Friday, November 7, 2008 Right-wing Democrat or left-wing Republican? By Evan Koser arts editor emks I 10@psu.edu Alright, here's the deal: I voted for John McCain. Am I upset that he lost the election? Not really. Did I see it coming? Yeah, pretty much. Why am I so apathet ic to his loss? Because I believe that in today's society, with America the way it is, being partisan toward only one or the other is just plain silly. It's like this: basically, I'm mostly an independent (which is virtually center, in case you're wondering). Each candi date had their pros and cons. For exam ple, I'm an avid capitalist. I believe most everything should be privatized with only the slightest traces of government regulation. Government intervention in What the @%*& are we supposed to do now? GNN ,„ G labal News Netwak lassiosisseiss imp" •IsllSlSlsssslsai. Seasonal Reflections By Nathan Carter staff writer nrcso69@'psu.cdu The sidewalk flows further along than it ever has before. October gives way to November here on the Behrend Campus. And like every year around this time, I'm captivated by nature. The trees turn a beautiful orange and the grass creeps closer to their trunks. Autumn has always been a time for reflection, and it remains as such for me. The chill air whistles by me, as I sit at the table out in front of Senat Hall in my awesome hooded sweatshirt that those hooligan kids are all wearing these days. My laptop sits in front of me, and I begin pondering about an arti cle topic for this week. . Gazing around, I took in all the trees. leaves and birds, but there's really noth ing in them to write an article about. Every intelligent person can connect with nature's beauty, so it wouldn't he relevant. Then, a couple walked by hand in hand, and I had my article topic. People in relationships good relation ships at least don't really know how lucky they are. This is going to sound like I know a whole lot about relation ships and that I've been around for a long time, but I still think that relation ships have completely lost their mean ing. Overall, relationships have nearly In my opinion: People need to get more involved in school. How are you going to do that? It starts with a letter to the editor. Get crackin'. e-mail jdjso6l@psu.edu pri% ate industry is good when it collies to protecting the people from merpric- Mg. unhealthy products. or misinforma tion. That's why it's illegal for big busi nesses to have monopolies: that's why we have organizations like the Food and Drug Administration, and that's why all of those Chinese toes were recalled a while back (lead paint kills). I supported John McCain's plan to allow us to allocate four percent of our social security tax into a private fund (the amount would grow as our genera tion got older. That way. by the time we're using it. it would hopefully he our own money and thus the younger gener ation can e‘entualh, pay for them selves). However, I supported Barack Obama's plan to start regulating the banks a little hit more. *Sob* I miss the election! completely dropped off the charts. Everyone is into hook-ups these days. But I suppose that's the point: to not have any strings attached is supposedly what makes them great. I don't see why. because Nou're losing c \ er) aspect of the meeting of this person. Int not say ing that if you find an attractive aspect to someone you should marry them, hut go on a date, listen to them. see what you ha \ c in common. hang Out. watch a movie together: anything but having sex ith each other will put a little more meaning and memory to your meeting. It doesn't have to he some "When Harry Met Sally" scenario and future for it to he meaningful. Even just hanging out as friends is better than hooking up and making every future meeting awkward for both of you. So, there's my rant. It was pretty short, hut I think it needed said. as I'm completely tired of one of the biggest things in college being how many peo ple you slept with. It's annoying and completely unnecessary. If you like that sort of thing, you might as well place a giant sticker that says 'Tool' on your forehead because you're just furthering the stereotype of a sex-crazed college life and your furthering the disintegra tion of the relationship ideal. Watching the couple pass. I stopped typing and looked up. They were hold ing hands, and she was smiling at him. The problem was I saw that he was tex PERSPECTIVES I don't support McCain's approval of the No Child Left Behind act. I do not support Ohama's plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. I support McCain and being in Iraq: I sup port Ohama's timetable for withdrawal. As you can see, this can he very conflict ing for a voter like me. Where does my allegiance lie? Do I vote for McCain simply because I am registered Republican (which I wouldn't be if I didn't live in PA, where only R's and D's can vote in the primaries)? Do I vote for Ohama because I want what he promis es? In the end, it came down to two fac tors: social security and Iraq. It's impossible to determine which person would have been the best for our country. Is it Obama because he's not President Bush? Is it not McCain We've no choice crew: time to start coverage of the 'l2 Obama vs. Palin campaign. GNN bbal News Network siort elsosesseisesstossii ting with his cell phone. Which brings me to my next point: for those of you who are in relationships, pay attention to the person you're in a relationship with. That seems pretty much implied. It bothers me that there is and always has been this "boredom" factor when people begin relationships. One of the pair begins to grow old of the other even after the shortest of times. I think that, subconsciously. a lot of guys just see that being with one person is a bad thing. because the media makes them believe "the more, the better" when it comes to girls. In the three relationships I've been in, boredom was never really a factor because in every one of them we found more things in common to talk about. That's what attracted me to them: their sense of humor, their pop culture influ ences. or their ability to reflect on everyday things. If you're becoming bored with your relationship, try to think back and remember what drew you to that person in the first place. The chances are that it was something you had in common, and if you're finding boredom in that then you've just found boredom in yourself. And, that trans forms into a whole topic in itself. So, in conclusion, I urge everyone reading this to find a deeper meaning in so many of the things we take for granted that are offered to us by our fellow people. I know you won't regret it. because he is "McSame" as Bush? Just because he's a Republican doesn't mean he's the same. It is very true that McCain voted with Bush approximately 90 percent of