Oh yes, the time has come. I feel it is finally the time to start an offical countdown until the Iowa Caucus date: January 3rd, 2008. There are 20 days.
First of all. let us re-cap the semester (as it is now over). It was a very busy semester and the political events only made it that much busier but also exciting! Through the FIN project, we had the opportunity to have a lot of candidates either on Wartburg's campus or to view them via webcast with FP. Both Waverly and Wartburg College had the chance to meet many candidates. We had Tom Tancredo, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, just to name a few. It was very exciting to see all the candidates and compare them to each other. One of the many privileges I've learned to love living in Iowa.
I was also taking a special course offered at Wartburg because of the FIN project and since this was the Year of Civic Engagement at Wartburg. The course was Political Communication, taught by Penni Pier. It was a really great course and I'm glad I had the chance to take it! It was an awesome class with a lot of discussion about the current election year and we all know I love discussing politics! At the end of the semester, groups within the class gave presentations that were open to the public about different forms of political communication. My presentation was on Political Cartoons and I found the topic to be very interesting, although not enough research on it! However I did enjoy searching through hundreds of cartoons!
And finally, on my last day in Iowa before coming home for break, I finally did it. I changed my voter's registration over to Iowa. I am now ready to caucus! Well... in a sense. I'm excited that I will have the chance to caucus for a candidate on the third. Now, I just have to decide who I'm going to caucus for! I've heard all of the candidates I would consider caucusing for. And people keep asking me, expecting me to know who I'm going to support. And one would think I would have decided by now - especially considering I've been actively involved with this election since May! But I have made no final decisions. And I have 20 days to make that decision.
But I am very much looking forward to participating in the Democratic caucus in Waverly! I'm excited for the noise, the chaos, the excitement, the passion! I'm excited to experience this first hand! I'm excited for the possiblity to head to the KWWL studio to watch the results come in! I'm also very excited to fly back out to NH to observe the primary out there and to watch the results come in! It will be a very exciting first couple of weeks of the New Year!
So that's about it for now. The countdown has begun and I'm starting to ask the hard questions. The most important one being: who will I caucus for?
Friday, December 14, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Ready for Fall
Well, the summer is pretty much over. And I can honestly same I'm so excited! :-) I can't wait for school to start this fall. Okay, well I'm excited for the activities and friends, maybe not classes yet... ha. But this year is promising to be a great one! And I can't wait for that!
The rest of my summer (since my last blog) has gone by very quickly. Unfortunately, there weren't too many more political events I was able to go to due to work and whatnot.
Towards the end of July I was able to fly out to Washington D.C. with Jake and Justin to visit Heidi and Emily. That was an amazing time. We spent an extended weekend there taking in the sights and activities of our nation's capitol. We of course - being the political active students that we are - sat in on a Senate session at the Capitol. Unfortunately, it wasn't a debate or anything so there weren't many members of the Senate there. We did hear a few Senators speak about SCHIP (children's health care). We even heard Senator Grassley which is one of the sponsors of the bill and the Senator Emily and Heidi were working for. So that was pretty cool. I wish we could have seen more people though. That's my only complaint. And maybe less rules. They are strict at that place! The best part about the trip was being back with some of my FINS and being able to talk about politics non-stop again for a few days! :-) I do love my FINS...
The rest of the summer I stayed busy working. I watched the news as much as possible to keep up with current events. Here are some of those events and my thoughts:
United States presidential 'hopeful,' Republican candidate Tom Tancredo said that another terrorist act in the U.S. should be "followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina."
Wow. When I first heard about this I didn't even know what to think. The only word that came to mind was 'arrogance'. Terrorist does not equal Muslim.
Iowa Straw Poll Results: Romney in first; Huckabee in second. I wasn't surprised at all by Romney coming in first, I think we all saw that coming. I was very surprised by Mike Huckabee coming in second. It was obvious that McCain and Giuliani weren't going to do well since they weren't participating. But I was still surprised at the ultra-conservative coming in second. Remember, this is the guy who made a public announcement about mini-skirts and how bad they are... But I'm not judging.
I was actually on vacation during the Straw Poll so I made sure to catch the news and check online for the results! Ha... I don't even escape politics when I'm on vacation and I love it!
I was actually on vacation in South Carolina - we as we all know, have moved the date of their primary up to Jan. 19th. Which makes things very interesting for the 2008 election. Especially with New Hampshire and Iowa both having laws saying they have to be first in the nation. Will this be a Political Christmas in December? I wouldn't mind... instead of opening presents on Christmas Day, you receive the caucus results? ha ha. Maybe not...
