It's All About You

Well, that was a fun semester...

2004-12-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hey party people, thanks for amking my last semester at ASU so fun. And Carol & Nancie, thank you for teaching me something I always wanted to know. My resume will be much prettier now.

But as for issues to discuss, I want to talk about "the holidays." You know how every year people spout that it's not the gift - giving that counts, and that commercialism has taken over what was once all about family and community? Well, how come we're still running around like turkeys buying nonsense? I say, let's stop giving presents, period. Not even the homemade ones you gave freshman year since you spent all your money on beer. Instead, we should be writing letters to one another, and taking one another out to lunch, and basically communicating with the people in our lives while we still have time. My grandmother isn't getting any younger and I'm not getting any less busy, so instead of a smelly candle, I'm giving her three pages of the thoughts of her granddaughter and how much I miss her. Because to me, it's more important that our loved ones KNOW how we feel about them, not that their homes smell like primrose.

So that's my idea for the season, and to spearhead this movement let me say this: you guys are all great, and I've learned so much by seeing the work you have all contributed this semester. Way to rock those font poems, and all your navbars were much cooler than mine. Good job, and good luck in all your futures.

Blogging

2004-12-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

It's the end of the semester, and I really want to raise my grade. Carol, you said it: "Keep blogging. This will be part of your grade—not what you say, but how much you participate."
This is my second blog today. Yeah!

BRAndon...

2004-12-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

did you know that "bra" means good in Norwegian? I feel pretty bra today. Other words worth knowing is: fart means trip/jouney, hell means luck, barn means child/children, rape means burp... and there are a few more words that mess me up sometimes, but these are the must-know ones. So anyway, I hope everybody's having a day full of hell, that you have a bra, safe fart to school and that you can abstain from raping after lunch, especially if there are barn nearby.

Downtown Phoenix....Boo!

2004-12-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

I suppose I should get blogging now that I've almost caught up to everything in school.... Probably still a few days behind. Cheers to the final semester.

But I actually want to talk about Downtown Phoenix. I am graduating so don't put too much thought into any part of ASU moving there. But damn. It's a scary place. I work promotions and tonight we were outside America West Arena. It's a nice arena, if you don't stray too far from the bordering sidewalks. I can't stand feeling like I'm in a place where I'm about to be attacked at any second.

So it's Adios, ASU for me. But I hope down the road any departments at ASU or changes to Downtown Phoenix make it a better place. Or atleast feel a little safer.

So...I was thinking...

2004-11-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

Why is the word "bra" singular but the word "panties" plural? I mean, they are both single articles of clothing. What gives?

Is it like cacti and octopi?

Words maaan, they're craaazy!

Look Ma, I'm blogging!

2004-11-30T14:12:00.000-08:00

The New Times story was great, it finally shed some light on how horrible Crow really is. The person who decided he would be good for this University should be shot! I'm glad someone finally let the Valley know how horrible he is and how quick he jumps when people with money tell him to. I get it, you have to get money for your school. You don't have to sell your soul to the devil to do so. So what, you saw a nipple! Big freakin' deal, grow up! If you don't want to see it, don't look. Be an adult and take responsibility for yourself. You can control what you see, not what everybody else sees.

-Ashley Barker

Happy Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

I have much to be thankful for. Family, friends and the place I call home. The United States is a wondrous place. We're not perfect, but no place is. It is however, a place where we try to correct our mistakes and move forward as a nation. Thank you all who are in this class you have taught me so much. I am a luck girl.

The American Vay

2004-11-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

Hey ya'll. Whazzup. How ya doin? I was driving home from work tonight feeling mighty American, stuffing my face with McD junk, talking on my cell, and changing radio stations while stearing the car with my knees, looking forward to Thanksgiving. Nothing's more American than Thanksgiving. As a Norwegian I feel honored that ya'll (see, I'm a real Texan cowgirl, dreaming of riding into the sunset with W) every year celebrate the day the Vikings introduced turkey to the Native Americans. The fact that most Turks are Muslims, and most Americans think Muslims are bad guys doesn't seem to matter on this day of...eating... Everyone loves Turkey. I think this year, though, we might have Iraq stuffed with bush instead of Turkey stuffed with stuffing...and stuff. Anyway, so I was driving home, like, you know, totally listening to the radio, feeling super American---until I caught myself singing along to "Valking in a Vinter Vonderland". I feel Norvegian again now. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

eeek--a naked breast...

2004-11-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

What's the big deal anyway? We've all seen naked breasts from the day we were born. Even Crow and Fulton must have sucked on their mom's nipples in their early days?! While I respect that Ira Fulton and I have very different religious beliefs, I don't think that gives him the right to tell the rest of the world (or at least the ASU community) what is right and what is wrong. He's got money but that doesn't make him God. Ira Fulton does however have the right, like everybody else, to voice his opinion but he should not be able to censor the university's independent newspaper. On the other hand, if anybody ever says anything bad about Norway, I'll call our King and have him start a war (on terror) over here!

A reactionary conservative's take on Fultongate, aka Breast-o-rama, aka Piercing Sensibilities

2004-11-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

Megan asks us what we thought about the New Times article and the whole controversy in general, and I for one (especially having some time to reflect on the full thing) am ready to take up the call, especially if the extra blogging means extra credit for me.

My first question is... to what degree is this actually an issue of Free Speech-- by which I mean, "free speech"/"freedom of the press" as defined by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? I'm hardly a constitutional scholar, but I think that that means the government has no right to curtail "speech" in this country (but it can regulate/censor material that does not, according to the Supreme Court, actually count as "speech", but rather as "obscenity", "fighting words", "hate speech", etc). The rules for a student newspaper at a campus university, however, could be quite different. Although, we are a *public* university, so maybe not....

