Month: December 2013

Republicans Need Chris Christie to Win in 2016

Governor Chris Christie

(Photo Credit: The Washington Post)

If Republicans are serious about winning the White House in 2016, then they need to rally around New Jersey Governor Chris Christie right now. Although Hillary Clinton has not formally promulgated that she will run for the presidency in 2016, any clear thinking American already knows that she will run. Clinton is a formidable candidate for any of her Republican challengers.  At the present time, there’s no candidate who can defeat Clinton save Governor Chris Christie.  While Governor Christie may not be as conservative as many ultraconservative Republicans would like, he’s a reliable conservative Republican who can actually win the presidency in 2016.  It does Republicans no good to nominate an ultraconservative candidate like Rand Paul or Ted Cruz who has no chance of defeating Hillary Clinton.

Popular conservative pundits like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh need to capitalize on the great opportunity they have to rally Republicans behind the only candidate who can defeat Hillary Clinton. Investing too much time in discourses about whether Governor Christie is conservative enough or a RINO (Republican in Name Only) is fruitless. He has a proven conservative record, even as governor of a blue state.  A conservative Republican who can appeal widely to Democrats, Independents and Republicans can win against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

While America is still a fundamentally conservative country, it is becoming less conservative than it was during the Reagan Revolution.  The Republican Party, therefore, has to recognize that it cannot fashion itself in the same likeness of the Party of the 1980s.  Governor Christie will help to lead the Republican Party in the direction it needs to go to begin winning presidential elections again.  Nominating Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, or Mike Huckabee would evince to the American people that the Republican Party is not ready to embrace the political realities of a post-1980s America.  The political milieu President Reagan enjoyed is gone.  Being too consumed by nostalgia for the days of Reagan only stifles the progress that’s needed for Republicans to take back the White House.

Although the days of Reagan are long gone, wide support for limited government, personal responsibility, pro-growth policies, low taxes, and local control is still present.  Republicans don’t, therefore, have to abandon their core principles to win elections.  They simply need to be more flexible on certain issues, including immigration reform, and they must focus less on social issues and have a more compassionate tone on divisive social issues like gay marriage and abortion.

Governor Christie opposes gay marriage and is pro-life.  He does not, however, let his positions on those aforementioned issues define who he is.  He favors pragmatism over ideology.  As Republicans are struggling nationally to get African-Americans, Hispanics, and young voters to vote for their candidates, Governor Christie proved that he could get enough of these voters to win the presidency over Hillary Clinton.  As a blue state Republican governor, Christie can market himself as someone who has a proven record of reaching across the political aisle to work with Democrats, Republicans and Independents to get things done to ameliorate the lives of Americans.

While many Republicans were upset with Governor Christie for working with President Obama to deliver aid to the denizens of New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, Christie demonstrated to the nation that he is more concerned with his constituents than playing politics.  Independents and some Democrats will be impressed with Christie’s bipartisanship and will reward him with their vote for President.  Hillary Clinton is less known for bipartisanship; she’s known nationally for being a reliable liberal Democrat, which makes her more of a polarizing figure than Christie.  She has more name recognition than Christie, considering she’s been First Lady, Secretary of State, and U.S. Senator. President Clinton is still popular nationally, which will benefit his wife.  Christie’s national name recognition is constantly increasing, however.

Hillary Clinton will likely have to combat the anger of voters who are displeased with the economic performance of a Democratic President, President Obama.  Governor Christie can appear as a reasonable alternative to having another Clinton in office.  Yes, Clinton fatigue will help Governor Christie’s campaign for the presidency.  Many Americans are fed up with the destructive partisanship in Washington, D.C.  When they look at Chris Christie, they know they’re voting for someone who has a record of bipartisanship; a record that offers tremendous hope that Washington, D.C. can once again become a place where meaningful things can get done to improve the lives of the American people.

It was once widely thought that Republicans didn’t have the slightest chance to defeat Hillary Clinton, but too many people were focused on the wrong candidates.  The dominant focus should have always been on Governor Christie.  The polls are very close between Christie and Clinton, and one poll shows that Governor Christie not only wins against Clinton but also against all other popular potential Democratic candidates.

A Republican blue state governor could be much more attractive to more Americans than a reliable liberal former First Lady, Secretary of State, and U.S. Senator.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Baby Boomers Head Back to College: Common Concerns and Solutions

Non-traditional Student

(Photo Credit: The Guardian)

Attracted by better opportunities and the chance to embrace learning, baby boomers are returning to college in droves, and even those who aren’t interested in enrolling in classes are moving to college towns for the intergenerational communities, diverse culture, and lively atmosphere.  One of the many boomers who has enrolled in college for a second act, sixty-one year old Alan Moore, walked on to the football field at Faulkner University two years ago and became the oldest person to ever play college ball, according to The Week.  Although few of his peers are playing ball, the transition to college is one that takes as much bravery and skill as football.

