The election is approaching too fast now. We’ve watched for what seems like years as the debates and the primaries raged on. We took forever to whittle down to two people for President, and now we have less than two months from the conventions to the election to figure out what we need to see to make our choices. That really wasn’t an issue for me as we knew these people inside and out because of the process. We now, though, have a candidate for VP that nobody knows, and the system broke again.

There is truly a lot to say about all of that, I know. Today, though, I have a related thing about which to rant.

I again recently heard people talking about how important it is to vote for somebody who relates well to the common man. In the last two elections the phrase was that we needed to vote for the person you would more like to have beers with. We got George Bush and it was hailed as a real victory for the idea of getting the guy who seems most like us.  

I’ve been thinking about the ‘guy you would like most to have beers with’ thought because I heard it again yesterday by a McCain supporter. You know the line. Obama is an elitist, doesn’t understand good working folk, etc. It is good political banter, and it’s worked for a while as we’ve already said.

I don’t really know if anybody takes that stuff seriously though. In truth, the whole thing is probably code for something else, but what if some voters took to heart the ‘I would rather have a beer with him, so I should vote for him’ baloney?

Many of you know me. Many of you know that I have had beers with a wide variety and a large number of people in my life. I know ‘beer ’ stuff. I think you know I know ‘beer’ stuff. Here’s what I don’t get:

Most of the people I have had beers with are by and large the last people I would want to lead this great country. Most of the people I have had beers with would be the most likely to start a war with a country that never attacked or threatened us. They would make up reasons for doing so. They would yell things like “Bring it on” toward other countries when they don’t know what else to say. They would dress up in costume and hold a party for Mission Accomplished when the war is really just starting. They would throw away the ideas of negotiation and diplomacy as possible foreign relations tools.

They would give us the incomprehensible situation we find ourselves in now.

Just what is the problem with voting for the smartest people? On the list of criteria a voter uses to choose the POTUS why wouldn’t ‘Smartest’ be the first thing on the list? Not the only thing, but surely the first thing. “Let’s see. This guy sounds brilliant. The other guy can’t put together a coherent sentence with a speechwriter and a teleprompter, but I think he drinks beer. I guess I should just call the brilliant guy ‘too eloquent to be President’ and vote for the other guy.”  

This has to stop.

What are the criteria YOU use to figure out voting? 

Monday, September 08, 2008 5:27:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [5] | 

In the larger scheme of things, it might not seem like a big deal. After all, what harm could it do? Blonde girls know they're smart even if people generally think that telling "dumb blonde jokes" is okay, right?

Or maybe not. A put-down is a put-down, no matter how harmless the intention. If I had a blonde daughter, I wouldn't want her within hearing distance of someone inferring that blondes don't have a lick of sense. Children have a hard enough time growing confidence as it is, without having adults knock them down.

When did blonde jokes become popular? I don't know - I just know that I have endured them for far too long, smiling politely while wanting to conk the offending jokester on the head. What could they possibly be thinking, telling a joke like that to me?

You may be thinking that I have no sense of humor. You would be so wrong! I laugh at the most obvious of amusing things, and at the least obvious. I find mirth everywhere. I try not to laugh inappropriately. Sometimes when I am under stress, I find myself laughing uncontrollably, because suddenly lots of things seem funny. I guess that's a good stress-reliever, so I'm okay with it. 

But wait - what does NOT telling blonde jokes have to do with anything? Well, it has to do with being aware of your words and your attitudes. This covers most anything - like my mother always said (and probably yours, too), "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

The only way to grow and evolve as a kind and enlightened human being is to pay attention to the kindness of your actions. And since learning how to be more "present" in this world leads to greater happiness, I encourage you to pay attention.

You never know what you might learn. 

Monday, September 08, 2008 5:06:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

Young Democrats Organization At Lourdes College!

Tuesday, September 16

^{4:30pm In The Ebeid Student Center!}

@ 4:30pm

I am excited that a new opportunity is coming to Lourdes College. A Young Democrat Organization is currently being founded. I am pleased to announce that in the EBEID Student Center on Tuesday, September 16th at 4:30pm, the first "unofficial" meeting will take place. Young Democrats are being encouraged to come out and help shape our new chapter!

The chapter will become part of the national Young Democrat organization (www.yda.org). Check it out!! This opportunity will allow for members of Lourdes Chapter to attend state and national conventions, along with other great opportunities!