That being said, though... either The State Press is considered an "independent daily", or it's not. Either Michael Crow has editorial oversight and executive privilege over student media, or he doesn't. If the SP were from the beginning billed as a news organ that is here at the pleasure of ASU's administration, said administration would be fully within its legal (morality is a separate issue) rights to fire any staffer or indeed pull the plug on the entire enterprise, if they were so dissatisfied.

It's the same principle by which my columns appear in the Press: at the pleasure of my editor, the editor-in-chief, etc. I submit my finished columns to my superiors, and the published product is quite frequently at least a little different from the copy that resides on my hard drive. It gets edited for content, clarity, brevity, etc., and though I am generally not happy with these changes, there is an understanding that the paper I write for is called "The State Press", and not "Eric Spratling's Unedited Opinionating", and that no one is forcing me to write for SP so if I am too unhappy with the arrangement I am more than allowed to find or start my own forum to air my ramblings (which I have been known to do on an occassion or two or three).

For example, earlier this semester I dropped the "f-bomb" a couple of times on an entry in my Web Devil blog (linked above), and soon enough got an email from Kristin Gilger, who politely informed me that the same rules apply to the Web Devil as to the State Press, so the f-word is not acceptable. Did I talk about the constitution and how my work is being censored? No, I simply went back and edited the post to more PG-13 levels (and sorry, but "freaking" just isn't as funny as, er, the other way).

But that's a side rant on knowing who the boss is. If my understanding of the Press' situation is correct, Crow isn't our boss, he's not in charge of us. He is in fact not someone I'd even trust to be in charge of a check-cashing business, but that's neither here nor there. I understand fully that donors are important for business and we should try to accomodate them if we can, but what it boils down to is that Crow simply had no right to try to throw his weight around like he did.

And honestly, I don't think that he's so stupid that he would have actually tried to shut down the "official" campus newspaper, as the fallout from that having actually happened would have ultimately been far more costly to ASU than losing Ira Fulton. Having his flunkies march down to the newsroom to talk about kicking us off campus was nothing more than the act of a self-important blowhard making empty threats, trying to scare our journalists into compliance via excessive bluffing. Fortunately our badass editors and our J-school professors (who quite frequently piss me off to no end, but right now I've never been prouder of) looked the villains in the eye and called their bullshit.

But one last little thing, and it's something everyone forgets: "censorship" is a word too commonly bandied about these days, a piece of careless rhetoric sometimes used by people who won't stomach any criticism of their whathaveyou ("Don't think my statue of a naked Jesus making out with a transvestite Pope, all covered in goat urine and made entirely out of used condoms is good, huh? CENSORSHIP! FASCIST!"). We've forgotten that censorship can be a very very good thing, and is something we all in fact all exercise.

For instance, if I creep into my roommate's bedroom while he's in the kitchen or something, then steal his credit card and give away all the information from it on the Internet, that's a crime (at least I think/hope so). If and when he called the cops on me for doing that and I cried "I'm being censored!", then frankly folks, that wouldn't stop them. In this case my roommate would have a very good reason to "censor" me.

Or, for a more realistic example: Megan, when we were discussing possibilities for this year's Stale Mess (the State Press' last-day-of-school, junior-Onion parody paper for those of you not in the know), I mentioned the possibility of me calling my fellow columnists "a bunch of liberal fags" (obviously this would be for the joke paper, because I'd never use such language in real life), and you said we couldn't do that, because you didn't want to use the word "fag", even in a joking context.

Well, see, there... you censored me. I didn't complain, because a) you're the boss, and b) I'd be a real fa-, uh, sissy boy if I complained about something so minor that I could work around anyway. You have moral objections to using the word "fag", (presumably) because it's a derogatory and offensive term for homosexuals; similarly, Ira Fulton was offended by the appearance of naked breast on the cover of SPM because he, as an article of his religious faith, believes that human sexuality and nudity are very private and personal matters... not to mention how offended he might be that the institution he donated tens of millions of his hard-earned money to has a paper promulgating what he views as immoral images.

Of course, the situations are not the same in every respect: Megan is in charge of what goes into the Stale Mess and thus has editorial veto power (not to mention that she's earned the right to ask me, as a friend, to not use terms that personally offend her) over its contents; Ira Fulton has no such position with student media and thus no such right to dictate our output. My point with this stuff is that let's not all charge off and laugh at the Prissy Mormon Stereotype just because he got offended, when in fact very few of us are immune to being offended. Except for me of course, because I don't care if I piss off homosexuals, and I loves me some boobies.

Bottom line: this is a college, we're all alleged grown-ups here. It's not some rinky-dink, high school, Mickey Mouse operation where the principal can scold us out for talking "dirty", and frankly very few people, if any, who saw that cover saw something they hadn't already seen. President Crow needs to chill and make an apology to the State Press and the university as a whole, which would be easier if he weren't such a glory-seeking turdweasel.

just wondering...

2004-11-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

what everyone thinks of the New Times article/editorial in The State Press today? do you agree? disagree? don't really care?

sometimes i'm not the easiest person to talk to in person... and i wonder what my peers REALLY think. feel free to post - i promise not to call names, or even get mad...

Subvert this, bitch!

2004-11-19T01:05:00.000-08:00

Here I am, up at two in the goshdamn morning, even though I have to be at PT at six. Can't sleep, so I blog instead.

Here's something that just set me off the other day. A movie website posted the trailer for the remake of John Carpenter's cult classic "Assault on Precinct 13". I haven't seen the original, even though I've heard about it endlessly from devoted movie nerds; seeing it is one of those things I know I should get around to, but never do (sort of like I know that I should start purchasing food that is neither deep-fried or 80% cheese). There's a whole other rant on remaking movies (general rule: remake the bad ones, leave the good ones alone, okay?) I could go into, but that's a story for another day.

