Spring 2010--UCSD

I think I've adopted a habit that most college kids have succumbed to: don't read any of the books they assign and just cram, cram, cram by using the index and skimming the night before the exam. Now this studying "technique" may seem irresponsible and just a product of laziness but I truly believe that the mind is at its best when under pressure. Thus, I have decided that the way I do college, although frowned upon by most professors...and probably parents for that matter, is the only way I SHOULD do college seeing that it apparently yields desirable results. Why replace something that still functions?

Get it Back

If you haven't already done your taxes, there's a rebate you might find interesting. When President Obama signed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Stimulus Package) last year it included a tax credit for students paying tuition in 2009-2010. It is basically an extension of the Hope credit that gave money back to students in the first two years of college. Now, you can receive money back from the government past your first two years. I suppose this is there way of keeping students in school realizing that many have dropped out owing to high tuition hikes and the like.

Nevertheless, it's called the American Opportunity tax credit. If you do your taxes on your own, there's a section in there for education and all you have to do is accept the tax credit by checking the appropriate box when asked. If you have a professional do it for you, if they don't already hook it up, ask them about it, I'm certain they know what it is. I believe you can get up to $2,500 back for qualified tuition and other expenses. Anyways, it's your money and if you're a starving college kid like the majority of students out there, the extra cash can relieve you of the cup ramen you probably have to eat every night. The government wants you to get it back so you can continue your education so you can contribute to the growth of the economy. It's an investment they want to make and it should be one that you don't feel bad about taking. It's yours, get it back.

For more information, here's the Q&A section from the IRS website:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=211309,00.html

Return of the Elephant?

The conservatives are on the move. Thousands have gathered in Washington for the the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to devise a plan to take back Congress in these 2010 midterm elections. They speculate that President Obama will be a one-term president and that the GOP will take back America beginning at the end of this year with the midterm elections.

Although there is nothing wrong with this picture, there IS something wrong with what's going in inside the chambers of congress. Republican senators are pulling out all the tricks to ensure the Democrats don't pass any significant legislation regardless of if it's a bipartisan effort. So what they are doing is not dissenting owing to reason and logic or even conviction, but they are putting the brakes on policy-making just to make sure that the Democrats don't have a "win" before the midterm elections.

Didn't we as citizens of America vote these people into office to represent us? Are they not supposed to act in the interest of the people? So why are they acting on behalf of their parties? This is the problem with politicians these days. All they care about is their next election and they forget about the people that got them into office in the first place. It shouldn't be about winning and losing in Congress. It should be about passing legislation to feed those that are hungry, to shelter those without roofs, and to heal those with wounds untreated. The longer they continue to play their games, the longer people suffer. That's just not how America should be.

However, it is not to say that everyone should agree with each other in perfect harmony to pass law. In fact, every opinion and dissenting opinion should be exhausted before making a final vote on anything that happens on capitol hill. Nevertheless, our senators and representatives need to realize that Democrats are not the enemy of the Republicans or vice versa. The real enemy is poverty, domestic violence, disease, and joblessness. These are the issues that plague America and until our leaders realize that they have been fighting on the wrong front, the enemy will continue to reign.

I have the world's BEST girlfriend! Happy Valentine's/6 months Day baby!

Haiti

About a month ago, an earthquake devastated Haiti and took the lives of countless individuals. The confirmed death toll continues to rise and there are thousands still accounted for. The city is a mass grave, people unceremoniously buried without choice. Although the country has gotten better over the past few weeks, the country is in no way recovered or in good shape. People are still dying from untreated wounds. The lack of medical supplies and antibiotics is causing victims to develop severe infections that will go without proper attention. Babies are being born into an unsanitary environment, wrapped in dirty towels and delivered by a short-handed staff of medical personnel. "Aid stations" are without bandages and anti-septics and are over-crowded with unaided victims. Moreover, people are still buried in the rubble. The gravity of the situation only gets heavier as the list goes on.

When conservative talk-show hosts like Rush Limbaugh denounce the aid efforts by saying that we have already paid for relief through income taxes, he is missing the point. Yes, our tax dollars are paying for relief in Haiti but what he fails to realize is that it's not how much we send but on whether we OUGHT to send help owing to a responsibility we have. By making a remark like that, he is effectively down-playing the tragedy that has taken place. Thousands of people died and are still dying or still unaccounted for. Many were Haitians, fewer, but significantly enough, were American. But does that really matter in a time like this? This is a time when HUMANS are dying and in need of help. This is a time when it is no longer about other nations helping a nation in crisis. This is a time when brothers help brothers and sisters help sisters. We are all bound by the commonality of humanity. This is our obligation to help, not as "good" or "rich" nations, but as human beings. It is true that we are in a recession and we ourselves are struggling to maintain our living standards, but those living standards are FAR greater than what Haitians had PRIOR to the earthquake!

Critics of the efforts in Haiti, like Rush Limbaugh, need to get on a plane and fly to Haiti and experience the devastation first hand before making an egregious comment like that. It is people like him that are tearing the fabric of humanity. What's the point of being a powerful nation if we don't utilize that power to help create a better world for mankind?

Losing the Super Majority

Although the media coverage of the past weeks have centered on the tragedy of Haiti, I'd like to take a moment (not that the coverage on Haiti is not worth blogging about) to unload some thoughts on the recent electoral competition for Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat.

It seems as if the people of Massachusetts have briefly given up or have "taken a break" from the long-lasting tradition of being a blue state. Is it a loss of faith in the current administration? Or were they truly convinced that Scott Brown was an "Independent" candidate? Or was Martha Coakley just THAT bad of a candidate that the people erred on the side of a Republican masquerading as an Independent? Only time will tell but from what it looks like, Brown is going to be the poster child of the "new" GOP.

However, the people have spoken and until the end of Ted Kennedy's senatorial term, Congress is stuck with another body caucusing with the Republican Party. But is that really a hurtle in the agenda set out by the Democrats? Even with the supermajority, there was still a considerable amount of civil war going on within the Democratic caucus. They just couldn't get those blue-collar democrats on board with many of their proposed legislation. So yes, it is true that they no longer have the ability to override a Republican filibuster, but it wasn't like they were going to pass anything substantially "democratic" anyway with the few going against the grain.

We should be thankful that we still have 59 of the 100 seats in the Senate. That's still a LARGE majority and if the Democrats can pull it together and actually play on the same team, policies can begin to be debated in a serious manner...well that's if we keep all 59 seats post-midterm election.

Nevertheless, if the people of America continue to lose faith in the Democratic Party as a representation of their interests, they'll punish them at the midterm elections. As historical trends suggests, the Republicans will most likely take back the majority in Congress this year. That's what the Democrats are probably fearing most right now. So if they haven't done so already, they better immediately get their campaigning shoes on 'cause with this fresh under-wear model, white Republican version of Obama running around, convincing the public that the Democratic Party will soon "heal America" ain't going to be an easy road to travel.

Dream of Epic Proportions

Okay, so not to sound like the BIGGEST nerd alive, but I had a dream last night that I was training to be a Jedi. It was sooooo weird. My master kept complimenting me on how quickly I was able to use the force to move objects. Man, it felt real so I gave it a try when I woke up and guess what?...FAIL! hahaahha suckssss