Hurricane Victims Need YOUR Help

The devastation of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in the Gulf region has left thousands homeless and heartbroken. After seeing the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which still has hundreds displaced and in need of help, our country was at least more prepared for these two grandiose storms. Unfortunately, preparation doesn't completely stop the hurricanes from destroying homes, flooding streets, and crumbling infrastructures. That means people in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana need your help. The Red Cross has been actively involved in serving meals to those in the storm affected areas and other organizations have devoted their time and effort to ensuring individuals that their country is there for them in this time of dire need. Whether it's simply donating money online, organizing supplies to send down to the affected areas, or orchestrating a trip to help rebuild and clean-up - you can lend a hand. Go visit the Red Cross website at http://www.redcross.org/ or visit the FEMA website at http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/2008/ike/ to find out ways you can be involved in helping those that were left homeless and speechless because of the storms.

Don't forget, there is going to be a time when you need help in your life and this is your opportunity to help others in their time of need.

Remembering 9/11

Despaired, frightened, outraged, devastated, petrified. Any word in our very own dictionary could not put a finger on the range of emotions felt on September 11, 2001. Seven years later and the images of such anguish and fear still burns a hole into our hearts, giving us a painful reminder that it still feels like yesterday. No matter the age or background, time stopped for every American that day as we watched terror unfold through our television sets, or even physically through our own eyes amidst the chaos in the streets of New York. We will always remember where we were and what we were doing when the greatest country on earth suddenly felt powerless.

We leaned on strangers' shoulders for support and for comfort, we looked to friends for understanding, and we hugged our families a little tighter to remind ourselves to be thankful for being alive. Through stories of despondence and hope, we were able to give compassion to each other and prove to the world that we were strong and would pull through this with honor, dignity, and respect.

We will never forget those who were brave enough, courageous enough, and warm-hearted enough to volunteer to save lives, as well as the innocent victims who literally went to work and never came home. But despite the hurt and anger of lives lost, we cannot help but to turn this painful reminder into a positive light. We must use this day of patriotism and remembrance to remind ourselves that regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, background, or even political affiliation - we must stand united not only today but every day. We may have differing opinions, as it is in human nature to disagree, but support of country should take stronghold over such divisive issues if we wish to remain the great country of the United States of America. Go talk to a stranger today. Call an old friend. Tell your family you love them. Listen to what others have to say and embrace differences. Let these things become your nature and let yourself contribute to keeping this country united. God Bless.

The Wonders of Life

It's one of those deeper thoughts of intellect that we often tap into as human beings but we have great difficulty grasping completely. A number of people would blame it on the notion that "everything happens for a reason." You encounter certain people, deal with certain circumstances, and have certain failures for God-given reasons that may be out of our human control. Others believe more in the idea of free will, in which every move an individual makes is interrelated to how their life situations turn out. In otherwords, we control our destinies. Whatever you believe, the idea of "what-ifs" and "going left instead of right" always has, and probably always will fascinate me. When I take a prime example in my life, my best friend and college roommate Rachael, I always can't help but wonder about the "what-ifs" that involves itself in our relationship, or if the "what-ifs" scenario is inferior to a greater being determining our fate.

For four years while at college, Rachael and I always pondered this idea. It all started with being freshmen roommates. Upon entering JMU as a freshman, one must fill out a survey, although not too detailed, that summarizes their lifestyle. Whether you are clean, messy, or somewhere in between. Whether you are a smoker, a non-smoker, or even a non-smoker who doesn't mind being around smoke. Whether you study in complete quiet, study with noise, or can be content with a medium between the two. We especially liked to juggle the "what-ifs" with this simple survey that took us a painless twenty minutes to complete and submit to JMU to be placed with a roommate, and potential life-long friend. "What if that day when I filled out the survey I was feeling somewhat unorganized and I reflected that onto my answer," I asked Rachael. "That one different answer could have meant we would have never been roommates, and if you think about it there's a possibility we could have never met." Rachael said. "What! Why do you believe we could have never met? That's awful to think about," I quickly and anxiously replied. Then it hit me. We had different majors - I started out in marketing and she started out (and continued) with chemistry. Even when we went to join clubs later on that year we realized that we wanted to pursue different organizations. We shared dorm friends, but besides that, our good friendships developed mostly with those inside of our classes and clubs.

Four years later, and continuous best friends throughout it all, we still ask ourselves the same questions. Just what if? Or instead, was this destined to happen since it was out of our control? We may never know... and that uncertain facet of life intrigues me.

McCain - Palin

“Sarah Barracuda” was the name given to her by her high school classmates. She was born in Idaho but grew up in the hunting, gun-shooting, fishing wilderness of Alaska. She has five kids. She’s the first female Governor of her state. She’s confronted and fought corruption face to face. She is the first Republican female Vice Presidential nominee. She, Sarah Palin, is John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 election.

This morning when the news first broke, I initially held different thoughts about his decision, and was willing to clap my hands for what McCain had done in my mind to merely give the election to Obama by choosing this inexperienced candidate. That thought disappeared minutes into her acceptance speech when I saw the public reaction that seemed to give the GOP a positive roar of excitement. However, I was still skeptical.

