Tis the season for... everything

So I'm sitting here in my basement, watching my dvds of House Season 7, with so much going on inside my active head. Thinking of the Christmas season that stores bring out before Thanksgiving happens, but are so quick to forget after December 25th, thinking of the Iowa Caucuses that are wrapping as I type, awaiting starting the new semester at UNI with my new major, and lastly thinking of how hot Olivia Wilde is. Why did they let her leave the show? Anyway, it's been a busy month, and in the beginning of the Caucus/Primary season I thought I'd share some of my political views with the masses and maybe share some unique views. Or I'll just spew a bunch of stuff you've heard before.

-Gay Rights


Here's one that's a hefty topic to talk about. Especially being a conservative and a Catholic, my view may surprise many of you. Personally I do not agree with homosexuality or support it, but at the same time my faith tells me to respect and love all, to treat every one equally, and to leave judgement up to God. So I have a hard time living a double standard where we as a society accept homosexuality and let them live openly, but at the same time we deny them rights and privileges a straight couple can enjoy under our laws. They aren't allowed to make medical decisions about their partner, they aren't allowed to inherit anything if their partner was to pass away, and they aren't allowed some tax benefits as a married couple. Reading this, you must be thinking I'm all for gay marriage. Well not so fast, young grasshopper. The constitution states a separation of church and state, and since marriage is a religious institution, the term marriage should not be a legal term. Granted, people of faith and even some who aren't but believe in traditions could still call it that. So I'm proposing legally there would be no marriage, but civil unions for all, equal rights for all couple homo and hetero. This wouldn't kill all the little girls' dreams of a big wedding in a church. You could still get married and have weddings, it would just be considered a civil union in the eyes of the law. A solution that Christian conservatives would suggest, just because it looks like they support homosexuality. But they should realize that making something legal doesn't mean you support or agree with it. I don't agree with people charging more on their credit card than they have in the bank, but yet if they are willing to risk their financial security on a new tv, this years model of Corvette, and the hippest clothes, that's their decision. If they feel happiest with some one of the same gender, it's not my place to judge or to punish.

Long story short, civil unions for all

-Abortion


This one won't be a shocker. I'm pro-life. They only case where an abortion should be remotely considered is if either the child, the mother, or both are in danger of dying. It's not up to me as to if the mother, or child should be the one saved. If both can't be saved, then it should be up to the family how to go about it.

-Military Presence


I believe we should not have a military presence in any conflict in which we have not declared was. We should not be forcing our hand in how other countries are run and interact with each other. I also, however, don't think it should be total withdrawal. A significant scale back to have a small force and security at our embassies would suffice. And as for NATO and UN forces, and their interaction in conflicts, I believe should be optional for US troops. We should not force our men and women to fight a battle we as a country are not involved in. The world knows what we are capable of militarily, so there is no need to have troops worldwide flaunting our power. If anything all it does is make some countries irritable and annoyed, and may cause more tension than protection.

-The Economy


This is one big mess. There is no one thing to change that can make everything better. So I'll list some points and won't go into too much detail

1. Stop raising taxes. People have more money to then put back into the economy. Plus, they'll have more to save, which actually is better for future growth than spending now

2. Cap government spending as a percent of GDP. We shouldn't spend money we don't have.

3. Cut pork-barrel projects and fluff out of bills in congress. If the states want those projects and funding, they can ask for it instead of handing them money they might need.

4. Congress can't be allowed to set their own salary. Putting amendments on bills to give themselves pay bumps is wrong. Set their salary, make it variable based on inflation and that's it

These are a few ideas to limit spending and help our economy. Of course, these are more geared towards the symptoms because there are so many causes what can't all be solved at once

-Big Government 


Another list, ways to stop the government from over-controlling us and out reaching their constitutional powers.

1. Cap the number of terms Representatives and Senators can serve. Politics should not be a life-time gig. The longer they are in office, the more they forget where they came from and what they fought for.

2. We have too many federal departments. So many they overlap authority and have ambiguous ranks in power. We need to cut the number of departments, consolidate them and make them more efficient. This will also effectively cut government spending and help us use our money more effectively. I'd hate to see how much we waste double spending on the same causes just because two departments are doing the same thing.

Now these obviously aren't all the issues or all of what I believe in politics. There were more things I was going to include that I forgot to include because I'm half watching House and have been typing this for and hour and a half. Now it's time to find out who get's the coveted Jonathan Vanderah bump. My support in this years GOP race goes to the Ron Paul. 

When it comes down to it, Ron Paul is the candidate I agree with the most. Along with agreement, I believe he is the most viable candidate to beat Obama. He'll give him a run for his money in the young vote, plus he has shown he hasn't changed his views over his stay in congress. Now most Republicans have and issue saying he isn't conservative enough, but maybe it's a good thing he isn't totally conservative. The fact that he has a little liberal in him when it comes to social matters means he has a better chance at bringing congress and the people together to get something done in this country. Besides, he is way more conservative than his opponents make him out to be. they just focus on the few things that he isn't. In the end, I believe he is the best candidate out there right now and our best shot at getting Obama out of office.

