USD College Republicans

Hypocrisy

Green idealists are most likely to take long flights.

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The research team questioned 200 people on their environmental attitudes and split them into three groups, based on a commitment to green living.

They found the longest and the most frequent flights were taken by those who were most aware of environmental issues, including the threat posed by climate change.
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HT: Drudge

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 11:18PM Sep 24, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Anti-Catholicism: My answer to Douglas

Here's my answer to Douglas Bryenldson and his recent hateful remarks about Catholics.

They got me thinking about all of the recent anti-Catholicism I've heard recently.

The one thing that got me the most was Douglas' extremely ignorant claim that the Catholic Church is a "cult of infallibility." Fortunately, I clear that misconception up in the article.
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"One of the more misinformed comments I hear is that the Pope is totally infallible, and we Catholics think he can never be wrong. The blog comment called it the "cult of infallibility." Well, Catholics do believe the pope is infallible, but not all the time. You see, infallibility has only been around since 1870, when the Church officially defined it, and the Pope can only use it to make decisions regarding official Church doctrine or beliefs. The Pope rarely uses this power. In fact, he's only used it once. The only time infallibility was invoked was in 1950, when Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary an article of faith. That sure doesn't sound like a cult to me."
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Like I say in the column, expressing your opinion is fine, but please make it an informed opinion.

Take a gander at the article, especially if you've got reservations about the Catholic Church.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:07AM Apr 25, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[4]

Brown hates the free market

Some Brown University students hate the free market.

Thomas Friedman, author of "The World is Flat," was nearly pied in the face at a speech at Brown University.
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"The two rushed the stage with the pies, and then threw fliers into the crowd which aired their criticisms of Friedman’s views on the free market and climate change."
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NO nation in modern history has flourished without the free market.
Some people are too dumb for their own good.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 11:55AM Apr 23, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Bill Mahr...still an idiot

It's oh-so-cool for young politically involved people to praise Bill Mahr for his cutting-edge political commentary. Unfortunately, most of them don't see through the fact that he's a jackass who rarely makes an effort to learn facts.

In a recent rant, Bill Mahr said some very hateful things about Pope Benedict XVI.
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Maher, 52, host of "Real Time with Bill Maher," has come under attacks from Catholics since going on a rant last Friday about Pope Benedict's visit to America.

"Whenever a cult leader sets himself up as God's infallible wing man here on Earth, lock away the kids," said Maher, comparing the Catholic Church to the polygamist cult authorities raided in Texas last week.

"I'd like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult," Maher said. "Its leader also has a compound, and this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats."
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As a Roman Catholic, this bugs the hell out of me. His rant has absolutely no basis in fact and wouldn't fly if it were aimed at any other religious leader. Mahr needs to apologize. NOW.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 03:36PM Apr 18, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[6]

What a great art project!

I don't write much about social issues, but since I seem to be the only political writer left on the USD blogosphere, I need to post this.

A Yale senior has been giving herself abortions for an art project.
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Art major Aliza Shvarts ’08 wants to make a statement.

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.
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The display of Schvarts’ project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts’ self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.

Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube. These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room.
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Wow. I wonder what the "pro-choice" crowd has to say about this (I'm ambivalent on abortion, so don't comment regarding my views). Isn't this a gross abuse of the right to "choice?" Does "choice" mean that someone can abort a baby because of an art project?

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:04AM Apr 17, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[2]

That won't make gas any cheaper

Truckers are planning to strike over expensive gas.
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"...many independent truckers are organizing a nationwide strike starting April 1 through April 3. After paying their monthly truck note, then having to deal with soaring diesel prices, independent truckers said they don’t have any money to support their families or pay bills.
"Make a stand, we're going to unite. It’s something we've needed to do," said truck driver Carla Skipworth.
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This is a stupid move that will only hurt consumers- who are ALSO paying high gas prices! If they're upset about oil, they'd need to talk to OPEC.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:50AM Apr 01, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Olympic athletes kept silent

Olympic athletes are now forbidden to comment on political issues during the 2008 Beijing games.