All students under 36 are encouraged to attend the meeting. This meeting will be the first step in forming the constitution and by-laws for the chapter; necessary steps for officially being recognized as an organization at Lourdes College!

Currently there are several students already coming to this event, and you don't want to be left out of this exciting endeavor! We will also decide the process of electing officials to run the organization (Even the founder is leaving the president position up for election; it could be you)!

Also, we are gratefully excited that Professor Mary Stockwell is the "presumptive" advisor for this organization, although we hope to obtain several advisors, as we expect to have many members (fingers crossed).

Please respond ASAP to richard.frelin@students.lourdes.edu, if planning to attend, or if you would like more information about this extraordinary opportunity.

Thank you and we are looking forward to seeing you there!

P.S. Vote OBAMA-BIDEN!!

Monday, September 08, 2008 3:06:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] | 

The Princeton Review, nationally known for its test preparation and admissions services, has included Lourdes College in The Best 368 Colleges guide for the fifth consecutive year.

Lourdes College was one of the 158 chosen from the Midwest, which comprises 13 different states and was among 26 chosen from Ohio. In excerpts from surveys published at Princetonreview.com, Lourdes students cited the College’s focus on academics, flexibility of course schedules and the beauty of the campus itself, among the things that made it one of the best colleges.

The Princeton Review evaluates over 2,000 colleges and universities each year, making selections for its list based on criteria of academic excellence and feedback from current students, parents and guardians, staff members and educators.

Monday, September 08, 2008 10:04:17 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

For the fifth consecutive year, Lourdes College has broken its enrollment record. Last year, Lourdes enrolled more than 2,100 students for the first time in the College’s history and this year it has exceeded that number again. 

As of Tuesday, September 2, there were 2,228 students enrolled resulting in a 2.06% increase from the Fall 2007 record of 2,183. A continual growth in traditional age students has largely contributed to Lourdes’ enrollment growth over the past several semesters.

“Fall is always an exciting time of year as students return to college and this year, we are grateful to be able to welcome our largest student body ever to campus,” offers Dr. Robert C. Helmer, President. “The number of students choosing to attend Lourdes is a testament to the College’s continued dedication and focus on student success."

Monday, September 08, 2008 9:59:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

CATHOLIC STUDENT UNION

Formerly: Faith Seeking Understanding.

Organizational meeting Tuesday, Sept. 16, in SFH 2 at 4:30 pm.  The meeting will end by about 5:15.

CSU is a community of Catholic students dedicated to helping each other develop intellectually and spiritually through good discussion, faith, and fellowship.  We will initially meet once or twice a month and plan to have guest speakers with lively conversation about important theological, philosophical and cultural issues.

 

Service projects and times of prayer in coordination with LINK and campus ministry are also envisioned.  Activities might also include social events like movie nights (always with ) good discussion and fellowship and bowling, as well as praise and worship in tandem with campus ministry.  The field of possibility is wide open, so come help us plan for the year. 

 

So, if you are looking for a student-led community of support and growth in faith, if you’re excited about your faith, if you want to learn more about Catholicism, or if you’re just curious, come Sept. 16 @ 4:30.

 

We will be a very active group and we encourage everyone to come and share in faith, fun, and fellowship with us!

 

With any questions contact:

Chris Roper at Christopher.roper@student.lourdes.edu

Dr. Brown at bbrown@lourdes.edu

Students | Chris

Saturday, September 06, 2008 8:14:44 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

Week number two is officially over now, only twelve more weeks to go. Let’s think about what has gone done this week…..

·        Labor Day was on Monday we all got that long three day weekend. The weather was amazing to boot.

·        The nation stopped to watch Hurricane Gustav slam into the Gulf coast region leaving millions with out power. Yet, thankfully, spared New Orleans a major calamity.

·        The RNC was postponed a day for the fore mentioned Gustav. Followed by a successful convention, where the nation was able to meet and fall in love with Sarah Palin. The Republicans where able to call out Barrack Hussein Obama and his party on their plan to raise taxes.

·        The nation’s unemployment rate rocketed to a 5 year record high of 6.1 percent. This coming after employers lay off 84,000 workers.

Enough about the outside world lets talk about our home front- What went on here at the college.

ü      Most of us have already had our first quiz.

ü      The Fall fest Luau went on successfully

o       If you missed it here is what you missed-

§         It rained really hard at about 3 O’clock, an hour before the event.