Follow me on Twitter @JVanderah20 if you dare. We'll see when I post again and what it'll be about. It surely won't include the B1G's terrible showing this bowl season.

I have no creativity towards Man Law titles

So it may have been a while since I last posted (2 months and 2 days), but I have good excuses. Like being a good, hardworking, dedicated student who studies a lot. Ok, so I just forgot because I'm a terrible student. But if anyone who cares asks I study a lot. Any way, today's/this post's topic is about somethings called Man Law, also referred to as the Guy Code. Women have a similar system, but it doesn't count because they all break the rules and besides, they were made by women (it's just a joke ladies, we don't follow your rules either). The Man Law is just a common sense set of rules that you need not be told, because you should know not to do certain things to your fellow man. One in particular applies to interactions with the opposite sex.

A no doubt, clear as day man law is that you do NOT go after the same girl as one of your friends, or acquaintances for that matter. If you know the guy, and you know he likes this girl, you steer clear. If you don't know he likes her, then you're fine and he can't be mad. But if you know and still go after her, well then you are a terrible friend and a douche. It doesn't matter if you think you are a better match, a better person, or you know he is going to be rejected. You just don't do it. Period. Now if you really like the girl, it is acceptable to confront the other man about it and talk it over a head of time. Apologizing after the fact is just you trying to save face, and it is even more pathetic to only say you feel sorry to one of her friends. Now a lot of you may have figured out that someone I know did this to me. Congratulations! Do you want a cookie? WELL TOUGH LUCK! I ate them all so you just win pride. As you can tell by my humor,, I have moved on, but the villain here still thinks I'm mad at him and want to kick his ass so shhhhhh. Don't tell him, that will just ruin my fun.

The real reason why he is now hated by our group of friends is he has a past history of similar situations. Even if you aren't going after a friend's interest, it is still against Man Law to try and hang out with her as much as possible. Especially if while you hang out with her, you make fun of your friend and try to influence her thoughts of your boy. Even if in good heart, it rarely helps and usually worsens the situations. Under NO circumstances is intentionally cock-blocking allowed either. That's just low man. Because when it comes down to it, no man should be allowed any say in another man's love life. Besides the girl's father, of course, because he probably has a shotgun.

So the moral of this rant is simple, don't interfere in a fellow man's quest to find true love, or the tomb of the womb. Which ever he's after. Hopefully love if he's trying that hard. And if you are on the same quest, talk it over as soon as you realize it so you don't lose what's most important. Your friendship, that is. So when it comes down to it, just know, understand, and follow man law. Now I've got to get back to my "studies," even if I'm just studying defenses on Madden. Peace out girl scout -JV

We're not THAT stupid (Well, at least I'm not)

College is a time for getting out on your own, meeting new people, trying new things, and most of all getting a solid, more in depth understanding of a certain subject. So why are colleges and universities making students take basic, entry level classes of subjects that don't pertain to their area of study? Here at the University of Northern Iowa, we have the Liberal Arts Core, or the LAC, which makes us take so many hours in different subject areas. All students have to take basic Math, Reading, Writing, History (Humanities), Music, Cultural, physical Science, Biology, and everyone's favorite Personal Wellness classes. In total, the LAC is between 50-65 credit hours, depending on which classes in each area you pick. I personally had about 20 or so hours of the LAC covered from duel-credit classes in high school, but others aren't as lucky. I don't see why I have to take a music listening or biology class if I'm here as a math major. Some of the Culture and Humanities classes could be interesting, but the ones that would be aren't an option for the LAC, or the LAC courses are their prerequisites. As a logical person, I don't see the reasoning for making a Mathematics major take Composition I. It's obvious that we don't enjoy creativity as much as logic and problem solving by our major choice, so why keep torturing us? Maybe they just want us to raise the class average so they don't look like such an ass as a teacher. And really, nobody cares for Personal Wellness. If I wanted to retake 6th grade Health class, I would have. All the Universities really care about is making sure people won't say they went to their school when losing on "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader." They wouldn't have to, though, if the high schools in this country would actually teach instead of caring about everyone being happy and have fun and attempting to not get sued.

I blame society most for me having to retake my least favorite classes. People don't realize that focusing on feelings and equality ruins efficiency. It may make you feel better on the inside, but caring about yourself hurts everyone else. It isn't racist or sexist if a company highers a white man over a black woman if the white man produces twice as much than the black woman, so why does everyone jump to  help the "poor neglected worker" and convince her to sue? Suing does nothing but waste everyone's time and money. If everyone would just work harder, and actually work, this country would be a lot better. But caring about everyone's feelings is only  half of protecting high schools from being sued: The other half is having rules galore to protect their own asses. Tardy policies, suspensions, discipline ladders, and other mumbo jumbo no one enforces is more than common in today's American high school. You know what happens if you're late to work? You get fired, not suspended. So make expulsion the punishment in school so people actually go to class and learn instead of skipping half a week and not caring when they show up. Plus if you're gone, you shouldn't be able to spend an hour in the teacher's office having your hand held while they walk you through what you missed. You should just have to learn it on your own like a real person would do.