Anyway, in the original movie the bad guys were apparently an army of crazed gang members (side note: anybody ever see "The Warriors"? It's the best movie ever, I swear) declaring all-out war on everyone inside police precinct 13, forcing the cops AND the criminals inside to work together just to survive. Sounds pretty sweet, right? Yeah, well they change that in the remake. In the remake, there's one particularly dangerous criminal inside, Laurence "Stop trying to hit me and hit me" Fishburne, who knows too many specifics about police corruption, so all the numerous bad guys trying to get inside are (drumroll please)........ corrupt cops.

Gah, that's friggin boring as hell, but whatever. The retarded, overweight webmaster of this fansite goes on to note, "Now, if that isn't subversive and f'ed up I don't know what is."

What the hell? Did I step into a timewarp back into the 1940s where the idea of Hollywood using legions of corrupt cops as bad guys would somehow be considered "shocking" and "subversive"? Actually, no wait, I agree with this guy, but not the way he thinks it: truly, NOTHING is subversive anymore, because "subversive" has become the bleeping NORM.

I hate to break it to the people in charge of the entertainment in our country, but there are some bad people roaming the streets. There are criminals out there who would kill you soon as look at you, and not feel a shred of remorse afterward. They'd do it to cash in on your insurance money, or for your car, or for ten bucks in your wallet. Some of them might even do it to make you shut up.

And yet we get movies now where who are the bad guys? Not the bloodthirsty subhuman scum who regard your life as forfeit to your whims, but rather the police who act as our first line of defense against these monsters. What has our society come to where we fear corrupt police officers more than hardened criminals?

Remember that movie "The Manchurian Candidate" that came out earlier this year? Well, there was another movie called that, about forty years ago. It involved a U.S. soldier getting kidnapped and brainwashed by communists to become the perfect assassin. It was awesome. This remake, for those of you who saw it, exchanged the communist villains of the original for (drumroll again)...... an evil U.S. corporation, brainwashing a U.S. soldier so they could puppeteer him into the White House through a campaign ("compassionate vigilance") playing on the public's irrational fear of terrorism. Yeah, I love my political satires when they're so ham-handedly obvious even an eight-year-old could understand them, don't you?

People, I hate to break this to you, but communism was and is a real ideology. It was responsible for the deaths of over 100 million people just in the latter half of the 20th century. It was a global disaster of epic proportions, and many of the countries under its thumb had interests in taking down the U.S. and acted or attempted to act on behalf of those interests. These are not fanciful flights of the imagination, these are facts.

But no, that's too boring. Why make a movie where the villains are communists, when we can make them instead symbolize the ultimate expression of capitalism? Yeah, that's the ticket. Values have eroded so much in the world that the only bad guys are good guys. Communists aren't dangerous, but overzealous anti-communists are. Vicious gangs of human street predators aren't to be feared, but policemen who cross the line are. Osama bin Laden isn't a threat, but John Ashcroft is (except when the case can be even remotely made that going after Saddam Hussein somehow "distracted" from hunting Osama, in which case Osama is suddenly Dr. Doom, a nefarious supercriminal god whose every minute of continued existence is a damning indictment of the Bush administration's failure to capture him. But otherwise, hey, do we really need these orange alerts?)

Subversive, my ass. Hollywood's a bunch of moral relativist, navel-gazing leftists and I'm supposed to applaud them for being "daring" every time they Expose the Ugly Truth About Real Life in Suburbia (or whatever). To hell with that. Start making movies with real bad guys again, or else I'll... well, I'll probably just bitch about it more, and maybe read some comic books. Good lord, the way they changed "The Sum of All Fears" from the book version to the movie version was only the beginning....

Who's this about?

2004-11-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

I started this a while ago and now I'm finally getting around to finishing it:

By George (Curious, not Bush... OK, so they're the same), the Lovely and Gracious was right! The Constitution of the United States does indeed start:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence [sic], promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. "

But I must remind the Lovely and Gracious that she wasn't included in that WE and either were minorities. Why? Because it was all about them. It was all about the white protestant male and how to insure their interests (and moreover their pockets) were protected.

On this note, in order to form a more perfect Cronkitezine, I propose WE change the title to:

It's all aboout WE...

Idealistic? Yes. Unrealistic? It doesn't have to be. It frightens me that the truest statement made during this campaign season came from a despot (no, not Bush this time)...

"Your security is not in the hands of Kerry or Bush or al-Qaida. Your security is in your own hands."

As much as I may hate to say it, bin Laden is right (he and Nancie have obviously read the Constitution). WE THE PEOPLE empower our government; they exist because WE PERMIT them to lead US. Unfortunately, the "Haves" have managed to convince the "Have Nots" (lest WE forget, the "Have Nots" represent the majority in this country) that they are powerless (how many people have said they don't vote because it doesn't mean anything?). Majority rule has transformed from the ideal of power of the people to power of the pocket. WE're continually approached with either pandering or condecension. WE're either (a.) glad-handed and told what WE "want to hear" or (b.) brushed off and told that things are just too complicated (i.e. we wouldn't understand, let the pros take care of it). OUR representatives repeatedly confound and convolute the American polity with legal-ese and B.S.-bureaucracy. This brings me to a quandry I have: why do WE continually elect lawyers, the least trusted profession (and least productive), to lead the most powerful nation in the world?

With Osama's words fresh in our minds: When was the last time that WE excercised our First Amendment right? I'm not talking about freedom of religion, speech or of the press, but the freedom to "petition the government for a redress of grievances." Maybe it's just my bias, but I think I've seen an electorate with a laundry list of gripes they'd like rectified. I once worked with a guy who said he didn't vote because he felt the system was sound enough that everything would be OK (i.e. everything balanced out over time) and IF the government got out of line, the American people wouldn't stand for it and they'd reform the system. Let's prove him right. Let's stop willingly becoming disenfranchised and become enfranchised. Let's make Superman's tag of "Fighting for Truth, Justice and the American Way" mean something again. Let's show bin-Laden that WE know that our security and the power of our country lies in OUR hands. Let's stand up for ourselves and make government work FOR US!!!