If you’ve just decided to embark on this journey, know that you are not alone.  The rest of your generation is right there with you, and it has many of the same concerns and worries that you have. Questions about lifestyles, moving, getting an adequate amount of guidance, and understanding the terminology can be daunting.

Lifestyle

Just because you don’t plan to rush a frat or ever do a keg stand doesn’t mean that you cannot find a comfortable lifestyle in a college town.  Many college towns are designing communities to meet the needs of baby boomer students.  AARP has a detailed list of retirement communities located on or near campuses in towns all over the country.  You’ll find communities near top universities like the Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame, University Place at Purdue, and The Forest at Duke.  You’ll discover dedicated retirement communities near numerous state higher education institutions as well.  Before moving, contact the student services department at the institution you plan to attend and ask someone about living options.

Moving

Saddled with debt for years, many boomers are selling their homes and moving to college towns, as The New York Times reports, but this trend isn’t the most affordable option for everyone.  Some boomers who have paid off their homes or who enjoy their communities need to stay put, and this can make attending college a bit more difficult.  Locating a program at Collegeonline.org allows you to complete your degree without having to move or sacrifice any of your current financial stability.

Seeking Help

Not all baby boomers are headed to college on an educational lark.  Many are pursuing degrees to give themselves a leg up in the employment arena during the last decade and a half of their working years. Without the right support, this endeavor can be overwhelming.  Programs like the Plus 50 Initiative are crafted to aid working boomers to complete a postsecondary degree.  Thus far, Plus 50 has helped more than 24,000 students retrain for postmodern careers, according to Plus50.aacc.nche.edu.

If your institution is not involved with the Plus 50 program, it may still have resources to support you. Rather than letting older students get lost in the shuffle, higher education institutions are concentrating on attracting and assisting them, as divulged by University Business.  Kim Larson-Cooney of Arapahoe Community College posits that the sheer volume of boomer students makes it important to cater to them, while Robin Ambrozy of West Virginia University sites the generation’s unbeatable work ethic as the primary reason that colleges should work with these students.

Terminology

One of the hurdles many boomers face is understanding college language itself.  From “FAFSA” to “interdisciplinary,” the college landscape is full of new and strange concepts.  According to TheFreeDictionary.com, some of the most critical terms that you need to understand are defined as follows:

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) – Before starting your program, you must fill out this form to determine your eligibility for grants or low interest loans.

Certificates vs. Degrees – Certificates are typically offered by community colleges, and they certify that you have an adequate amount of technical knowledge about a particular subject.  A degree indicates that you have studied a broad range of subjects with a focus on one.  Whether you need a certificate or a degree depends on your career objectives.

Transcript – This is a record of grades and courses from your previous schools.  If older students cannot obtain old high school or college transcripts, some institutions will let them bypass that part of the application.

Interdisciplinary – Rather than offering courses than can be clearly defined as history, math, or biology, colleges are now offering interdisciplinary or hybrid courses that mix different subjects together. At many schools, you can even make up your own interdisciplinary major.

Work-Study – Work-study programs offering on-campus jobs for students who need an extra financial boost.

Prepare to hit the books; the schools are ready for you.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Noteworthy Engineering-Related Kickstarter Campaigns

Engineers always seem to have an idea for a project or two (or 10) rolling around in their heads, and a young platform is providing them with a chance to bring these ideas to life.  Kickstarter.com is a crowdfunding site where users can donate to aspiring startups.  Donors only pay if the project reaches a set financial goal, and campaigns offer incentives to boost donations.  From equipment that turns street scaffolding into furniture to toys that inspire girls to pursue engineering, innovative projects are gaining support from a pool of interested donors, and civil and technical engineers are flocking to this popular platform.

Softwalks

New York is a mecca for civil engineering. Construction and renovation are frequent, so city residents are used to scaffolding. Softwalks, a project that began at Parsons the New School for Design, aims to transform these unsightly frames into community relaxation spots.  The idea is to add seating, plant holders and counters to these structures.  Pedestrians can use these sidewalk shelters to take a phone call, read the paper or drink coffee. Softwalks raised more than $13,000 on Kickstarter, and it expects to begin renovating sidewalks in the near future.  If residents enjoy this beautification project, it could lead to increased interest in sidewalk scaffolding.

GoldieBlox

Engineering student Debbie Sterling loved what she studied, but she noticed her field was dominated by men.  In an effort to get little girls interested in Engineering, Sterling developed GoldieBlox, a series of books and construction toys geared toward girls.  It’s an answer to Legos, Kinex and Lincoln Logs, toys that build spacial skills but are generally geared toward boys.

Sterling’s idea took off.  She hoped to raise $150,000 on Kickstarter but ended up raising more than $280,000.  Today, GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine are available at Toys R Us, and another design is on the way.  A new generation of female engineers will unwrap this unprecedented toy for Christmas.

