Recaping the last few weeks

So, I sort of forgot to write these.  Warning to anyone who cares, this won’t really be a political post, but more of a personal one.

These last few weeks have been interesting, to say the least.  First off, I am finally moved into my new apartment.  Living completely by myself is a new experience.  I like it at times, because I can do whatever I want, without having to worry about anyone else.  However, I don’t know if I prefer this.  I like being around people, and I want to have people to talk to.  Last year was easy, because I lived with one of my best friends here in Eau Claire, and could go and talk to him at any time.  Now, I have to sort of plan times to hang out with people, but there is not that spur of the moment thing that it used to be.  I will have to get used to this.

I think the coolest thing that has happened this summer so far was joining the Shrine.  For those that don’t know about any of this, here is some background.  When I was 18, I became a Freemason.  Everyone seems to think they know about the Masons, but frankly, they don’t.  The Masons are a men’s fraternal organization, dedicated to the ideals of Freedom, Tolerance, and Integrity.  They want to make all men better.  I have spent a large portion of my life at Masonic lodges.  My father and brother are Masons, and so are other members of my family.  I was a DeMolay for 10 years.  DeMolay is a youth group, affiliated with the Masons, that is dedicated to making young men into responsible men.  I can honestly say that DeMolay shaped who I am today.  Becoming a Mason was the logical extension of that, and I hope that the organization will continue to help me grow as a person.  The Shrine is a different sort of group.  Every member is a Mason, and they take that into account.  They still try and impart lessons to people.  However, they focus a lot more on philanthropic goals and fraternity.   The Shiners want to use their time to help others (see the Shrine Hospital) and enjoy each others company.

For something very different, I will tell the tale of Jake’s 21st birthday.  I was able to take a little road trip on Monday for my friend Jake’s 21st birthday, in Minneapolis.  Now, I can say that I love Jake, but I hate 21st birthdays for the most part.  I like going out tot he bars as much as the next person, but 21st birthdays are different.  I don’t like trying to get someone stupidly drunk.  That is all those birthdays are, or it seems like it.  I like going out, but staying in control, and not having someone get sloppy drunk.  However, I will always go out for people’s birthdays, because my friendship with the people is more important than my misgivings of celebrations.

That seems like enough for now, I will try and write something later this week, probably about WiscNet (if it gets cut).

Solving a Fictional Problem

I just don’t understand it.  I do not understand the reasoning behind proposed Voter ID Bill.  I can understand wanting to ensure that every person has one vote, and that in some states, voter fraud is a legitimate concern.  Unfortunately, that is not the case in Wisconsin.  I believe the figures I saw out of the GAB was that there were 7 confirmed cases of voter fraud in the 2010 elections.  Out of approximately 3 million voters, 7 can be confirmed as fraudulent.

Whats worse is that only 3 of these 7 fraud cases would be solved by this Bill.  I just simply do not understand how anyone can justify the cost of this to try and combat a problem that simply does not exist.  It would be as if I argued to replace my broken car, but in actuality, my car isn’t broken, it just has some dirt on it.  And that is how I feel about this Voter ID Bill.  Our system is not broken, but certain legislators think that it should be.

Rep. Pridemore in the WI Assembly argued this afternoon that he did not understand why a student would want to vote where they go to school.  In his mind, we should only want to vote in our parents towns, because that is where we live.  He completely ignores the fact that local governments have the most substantial and the most immediate effect on anyone’s lives.  Local governments are were the most power is, a sort of direct power that affects the things that most citizens take for granted.  Your parks, library, roads, and even the environment of safety through law enforcement is directly tied to your local governing body.  That is why I want to vote in Eau Claire, because even though my address is in the Cities, my life is in this town until I graduate and I have an invested interest in it.

I want to be clear on this, I am not of the position that this bill is a direct attack on the voting rights of minorities, seniors, and students.  I have enough faith in the legislators (for now) to believe that they would not so blatantly attack voters.  Instead, I want to believe that this bill is supposed to attack a problem, but that problem does not actually exist.  However, if this bill goes through in its current form, it can only be taken as a slap in the face to the above groups.  Amendments will be offered and must be approved.  In a perfect world, this bill would simply be withdrawn, but I don’t expect that to happen.  Instead, this bill must be altered to make sure these three groups are not given any additional obstacles to vote.

Seniors, minorities, and students.  Because I would rather see 7 voter fraud cases happen every election cycle, rather than hundreds of thousands of people not vote because of any of these obstacles.

Bussing in Votes

I have heard a lot of people complaining about the results of the United Council elections.  Important to note about this, is that as far as I am concerned, this is sour grapes.  I have nothing against anyone who ran for office, but the fact that some people who were in Baraboo for a grand total of less than 3 hours, but felt the need to try and swing an election in their favor.  Add to this the fact that many of these people had spent the previous month actively campaigning against the United Council.  When you see those responsible for the “Vote No on United Council” campaign trying to manipulate the elections, how are you supposed to react with anything besides disgust?

Even if these students hadn’t worked so hard for their school to reject the United Council referendum, how can you justify arriving to the elections and voting without any sort of knowledge of the candidates platforms?  An informed voter is a good voter, and the inverse is even truer.  An ill-informed voter is a bad voter in every case.  While you could make the argument that these students knew who they wanted to vote for, but out of respect to the other candidates and more importantly, the democratic process, they should have at least gone to the Debate and Candidate statements and given those running for office the chance to try and change their minds.

Instead, they chose to let their flawed preconceived notions determine who they would vote for, and when they did not win, they spread rumors about how certain people “stole” the elections.  Not only is this untrue, but it shows a true lack of respect to the members of the United Council.

Back from United Council Elections

So, I tried to start this blog before leaving this weekend for the UC Elections this weekend, but I didn’t have the time, but I still want to take a few minutes to talk about what happened.

First off, I am still sort of just realizing that I am going to be on the Board of Directors come July 1st.  Not only is it a huge honor, but also a huge responsibility.  Working for that many students is going to be a lot of work, but something I am really looking forward too.

Even though this wasn’t exactly the smoothest convention ever, it was great to see all the people from around this state come together with a common goal of bettering the UW System.  Better still was the chance to meet a lot of new people, and I really look forward to working with them this upcoming year. (especially on the 26th!)

Finally, don’t expect future posts to be this calm, or this diplomatic.  I have a topic that I want to write about that I am sure will upset a few people, but even more people will enjoy it.

BK