Some more thoughts about some current events:
So, let's get this school year off to a great start. I'm ready to jump in and get these students engaged in political activity. Here's to the year of Civic Engagement at Wartburg College. *Cheers* Let's raise some issues, have some debates, get students registered to vote, create some chaos at the caucus, enjoy the winter weather in NH, and be political engaged!
The rest of my summer (since my last blog) has gone by very quickly. Unfortunately, there weren't too many more political events I was able to go to due to work and whatnot.
Towards the end of July I was able to fly out to Washington D.C. with Jake and Justin to visit Heidi and Emily. That was an amazing time. We spent an extended weekend there taking in the sights and activities of our nation's capitol. We of course - being the political active students that we are - sat in on a Senate session at the Capitol. Unfortunately, it wasn't a debate or anything so there weren't many members of the Senate there. We did hear a few Senators speak about SCHIP (children's health care). We even heard Senator Grassley which is one of the sponsors of the bill and the Senator Emily and Heidi were working for. So that was pretty cool. I wish we could have seen more people though. That's my only complaint. And maybe less rules. They are strict at that place! The best part about the trip was being back with some of my FINS and being able to talk about politics non-stop again for a few days! :-) I do love my FINS...
The rest of the summer I stayed busy working. I watched the news as much as possible to keep up with current events. Here are some of those events and my thoughts:
United States presidential 'hopeful,' Republican candidate Tom Tancredo said that another terrorist act in the U.S. should be "followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina."
Wow. When I first heard about this I didn't even know what to think. The only word that came to mind was 'arrogance'. Terrorist does not equal Muslim.
Iowa Straw Poll Results: Romney in first; Huckabee in second. I wasn't surprised at all by Romney coming in first, I think we all saw that coming. I was very surprised by Mike Huckabee coming in second. It was obvious that McCain and Giuliani weren't going to do well since they weren't participating. But I was still surprised at the ultra-conservative coming in second. Remember, this is the guy who made a public announcement about mini-skirts and how bad they are... But I'm not judging.
I was actually on vacation during the Straw Poll so I made sure to catch the news and check online for the results! Ha... I don't even escape politics when I'm on vacation and I love it!
I was actually on vacation in South Carolina - we as we all know, have moved the date of their primary up to Jan. 19th. Which makes things very interesting for the 2008 election. Especially with New Hampshire and Iowa both having laws saying they have to be first in the nation. Will this be a Political Christmas in December? I wouldn't mind... instead of opening presents on Christmas Day, you receive the caucus results? ha ha. Maybe not...
Some more thoughts about some current events:
- Will Fred Thompson really announce? Some say he's short on money... Hm?
- Rove resigning - all I can say is about time. Although, who will think for the President now? ha ha okay... a little harsh. Maybe.
- I applaud the Democratic candidates that participated in the debate at the gay issues forum. That was one for the history books.
- Another for the history books: the YouTube debate on CNN. I'm sad to say I missed most of it due to the cable being out. But truly awesome. What a great idea! Actual citizens asking the questions. The Republican debate is actually coming up soon... I'll be sure to catch that one.
So, let's get this school year off to a great start. I'm ready to jump in and get these students engaged in political activity. Here's to the year of Civic Engagement at Wartburg College. *Cheers* Let's raise some issues, have some debates, get students registered to vote, create some chaos at the caucus, enjoy the winter weather in NH, and be political engaged!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Thoughts from a different world.
I've been meaning to post this blog for quite some time now... however it always seems to slip past me. It has been a couple of weeks since our FIN adventure ended, but the memories of those three politically fun-filled weeks are still fresh in my mind. It was an amazing experience and one that I will be sure never to forget. I met some amazing people, developed wonderful friendships and learned so much more about the importance of IA/NH, the political process, my country in general, and myself. I would not trade those three weeks for anything in the world!
I think if you were to ask any FIN about how they're dealing with class being done, any one of them would tell you how hard it is to find other people to talk about politics. We - as FINS - were placed in this other world for three weeks. A world where we literally only discussed politics. And it was amazing. Being surrounded by students who were as interested in this as you were. Now, outside of our FIN-world, we struggle engaging other students. And not even just students - but friends and family members as well. I think my mom got sick of me calling home during those three weeks because I had nothing to say except politics. :-) It was wonderful being in a place like that. And I look forward to the time when we all meet again!
On July 4th, I had an awesome experience. Amanda (my roommate) and I managed to get tickets from Eric to the Billy and Hillary Clinton event in Waterloo, IA! It was something else. It was different from any other political events I had been to thus far. There were different sections for people - whether you were a volunteer or a caucus supporter, etc. And there were a lot of people. I'm sad to say I didn't get my picture with either of them though. Just a picture with them in the background. (My goal is to have my picture with the future President of the USA!) But it was a good event. They really got the crowd going. Especially since it was Independence Day. But it was just so cool to be there at that event. With a former President and another President hopeful. It's part of history. And it's sad more people don't take advantage of that.
