy because she believes marriage is between a man and a women and said as much. This has sparked a debate not only on same sex marriage, but a persons right to their opinion. I'm for same sex marriage and for me the issue is just common sense (even though that's not a fair statement). I guess I live in a liberal bubble because I don't really know anyone who is against it. I do sometimes feel a little bad about how people have treated Miss California. She is entitled to her opinion, HOWEVER, she must understand that opinions have consequences. Opinions have an effect on what people think of you (Especially when your in a contest which is based on people judging you.

While pageants may be an indulgence of all that is shallow, most people still don't want a divisive Miss USA. That is why her answer cost her the crown. She might have won if she said "I think it should be up to each individual state like the founders of our constitution intended." However, she feels she stayed "biblically correct." Good for her.

It's hard not to see how this issue has been great for her. Nobody even really remembers who won the contest. All eyes are on her. She's a smart girl in that she playing it out to her base. In the short term (which is what a Miss USA career is) she has benefited from it greatly. In 10 years, people will probably look back and laugh at her for her idiotic beliefs. I know I already am.

What I've Been Up To

I haven't written in a while so I thought I'd write a little bit about what I've been up to. I've been working, getting up early, exercising, and working on some writing projects I hope to someday publish.

This weekend I'm heading home (to the Quad Cities) for a charity run. I'm looking forward to seeing my family. My mom's garden is beautiful this time of year.

Spring is finally here and it's proving to be quite the motivator for me. This past weekend I did some major spring cleaning, which involved me throwing out a lot of junk.

Musically, I've been listening to FrankMusik who is going to be huge in 6 months. He's my newest obsession in the music world.

Well, that's it. I'll write more soon.

Personal Update - 03-10-09

I've been staying busy by working, writing, and reading. I started reading "The Reader" after I saw it in cinema last weekend. It's better as a book and an easy read. I recommend it if your looking for a nice book to read in a day or so. Tonight, I'm cleaning up my closet (My top shelf fell down and made a mess) and afterwards going to Caribou coffee to write for an hour or so.