Its about that time

Hey all,

Its been a long time since my last post, ive been really busy with school and all. Im now up in boulder taking classes and just living, having fun and trying to get some sort of education...

Anyways, just wanted to share some recent things ive been thinking about with all of you. First off, discovered a great chicken parmesan recipe recently, by far the most delicious thing i have ever eaten... Ive been working on feeding myself this year now that I have my own kitchen, sometimes with great success and sometimes with great failure. Anyways, heres the recipe site: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/chicken-parmigiana-recipe/index.html. It takes a little bit of time to make, is relatively messy, and i burned myself pretty good, but it was really worth it in the end.

On another note, I just watched Mitt Romney on Letterman tonight... That is one sharp fella. Discussing healthcare he finally put forward a great Republican idea. He discusses how Massachusetts has found a way to extend emergency health coverage to 98 pecent of the population there. He believes that the health insurance regulation should be left up to the states, and should not be a federal issue. If only all Republicans would get behind this idea and unite over something.

Thats all i have for now, i promise i will try to stay on top of this from now on!

Lovin the Library

You know how I can tell it is finals time? I have spent 20 of the last 48 hours at the library. This makes me wonder how effective our current school system is: it seems to be hard for most students to retain information. Thus, for cumulative finals, you have students basically trying to re-learn everything they already learned once, except they try to do it all in a few nights, rather than a semester. I am no expert, but i do believe that there is another, more effective way to teach classes in college, and, for that matter, high school. Our education levels in America have steadily declined as compared to other countries, so would a complete overhaul of the way we educate our young populace turn this around?

Thinking back...

President Obama visited our campus back when he was campaigning, and as i think about it now, several months later, it is amazing the following he had even then. The line to get to the oval, where he was speaking, was over a mile long. It was hard to get to class. Everyone seemed to have some sort of Obama paraphernalia. It almost seemed more like a sporting event, or an opening of a really big movie. It is amazing how he spawned such a following so quickly among democrats and republicans alike with a simple message.

Term: Franking

I was studying for my American Government and Politics final when i came upon an interesting political term: Franking. This privilege is only extended to members of Congress. Any member of congress is allowed to sign their name in the spot on an envelope for "Official Business" where the stamp goes, and they do not need to attach postage. Yet another interesting perk of being a legislator.

Transparency? Change?

News from Townhall: President Obama will not release the photos taken in the photo op fiasco in New York involving Air Force One. Shortly after, there was an announcement that on May 28th the Obama administration plans to release photos of "abuse" of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq that have previously been classified. This is an effort by the Obama administration to "increase government transparency" and to show that this administration is all about change from former administrations. Yet we see another example of a president trying to keep things that make him look bad out of the news and bait the press with things that he can blame on the last administration and, specifically, the republican party. Some change.

On the move

Some exciting news from the home front: next august I will be in a new location! I have transferred from Colorado State University to University of Colorado at Boulder. It will be a very welcome change after a lackluster year attending school in Fort Collins. My first goal is to run for ASCU, the Associated Students of CU, to become a representative of the student body in student government. Though I do not know the school very well as of yet, it will be exciting to get involved and try to make a difference. I also am looking forward to joining the College Republicans group: I have heard good things!

Well, as a college student, one issue that has been worrysome over the last two days is this "swine flu" that they are discussing internationally as the "next pandemic". Given the sheer numbers of students that travel to Mexico during spring break, it is a concern that must be addressed at universities. I believe that in situations such as this, universities should be very aggressive in promoting precautionary measures. With everyone so close together, one case could easily turn into thousands very quickly.

Nuggets had a big win today! tied the record for largest win margin ever in the postseason: Mr. big shot sure has brought this team to life this year. I dont want to jinx it, but if there ever was a year...

New article today on the new faces of the republican party. Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin both made the list. I think the answer is not someone that is a very public face at this point in time. Well, maybe Newt Gingrich. Or John McCain. Or Huckabee! Point is, the republican party is struggling. I think the key is to really mobilize the base of the party, the citizens, in the next election. Get them online, get them out and helping campaigns, make it easier to volunteer, and get the younger people involved. Though there is not a very big group of young people who are republican, getting them really involved and having them give the rest of the party images of a bright future for republicans cant hurt.

Thats all i have tonight!

Introduction

Hello all,

I am new to this whole blogging thing, so this is going to be a short introduction to me. My name is Matt Dodge. I am attending school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. I am studying Political Science and Business Administration. Sports and Politics are two subjects that I find very interesting, so I believe a majority of this blog will cover those topics, as well as news I have about my life and new things that are going on, and current events and my take on them. Thanks for reading!