Let’s first discuss why McCain picked Palin. To start, he definitely needs to persuade swing voters and shake off the preconceived notion that he will not be more of the same. Secondly, after gender has played a role in this election, with a major following of Senator Hillary Clinton until she dropped out of the race. Palin may have solidified her party and the indecisive voters because it showed the Republicans weren’t scared to elect a woman. But what she doesn’t have is a long resume of national experience, which the GOP has often criticized Obama for lacking. In all fairness, I do think it was a very strategic move to choose Palin for purposes of capturing voters, sparking excitement, and closing gender gaps for winning the campaign. However, is this really fair to the country to put one of the most inexperienced candidates as second in line to our Commander in Chief?

This question has had me going back and forth over whether McCain really had the interest of the county in mind or just the interest of winning the campaign in his favor. Because all too often we become enthralled and inspired by the idea of the individual and forget that their experience, ideals, and leadership ability will have to carry our country through prosperous and devastating times. Many have responded by saying that Palin has made the campaign more exciting for the GOP, but I have to ask why? It’s not because she brings more experience as I have touched on already, nor does she bring a credible background of dealing with national issues, which the McCain campaign harped upon Obama for lacking as the center theme of his campaign in recent months. I am afraid people feel this excitement for all the wrong reasons – because she is a woman, she is an unknown, and the decision itself was completely unexpected. These are not good enough reasons for me to thank McCain for making the Republican ticket ‘stronger.’ He may be able to lever this to win the campaign battle, but the question is whether or not the two of them together can win the war of four years in office.

On the contrary, although I do sit on the left side, I do realize that it seems many have been backing Obama for all the wrong reasons as well. And for this, I reach out to the American people to beg of them to pay attention to the issues at hand and not the historical significance whether it is a woman vice president or a black president. Don’t vote for the individual personality, vote for their ability to turn this country into a positive direction.

I find that Palin does have an appeal about her that makes her very likeable. She is a child of the middle class, an avid ice fishermen and moose hunter who can relate to a population that most people cannot. She has a son about to deploy to Iraq and has a family of five children. She brings more of a “close to home” appeal than most politicians. I certainly can’t say I do not like her, but I am still skeptical that despite her likeability factor, she just isn’t ready to make the leap from Juneau to Washington. Overall, we cannot help but feel somewhat empathetic to the courageous Mother and hard working woman that Palin is. But when it comes to John McCain's famous appeal of "country first," did he really live by his own words and put the country first by making this choice?

Obama - Biden

I received the news unexpectedly on Saturday morning around 3:45 am via text message. The text was sent from Obama’s campaign announcing that Presidential candidate Barack Obama has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate.

On a personal level, Senator Joe Biden is a 65 year old, giving him nearly 20 years more in age than Obama. Senator Biden is currently serving his sixth term in the senate, making him Delaware’s longest serving senator. He was born and raised in the town of Scranton, Pennsylvania to a working class family where he was raised Roman Catholic, all before moving to Delaware, where he currently resides. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Delaware and went on to receive his Juris Doctor (JD) from Syracuse University College of Law. Tragically, in 1972, his first wife and infant daughter were killed in an automobile accident. At the time he was running for senate, and he almost decided to not take a seat so he could care for his two sons who were also injured in the accident. He was persuaded to still take a seat in the senate and was sworn in at their bedside. He also suffered from a brain aneurysm and nearly lost his life.

Personally, I was ecstatic because I knew that this choice was a positive move for Obama, considering Biden's working class roots and his foreign policy experience. Senator Joe Biden is a congressional veteran whose strengths will counterbalance the lack of experience that critics say Obama does not have. Mr. Biden's strengths include his familiarity with foreign policy and national security issues, which were highlighted a few weeks ago by an invitation he received from embattled President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to visit Georgia in the midst of its tense face-off with Russia. He is the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee, which brings even more credibility and strength to the campaign.

The only major drawback noted of Biden is his notorious “off the cuff” speaking that has often led him to making troublesome statements. Originally, he was running his own campaign for Presidency in 2007 when he declared that Obama was "not yet ready" for the presidency. These are among other, harsher remarks he spoke of Obama prior to being chosen as his running mate and has received criticism for.

In selecting Senator Biden, Obama did pass over other highly regarded and credentialed options to be his running mate. The most noted of these was former rival Hillary Clinton. Many have viewed his decision to not choose her as both very strategic and just plain ignorant. Either way you choose to look the handling of Clinton, his decision to choose Biden has given the party the depth it needed in the areas that the GOP had previously argued it was weakest in. And to top it all off, Obama’s top advisers believe that he appears by every measure prepared to take over as President, which is a reassuring element to the American people as second in line to Commander in Chief.

Thoughts For Today

• Happiness is a choice
  
• Luck is where preparation meets opportunity
• You are what you have learned from the past, what you experience today, and what you dream for tomorrow
• The best things in life aren't things
• Take time to laugh, it's the music of the soul
• Everyone smiles in the same language
• An open mind opens the opportunity of dropping a worthwhile thought into it
• A soft answer turneth away wrath
• Refusing to ask for help when you need it is refusing someone the chance to be helpful
• Minds are like parachutes, they only function when open
• If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it
• We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails
• Life is hard by the yard, but by the inch it is a cinch
• He who laughs...lasts
• The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything
• It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow
• Kindness is like a boomerang, it always returns
• Thoughtfulness is to friendship as to sunshine is to a garden
• He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love
• Some people make the world more special just by being in it
• Pray for a good harvest, but continue to hoe
• When you become reluctant to change, remind yourself of the beauty of autumn
• Politeness is a small price to pay for the good will and affection of others
• A memory is a treasure that survives