All in all - life has been good, just missing politics. :-) I will continue to blog with my thoughts and experiences as they come along. As for the rest of this month, I'm looking forward to visiting DC with Jake and Justin to see Heidi and Emily. It will be a great time! And I'm very excited for it!
I think if you were to ask any FIN about how they're dealing with class being done, any one of them would tell you how hard it is to find other people to talk about politics. We - as FINS - were placed in this other world for three weeks. A world where we literally only discussed politics. And it was amazing. Being surrounded by students who were as interested in this as you were. Now, outside of our FIN-world, we struggle engaging other students. And not even just students - but friends and family members as well. I think my mom got sick of me calling home during those three weeks because I had nothing to say except politics. :-) It was wonderful being in a place like that. And I look forward to the time when we all meet again!
On July 4th, I had an awesome experience. Amanda (my roommate) and I managed to get tickets from Eric to the Billy and Hillary Clinton event in Waterloo, IA! It was something else. It was different from any other political events I had been to thus far. There were different sections for people - whether you were a volunteer or a caucus supporter, etc. And there were a lot of people. I'm sad to say I didn't get my picture with either of them though. Just a picture with them in the background. (My goal is to have my picture with the future President of the USA!) But it was a good event. They really got the crowd going. Especially since it was Independence Day. But it was just so cool to be there at that event. With a former President and another President hopeful. It's part of history. And it's sad more people don't take advantage of that.
All in all - life has been good, just missing politics. :-) I will continue to blog with my thoughts and experiences as they come along. As for the rest of this month, I'm looking forward to visiting DC with Jake and Justin to see Heidi and Emily. It will be a great time! And I'm very excited for it!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
First - in more ways than one...
Welcome to my first blog of the First in the Nation Project. I hope that this will become a place where you (whoever you are... although there may be none...) can come to hear - well read - my thoughts about this experience, which truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It will bring about many "firsts" for me and I'm excited to share to share them with you.
I won't explain the program because there is this whole website dedicated to that - so I'll let you explore that for answers and you can always contact me with any other questions.
Right now, we're over halfway finished with our summer course. It's a basic course - learning information about the Iowa Caucuses and the NH Primaries. It's also been a great time for political discussions. The first week of class we (The Wartburg and Franklin Pierce FIN Scholars) were each in our own states sitting in class. We spent the week reading, discussing and learning about different aspects of a Presidential political campaign, i.e. the economy, religion, polling, media, etc. Then, last Saturday, June 16th the FP Scholars arrived in Iowa. We spent the next week touring parts of the state and continuing our learning. Sunday we visited the Field of Dreams and the Mississippi River. Monday we had a religion panel with members of the community and local politicans to discuss how the local government has an affect on national campaigns. Tuesday we studied the media and had a visit to KWWL, a local TV station in Waterloo. Wednesday we traveled to Des Moines. There we visited the campagin headquarters for each of the main candidates (in smaller groups) to see how each campaign was being run and conducted in Iowa. We also visited WHO, a radio station, and had a panel with three different people from different mediums. There was Paul Yager from Channel 13; a woman who's name escapes me right now, but is involved with radio; and finally David Yepsin, a journalist who is nationally the most influential political writer during caucus time. I wish I could write more about it, but I don't want to bore you. But it was amazing. He is a very powerful speaker and I'm eager to read some of his stuff because this guy definately knows what he's talking about. Thursday we drove to Cedar Rapids for an exciting day. We visited KCRG, channel 9, and also had a meeting with a woman at an Islamic Center and recieved her view on politics and her faith. It was very interesting. It was also an exciting day, filled with getting lost, crazy driving, and tornadoes. But nothing serious. :-)
Friday, us Wartburgers flew out to NH. Strangely, we were the first ones to arrive here from all of the FIN program. It's taken at least four different flights to finally get everyone here. But we made it. Not without some more adventures, but those are for a different blog...
Today we had our first taste of the week to come. We went to a live broadcast with David Valdez who is a photojournalist and former White House photographer. Amazing guy with some amazing pictures and stories!! Then, at dinner - which was great! - the keynote speaker was William Douglas, who is a White House Correspondent for McClatchy newspapers. He also had some great stories.
This is certainly off to a great start. And I think this is going to be an amazing program. I'm learning and coming to realize a lot of things within these past few weeks. I am a political junkie. And I'm sure all of my friends and family will get sick of me talking about politics so much. But I'm currently exposed to it 24/7 and don't really have much else to talk about! All of our time is spent talking politics. Which sometimes may get a little old... but also refreshing to have other people to talk about these issues. So many people don't care or aren't informed and don't want to talk about politics. But it's so important and I'm glad I've found some more people who agree with that.