the time, but make sure you know that the majority of those votes took place at the beginning of Bush's first term, when his approval rate was high. But Obama has so much to offer as well. First of all, he's black. That's makes last Tuesday historic enough. No matter what he does in office, for better or worse, he will be in the history books. He'll be alongside Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Nixon. The media, even if they are biased, are going to have Obama under a microscope. What is a person like me to do? Should I feel guilty because I voted man and woman By Rachel Reeves editor-in-cheif rcrsos7@psu.edu Man Laws From "I Live By The Man Laws" on Facebook.com: 1) No wasted beer, period 3) If your best friend is dumped by a girl it is a six month waiting period until she can be touched. If he breaks up with her it's a six day waiting peri od. 9) When bringing condoms to a party, it is a man's responsibility to pack two in his pockets and one in his car as a spare in case a friend is in desperate need. 12) If another man's fly is down, you didn't see anything and may not make a comment about it. 19) The head nod is an acceptable way to greet another guy when simply walk ing' past: No words' are needed to be said. An upward nod is for friends; a downward nod is for fellow men. 31) Every man should watch Sports Center at least once a day, though multiple viewings are recommended so that one can hold his own in any debate on sports that may arise that day. 52) The morning after, if a beer has been left on the table, no matter the temperature, it is acceptable to con sume this item with food, such as its counterpart, cold pizza. Deep thoughts By Jeff Kramer staff writer jsksl6l@psu.edu Certain things have always been present in history since the times when the earliest stages of man hadn't evolved to the point we're at today. Many people see these things but don't realize that they've always been a prob lem and assume the world is falling apart. People back in the days of the Romans were thinking, "oh man, our civilization is going to crap," as they well should have been. Just like some are thinking today, and we all know how well the Romans turned out (but hey, they didn't have Obama). The Roman Empire was on its last breath for quite a while before 476. During every period throughout the entire history of Western music, the older generations were saying, "man, this new kind of music is terrible." Just like the punks of the 'Bos say about the hip-hop movement of today, just like the British invasion and Elvis support ers of the 'sos and '6os say about the punk movement of the '7os and 'Bos, just like the swing and big band follow ers of the '2os and the '3os said about Elvis, Johnny Cash, and the British invasion. During every period of clas sical Western concert music it's been the same way. Baroque looked down on Classical looked down on Romantic, and etc. And war. There hasn't been a decade since the beginning of the 20th century in which the US wasn't at war. In 1902 we were at war with the Philippines, from 1914 till the late '2os and '3os there was some sort of WWI branched The laws for 31) Never travel long distancds by yourself. Never rent a hotel room by yourself. And don't even think about pulling your car over on the express way to catch a nap if you're on your own. As for backpacking solo through Europe forget it. 46) If you want to conduct any kind of business dealing with vehicles. comput ers, or your finances, give in and bring a man with you. It will make things eas ier in the long run, even when you know what you're talking about. out somewhere, 1939 to 1945 we were in WWII, we had the Korean war in the 'sos, the '6os and '7os were Vietnam, the 'Bos were the Cold War, in the '9os we were in the First Gulf War, and now in the 'oos we're at war with Iraq. It'd be really nice to say, "let's not have any more wars across the whole world" and have that happen, but there will always be war as long as people are alive. It's great to have those wild ideals, but human nature regulates us to fight. Things aren't really all that had, though. More kids are going to college, less are bigoted, and education is steadily getting higher in quality. We still have global problems that have arisen with our technological advance ments that the millennial generation and generations past will have to deal with. Problems like global warming and starvation. But there's still some thing to be positive about. In an essay I had to read for English class, the author dropped a very good thought in passing: there are several generations of people now who have been brought up to think that cops are out there to get them, but it's quite the contrary. Cops are there to help. What does that say about our society? We've been classically trained to think. "oh crap, cops," whenever they're around. I'm not saying that there are no crappy cops, but man. Our society's precon ceived notions have definitely taken a sad turn. I'm an offender of this myself. When I'm driving and I see a cop I'll get nervous about my speed and driving. When you're coming out of a party, there's probably a better reason for you to be on your best behavior. The Behrend Beacon I against someone I supported'? Either way, I'd feel this, should I feel upset that my vote didn't matter much? Funny story about that: I'm from Mercer County, where the vote was 24.321 McCain to 24,319 Obama. Myself and my father and mother: three votes was all it would take to have not voted and Obama would have won in my county. Talk about making your vote count. My word of advice: don't ally your self to one party. In today's world, you can't afford it. Honestly, if you can agree all across the board with one party's platform, more power to you. But how can you say one party is completely right and the other is wrong? That com pletely invalidates the whole idea of democracy. Woman Laws Passed down to me from my mother: 1) Don't go walking or running by yourself at night. 3) If you have a drink at a party, never set it down or walk away from it. If you do, throw it away and get a new one. When holding a drink, keep one hand over the top at all times. If you don't want to drink, hold on to one anyways so no one harasses you. 6) Always park your car with the dri ver's door facing the building you will be walking out of. 11) Never go to a man's house or apart ment alone unless you know him well and trust him with your life. 17) Check the underneath of your car before you walk within an arm's length of it. Check your backseat before you shut yourself in the car. Make sure no one is there. 22) If you carry your car key between your knuckles, you can use that as an effective weapon for self-defense if necessary
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