Sunday, April 20, 2008
Pennsylvania Primaries
On Tuesday, we will finally see the next of the Democratic and Republican primaries (although I think we can all safely say that McCain will receive the Republican endorsement). So I guess that a lot of people are asking what is expected to occur in this primary and what each scenario would mean for Obama or Clinton. The general consensus seems to be that Clinton is in the lead with a small margin. Clinton also seems to be in the lead in Catholic/Irish and blue collar areas, while Obama is more popular around Philadelphia and other larger cities. From what I’ve seen, it seems pretty unlikely that Obama will walk away with an actual win from this primary, but he could stop Clinton from taking the whole state. CNN commented (in the video linked above) that what Clinton really needs is to obtain about 54% of the votes to Obama’s 44% (or more) in order to gain more momentum. These are the results of the primaries in neighboring Ohio and New Jersey. Anything less than this sort of victory might cause a loss in momentum. So this scenario seems to be the actual goal of the Obama campaign.
Fighting in Pennsylvania
Unfortunately, it seems that we are once again seeing the Democratic presidential candidates battle it out. While we seem to have had some sort of relative lull recently, the Pennsylvania primaries have rekindled the debates. The change was apparent when the candidates went from saying that their respective opponent could beat McCain in a general election to apparently now saying that the other couldn’t win in the general election. But that’s just one small example of the fighting going on. Essentially the real problem is the fact that neither Obama nor Clinton seems to be able to go one day without verbally attacking the other.
Now, maybe this is very naive of me, but I was honestly hoping that we might have a cleaner run for the presidential candidate this year. Instead, it seems like McCain is just having some sort of relaxing nap while the Democratic candidates tear each other to pieces. I just find this strange because it seems like both candidates have similar ideas, at least for the most part. And when these primaries and caucuses first began, there were many people who found that they liked more than one of the candidates. But now we have negative ads coming through the mail and showing up on the T.V. and it seems like half of the debate time is eaten up by issues that really don’t matter (read: Obama’s old pastor and Clinton’s Bosnia incident). Granted, this has been happening for a while now, but why? Both of the candidates know that the longer this goes on, the worse things are going to be when one of them is running for president.
I guess the part that really concerns me is the large possibility that neither of the candidates will be able to have the minimum of 2,025 delegates needed to win. I mean, if this is the fighting we must put up with at a big primary, just think of the convention. I have a feeling that the unity they’re hoping for after convention will be elusive.
Now, maybe this is very naive of me, but I was honestly hoping that we might have a cleaner run for the presidential candidate this year. Instead, it seems like McCain is just having some sort of relaxing nap while the Democratic candidates tear each other to pieces. I just find this strange because it seems like both candidates have similar ideas, at least for the most part. And when these primaries and caucuses first began, there were many people who found that they liked more than one of the candidates. But now we have negative ads coming through the mail and showing up on the T.V. and it seems like half of the debate time is eaten up by issues that really don’t matter (read: Obama’s old pastor and Clinton’s Bosnia incident). Granted, this has been happening for a while now, but why? Both of the candidates know that the longer this goes on, the worse things are going to be when one of them is running for president.
I guess the part that really concerns me is the large possibility that neither of the candidates will be able to have the minimum of 2,025 delegates needed to win. I mean, if this is the fighting we must put up with at a big primary, just think of the convention. I have a feeling that the unity they’re hoping for after convention will be elusive.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
"Bitter"
We have yet another presidential tiff after Obama’s comments about small town citizens being “bitter” about their lack of financial help from the government which leads them to “cling to guns and religion.” Clinton and McCain speedily and happily proclaimed him an “elitist” and now new debate over the second amendment has emerged.
So the real issue behind all this is that the American people want someone like them in the presidency. First of all, this is rather contradictory as one must have significant funds in order to run for president in the first place. For example, both Clinton and McCain’s families are both worth about $100 million. Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped Clinton from trying to relate to small town people by telling old hunting stories from her childhood. Whether or not these stories had the intended effect depends on who you talked to. However, I find it odd that presidential candidates feel that they are relating to the middle class by telling stories of hunting or drinking shots (like Clinton). I mean, honestly, maybe I’m off the track but those don’t seem to be our only pastimes. It makes it seem more like they’re taking a time to just condescend to our level. Like we’re too simple for anything else.
So the real issue behind all this is that the American people want someone like them in the presidency. First of all, this is rather contradictory as one must have significant funds in order to run for president in the first place. For example, both Clinton and McCain’s families are both worth about $100 million. Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped Clinton from trying to relate to small town people by telling old hunting stories from her childhood. Whether or not these stories had the intended effect depends on who you talked to. However, I find it odd that presidential candidates feel that they are relating to the middle class by telling stories of hunting or drinking shots (like Clinton). I mean, honestly, maybe I’m off the track but those don’t seem to be our only pastimes. It makes it seem more like they’re taking a time to just condescend to our level. Like we’re too simple for anything else.
Bruce Springsteen
Throughout at least my entire life, my dad has been enamored with two things: distance running and Bruce Springsteen. Now that I am firmly following in his steps about the running, it seems like I’m also finding a passion for “The Boss’s” music. It began with my dad’s declaration that he was going to take my boyfriend and me to a Springsteen concert with his friends. I was listening to some of his CDs in preparation and discovered that I truly liked the music.
But the real reason that I am impressed by Springsteen is his concert. For those of you who do not know, Bruce Springsteen is almost 60. And the E Street Band, who plays with Springsteen, has been together since 1972 and the musicians are middle aged. So you might think that the energy level would be below that of a younger band. But that is where you would be wrong. The energy level was high and persistent throughout the entire show with few breaks. Here was this 60 year old man who has way more energy than anyone I have ever seen. And the performance of the music was excellent, as one might expect from someone who has been performing since the 60s.