Formlabs 3-D Printer

Few technologies incite excitement about the future of technology more than 3-D printing.  Kickstarter is a breeding ground for this technology, and Formlabs developed one of the first consumer-focused 3-D printers.  The Form 1 3-D printer is one of the greatest success stories in Kickstarter history. Formlabs hoped to raise $100,000 during its 30-day campaign.  When the last day was up, it had raised just short of $3 million to develop this innovative device.  The Form 1 is available for pre-order and will ship in February 2014.

Melon

Who couldn’t use a little more focus?  Melon is a Kickstarter-funded EEG device that measures brain activity.  This headband connects to an app to deliver real-time measurements of your focus.  Melon also blew its Kickstarter goal out of the water, raising nearly $300,000.  There’s no word yet on when Melon will hit the market, but this jewel of technical engineering will change the way we stay focused.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Secrets Can Destroy Relationships

Black Couple in Bed

(Photo Credit: Essence)

Honesty is always the best policy to employ in all relationships.  If you desire for your relationship to have staying power, then you need to be completely truthful with your partner.  It’s vital for you to inform your partner about past and present phenomena that are important for him or her to know.  You have to place enough trust in the power of your relationship to handle frank discourses.  Your partner should be happy that you’re willing to disclose with him or her things that you could have kept secret.

One couple I know has some secrets that would certainly shatter the relationship if they surfaced.  The woman has slept with her partner’s “good friend.” The “good friend,” who is a secretive person himself, refuses to inform the guy that he has had sex with his girlfriend.  A relationship like this one is doomed to fail.

Unfortunately, some people are so desperate to be in and/or stay in relationships that they’re willing to live with lies.

It’s always best to inform your partner as early as possible about things you believe may potentially cause problems or challenges in your relationship. By addressing phenomena that can be problematic for the relationship early on, this can build strength in the relationship.  It can also determine if those are things that will permit the relationship to continue, which is essential to resolve before the relationship gets too serious.

While I’m not advocating for you to become a private investigator, I do contend that it’s crucial for you to do your own research on those you wish to involve yourself with and those you’re involved with. Yes, people can change.  You may not, however, be able to stand being in a relationship with a person if you know some of the things he or she has done in the past.  While we should not hold everything in a person’s past against him or her, one does need to make the most informed decision about entering into a relationship with an individual.  The most informed decision can only emerge when the proper research has been done on your potential or current partner.  For example, I know someone who is in a relationship with a woman who has slept with at least one guy who is highly sexually active and who engages frequently in risky sexual behavior, but she has not told her current partner about this.  She’s unfairly exposing her current partner to the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

If you know the secrets that a family member’s partner or friend’s partner aren’t divulging, then I do want to prepare you for the possibility that he or she will not believe you.  He or she may attack you by saying, “You just want me,” “You’re just envious,” “You’re just a liar,” “You just want him,” “You just want her,” or etc.  If you feel the need to tell your family member or friend, just know that you’re doing the right thing.

Just remember, secrets always have a way of coming out.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Being Vain is Evil

Vain People

(Photo Credit: Fess Fitness)

It’s important for people to understand that being vain is evil.  While one might like to think that those who are vain cannot hurt anyone but themselves, this cannot be further from the truth.  Those who are truly vain are egregiously selfish.  Vain people make everything about them.  They see nothing and no one as more vital than themselves.

You have to be really careful about being even the slightest bit materialistic.  Even being the slightest bit materialistic can cause you to focus only on yourself and overlook the needs and feelings of others.

You know you’re recklessly vain when you want people who are going through serious hardships to concentrate their attention mainly or solely on you. Even when you are recovering from a tragedy, some vain people will be upset with you because you didn’t make them a priority.  This type of thought and behavior is dangerous.

Truly vain people are not concerned about the welfare of others.  If everything’s okay with them, then they could really care less if things are going wrong with others.

A number of vain people like to camouflage how selfish they are by promoting themselves as being selfless.  They may also involve themselves in social justice efforts, charities, and etc.  What’s crucial to understand about this, however, is they lack an authentic commitment to those aforementioned things. In involving themselves in these things, their primary motivation is self-aggrandizement.  Don’t automatically assume that those who are advocating selflessness are actually selfless.  It may simply be a cheap ploy to get all of the attention on them.  You can properly determine this by examining a person’s record when it comes to charitable efforts and causes.  Look for real evidence of a person having made a sustained difference in the lives of people.  Make sure that person didn’t cut and run from those he or she was supposed to be helping.

When vain people no longer have any use for you, they will no longer have anything to do with you. They will try to veil their selfishness by saying, “Sometimes, people just grow apart,” or “Sometimes, it’s best not to try to fix some relationships.”  What they are hiding is the truth, though: they can no longer find any ways those persons can benefit them. This leads them to casting those people away. When the persons make efforts to expose their selfishness, the vain people tell lies on them and say that they are envious of them.

Again, while you may think your selfishness is not hurting anyone, your selfishness hurts many.  Learn to see that life is about more than you.  Stop always making everything about you.  If you don’t discontinue being vain, your current world is going to crumble right before your very own eyes.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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