Putting together a piece for your enjoyment and consumption this week, I found myself oddly strapped for ideas. My liberal, opinionated self somehow was totally transformed into a normal human being. Last week, I wrote about #SochiProblems, and the week before, it was the minimum wage—what else is there to opine to my vast readership?
Nearly four years ago, a deft, bold stroke of a pen enacted a law that turned newly elected Gov. Scott Walker into perhaps the most divisive man in Wisconsin history. Today, he is one of the most highly revered politicians in the country and on the short list for a 2016 Republican Party presidential nomination.
Have you ever wondered what $1 million could buy? Yeah, of course you have. According to the Barenaked Ladies’ hit song “If I Had $1,000,000,” you could buy an exotic pet (yep, like a llama or an emu) furniture for your house (maybe a nice Chesterfield or an ottoman) or a fur coat (but not a real fur coat, that’s cruel).
Many people love to oppose guns, as they are our society’s weapon of choice. However, this opposition is rooted in pure fallacy. More than half of the households in the United States own a gun and many people without a weapon feel as if this endangers them or provides an unnecessary threat. On the other side of the argument, one can envision someone in the south in a rocking chair chewing tobacco while holding a 12-guage simply waiting for the first sight of his land being trespassed. This is not exactly a great ideal for what people should think about when looking into gun control. But, as it turns out, you are safer living next to the crazy man in the south than in certain parts of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and other big cities.
Some may have noticed that a group of men were passing roses out to women passing by the St. Paul University Catholic Center on Library Mall. These individuals were taking part in a small campaign being spearheaded by Badger Catholic, a spirituality and faith organization on campus according to their website, called Roses in Library Mall.
Hurrah! The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi last week (cue Olympic Fanfare), demonstrated our strong international unity while at the same time put on our ardent nationalist spirit. Of course, with the honor of the attention of the entire world, no other nation has the ability to express its pride and history more than the host nation, which, in this case, is Russia.
'The Daily Show' is written by some of the smartest people in television. It’s a show I normally love. Which makes Monday night’s piece on Russian history puzzling. No, wait, puzzling isn’t the right word. More like simply infuriating.
We all know that one Republican who, particularly after a few drinks, is all of the sudden an expert on the American health care system and will argue until he or she is blue in the face about how Obamacare will ruin the country. Well, the Congressional Budget Office recently released a report on the Affordable Care Act and the facts are in. It is now essentially impossible to keep the debate going without the stubborn right wing coming across as totally misinformed buffoons. Let’s be very clear about this before we move on though: the CBO said Obamacare “would reduce the number of hours worked by the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time workers by 2025.”
The people will always get the government they deserve. I’m aware of two ways to rebel against our government, the first being an armed rebellion (not a good idea), and the other being our ability to elect who we wish. So when I see people upset with the way their government is functioning, or in this case, not functioning, it asks the question; can we be upset with our government when we are the ones electing them? It’s awful, of course, to think we have caused polarity to get the best of us. Unfortunately, I wasn’t alive when your candidate choice didn’t define you and who to choose was an intelligent, informed decision. As our polarity increases, the candidates are becoming more and more incapable of covering the needs of their constituents. Whoever has the best rhetoric has become easier to elect than someone who approaches situations without bias and can make an informed decision instead of a predetermined one. I believe primaries have played a massive role in this loss of true democracy.
The state Senate’s Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges reviewed a student-initiated bill that, if approved, would grant immunity to underage drinkers who call 911 to ask for help for their peers in emergency situations involving alcohol.
High-speed trains heading north from Switzerland into Germany bend into the Rhine Valley and around the hills and mountains that mark the Black Forest. Approach Freiburg—Madison's sister city—passengers' views include wine vineyards and verdant hills. Inside a sleek white train modem, amenities make for incredibly comfortable rides. Then, over the loud speaker comes this announcement: "Sehr geehrte Fahrgäste, im Kürzerem erreichen wir Freiburg. Ausstieg rechts," or "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be arriving in Freiburg shortly. Exit to the right." That's the call for departing passengers to leave the train upon arrival at Freiburg's main station.
"Climate change is a fact” were the words spoken by President Obama in his recent State of the Union address. Well done, Mr. President. Really, George W. Bush would have never said something that obvious about global warming when he was in office. Still, it doesn’t let Obama off the hook. He can say he’s all for combating climate change, but his words don’t amount to a hill of beans if he doesn’t demonstrate his executive authority on this issue.
By now, you’ve certainly chimed in on the exciting news that last week, in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called on Congress to support legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. As if such a proclamation were not enough, President Obama even upped the ante when he pledged to mandate that contractors pay their federally funded employees such a wage. To college kids like yourselves, the benefits of raising the minimum wage are, well, obvious. Many of us don’t simply choose to but, out of financial necessity, work a part time job during our academic pursuits. Indeed, we have certain needs—you know, food and shelter, in addition to our tuition, which requires some extra income. Yet, these jobs, more often than not, only pay minimum wage or a little more, and despite our laborious work, we still leave college drowning in student loan debt. Needless to say, our college experiences exemplify the need to raise the minimum wage; however, imagine instead of merely working your way through school on an hourly wage of $7.25, you worked a full time job to support an entire family at the same level of income. Each year, you could only expect to earn $15,080, and in no state would you even be able to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. And despite soaring corporate profits and stock prices taking place now during America’s economic recovery, the lowest earners in our nation have barely budged, deepening our socioeconomic inequality. Raising the minimum wage is perhaps the most hands-on approach to mitigating this intense disparity.
The Statue of Liberty is one of the most prominent symbols of America and is inscribed with this sentence: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” Other common American values include equality, freedom and the ability to make a good living for oneself with hard work. Another aspect America is surely known for is consumerism, a not-so-small part of this being the brand Coca-Cola, which has, whether we like it or not, been a most enduring part of American culture and demonstrates one of the ways we as Americans are connected. Because everyone drinks Coke, right? Screw Pepsi. (Just kidding, Pepsi is fine.)
It takes one a long time to come to a conclusive decision on the success of a presidency. Many people, however, jump right in and have no problem protesting the president even on day one despite the president’s lack of time to accomplish the administration’s goals. That’s OK, but it doesn’t mean it’s intuitive, well-mannered or well-analyzed.
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