So maybe if we could fix society to stop babying everyone and teach them how to actually earn stuff, we can be actually happier than we are now, because we'll know we earned what we got. No more free rides, people, you have to earn your money and stop free riding the government. Then maybe welfare won't be as far down the shitter as it is now. And then maybe I won't have to take all these stupid classes that no one ever liked. because in the end all I care about is myself: it's what society taught me to do. maybe I won't be so complaining in my next post? We'll see about that.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 11, 10, 13..

Let's talk some sports, specifically college football, and even more specifically the Big 10 and Big 12. For those of you who aren't familiar with these two conferences, here are the teams in the Big 10 and Big 12:

BIG 10: Leaders Division: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern
             Legends Division: Illinois, Indiana, Penn State, Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin

BIG 12: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech.

For those of you who can count, you realize what I'm about to discuss. If you can't count, then you are probably an athlete in one of these two conferences. The names are misleading: the Big 10 has 12 teams and the Big 12 has 10 teams. This will be the first year where the this is the case. The problem lies with the Big 10. The Big 12 had previously done the right, not confusing, thing of changing their name to how many teams they have. In 1996, the conference expanded from 8 teams to 12 (The 4 teams from Texas joined, Baylor and the schools with Texas in their name) and they changed from the Big 8 to the Big 12. The Big 10, however, stopped changing their name a while ago. The last time was in 1950, when Michigan State became the 10th team, is when they changed to the Big 10 from the Big 9. They went astray in 1990 when Penn State joined the conference and they failed to upgrade their name to the Big 11. Now with Nebraska entering the conference this year (They left the Big 12 for a better conference, where as Colorado left the Big 12 for more money and easier competition, for the most part, in the correctly named Pac-12), they are now twice as wrong and bringing utter confusion with the Big 10 and Big 12 being oppositely named.

Now you are probably thinking "What's this kids point here?" and "Is he going to give a possible solution?" The answer is, stop getting ahead of me. Enjoy the ride and I'll get to my point when I want to. Now, I could go down a long, pointless path of tying the confused conferences for why student athletes aren't as bright as other students, but the reality is that's just because they are lazy and rely on their athleticism to get them  by and use that for a living. My point here is that the conferences should stop with the numbers in their names. Look at the SEC: no number, so when they add or drop teams no one cares or is confused. It just so happens that the main three conferences in this new realignment, the Big 10, Big 12, and the Pac-12, all have numbers. In fact, these are the only 3 conferences named with a number. So I think that, in the next year or two, that these conferences should make a decision about whether the want to stay with an incorrect number and be the punchlines of terrible jokes, update the number to what is correct, or prepare for the future and change their name to something more bad ass without a number.

Well, that's my take on misnamed collegiate conferences. I know, pretty entertaining and educational, right? Don't get used to it. I foresee myself going on more opinionated, less educational, more entertaining rants in the future. The biggest question is, what will I rant about next? I guess you'll have to wait and see, same as me.

In The Beginning...

Hello fellow people of the world. I guess that in my first post it would only make sense for me to talk about myself so you can hopefully understand my future posts more clearly. Well, hopefully you can, good luck with it. I am from Ankeny, Iowa, right smack dab in the middle of the United States of America. Ankeny was a small town when I was younger, but since I started middle school it started growing at a crazy rate. It's currently at a little over 45,000 in population and still rapidly expanding. It's almost like a tumor on the north side of Des Moines, which is Iowa's capital for those who don't know. I have graduated from Ankeny High School in the last couple of years, even though it still feels like yesterday I was walking down the over crowded hallways on my way to hang out it the choir room. Now I'm in college, doing my best to work on a major in Actuarial Sciences with a minor in Economics at the University of Northern Iowa. Even though I go to UNI, the Iowa Hawkeyes shall forever hold a special place in my heart. The Hawkeyes are my favorite collegiate team for every sport except for one, Men's Basketball, for the sole reason that they are pretty bad at it. That is the one sport in which I will unconditionally root for UNI. When it comes to professional sports my teams are the Chicago Cubs (MLB), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (also MLB, but the one that wins), the Dallas Mavericks (NBA, suck it LeBron, we beat your "Big 3"), and the Atlanta Falcons (NFL). Any sport I don't have a favorite for I don't really watch or follow, so don't get offended.

Well, that is a brief synopsis of me, but there is a lot of stuff missing that you will hopefully follow me long enough to find out. That is, if you can look past and withstand the terrible grammar, sentence structure, and misuse of words. This is merely a place for me to share my thoughts and maybe shed some light onto a dark situation. I son't mean to offend or attack, so please don't complain. I probably wouldn't respond to it anyway. I will post regularly infrequently. Who knows what I'll post about next? I don't.