§         The rain stopped at quarter to four and only periodically drizzled

§         There was a hula hoop competition

§         I personally got to be the official hog hacker. This means I got wrist deep inside of a pig. I think that I am going to take a sabbatical from eating pork after that. It was a learning experience, and that’s what life is all about learning new things.

Well I hope that every one enjoyed the week. If you make it to the Greek festival this weekend I look forward to bumping into you. Don’t forget that next Friday, September 12^th at 8pm the improv comedy troupe “Around the Bend Players” will be in the Ebeid Cntr. So, come and visit me down there, as students you get two free tickets. Bring a date, friend or someone close and make sure to get your passport stamped.

As I leave you with this I hope your weekend is full, see ya’ll Mondayà A friend told me, “Life comes in seasons” after putting thought to that I finally understand. For every season in the year there is something to look forward to; Summer brings us the beach and BBQ’s, Fall blows in cool crisp air and the changing of the leaves, Winter brings Christmas and fluffy snow and Spring as we wrap our circle up gives us a release from the cold. So in effect love the season of life you are in now b/c before you know it the season can change. Accepting that you can’t stop the change will make it easier.

Tell Me A Story I Love You?

Friday, September 05, 2008 2:31:22 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2] | 

I was never into politics as much as I am now with this presidential race going on. To start, I was a true Hillary Clinton supporter. I truly felt she would have been an excellent change for our political future as a nation. However, Obama won the nomination and he will receive my vote.  I’m going to admit that I never really listened to the things Obama had to say in the beginning, I was ignorant and didn’t care what he was about because I loved Hillary so much. However, now that I have learned about Obama and truly given him a chance, I am PROUD  to say that I am voting for him! Our government and presidency is so corrupt anymore, we need change brought into our political system. And for those who claim that McCain is change, I beg to differ! Yeah, so he’s running with a female VP pick… she’s not a woman that has experience in foreign policy, or our economy- what good does she bring? The only thing I’ve heard her talk about is her family and the values she possesses as a person…which I think ALL decent human beings would possess the same. I feel that this is a desperate attempt for the McCain campaign to win-over Clinton supporters and to persuade them to vote for him. Does this scare me? Yes it does! I cannot imagine where the state of our economy will be in four years if he is elected. I cannot imagine what the Iraq war will be like in four years if he is elected. I cannot imagine what other foreign conflicts we’ll be involved in if he’s elected. IT SCARES ME.

So you may be asking yourself, “What good would Obama do? He has no experience.” But I beg to differ on that. He may not have the most experience when it comes to foreign policy, but he has experience in truly knowing how to listen to people. I feel he’s got a better glimpse into what Americans need and want, and I truly feel that he takes these matters to heart. He came from a place where everything was not handed to him on a platter- his record shows ambition, perseverance, determination, and strength. He rose up from the community he was raised in and he made his world a better place. Not only did he help his own situation, but he helped others while he worked as a community organizer. He has helped others in America become inspired and excited about politics again. We are having record numbers of young voters going out to cast a vote  in this election, and it’s because there’s finally a leader running that shows he cares about ALL AMERICANS- not just the wealthy. He is showing that he wants to change the way American politics is run- and this is a good thing! No longer would we have special interest groups dictating government funds and policies…and this is a huge change in itself! Bottom-line is this- regardless if McCain picks a woman for his VP, Obama still has the better platform and is still able to reach people on a personal level. You don’t see McCain supporters getting together for house meetings just to talk about his platform and the things he wants to pursue should he become president. Barack Obama is reaching through to so many different Americans from different ages, genders, cultures, religions- he is reaching all of these people and inspiring them to care about the future of our country. That’s not something that happens everyday. And even if he’s not elected, I feel he should be commended for that!

FIRED UP! READY TO GO!

Thursday, September 04, 2008 11:54:16 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [22] | 

"This is the same message — "you're not a real American and never will be" — that the professional ethnic activists have persuaded the American government to send to all of our Hispanic citizens....

Thanks to federal and state language policies, families with Spanish names are treated as though they were illiterate in the English language. They receive letters from schools and government agencies in their "native" Spanish — even if their family has been in America for generations."

The English First, is an issue that has taken a back seat during this Presidential election season. I ask, is it discriminatory to assume that a person with a non-English name, cannot read English? If documents must be printed in both English and Spanish, are we discriminating against those of Asian, German, Italian, etc., last names? An excellant discussion of this topic by Jim Boulet Jr.,  can be found at: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-boulet082101.shtml

Wednesday, September 03, 2008 11:32:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] |