"British Olympic chiefs are to force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China's appalling human rights record – or face being banned from travelling to Beijing.
The move – which raises the spectre of the order given to the England football team to give a Nazi salute in Berlin in 1938 – immediately provoked a storm of protest.

The controversial clause has been inserted into athletes' contracts for the first time and forbids them from making any political comment about countries staging the Olympic Games.

It is contained in a 32-page document that will be presented to all those who reach the qualifying standard and are chosen for the team."

This is absolutely ridiculous. Why? Read on:

Former Olympic rowing champion Matthew Pinsent has already criticised the Chinese authorities over the training methods used on children, which he regarded as tantamount to abuse. Young gymnasts told him they were repeatedly beaten during training sessions.

Mr Clegg confirmed that such criticisms would be banned under the team's code of conduct, which will be in force from when athletes are selected in July, until the end of the Games on August 24."

I think that this move has been made only to placate the Chinese government. It is arbitrary and ridiculous. Normally, I would urge athletes- like I urge musicians- to keep quiet about politics. But the Olympics are different, especially this year. A part of me really hopes that an athlete does something outrageous in order to protest the oppressive Chinese government.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 06:35PM Feb 09, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[1]

Freedom to be fat?

Mississippi is the scene of the latest incursion onto freedom.

"FEBRUARY 1--Mississippi legislators this week introduced a bill that would make it illegal for state-licensed restaurants to serve obese patrons. Bill No. 282, a copy of which you'll find below, is the brainchild of three members of the state's House of Representatives, Republicans W. T. Mayhall, Jr. and John Read, and Democrat Bobby Shows. The bill, which is likely dead on arrival, proposes that the state's Department of Health establish weight criteria after consultation with Mississippi's Council on Obesity. It does not detail what penalties an eatery would face if its grub was served to someone with an excessive body mass index."

Well, if we have universal heath care, this may just happen...on the federal level.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:22PM Feb 01, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[2]

New York and the food police

The New York City Board of Health is reviving its efforts to force restaurants to indicate calorie counts on their menus.

It seems to me that this is just another action by a nanny government to try to save its people from themselves.

First of all, why just calories? If NYC were truly concerned about the health of its citizens, it would ask establishments to indicate the entire nutritional breakdown of the product, like on store-bought food. That way, consumers could see if the product fits within their nutritional needs for the day.

Second, I think that this is unwarranted. If indication calorie count is important to consumers- they never mentioned if it is or not- this is how it should go: If some restaurants started writing their products' calorie count on menus, it would establish a precedent. Those restaurants would establish credibility with consumers. Those that didn't indicate calories might be looked upon negatively by consumers. These businesses would see a drop in sales, and would begin to indicate calories on their menu to get their business back. TA-DA! The free market at work.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:28AM Jan 22, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[4]

Perhaps there are other ways to decorate trailers?

More NEEDLESS regulation is sprouting, this time from Virginia.

"State Del. Lionel Spruill introduced a bill Tuesday to ban displaying replicas of human genitalia on vehicles, calling it a safety issue because it could distract other drivers."

Actually, this is a lie. Spruill even admits the reason is moral: "He said the idea came from a constituent whose young daughter spotted an example of the trail hitch adornment and asked her father to explain it.

"'I didn't know what to tell her,"' Spruill said the constituent told him before Spruill vowed to stop such displays."

I'm sure the Founders didn't envision this when they discussed freedom. While tacky, displays like this shouldn't be outlawed. What this delegate is proposing is just more frivolous regulation stuffed into the books.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 04:01PM Jan 16, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[2]

She's also a smoke Nazi

OH THE REGULATION!

My thoughts can be summed up through these quotes from Republican Rep. Thaddeus McCotter and a Democratic staffer:
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“The health nannies’ arbitrary ban on a legal and heavily taxed product bodes ill for the future marketing of Mountain Dew and MoonPies,” said Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter, an infuriated Republican, and smoker, from Michigan.