I care too...

2004-11-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

I care. I care very deeply about seeing a bigger busted Mari walking around half naked. I want Mari to have saline self-esteem. And I think Americans will agree with me that they would like the Norwegian eye-candy! And I think that terrorists hate us not only for our freedom but for the fact that we WANT Norwegian eye-candy!!!
I also care about Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll (I obsess over the triumvirate). But what is being glossed over is that EVERYBODY loves sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Those "media professionals" trying to figure out what we like, well, they love sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, too. Perhaps this is why the trinity is the only thing they can figure out about us because it is the only thing they see we have in common. The difference is that we get sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll while they wish they could still get away with it (this is paraphrased from an actual Cronkite School Prof). Our elders think that the way to reach us is through the holy trinity because when they think back on their glory days, THAT is what they remember and miss the most. That's why you always hear them saying that things were better back when yadda, yadda, yadda... It WAS better because they were young, carefree and getting nooky while coked up at a Twisted Sister concert.
OK, maybe not EVERYBODY loves sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, but they still care about it. "Take our current situation with that _____-______ in" Afghanistan (Big Lebowski reference). Al-Qaeda cares about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, they just go to the polar opposite of seeing Janet Jackson's breast on national TV by tossing women in burlap sacks and cutting off the hands of opium addicts.
So, I propose we get Mari her phony fun-bags and we use her as our spokeswoman (because she will undoubtedly be a fantastic role model) as we pass out narcotics and CD's to our aged hipsters. I propose this because I care, I tell ya, I care. I care about sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll; I care about the freedom to choose chunky or creamy peanut butter, paper or plastic, and pulp or no-pulp; I care about lawnmower races on ESPN2; and most of all I care about my libido!!!

Words of Wisdom

2004-11-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

To help you figure out what you damn people care about, I offer the following:
"To be young and conservative is to have no heart [*cough* Spratling *cough*],
to be old and liberal is to have no brain [*ah* Nader *choo*]"
- Winston Churchill

Love and war and peace and stuff

2004-11-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

I care. I care about a lot in life. I want a smaller me with bigger boobs. I want to walk around half-sized, half naked to show off my body and be a good role model for young girls who need to know that they should love their body no matter what it looks like (as long as they're not fat of course...fat meaning anything larger than a size0). I genuinly believe we could achieve a happier world if we had more role models like that. We also need more role models like Jennifer Lopez to show us that love is abundant in this world and that we can have who we want whenever we want them. We need to share. Share our ups and downs. Share like Ozzy and Sharon and Jessica and Nick. I believe in karma; what we give is what we get in return. They just give and give and give of themselves. We need more people like that. People we can identify with. If just everybody was like them we wouldn't have to worry about love and war and peace and stuff.
I'm Mari Sandnaes, and I do no approve of this message.

Sex Sells - Same Bitch Different Generation

2004-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

Why do you think this blog exsists? We want to know what you think and what's important to you. The most important part of this blog is the need for the 18-24 year old group no matter what side of the issues you might be on to speak. So stop bitching and tell us what your issues are, what you want and most importantly why. And don't be afraid to engage in debate. No yelling will be tolerated, but civil discourse is welcome.

BTW, my generation had the same bitch. Same problem; different day. I think it gets better with age.

The Lovely and Gracious

"Bring me cheesy fries!"

2004-11-16T22:18:00.000-08:00

Hilarious audio from one of those "real-life" recordings of a real On-Star customers. Just a reminder that even some of America's premier truth-tellers can have trouble with their vehicles....

Sex sells and unfortunatly, we're buying.

2004-11-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was at a conference for online media professionals in LA. As usual, all the old farts who run the major news organizations were looking for the best way to appeal to the 18-24 year old demographic (us).
I heard some interesting ideas, but one thing struck me as odd and even somewhat offensive - all of their ideas for appealing to the "kids" had to do with sex, drinking etc...
Sex, drugs and rock and roll right? That's what the kids these days are into. Throwing Paris Hilton's expensive boobies in our faces is the only way to make us pay attention to something right? Helping us find the best brew in town is the only way to reach out to our alcohol soaked college minds, isn't it?
Newsflash: I already know where to buy the best beer in town and if I want to read about sex I'll pick up the latest issue of Cosmo (barf).
I think that adults sell us short. I think they underestimate us. I know so many people who are genuinely passionate about the world they live in. Who care what's going on in their neighborhoods, their country and their world. Perhaps too many of us are too passive. Perhaps too many of us buy into the illusion that everything will be OK no matter what we do to other people or to the world around us.
It's time to wake up guys. I watched Paris' "porn" just like the rest of you and it was BORING. Not nearly as exciting as the things going on in my neighborhood. Let's invest ourselves in our community and stop being so plugged in to television and superficiality.
I don't care what your political leanings are - just CARE ABOUT SOMETHING !!! ANYTHING!!
Decide what matters to you, what you're passionate about and DO SOMETHING.
Don't let the media/our professors/our parents sell short our intelligence or our passion.
Show them what we've got.
And pass me that beer while you're at it.
*soapbox ends here*

Not so bad

2004-11-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

I have spent a lot of time listening to all side of the issues and have decided Democrats need to get a life. After the election you would have thought the black death was about to engulf the world. It won't, and things aren't as bad as you think. If you want to make change and move things, your way get off your dead asses and vote your will. If you don't win go out and change people's mind to reflect your beliefs. May I suggest however getting in people's faces and yelling at them is not the way to do it. And maybe you might rethink your positions on a few things and perhaps move more to the center. Lets face it boys and girls the nation has spoken, and the views of a majority of the people are they want to stay alive now and worry about minor issues later. I know you don't think your issues are minor, but they are if you’re dead. And that's what a large number of people especially women with children are concerned about. So smile be happy you live in a great place where no matter what you think you are free to live your life as you choose.

