As some of you may have noticed from Christopher’s blog update, it seems that Romney could possibly have a prompter during debates. After being asked what Romney thought of Reagan’s tactic to restore the economy, a whisper can be heard that either said, “Reagan raised taxes,” or “Don’t raise taxes.” Almost in direct reaction to this, Romney’s face shifts slightly and he responds, “I’m not going to raise taxes.” Something like that… The story complete with a video can be found here.
MSNBC acknowledged the whisper, but claimed that there was no way to tell exactly where the voice came from. I like to think that it has something to do with Mormon hoodoo, but that of course is ridiculous and just me being dumb. However, I believe that I have uncovered the secret.
Well, Romney hasn’t been the only candidate to receive help during the debates. Governor Richardson explained that he was not paying attention during a debate and then was asked a question. Completely unsure of what was even asked, Richardson looked to Obama who then whispered, “Katrina, Katrina.” This tipped Richardson off to the point where he could guess what the question concerned. You can read the statement from Richardson here.
So, is there a connection between the two whispers? I think so.
In other news, I took some photos of Chris today… I can’t upload them to the domain because little bunnyface ate my power cord. Rodents.
More
And so the semester begins….
The intensive is not too intense after all because we are graciously released early in order to do our assignments.
After much resisting and yearning to find a more original topic, I caved. Why not do my thesis on the books that brought me to love literature? It is more or less decided: I will be writing on Vonnegut, probably focusing on apocalyptic themes. This semester I will be focusing on Vonnegut a bit. In Bibliography and Research, I am writing on Slaughterhouse-Five. In Postmodernism, I am looking at Cat’s Cradle for my term paper. This will give me a big head start for my thesis. Over the summer I will probably read as much of Vonnegut as I can.
I began re-reading Slaughterhouse-Five–I hadn’t done so since the beginning of my sophomore year in undergrad. I had forgotten how enjoyable he is. I’m looking forward to going through all of his books again with a more mature literary eye. I now have a better understanding of literature, Postmodernism, literary theory, and so on.
And now I’m just really tired and have a horrible headache that cannot be cured.
I love everything about this photo.
Sitting here watching the debates, I was going to make an entry about Hillary and Barack, but Yahoo! News beat me to the punch. The article by Yahoo! News states:
Asked what she could say to voters who don’t find her likable enough, and seem to like Obama more, Clinton drew laughter. “Well, that hurts my feelings. … But I’ll try to go on.”
She said she agreed that Obama was likable, then added, “I don’t think I’m that bad.”
That drew a wry response from Obama, who said, “You’re likable enough, Hillary.”
From the pouty-lipped Hillary Clinton, chirps attempt at humor but instead further to produce insecurity. This display of emotion may reinforce those who resist feminine leadership citing emotion as an obstacle. I don’t really think that there is much truth in the claim of emotion in women as an issue, however Hillary always seems so darn crazy and ready to kill Barack if she had the chance. No one else does so much attacking and this just causes her to look weak, like she is hiding something. Have I said that before? I guess I just always come to the same conclusion after watching her in debates.
And why do all the Republican candidates always cut off Ron Paul? Too bad he doesn’t have much of a chance because he isn’t the worst potential candidate. I will be very sad if Mitt Romney gets the nomination because he is a smooth-talking worm tongue.
After spending the past two days listening to Chris calling Barack Obama supporters in Iowa in order to remind them about the caucus, Barack has won. When I think of Iowa, I always think of my fifth grade teacher telling us to remember the spelling because Iowa is a bunch of Idiots Out Walking Around. The idiots may have been out walking around, but the smart ones were inside caucusing for Obama.
It is a little awkward feeling at times at Liberty where the obvious majority is comprised of either politically conservative or apathetic individuals. Everyone certainly has a right to their own opinion and I don’t like to label myself as liberal or conservative or anything in between. However, in this instance, I am supporting Barack Obama.
Of course, a large point of grievance that many Republicans have with Barack is the Democratic pro-choice stance. I don’t think anyone is particularly happy when a baby dies and I don’t like the thought of abortions at all. However, abortions being legal doesn’t force anyone to kill their unborn child, but leaves it as an option. Outlawing abortion arguably could increase abortions and make them much more dangerous. In addition to accessible birth control, I believe that in helping the poor and relieving poverty, the need for abortion could be lessened. Take away the need for abortion and then it will go down.
As for gay marriage, another Republican concern, Barack supports civil unions and says to let the churches decide what they want to label marriage. I can’t think of a better solution to the issue.
I get sick of electing rich leaders that don’t really care much for the poor and were able to find loop holes because of their family connections. I’m ready for a leader who is detached from big-money lobbyists and recognizes the change needed in America. I like that he wants unity in the change that we so desperately need, not division. Barack Obama has always impressed me during the debates. I see Barack and I see hope; I suppose that is what everyone who supports him sees.
Christopher picked up some fresh chamomile tea and made me a cup. It even had a flower in it, so in a way I guess I drank a flower.
The New Year always comes so quickly and I anticipate having trouble adjusting to the need of writing “2008″ on papers. As always, my resolution is be better. At everything. I find this to be very broad and it is so on purpose. That way I know I can’t quite mess up.
For New Year’s Eve, we had dinner with my cousins and then dessert at Cold Stone. Then we came home and watched Pirates of the Carribean 3, which I found mostly to be disappointing. I didn’t exactly have high expectations anyway, so I wasn’t really crushed.
Last night we watched Blame it on Fidel, a subtitled French film following a brooding young girl whose father becomes involved with politics in Chile. Her mother takes interest in women’s right to choose an abortion and the use of contraceptive. Although trips to Chile result in exotic presents, as featured below, sacrifices must be made. The family down-grades from a large home with a servant to a small apartment. The film wasn’t plot-driven or extremely thrilling in an anticipatory sense, yet I found it to be delightful anyway. I like movies that follow a character around. It has some amusing lines, such as, “You told me Mickey Mouse was a fascist.” Not to mention that the girl had a pretty awesome pea coat for most of the movie since she attended a Catholic school. The scenery was nice as well.
Class starts on Monday for me with a week-long intensive. I’m not sure if I feel completely ready to go back. Once it starts, it doesn’t stop and I kind of go crazy at points. Oh well. I’m not getting much done here sitting around anyway. Gotta get that degree and move on!