"Stay gold, Ponyboy"
I feel like I always start these with, "well, it's been a long time since the last time..." I usually forget my password to be able to post another in the interim. I really have to get out of school. Hey! Guess what the benefit of being in school is--getting to make decisions over what bands come to my favorite venue. Yes, I have received the opportunity to be the M-Shop co-director next semester. I already have a list of bands that I would like to invite and I am welcome to your suggestions as well, but you will have to remember that I am a music snob and the M-Shop has a fixed budget. In other M-Shop news, this Thursday will be my 40th concert there--Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down opening for Xiu Xiu. I am excited.
In other news, the Democratic primary process is still going on. I really do not think that either candidate is unfavorable. Of course, one is dealing with the double standard that comes with being a woman in America and the other is a nearly equal departure from the norm (as well as being best friends forever with "the terrrrsts," oh western Iowa, will you never leave the 1950s?). Some people say it is lasting too long or hurting the party, but, as long as the beloved 24-hour, and otherwise, news networks do not crush any public spirit the people might hold and the candidates themselves do not follow suit, the excitement of the primary season should carry into the general election. My applause to Sen. McCain for proposing that the campaign financing process is a bit more under wraps with both major party candidates accepting government funds instead of the millions to be spent otherwise. It should be fun.
In worse, but expected, news, the president recently sent his final budget request to Congress. As most of you know, public broadcasting has a special place in my heart--growing up without cable, with traditional mail being faster than email, Sesame Street still one of my favortite shows, and the internship--it still bothers me to see this report: "It’s a familiar dance: for eight straight years, the Bush administration has proposed deep cuts in federal funds for public broadcasting, and seven times so far, Congress has restored them." Yes, even during the years of Republican leadership and majority, funds were restored. So why the cuts? Continued, the education budget request is no rosy picture either--in the seven years of No Child Left Behind there has been a cumulative shortfall in funds of $70.9 billion. As for college students, especially from low and middle economic classes, the Pell Grants have been stagnant: "From 2003 to 2006, the maximum Pell Grant award was frozen at $4,050 while the cost of higher education shot up 22 percent" when it was promised to increase by $290 this year, which it is not proposed to do.
If you would like, you can check out the summary of the president and former Representative from Iowa and current Budget Director Jim Nussle's proposal here. One specifically comic area is the one entitled "A Record of Economic Success--But Challenges Ahead" or you could learn about the 74% increase in the Department of Defense budget from 2001, and a total amount of $651 billion. Yay! Now let's look at Agriculture ($95 billion), Veteran's Affairs ($92 billion), Education ($63.5 billion), and the Department of State ($39 billion, $4.8 billion going to "Foreign Military Financing"). Not so yay.
I guess I cannot get too in the dumps, the economy is booming, right Mr. President? No? Ok. Well, at least you know how to and are happy (because of his record number of vacation days during his presidency along with many other records) enough to dance.
When the plane is going down and you, the passenger, do not have a built-in parachute in your siut, remember to "stay gold, Ponyboy."
In other news, the Democratic primary process is still going on. I really do not think that either candidate is unfavorable. Of course, one is dealing with the double standard that comes with being a woman in America and the other is a nearly equal departure from the norm (as well as being best friends forever with "the terrrrsts," oh western Iowa, will you never leave the 1950s?). Some people say it is lasting too long or hurting the party, but, as long as the beloved 24-hour, and otherwise, news networks do not crush any public spirit the people might hold and the candidates themselves do not follow suit, the excitement of the primary season should carry into the general election. My applause to Sen. McCain for proposing that the campaign financing process is a bit more under wraps with both major party candidates accepting government funds instead of the millions to be spent otherwise. It should be fun.
In worse, but expected, news, the president recently sent his final budget request to Congress. As most of you know, public broadcasting has a special place in my heart--growing up without cable, with traditional mail being faster than email, Sesame Street still one of my favortite shows, and the internship--it still bothers me to see this report: "It’s a familiar dance: for eight straight years, the Bush administration has proposed deep cuts in federal funds for public broadcasting, and seven times so far, Congress has restored them." Yes, even during the years of Republican leadership and majority, funds were restored. So why the cuts? Continued, the education budget request is no rosy picture either--in the seven years of No Child Left Behind there has been a cumulative shortfall in funds of $70.9 billion. As for college students, especially from low and middle economic classes, the Pell Grants have been stagnant: "From 2003 to 2006, the maximum Pell Grant award was frozen at $4,050 while the cost of higher education shot up 22 percent" when it was promised to increase by $290 this year, which it is not proposed to do.
If you would like, you can check out the summary of the president and former Representative from Iowa and current Budget Director Jim Nussle's proposal here. One specifically comic area is the one entitled "A Record of Economic Success--But Challenges Ahead" or you could learn about the 74% increase in the Department of Defense budget from 2001, and a total amount of $651 billion. Yay! Now let's look at Agriculture ($95 billion), Veteran's Affairs ($92 billion), Education ($63.5 billion), and the Department of State ($39 billion, $4.8 billion going to "Foreign Military Financing"). Not so yay.
I guess I cannot get too in the dumps, the economy is booming, right Mr. President? No? Ok. Well, at least you know how to and are happy (because of his record number of vacation days during his presidency along with many other records) enough to dance.
When the plane is going down and you, the passenger, do not have a built-in parachute in your siut, remember to "stay gold, Ponyboy."
posted by andy at 2:21 PM
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