The Lovely and Gracious

So...about the election

2004-11-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a little bit late but I figure I'll throw in my two cents about this election thing.

So, G-Dubs will lead our country for another four years. I'm cool with that. Yeah, it's true that he is the worst environmental president in the history of our country. I'm not too cool with that. As many of you know, I am a bit of an environmentalist. I have been called a hippie before, but I think that hippies are a thing of the past. I prefer granola.

Anyway, back on track...although I don't agree with everything that G-Dubs does in office, I speak my mind to him directly. I write him letters. Yeah, maybe he doesn't personally read them himself. BUT, somebody reads them and that means that someone is hearing my voice. AND when you write these letters over and over again, maybe...just maybe someone may let him know that I actually give a damn about issues that pertain to me and the rest of my fellow citizens.

So, I say to you all...if you don't like the way that something is going...do something about it. Don't just sit back and complain, write letters. Lots of them. To everyone. Not just the big-dawg G-Dubs himself, but your local and state leaders as well. You see, that's what makes this country free. We are actually able to voice our opinion...to whoever we want.

That's all I have to say for now. But remember, your voice can only be heard if you speak it.

Cheers!

Everybody on the Boat and Let's Swiftly Move On

2004-11-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Recently I was asked if I truly think that Kerry was truly the answer and I want to share my answer with y'all:

I don't think Kerry was the panacea that the Democrats were touting
him to be. The best way I can answer this is that I think any cabinet
other than Bush's is the way to go. If he can find a way to hold on
to Powell and cut loose Ashcroft, Rice, Rumsfeld and Darth Cheney, I'd
be a happy man and almost willing to fully support him. But the
biggest issue with Bush that frightens me is the Supreme Court. He
stands to appoint 3 new judges and I do think that Kerry would have
made better appointments. While I can respect Bush's beliefs, I think
he is too far right of center to pick judges that will accurately
represent the wishes of the plurality of this country (especially if
his cabinet is any indicator) and with a Republican dominated Congress
it looks like he will get his way.
Although I did vote against him (because I wouldn't necessarily say I
voted for Kerry, it was a case of "the evil of two lessers"), I accept
that he won and I'm not going to sit and [expletive deleted; replace with complain] for the next four years
about it like some people are undoubtedly going to. The bitter taste
left in voters' mouths from 2000 should now be gone (whether this
outcome was homogenized or not) and the time for divisiveness is over.
Now we need to focus on a balanced budget, finish the wars in Iraq &
Afghanistan, appoint moderate judges to the Supreme Court and
reinstate civil liberties (i.e. end the anti-"Patriot" Acts).

(sigh) Four more years...

2004-11-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

So, who's actually surprised about the election? Not me. I know I saw this coming from a mile away, but I'm still kind of disappointed that we re-elected that smarmy little man. I mean, he saunters around like he's got six-shooters on his hips. It's like we want to have John Wayne in office. But again, I'm not really surprised that that's what the majority of voting Americans are in tune with. I guess what it comes down to is that a kid like me, who grows up in the pseudo-intellectual-elitism of north Scottsdale, is disappointed to find out that it's the peudo-redneck-anti-intellectuals who run the show. (That's not to say that all Republicans are anti-intellectual, Sprat, but that does seem to be the mind set of those that voted for him.)
In the end, I think that Trey Parker hit the nail on the head with "Team America: World Police." Those in power in this country seem to want to run out, guns blazing, and keep the world in line, as though it were our job to keep everyone following an ideal that not even everyone in this nation agrees with, much less the rest of the nations on this planet. So it's left to the rest of us to simply sigh and bear it for four more years.

Today's The Day

2004-11-02T05:52:00.000-08:00

Finally, the day is here. As much as I love the process, I'm tired of hearing it. I will be voting early and be proud to do so. When I vote, I always call to mind all the men and women who have died to protect my freedom and my right to vote. How lucky I am to live in a country that gives me all the opportunities to live the life I choose. All Americans need to be thankful for being able to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

best get to blogging

2004-10-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah everyone, get blogging you primitive screwheads. I right now am blogging right in the middle of class, when I'm supposed to be learning. Carol and Nancie will never find out...

this is only vaugly political

2004-10-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on the title of this blog "It's all about you," has brought me to the following conclusion. My generation really does think it's "all about us." We have been spoon fed this idea since childhood.
"It's all about you- drink Pepsi"
"It's all about you - go see this movie"
"It's all about you - watch MTV"
"It's all about you - but don't you DARE be an individual."

We've been told we are the future, the next generation, the answer to this world's desperate prayers. We've been told this so much that we have stopped listening. We no longer care.

Yeah, yeah, yeah it's all about me. I know. That's why I'm selfish. That's why I can take and take without considering the ramifications on my environment or the people around me.

It's all about me so let me do what I want.

There's no way anyone should expect my self absorbed peers to "get out the vote." Why would we? It's not all about George Bush or all about John Kerry.

This is all about me. Remember?

This weekend, the unfortunate results of this selfish train of thought were driven home to me big-time.

Friday night two of my casual friends, you know the kind you call to find a party but not to go out to dinner with, drove drunk, crashed their car and died.

Such a stupid wast of life. They could have called a cab. But why would they? It's all about them right? The world is their oyster right?

The "friends" they were partying with should have stopped them from driving. I know for damn sure I would have. But what incentive did they have to take the keys away? It's all about them. All about their good night, their high, their party.

It's all about you.
Until you slam your car into something on a Friday night and don't wake up the next day.

I really think the only hope for myself, for my peers, for everyone in this world is if people wake up and realize that no it's actually NOT "all about you." It's about a city, a nation and hey even a whole world of other people. Other people who are affected by our decisions no matter how small: deciding if you've had too much to drink, or large: deciding who should be our next president.

It's all about you.
Until it's not.