“This is silly ‘feel good’ crap by a bunch of do-gooders,” barked a high-level Democratic staffer (also a smoker). “We should be worried about the housing crisis, the unemployment rate and the national debt instead of making staffers walk four blocks to buy a pack of smokes.”
We should have seen this coming.
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This is, quite possibly, the most ignorant thing I've ever read. It seems to me that Pelosi couldn't pass her entire agenda, so she's trying to Pelosi-ize the House.

OF COURSE, during all of this, we must remember our favorite bloated program, SCHIP. Remember the insanely regressive-as-hell tobacco tax that would accompany the updated version? Talk about hypocrisy. If anyone should be smoking, Members of Congress should be. They're the ones who both want to use tobacco to fund programs and spend millions trying to discourage smoking.

Congressional Democrats- the utmost in hypocrisy.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:09AM Jan 15, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Nancy Pelosi a food Nazi?

We all know Nancy Pelosi's love of ridiculous and needless government regulation, but this is something else! She's now trying to regulate the eating habits of Capitol staff!

In her efforts to make Capitol Hill more "green" Pelosi has introduced new delicious- not to mention expensive- gourmet food in the House cafeterias. While well-intentioned, this is surely stupid unless unhealthy options are given. As the following quote from a Congressional aide indicates, Pelosi seems intent upon removing the staff's free choice to eat fatty foods:
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“I really don’t like Nanny Nancy telling me what I can and cannot eat for lunch. If I want to eat unhealthy, I should have that choice!” the aide fumed.
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Pelosi also pays homage to recycling, the practically debunked pseudo-religion for liberals.
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And the recycling stations, oh, the recycling stations! They are veritable shrines to a renewable Earth, with four differently shaped slots to sort garbage and lengthy directions on proper sorting. Soup containers go into the square-shaped “compostable” slot, but soup lids end up in the rounded “landfill wastes"
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Here's the heart of the problem:
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"...‘Sip your coffee like a normal human being,’” Ventura said. “We’re trying to save the planet here.”
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Leave it to a liberal to assume that they know what's best for people they don't know.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:58AM Jan 15, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[3]

A willing suspension of disbelief...

I found this little gem today.

The former editor of The Onion, my favorite satirical newspaper, is now working at MoveOn.org. Doesn't surprise me. It seems like the natural progression of a career in comedy.

Honestly, folks, the joke just writes itself.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 10:43AM Jan 11, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Stick to the catwalk, Naomi

Naomi Campbell recently interviewd Hugo Chavez.

Here are a few choice quotes:
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British supermodel Naomi Campbell has interviewed Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, describing him as a "rebel angel" who is unafraid to speak his mind but poses no threat to democracy.
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Venezuelans also seemed happier than her last visit 10 years ago for a Sports Illustrated magazine photoshoot, she added.
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Really? Happier than her last visit? I'm confused. Are we talking about the same Venezuela? The one in which this happened??

Give me a break.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 10:35PM Jan 06, 2008 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Government 1, Freedom 0

The mayor of San Francisco does not like freedom, apparently.
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He is proposing a tax on sugary drinks. Now, it is true that a tax will on sugary drinks will decrease consumption. However, is this really the realm of the government? No. It's the realm of the parents.
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 01:06AM Dec 18, 2007 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Much ado about nothing

Geno's Cheese Steaks in Philadelphia is coming under fire for a sign that says "This is America. When ordering, speak English."
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Of course, the Left is bashing this Italian-American entrepreneur. However, one thing struck me as funny:
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Camille Charles, a sociology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, testified that Vento's signs harken back to the "Whites only" postings of the Jim Crow era.

"The signs give a feeling of being unwelcome and being excluded," Charles said.
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I see a hole in this logic. If the customer does not possess the skills to order in English, it can reasonably be concluded that he also cannot read the sign. If he cannot read the sign, then he won't know he's "unwelcome," or being "excluded."
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I've discovered other "iniquities" that Vento has committed, but agree with him with regard only to this incident. I don't think it's out of the question to demand that one's employees be treated with the simple respect of being addressed in the common language of the United States.
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Another exercise in political mountains out of insignificant molehills.
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 04:23PM Dec 16, 2007 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[4]

If you're 21, today's a special day

Today is the 74th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition!
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Let's raise our glasses to personal freedom!
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-Matt hittle

Posted at 02:47PM Dec 05, 2007 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Don't blame us!