This is Springsteen performing Radio Nowhere live at the Today Show:
But the real reason that I am impressed by Springsteen is his concert. For those of you who do not know, Bruce Springsteen is almost 60. And the E Street Band, who plays with Springsteen, has been together since 1972 and the musicians are middle aged. So you might think that the energy level would be below that of a younger band. But that is where you would be wrong. The energy level was high and persistent throughout the entire show with few breaks. Here was this 60 year old man who has way more energy than anyone I have ever seen. And the performance of the music was excellent, as one might expect from someone who has been performing since the 60s.
This is Springsteen performing Radio Nowhere live at the Today Show:
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wuthering Heights
I just finished the novel Wuthering Heights over spring break and a week later I’m still not sure what I think about it.
On the one hand, it was a very powerful book. The emotions are very raw and the characters are much deeper than the hero/villain stereotypes. So generally, I really enjoyed this book and it was something I would read again. But, on the other hand, Wuthering Heights is not exactly a feel-good book. Throughout the book, the characters’ violent passions and often lack of consciousness border on discomforting.
The main idea of the book, for those who haven’t read it, is that the love between Catherine and Healthcliff is thwarted. Then the rest of the story is how it affects the lives around them. I was never quite certain of who I was sympathetic to during the story as the characters were usually either spoiled or (there’s no clearer way to say it) just mean. But it is too simple to simply say that Healthcliff was just a bad person when you see his torment over Catherine being lost.
Unfortunately, my thoughts are still a bit too muddled to be writing this. I feel like I need to read the book again in order to give an accurate opinion of it. So I would recommend it, but make sure you keep your names straight (many characters have very similar names).
On the one hand, it was a very powerful book. The emotions are very raw and the characters are much deeper than the hero/villain stereotypes. So generally, I really enjoyed this book and it was something I would read again. But, on the other hand, Wuthering Heights is not exactly a feel-good book. Throughout the book, the characters’ violent passions and often lack of consciousness border on discomforting.
The main idea of the book, for those who haven’t read it, is that the love between Catherine and Healthcliff is thwarted. Then the rest of the story is how it affects the lives around them. I was never quite certain of who I was sympathetic to during the story as the characters were usually either spoiled or (there’s no clearer way to say it) just mean. But it is too simple to simply say that Healthcliff was just a bad person when you see his torment over Catherine being lost.
Unfortunately, my thoughts are still a bit too muddled to be writing this. I feel like I need to read the book again in order to give an accurate opinion of it. So I would recommend it, but make sure you keep your names straight (many characters have very similar names).
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Hunger in Haiti
Even as we absorb ourselves in the upcoming presidential election, the news reminds us that we are far more prosperous than much of the world. This was evident when learning about violent protests in Haiti over lack of food.
It is a shock for most people living in places like the United States to actually hear about these things. Yes, we have our monstrous national debt and our poverty, but there is almost no comparison. According to the CIA World Factbook, 2/3 of Haiti’s population are unemployed and 80% are below the poverty line (they do not define what they mean by poverty, only mentioning that the definition varies between countries and that wealthier nations have a more generous definition, so we can assume that poverty in Haiti is much lower than our definition of poverty). However, the United States has a 4.6% unemployment rate and 12% below the poverty line.
Now, this definitely isn’t me saying that we don’t have some serious problems in the United States (Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, anyone?) because we do. But if people are looking for an issue that crosses country lines and political party lines, this is it. We may argue about how to go about fixing the problem, but there’s no denying that something needs to be done about it. The sad fact is that half of the world lives off of less than $2 a day. Our poverty levels can’t even compare to certain countries in the world where people cannot find or pay for water, much less food. As someone who lives in a middle class home in the United States, I have no idea what it’s like to be unable to find food. We simply take it for granted that there will be supermarkets filled with so much food that someone in Africa wouldn’t believe their eyes if they saw it.
There are more statistics and information on the Internet, but we all know that poverty is an issue. We cannot let the fact that we are unable to relate to those who turn violent from poverty in order to get what we take for granted stop us from doing something about it. If you’re looking for a black and white issue, here it is.
It is a shock for most people living in places like the United States to actually hear about these things. Yes, we have our monstrous national debt and our poverty, but there is almost no comparison. According to the CIA World Factbook, 2/3 of Haiti’s population are unemployed and 80% are below the poverty line (they do not define what they mean by poverty, only mentioning that the definition varies between countries and that wealthier nations have a more generous definition, so we can assume that poverty in Haiti is much lower than our definition of poverty). However, the United States has a 4.6% unemployment rate and 12% below the poverty line.
Now, this definitely isn’t me saying that we don’t have some serious problems in the United States (Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, anyone?) because we do. But if people are looking for an issue that crosses country lines and political party lines, this is it. We may argue about how to go about fixing the problem, but there’s no denying that something needs to be done about it. The sad fact is that half of the world lives off of less than $2 a day. Our poverty levels can’t even compare to certain countries in the world where people cannot find or pay for water, much less food. As someone who lives in a middle class home in the United States, I have no idea what it’s like to be unable to find food. We simply take it for granted that there will be supermarkets filled with so much food that someone in Africa wouldn’t believe their eyes if they saw it.
There are more statistics and information on the Internet, but we all know that poverty is an issue. We cannot let the fact that we are unable to relate to those who turn violent from poverty in order to get what we take for granted stop us from doing something about it. If you’re looking for a black and white issue, here it is.
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