Thanks for nothing

2004-10-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

So I'm checking my e-mail and I got a form 'thank you' from Micheal Crow. Did anyone else recieve his 'thanks,' cuz it's full of awesome PR schmaltz. I quote: 'Last week, the eyes of the world were on Arizona State University and our student body rose to the challenge of hosting an event of this historic magnitude with unparalleled class and composure. I could not be more proud of the way our campus demonstrated its commitment to the democratic process and its longstanding tradition of excellence. '

Class? Composure? I don't think I'm alone in thinking how appalingly crass this campus became for a day. If what the student body demonstrated was classy and composed and commited to the democratic process, then I weep for the state of said process in the eyes of the university student. You try so hard for so long to engender honest discussion in fellow students and this hurricane sweeps through town leaving a debris of shouted slogans and inane arguments. If what I saw was worthy of thanks than our standards for democratic processes have dropped so low, I fear saving them.

what does it take?

2004-10-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

What does it take to REALLY wake people up?
Last week our campus was full of people protesting, engaging in political thought, challenging each other.

This week the lawns filled by political activity are empty, save for credit card and cell phone vendors.

It truly was all for the cameras. And this makes me sad. Is our generation really so brain dead that the only thing that can ignite some political fervor a television camera? It all just so unbelievably fake. Last week every one was thrilled over the political “conversations” students were having with each other.

I guess on this campus waving signs and shouting tired slogans at one another qualifies as exchanging political thoughts. What drives me crazy is, you’re not going to change a life by waving a sign in someone’s face. You’re not going to affect a change in this world by arguing, name-calling or smiling for the camera.

You change people by talking to them. I mean really talking to them. This means listening to what they have to say, not trying to make a better argument or beat them in some ideological race.

Activism is not sign waving, name calling, or marching around in some ridiculous get up. If you grab someone’s attention this way, fine. But you had better have something intelligent and sound to back up your rhetoric.

When you actually have something to say, when you actually listen to people and you actually have some real passion driving you, you can change lives.

I should know. I’ve been doing it for years in bars, at company Christmas parties, at the dinner table — anywhere where conversation can be had, lives can be changed. You don’t need CNN, MSNBC, flashy signs or catchy partisan slogans. All you need is to educate yourself about your world and have the passion and the wiliness to speak about it.

Last week while extremists where screaming at each other from all sides, I was having quite conversations with people about why they should vote. In several instances I was able to convince my disaffected peers, turned off by partisan chest beating, that voting IS important and we CAN affect a change in our world.

I think if more people put down their signs and formed an original thought, my generation might sustain some sort of political activity.

Even when the cameras are off.

A word on winning.

2004-10-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

Winners. One can win a football game, the lottery or an election, BUT one does not win a debate! Nothing in the world is simply black and white and as such there is more than just one approach to any national issue be it gay marriage, social security, medicare or immigration and what goes on in a debate like this is each candidate relates their ideas, their plan for attacking that issue. Both ideas may be absolutely sound and it is the responisibility of each candidate to relay their stance and let you choose with which you feel more aligned. If you already were aligned with one candidate, their rhetoric likely didn't come as a suprise and you heard what you already support. While he may have appeared stronger in your eyes, (the candidate quite simply told you what you wanted to hear), he already had your vote and he conveyed his argument, BUT he did not win anything. Also, the crown of winner shouldn't merely be based on the speaker's composure. Kerry looked better. Kerry will always look better; he's a professional speaker, that's what he's paid to do! But when you boil the debate(s) down and take out composure as an argument, you end up with Kerry and Bush preaching relatively the same amount of good ideas, the same amount of lies and the same amount of rhetorical B.S. In short there are no winners and as that loveable character Tommy Boy once said, "Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of s---. That's all it is. Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time."

Its All About You

2004-10-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

Even though this is the name of the site, I find it very horrific that people are being told it's all about you. Because its not, and if more people realized that then maybe this world would be a better place. I wish people in my age group would wake up and realize that the world doesn't revolve around them. They are not voting because its their choice, and after all its all about them. Forget all the other people in the world who's lives are changed by elections. If people in my age group would just realize that its not about them, maybe the world would be better. Maybe more people would care about each other and not just themselves.

Natasha

it doesn't matter, i'm not undecided

2004-10-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

i watched the debates, but already knew who i was going to vote for, so it didn't really matter. the thing that bothered me most wasn't the fact that the president has a hard time thinking on his toes, it was the stupid smirk he got on his face every time john kerry said something.

i wanted to watch the vice-presidential debate, but didn't. i'm a john edwards fan, and i didn't want to see him speak according to john kerry's message. too bad he didn't get the nomination, it wouldv'e been nice to get a fresh face involved (even though he would have gotten creamed by bush)

It's all about...

2004-10-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

I want to start off with how flattered I was. I mean, the amount of security they brought out of the woodwork truly brought a tear to my eye. When the secret service was walking me through the magnetometer, I saw that glimmer in his eye that said I was the one he was here to protect. Afterall, it was all about me and as I was practically living inside that compound for four days, so who else would they be trying to protect. At least that's what I thought until I looked at the back of my day pass and read the disclaimer that the CPD (Commission on Presidential Debates) was not responsible for any harm that may come to my person. Included in this legalese-"Not my fault"-clause, the CPD absolved themselves of acts of terrorism. Now hold up just a minute, I don't think I would point a finger at the CPD had Gammage been the site of an attack, so what was the need for the pre-emptive "Don't blame me." Has litigation become so ingrained in our society that we need to absolve ourselves of everything beforehand even in the event of a national tragedy (while cliched, that is what a terrorist attack becomes)? Did the Fuhre...er... I mean Pres. Bush have to wear one of these? Had our leaders been killed, would the CPD have jumped up like Shaggy and said, "It wasn't me."? Yes, I know that some did file lawsuits following their losses on 9-11 but should we lower ourselves to that level?