In a post today, Douglas Bryenldson made an irrational...and unsubstantiated... claim during discussion of an article:
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"I find the part about children's free education and free medical care to be especially interesting as that was ALWAYS the American Dream before the Republicans clawed their way to power and said only the upper-class wealthy should be able to afford a college education and basic quality health care."
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I've got news for you, Douglas: It wasn't our fault!
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Consumer Affairs has an excellent article, written from an economic standpoint, about college tuition:
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"Today, tuition at state universities is around $12,000 a year and $25,000 and up at private schools, but it may surprise some to learn that rapidly rising college tuition is not a new phenomenon. In fact, figures compiled by the College Board show that college tuition has risen at about twice the general inflation rate since 1958, when statistics first began to be tracked.

The rate of increase has been sharply higher in some years than others. For example, in 1964, when the first Baby Boomers headed off to college, tuition inflation rose 4.61 percent, which was more than four times faster than the overall inflation rate. Between the years 1980 and 1982, when raging inflation in the economy increased a total of 30 percent, tuition costs surged by 40.3 percent, and have been steadily rising ever since.

Increases in tuition since 1992 have been steady, but comparatively tame, never rising above six percent, as the overall inflation rate has hovered around 2.5 to 3.0 percent."
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I've still got more research to do on this, but I found at least one instance of a Republican working to help with college tuition: http://sessions.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=178498
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Douglas' next accusation is we big, bad Republicans are to blame for the health care crisis. Not at all.
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The truth is, Republicans do not like government intervention in private matters- including health care. This is because we do not believe that health care is a public good.
This website tracks Republican health care policy through the generations: http://www.criticism.com/policy/republicans-health-care-policy.php
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Yes, it is a Lefty website, but it accurately portrays Republicans as those who want the free market, not government, to control health care. Indeed, it is the Democratic Party who is to blame for meddling in matters of the market! (http://www.criticism.com/policy/democrats-health-care-policy.php)
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Read up on these subjects, they're interesting!
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:41AM Nov 30, 2007 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[2]

New gene information

Harvard Economist Greg Mankiw writes on his blog that new research has found that one's economic preferences may be genetic.
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"We find strong evidence that economic preferences are heritable. For altruism as well as risk preferences the genetic effect is significantly different from zero. In our best fitting models, the point estimates suggest that 35 percent of the variation in altruism and 27 percent of variation in risk preferences is explained by genetic influences. Furthermore, our results suggest only a modest role for common environment as a source of phenotypic variation. We argue that the significance of these results extends well beyond documenting an important, but hitherto largely ignored, source of preference heterogeneity. For example, although it is widely accepted that parent-offspring correlations in isolation cannot be used to discriminate between theories of genetic and cultural transmission, much economic research is carried out under the presumption that genetic transmission is small enough that it can be ignored. Such an assumption is not consistent with our findings."
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So you're saying that John Edwards has the "Inciting Needless Class Warfare" gene? Interesting...
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:45AM Nov 30, 2007 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

Facebook privacy issues again?

It seems that good ol; Facebook is again engaging in questionable activities, the New York Times reports:
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"Within the last 10 days, more than 50,000 Facebook members have signed a petition objecting to the new program, which sends messages to users’ friends about what they are buying on Web sites like Travelocity.com, TheKnot.com and Fandango. The members want to be able to opt out of the program completely with one click, but Facebook won’t let them."
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/technology/30face.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:21AM Nov 30, 2007 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

People need to chill out!

A Christmas tree at Missouri State University was taken down after a Jewish professor complained. SO WHAT?

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http://www.ky3.com/news/local/11913886.html

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If a Christian's faith is dependent upon a fake tree in the lobby, he needs to do some soul searching. Likewise, if a fake tree with no religious symbols hurts one's feelings, he needs to learn to pick his battles.

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What a fuss over nothing!
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 12:40PM Nov 29, 2007 by College Republicans in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]