I'm also learning a lot, because I'm the only Wartburg student that's not from Iowa. I'm from Minnesota and how we view the political campaigns is much different than it is in Iowa. Here are some of the things I've learned:
It's a much bigger deal in Iowa. They take their caucuses very seriously - as they should. The caucus system itself is a little goofy but nonetheless amazing. Iowa has a large influence on who the next President of the United States will be - whether or not people believe Iowa should have that influence is another discussion. The politicians are always in Iowa. They are always around. It's not uncommon for a person to meet (or see) each of the political candidates at least once. There is much more information on the media about politics as well - especially when it comes to campaign ads and whatnot.
We've talked about a lot of things these past few weeks and I wish I could share them all with you now. But I've noticed this blog is getting a little long so I better stop for now. I'll try to continue to share my thoughts with you through the rest of this course, the summer and especially this fall once school starts and the elections draw even closer. It's going to be an exciting election cycle and I hope you are excited about this as I am.
I won't explain the program because there is this whole website dedicated to that - so I'll let you explore that for answers and you can always contact me with any other questions.
Right now, we're over halfway finished with our summer course. It's a basic course - learning information about the Iowa Caucuses and the NH Primaries. It's also been a great time for political discussions. The first week of class we (The Wartburg and Franklin Pierce FIN Scholars) were each in our own states sitting in class. We spent the week reading, discussing and learning about different aspects of a Presidential political campaign, i.e. the economy, religion, polling, media, etc. Then, last Saturday, June 16th the FP Scholars arrived in Iowa. We spent the next week touring parts of the state and continuing our learning. Sunday we visited the Field of Dreams and the Mississippi River. Monday we had a religion panel with members of the community and local politicans to discuss how the local government has an affect on national campaigns. Tuesday we studied the media and had a visit to KWWL, a local TV station in Waterloo. Wednesday we traveled to Des Moines. There we visited the campagin headquarters for each of the main candidates (in smaller groups) to see how each campaign was being run and conducted in Iowa. We also visited WHO, a radio station, and had a panel with three different people from different mediums. There was Paul Yager from Channel 13; a woman who's name escapes me right now, but is involved with radio; and finally David Yepsin, a journalist who is nationally the most influential political writer during caucus time. I wish I could write more about it, but I don't want to bore you. But it was amazing. He is a very powerful speaker and I'm eager to read some of his stuff because this guy definately knows what he's talking about. Thursday we drove to Cedar Rapids for an exciting day. We visited KCRG, channel 9, and also had a meeting with a woman at an Islamic Center and recieved her view on politics and her faith. It was very interesting. It was also an exciting day, filled with getting lost, crazy driving, and tornadoes. But nothing serious. :-)
Friday, us Wartburgers flew out to NH. Strangely, we were the first ones to arrive here from all of the FIN program. It's taken at least four different flights to finally get everyone here. But we made it. Not without some more adventures, but those are for a different blog...
Today we had our first taste of the week to come. We went to a live broadcast with David Valdez who is a photojournalist and former White House photographer. Amazing guy with some amazing pictures and stories!! Then, at dinner - which was great! - the keynote speaker was William Douglas, who is a White House Correspondent for McClatchy newspapers. He also had some great stories.
This is certainly off to a great start. And I think this is going to be an amazing program. I'm learning and coming to realize a lot of things within these past few weeks. I am a political junkie. And I'm sure all of my friends and family will get sick of me talking about politics so much. But I'm currently exposed to it 24/7 and don't really have much else to talk about! All of our time is spent talking politics. Which sometimes may get a little old... but also refreshing to have other people to talk about these issues. So many people don't care or aren't informed and don't want to talk about politics. But it's so important and I'm glad I've found some more people who agree with that.
I'm also learning a lot, because I'm the only Wartburg student that's not from Iowa. I'm from Minnesota and how we view the political campaigns is much different than it is in Iowa. Here are some of the things I've learned:
It's a much bigger deal in Iowa. They take their caucuses very seriously - as they should. The caucus system itself is a little goofy but nonetheless amazing. Iowa has a large influence on who the next President of the United States will be - whether or not people believe Iowa should have that influence is another discussion. The politicians are always in Iowa. They are always around. It's not uncommon for a person to meet (or see) each of the political candidates at least once. There is much more information on the media about politics as well - especially when it comes to campaign ads and whatnot.
We've talked about a lot of things these past few weeks and I wish I could share them all with you now. But I've noticed this blog is getting a little long so I better stop for now. I'll try to continue to share my thoughts with you through the rest of this course, the summer and especially this fall once school starts and the elections draw even closer. It's going to be an exciting election cycle and I hope you are excited about this as I am.
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