Aside from causing me to pause and wax philosophical on the role of law in our society, the debate helped me come up with a stellar idea for my graduate thesis (OK, so I'm not in grad school yet, but I plan to be and this just gives me a head start, so please don't steal my thesis). Here it is: "An individual's intelligence is directly and inversely proportional to the size of one's campaign sign." Nothing proved this more accurately than what I saw on Hayden Lawn. It soon became obvious that the larger the sign, the less one had to say (or scream, depending on the individual). This ranged from the eccentric marching his 6-ft highway sign and crying about how this is the "real thing" and "it's serious now," because we all know that every prior election has been a fallacy and really not all that important. At the other end of the spectrum we have those with sticker's or buttons. They still feel the need to express their support, but generally do so more quietly. However, don't confuse the single button/sticker wearer with those who cover themselves from head to tow and then slap stickers on Spratling's girlfriend's hiney. In between there are (to borrow a title from "PCU") the causeheads who believe so strongly in ONE issue that they are willing to throw themselves behind a candidate regardless of the rest of the platform. Their signs are generally the ones slightly bigger than a sheet of printer paper and they frequently can be seen wearing shirts with "witty" homemade slogans.
To end this diatribe, I am breaking out my soapbox to summarize my hatred for the campaign sign/sticker/picket/button:

Ahem, THESE CONVEY NOTHING! All that is being communicated is two names and a year, maybe a party affiliation. If you are truyly trying to sway someone's opinion by showing them a blue sign with two names on it, then come here, I want your vote back because you aren't ready to use it! If you truly pick for whom you are voting by the signs you read or the commercials you see, then come here, I want your vote back because you aren't ready to use it! If you find yourself SCREAMING - not debating, discussing or talking - to someone because their sign has different names, then come here, I want your vote back because you aren't ready to use it!

In the end though, I wouldn't change a thing because this is what you do in a democracy. You are allowed to get pissed, you are allowed to yell - so long as you aren't abusive and it doesn't turn violent - you are allowed to assemble and you are allowed to have a voice because that is what our First Amendment guarantees and that is what it takes to make a democracy. And democracy, as that beloved inmate Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing."

Here is my blog

2004-10-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Working for the State Press the day of the debate, I was assigned to the media tent as a photographer to take pictures of the media. Maybe it's just me, but it seems silly that the people who are supposed to be covering the important people also become important. Television truly does have an amazing effect on people. Look at the CNN and MSNBC booths on campus too, people trip over each other to be a speck in the background of a show. Do they think they are becoming famous?

I thought I heard that

2004-10-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

The lovely and gracious has been ill so I haven't been paying as close attention to things as usual and not following up on what I thought I heard Mr. Kerry say during the last debate. But, I'm lucky because Doug MacEachern columnist for the Arizona Republic noted on October 21, 2004, that he heard the same thing I did. Mr. Kerry said the government affords rights. NO it does not! The people have all the rights, and we allow the government by consent to operate the way it does. Read the first words of the constitution it's "WE THE PEOPLE " not we the government.
Again that should tell you something about the man, who would be king.

The Lovely and Gracious

The ASU Presidental Debate: Our Borders and Beyond

2004-10-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

The ASU Presidental Debate: Our Borders and Beyond

What I found intresting was that I helped participate in an undecided voter count. 200 people who had not made up their minds between Kerry and Bush watched the debate together and then voted at the end. 30% said they would vote for Bush, 50% said Kerry and 20% remained undecided. But now that the debate is over, according to the latest Gallop poll, Bush leads by 9%. It just amazes me how quickly the poll numbers change and how they've been back and forth between Kerry and Bush leading in the polls.

Not much of a disruption

2004-10-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

I think it's strange that days or even the day after the debate, you can't really tell that it was even here. Things cleaned up pretty fast, and campus seems back to normal. I'm curious if anyone had any real problems with parking or getting around that day. I found the best parking ever on the day of the debate because I think everyone wanted to stay away from the "madness." I also thought traffic was going to be a nightmare, but it wasn't at all.

Cheap Shot 2-

2004-10-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

It appears that I am not the only one who thought Mr. Kerry's comments about Mary Cheney were out of line. According to a Washington Post poll, 64% of likely voters felt the same way. So really does it matter? Yes, if you want to know what kind of person might become the president.

The Lovely and Gracious

a blog post

2004-10-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm at the Cronkite Awards luncheon Thursday, and ASU President Michael Crow gives a speech introducing Walter Cronkite, who will then introduce this years winner, Charles Osgood. Crow raves about the intelligent discourse on campus this week, especially the day of the debate, something, he says, people who'd worked at the University for years said they'd never seen. He prattles on about other stuff as well, but I'm skipping ahead to the comments of this year's winner.

Osgood recites some beautiful reporting in the form of rhymned verse, for which he's reknown, and admonishes journalists to be wary of profit-driven news. Then he laments the state of intelligent political discourse in the country today.
There isn't any, or it's severely lacking, he says. People merely launch ad hominem attacks tearing down their opponent. Exhibit A: on campus Wednesday, opposing groups mindlessly chanted "Ke-rry" and "Four more years" till their
throats grew hoarse. Exhibit B: The posters people hand made were, shall we say, simplistic: from "Lick Dick and Bush in 2004" to "Kerry ducks the issues."

So much for intelligent discourse.

Sure there were a few people on the fringes -- and fringes is key here -- of the hypnotized political cult-mongers actually engaging in a free exchange of ideas, but they soon degenerated into screaming matches as well.

The way I see it this all has more to do with a lack of political and historical education than anything else. Very quickly people from both parties run out of arguments to regurgitate and stats to spew forth, and they resort to yelling.
It's frutrating, isn't it, when your opponent keeps repeating the same thing over and over, and then you find yourself doing the same? I guess the thinking goes, if I repeat myself often enough, hammering my own words into my own head, maybe I'll never have to suffer the uncertainty and, ew, intellectual strain, of considering alternate hypotheses.

But wait. I'm being too harsh. You know they're just copying what they saw on Crossfire.

