First in the Nation Photo Book

I've put together this photo book to share my experience in the First in the Nation project at Wartburg College.
(PS I'm not sure why a picture isn't appearing, but if you click the link to view the book larger, you should be able to see it there!)

Click here to view this photo book larger

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PB&J Blog

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011

PB&J: Political Blog and Junk

I like politics. I've always been interested in the way our government works. I love a good political debate. I thrive during elections. During the 2008 presidential election, I was part of a group on Wartburg's campus called First in the Nation (FIN). For this program, we paired up with a school in New Hampshire and studied the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primaries. We followed the current election from the beginning, the announcements, the rallies, the caucuses and primaries, the campaigning, the DNC and RNC and finally the election. We spent time out in New Hampshire with our fellow FINs and they spent some time in Iowa with us. It was a great opportunity and I met a lot of amazing people - including many of the presidential candidates and even President Obama (before he was president, of course!). I had a seat at Obama's speech at the DNC in Denver. I was a part of history.

I have a lot of thoughts when it comes to politics. Not just politics either - but the events and issues that are intertwined with politics. I sometimes have a hard time keeping these thoughts to myself. And as we start to begin the process of another presidential election, there's a good chance I'll probably have some thoughts through it. And I'll probably want to share those thoughts. :) So I'm going to use this blog to do that. I understand however, that not everyone cares about my political thoughts and that's fine. I understand some people read this blog to be kept up to date on what's going on in mine and AJ's life. And so in fairness to them: for any blog that I'm going to write about politics or my thoughts on current events, I will start the title with PB&J which stands for Political Blog and Junk. (Clever, right? Funny thing is I don't even like PB&J sandwiches, but love politics! haha) That way everyone has a 'warning' in case they don't care what I have to say!

When I first started writing this blog, there were some issues that I wanted to address. Well, time got away from me and now those news stories are no longer current. Actually, I'm not even sure I can remember what all the stories were even about! I do know that there have been a lot of stories I've read lately on the ban on gay-marriage vote in Minnesota. There's a lot going on with that and as it is my home state, I feel personally involved - even if I'm not currently living there. It breaks my heart to see things like this pass through the legislature because there is no good reason to deny rights to anybody. And unfortunately, this 'theme' is all over the United States. Another story that really disturbed me was one that came out of Tennessee. A bill was signed into law by the governor that basically promotes discrimination against LGBTs. How anyone can think this is a good idea, I have no idea.

What I do know is that things need to change. We need to continue to stand up for equal rights. We need to be allies against discrimination. And it starts with you. 

FIN Blog #3

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:

• 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.

I think that's about it for current events. I'm sure there was more, but that's what I have right now.

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!

FIN Blog #2

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!