Living Life with Death

Being a huge fan of Oprah, I usually find myself watching her show on weekday afternoons at 4pm. And this past Tuesday that is exactly what I did, and I am thankful for catching such an astonishing episode. The theme of the show was centered around two people who know they are sick and literally dying, and what they are doing about it. We all face death, but the subject matter seems too morbid and scary for most people to discuss in the open. What would you do if you were faced with your mortality?

The first was a young woman named Kris with a rare form of cancer. She was beautiful and had a great sense of humor. She had a drive to tackle her sickness and let her learn about life along the way, and recorded video of it throughout. Kris sought out ways in which she could find alternative therapy through eating healthier and practicing yoga. How does she maintain such a positive outlook? She says she focuses on the moment of living rather than on dying. "How do you live your life with the knowledge of cancer? I might not be able to get rid of it, but I can't let that ruin my life." And on top of it all, she even got married while she was ill and had no regrets about it. She said her and her husband agreed that "None of us know how long we have, so let's go. We love each other and we're an awesome team." To me, this defines what is absolutely beautiful and fascinating about life. But Kris didn't stop with the words of inspiration there. She left by saying that "I think just go for it. Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die. Cancer patients might have more information, but we all, in some ways, wait for that great permission to live."

The second was Dr. Randy Pausch, a male professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and married father of three children. He is also dying and suffering from pancreatic cancer. Doctors told him he has only a few months to live. Back in September 2007, Dr. Pausch gave his last lecture to his students at Carnegie Mellon. I decided to include the video of the lecture on here so you can see for yourself just how powerful this message is about achieving life when someone is faced with death. Enjoy his last lecture and take every word in.

In light of the holiday today, I wanted to say Happy Father's Day to Dr. Pausch and Tim Russert for being loving fathers to their children, as well as inspirations. And also Happy Father's Day to my Dad for being my own personal hero.

A Revolutionary Man

A friend, father, husband, journalist, devout catholic, and overall hero. Tim Russert, 58, shocked the country yesterday when he suddenly passed away at his NBC office. His autopsy reports show that his passing was due to an enlarged heart and cholesterol plaque that had ruptured an artery.

Tim Russert was well known for his Sunday morning TV show "Meet the Press," which revolutionized political television. He was full of passion about talking politics with anyone and everyone, and infusing it into the American media. I do remember that every Sunday for the past several years, I would wake up to my Mother watching his Sunday morning show. I often found her sitting in front of the TV shouting "I would vote for Tim Russert if he ran for President!" After the news of his death broke out yesterday, she reminded me of his famous "White Board" that he introduced during the 2000 Presidential election, and we both laughed and shared other memories we had of him through television.

He truly did touch thousands of individuals by provoking healthy debate into the political arena and setting many standards in political journalism within Washington. Tim Russert was viewed with the highest respect and admiration, and will truly be missed by all. He was even named in TIME Magazine for 2008 as one of the top 100 most influential people.

He leaves a legacy of greatness in not only the political and media worlds, but through his devotion as a husband and father. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and anyone who was inspired and touched by the words and wisdom of Tim Russert.

McCain's VP Decision Still Vital

As we have seen the spotlight on Barack Obama following his monumental win and the concession of Hillary Clinton, we cannot forget about John McCain. His decision as to which running mate will be chosen is just as important in order to give him a strong campaign. While Obama's upcoming decision has been viewed as a make or break moment for the democratic party, McCain's will still be an intriguing one for the upcoming election.

Many people have firm beliefs that McCain needs to choose someone young and charismatic with a strong conservative base (something McCain has received flack over), as well as significant party recognition. While several people have inferred the likes of Charlie Crist for the job, he lacks this very need for someone who is fiscally conservative to the ticket. Fortunately, there are possible candidates to fit this very profile, and it could very well be Minnesota Governor, Tim Pawlenty, or South Carolina's Mark Sanford.

However, other Republicans wish for McCain to choose a candidate that was previously part of the Republican race, such as Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney. Mike Huckabee could add possible value by drawing in the evangelicals, although his economic track record isn't too glamorous. Mitt Romney on the other hand, could add value because of his experience as a CEO, which gives him an economic edge over others. The reason for this is many of these former Presidential hopefuls have strong points that McCain seems to lack, and they could help bring balance to the Republican party and make the campaign stand even stronger.

A Monumental Time in American Politics

One week ago, June 3, 2008, marked the end of the longest primary battle in United States history. But it doesn't stop there. On that night, Barack Obama became the first African-American ever to win the Presidential nomination for a major party.

The race for the White House between the two Democratic Nominees has proven to be a outright bloodbath between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Supporters of each of the two candidates are die-hard, brutal, and very loyal to their respective candidates. But now that Hillary Clinton has officially announced that she has conceded from the race, two vital questions remain unanswered. Will her supporters back Obama and who will Obama choose as his running mate?

Hillary Clinton has now turned her focus to pressing her supporters to support the official democratic nominee for President. According to CNN.com in a poll released Friday, "60 percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for Obama, but 17 percent said they would vote for McCain and 22 percent, said they would not vote at all if Clinton were not the nominee." I admire Clinton's vow to strive for a democratic White House by doing whatever in her power to defeat John McCain in the upcoming election. Therefore, if the democrats wish to take the White House, they will most likely need to listen closely to the Senator's words and unify the party by backing Obama, regardless of their original intentions.But just maybe her supporters won't need such a strong persuasion to support Obama if she is chosen as his running mate in the Presidential election. According to CNN.com, and a recent national poll, "Fifty-four percent of registered Democrats questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Friday think Obama should name his rival as his running mate; 43 percent disagreed." For the majority of democratic voters, they do wish for Hillary Clinton to be named to his ticket. And if this plays out, all of her die-hard supporters will likely give Obama a strong and united democratic backing for his upcoming contest with the Republican nominee, John McCain. Many of Clinton's top supporters have announced that if Obama wants the 18 million votes of Hillary Clinton to back him, then it is almost necessary for him to add her to the ticket. But not everyone sees the Obama-Clinton ticket as a dream ticket, including Former President Jimmy Carter, when he said that would be "the worst mistake that could be made."

The decision of Clinton's supporters to unify or to not unify the party by remaining loyal to the democrats, regardless of Clinton's concession to the race, is a vital one for Barack Obama's campaign. And his decision of who to add as his running mate is just as vital. These two important factors of the race that will be decided in the near future will quite possibly have a major impact on how the entire Presidential election turns out.