--ilan brat

Motorcades and chaos

2004-10-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, my Wednesday was as interesting as everyone else's (I hope). I guess I was taking the whole idea of the debates pretty lightly, until we opened our store Wed. morning and were greeted by a nice cop from Gilbert. (My store is the College Store at Rural and Lemon, and it's full of charming textbook employees like me (cheap plug).) The cop informed us that they were shutting down Rural at 10 a.m. for the President's motorcade, and I think that's when it hit me that this was a BIG DEAL for Tempe. I mean, tthey were borrowing cops from Gilbert. So with the parking lot blocked off and the whole street shut down, we had noting to do but stand out front like eveyone else and wait for the President to drive by. A bunch of young Republicans in red t-shirts lined up across the street with supporting placards and flags. Then the motorcycles came, a long line of them, followed by at least six scary, black SUVs, and just like in the movies, the President's limo came cruising behind them, the flag and the Presidential seal flapping from the front bumpers. As it passed I saw Bush waving from the back seat (with the windows up, but still, I saw the President). It was almost as cool as the time I saw the Queen of England from her carriage during the annual birthday parade. But the Queen gets extra points because she was preceeded by a bunch of guys in those tall, furry hats instead of scary SUVs.

About an hour later, they closed Rural again for Kerry's motorcade, and we watched that one go by, too. I got a good laugh out of the fact that while the reps. had had matching shirts and an organized chant ("Four more years!"), the Kerry people were as mismatched as any bunch of liberal hippies and couldn't agree on a slogan. It almost makes me sad to be a registered democrat.

So in the space of two hours I saw both of the candidates waving from cars, and I'd have to say it was the highlight of my week. The chaos on campus meant a lot more to me when I got to Hayden lawn at 4:30, because I could really feel that it was these two men, and what they were standing for, that got everyone so riled up. But I still liked the Queen best.

Cheap Shot -

2004-10-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Does anyone, other then me, have a problem with Kerry's remark about Cheney's gay daughter? I mean what's the deal with outing the poor girl on TV? I know if it were me ... that's not the way I would want to tell the world. I don't think she's closeted, and I know the Cheney's have always supported their daughter. So what's the point other than a cheap political trick. And I thought the democratic party was highly supportive of the privacy of the individual. Too bad they don't practice what they preach.

The Lovely and Gracious

I remembered MY camera!

2004-10-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

And boy did I employ it, but there just wasn't enough film in the world for the crap that went down yesterday. I stayed on campus all day, getting into it with the protesters (on behalf of College Republicans) at about 11:00 a.m., and not relenting until about 6:30, at which point I went home and watched the second half of the debate.

For most of the time it was most conservatives vs. liberals in the protesting and sign-waving department, but around 5 p.m. or so the REAL nutjobs started to turn out, the kind I hadn't seen up close and personal since the demonstrations against our year-long "rush to war" in 2002 and 2003.

Socialists, communists, anarchists-- all were out protesting in full lunatic force. People screaming and/or chanting "America is the number one international terrorist!", "CNN lies! Stop repeating Bush's war propaganda, Wolf Blitzer, you pig!", "Stop burning Iraqi children!", and the perennial favorite, "BUSH LIED PEOPLE DIED!"... it was wild. Only time all day I was actually fearing a genuine riot.

The highlight of the day was easily when the middle-aged dude next to me saw my Army shirt, and asked in all seriousness, "Shouldn't you be out raping and murdering and bombing innocent people??". I won't repeat here exactly how I replied, but let's just say it would make Nancie proud.

I really hope that the media coverage wasn't too full of these people, lest the world think that's who populates our fine campus. I know full well that freedom of assembly and protest is one of the things that's great about our country, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all the people who exercise that right are exactly the best the U.S. has to offer.

Also, a lot of Kerry supporters had this compulsion to stealthily deface my signs and the back of my shirt (and my girlfriend's butt) with their stickers. Grow up, Kerry supporters!

The biggest mistake yesterday....

2004-10-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

...was not committed by Kerry, or even Bush, it was committed by me. I left my camera at home. Unforgivable. I spent yesterday walking around campus observing and enjoying. Never before have I been this excited about a debate or genuinly interested in politics. Not that the debate ever had the potential to make me change my mind about who I'd vote for if I'd been a legal voter, it only served to confirm what I already knew (unfortunately for a certain Mr. Bush--it's not easy being stupid). I think the greatest thing about the debate was to see all the ASU students out there supporting their candidate, may it be Bush, Kerry or even Nader. There were a lot of funny signs, t-shirts etc with political messages on them, but my favorite was a Bush doll whose pants were on fire, and the guy was shouting: "Liar, liar, pants on fire." Good times! I just wish I'd brought my camera so I wouldn't have to rely on my short term memory to remember a day really worth remembering.
Mari

About Last Night

2004-10-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the privilege to be one of the media coving the debate at ASU. It was exciting! The campus was alive as I've never seen it before, and God knows I've been there forever and I would know.

What were the issues for the younger voter? I'm still not sure most seemed to just want to get on TV with their signs. But, there were a couple of things that caught my eye. There were the two Catholic kids sitting away from the fray; one for abortion (Kerry supporter) one against ( Bush supporter) talking not just about the issue, but the matter of faith and what being a Catholic means. There were people on campus who know what life was, and is like under the fear of constant terrorism. They want their homes, and freedom back. They want terrorism crushed so that they may live again. It gave me chills to hear them speak. It made me want to do more than I do. I was proud to be an American because America wants not only our people to be free to live as they wish, speak as they wish, vote as they wish, but we want this great life for everyone else in the world no matter who they are. That's Cool!

So we're going to need some help. We need those in the 18 -35 year old voter group to help us define your issues. We encourage you to be forthright and candid about what you think. And by no means do we want to discourage those who don't fall into that age group from participating. Your thoughts are welcome too.

So let's get to it!

The Lovely and Gracious