Midwest Beer Belly Despair Blog

Fresh from the recent Las Vegas Republican Presidential Debate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney visited Morningside Campus on Thursday morning to gather support for his bid to be nominated the Republican Presidential candidate.  Romney spoke to students and Sioux City residents in the Yockey room of the Olsen Student Center, answering questions and laying out his campaign promises.

“I want strong values, strong economy, and a military second to none,” Romney told the hundred or so audience members. Romney outlined his plans for jump-starting the economy. If elected, he plans to make tax rates globally competitive for employers, modernize regulations, expand and open global markets for American goods, funding “human capital” by improving schools, American infrastructure, and reforming immigration; and to cut spending and balance the budget.

Romney’s plans are not significantly different from other GOP hopefuls, but he sells his message with more pizzazz than any other candidate that has visited Morningside. Upon entering the Yockey room, he specifically reached out to students, and seemed more interested in reaching them than the older voters in the room. When asked what he considered the areas the Republican Party should improve on, Romney mentioned the GOP’s inability to effectively communicate their message to younger voters. He clearly tried to remedy that flaw during his appearance, even mentioning that he hoped students were receiving credit for coming and listening to him.

Romney is an experienced statesman, a fact that is readily apparent to anyone watching him speak. He is able to inject humor and warmth into his speeches and actually seems dedicated to the idea of free and open debate about issues. He is banking on this to carry him through the nomination. Romney points to his previous experience of being a Republican Governor in very liberal Massachusetts as one way he is a better candidate than Obama. Romney doesn’t believe in the current President’s ability to lead and compromise in Washington and promises, “If I am President, I will use everything in my power to make people work together for America.”

Shortly after an hour of speaking and answering questions, Romney left Morningside, leaving behind a slew of national and local reporters in his wake. The former Governor was off to the next campaign stop, to convince more voters that he is the right choice for president. He has his work cut out for him. Unlike when former Speaker of the House Newt Gingerich and Representative Michelle Bachmann visited, there was no hardcore Mitt Romney voter base at the meeting. Romney is reaching for the middle ground and, in doing so, risking his claim to the GOP nomination. Romney can stand in the middle ground all he wants, but it means nothing if he isn’t able to face off against Obama after the primaries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15382273

This is messed up. I understand that humans have a tendency to not get involved with problems, but it is so much more visceral watching it than reading about it. The story reminds me of the case in New York, where a woman was raped, in front of dozens of witnesses, but nobody lifted a finger because everyone thought that some one else would call the police. I guess the main differences are that the Chinese were literally walking right next to a bleeding, comatose CHILD. I don’t really know how this is news, other than it shows how cold humans can be and the fact that it shocks the shit out of me. Every time I watch this, I hurt. Here’s a link to a slightly less edited version of the video. Notice that at a certain point the kid reaches for a cyclist, who doesn’t even notice.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-1528405

More proof that if it bleeds it leads. Unfortunately the article doesn’t tell what day this happened, but I’m assuming it was yesterday, as otherwise the crime will happen in the future, at least by the time of this posting. The article isn’t actually that good, as it seems to be riding on the fact that eight people were killed (as a side note: eight people? this guy is a good shot). There is no date for when this happened, no explanation of what actually went on during the shooting, and a very bare boned motive. Why would this guy come into a salon and shoot the hell out of it? That’s the million dollar question and what will keep interest in this story alive. The motive that they give is really sad. Apparently nobody told the alleged shooter that if he goes to jail, he’ll never really be able to see his boy again. But maybe that isn’t the reason. It’s pure speculation at this point. I see two things coming of this. Either it will be quickly swept away by the other news, like what occurred with the IHOP shooting, or it will cause a furor among the media, as what occurred during the Giffords shooting earlier this year. However, since this doesn’t seem to be politically motivated or involving any elected persons, it will probably be soon forgot by the world at large, especially if the police can get a confession within the next 48 hours.

The Morningside Activities Council provides a much needed release valve for students attending Morningside College. The Morningside Activities Council (MAC) brings in various entertainers and shows for students, giving them a much needed distraction from their busy class schedules. Booking everything from comedians to bands to former stars of “The Real World”, MAC is constantly enriching the atmosphere of Morningside. MAC does more than just bring in entertainers though. They also work with other campus groups to give students more actively engaging activities, such as the Fantasy Casino, set up in conjunction with the Morningside Wellness “Live for Life” Program.
Planning activities for Morningside Campus is not an easy job. Every year, MAC sends ten student representatives to a conference held by the National Association for College Activities, where, in a flurry of three days, the representatives are shown acts and courted by agencies. Eight of the representative spots are reserved for the executives of MAC, four for outgoing officers and four for incoming officers. Students who attend MAC meetings and apply to go to the conference fill the last two spots, and any leftover from overlap of officers. During these hectic three days the majority of the acts MAC brings in are decided, but there is some leeway in the system. MAC can also pick up individual acts as they see fit throughout the year, but the Council makes sure to only pick acts from agencies with which they have worked before.
While many students attend the events, MAC members are constantly looking for ways to bring in more students. “We are never completely satisfied because we would always like to reach more students,” says Anthony Henriks, MAC Vice President. A main issue for the council is advertising. Henriks continues, “We have had some ideas that we want to work on this year, like doing an SMS text service that sends out daily reminders to students.” While trying new ways to use technology to help get the word out to students, the tried and true method of placing posters around campus is still the best. According to Henriks, “[The] most effective thing I’ve seen is placing the posters in the right places within a week of the event.”
Unfortunately for MAC, their greatest problem with attracting students is the realities of collegiate life. Kendra Salter, a Morningside nursing student, says she hasn’t attended a MAC activity since last year. “ I haven’t gone this year because I’ve been too busy,” she remarked, gesturing toward a thick textbook. Marcie Ponder, an English major, has a similar problem. “I don’t go [to the activities] because of my schedule.” Ponder is a non-traditional student at Morningside and she has no draw to go to the activities, as they are geared toward younger students during the evenings.
MAC, while not actively booking events for non-traditional students, would be more than willing to listen to any idea a student might bring. The best time to voice an idea is during MAC meetings, held every Wednesday in the Student Government Office at 6 p.m. According to Henriks, “We always open up to ideas from other students… if anyone has an idea we look into it and see if we can make it work.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/obama-jobs-plan_n_998010.html

I actually saw a little of this speech earlier today. I didn’t catch the part about raising taxes, though I’m glad we are, but I did see Obama issue a challenge of sorts. He asked the media to go to he Republicans, ask them for a jobs bill and have it vetted by the same economists that vetted his bill. He wanted the two plans scored to see which the economists thought was better. While a nice sentiment, it’s far too logical a move for America. The populace votes on feelings, not on logic. Look at the fiasco of Hank Williams Jr. At least Obama is trying to do something, even if it is the government creating jobs. The Republicans idea seems to try to get corporations to hire Americans but the only way to do that is by giving away what made the jobs good in the first place. I’m frustrated with Obama (Gitmo is still fucking open) but it’s nice to see him showing some balls for the first time since he took office.