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Skybar and Politics

Ive begun to notice that going downtown is a lot more enjoyable when you have a job and sometimes can have surprising results. So last Thursday a bunch of us headed downtown to Skybar after the concert. Me, Goldenboy and Anteater went down together and met up w/ Goldenboys girl and a bunch of her friends visiting from school as well as Red Dog, Partymaster and all those other guys weve been hanging out with a lot more. I hadnt planned on consuming a lot of alcohol but when everyone got on the dance floor, that was the only way for me to end up joining them. For anyone who has seen me dance, Id first like to apologize but for those who hadnt, hope that it stays that way because Ive never had a decent idea of what to do on a dance floor, given that my only prior experiences are at weddings, daily planet at the age of 20 or the OP in allegany, new york as a drunk undergrad. Luckily two things were working in my favor: the first was that i was dancing w/ one of mrs goldenboys friends who only danced when she was drinking so that helped, and the second was that anteater was actually trying to dance. If one were to imagine a 24 year old version of eric cartman with glasses and an undershirt with sleeves poking out of his polo, then trying to dance, youd have anteater. So luckily most eyes were averted to more entertaining areas, among them Partymaster tearing up the floor and making out w/ another one of Mrs. Goldenboys friends, all without falling over which is impressive considering he had already puked before we met him out. Red Dog told me yesterday that he was hitting on some unattractive girl on the floor but i was too busy determining what to do with my arms to notice. Not bad for the first time such a lineup was on the dance floor and one can only hope it wont happen for quite awhile.

So Ive been trying to keep my thoughts about the Presidential campaign to myself until at least after the primaries but while laying in bed watching msnbc after my night out Friday I began to get so infuriated I really couldnt help myself any longer. While the Mccain campaign pisses and moans about all the coverage on obamas overseas trip, theyre neglecting to notice that much of the coverage hasnt been that positive. Meanwhile, much of the mainstream media has been quick to brush past some things Mccain has said, such as referencing the "Iraq-Pakistan border" without consulting a globe to find out there is no such thing as the Iraq-Pakistan border, or declaring that he never referenced "timetables" in terms of withdrawing from Iraq, which he was caught on tape doing, or claiming Obama didn't visit troops in germany because they were unable to bring cameras when much of the time spent over there was visiting troops, aside from the fact that when obama visited walter reed hospital and injured troops a few months back, it was sans cameras. The latter attack on obama by the gop was actually condemned by chuck hagel, one of mccains friends and a member of his own damn party who was on the trip to the middle east with obama (it was a congressional group that toured the middle east; the campaign was on its own in europe). Now, I dont know if this is just jealousy because Obama can shoot a basketball while Mccain cant give a high five, but there should be more media scrutiny on mccain instead of letting it go like hes the kindly grandfathers whos started to call you by the wrong name but its ok, cuz thats just grandpa. Also like grandpa, he likes to talk about the war- albeit a different war- and state how much he supports our troops. However, here are a few facts:

-Of the last 14 votes on Iraq, Mccain has made 4 (none in 2008)
-He tabled a bill for 1 billion dollars in national guard equipment
-Tabled a bill for 322mil in safety equipement for our troops
-Voted against closing tax loopholes which would allocate 1.8bil for veterans health care
-Voted against 430mil in veteran outpatient care
-Criticized senator jim webb's GI bill, didnt show up for the vote, and got praised by Bush when it actually passed

Furthermore, the Iraq and Afghanistan veteran's group gives John Mccain a D on his actions on their behalf in the senate. And that elitest harvard law grad? Oh, he got a B+

Finally, those representing disabled veteran's of all wars give Mccain a 20% approval on his voting record for them. The man who never served a day in uniform? Eighty percent. Guess being a veteran and being for veterans are two very different things. However, thanks to those in the south who believe education is a four-letter word (literally and figuritvly) and that Mccain is endorsed by Jesus because they can't turn off CMT or their repeating loop of Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, much of these facts will remain buried until closer to the election, assuming they are publicized at all. This election is a referendum on many things, from the intelligence of our citizens to whether we will continue on a nationalist path like Germany in the early 1930's or whether we will join the rest of the world in combatting the problems we face together. Personally, the upcoming election gives me a nervous feeling, like a Sabres playoff run, when you know what should happen, but youre always worried about something unbelievably stupid to happen and trash all your hopes. For one, I worry that more people will vote against Obama because he looks presidential than will vote for him for the same reason. Remember, the "who would I rather have a beer with" test does not work! Weve done that twice in a row now and its cost thousands of American lives. I just hope we learned something.

Alright, a few final thoughts:
-Been looking that the progress of the new law school building slated to open in December and is it just me or is the parking lot way too fucking small? The entire building is surrounded by grass and you cant put in enough spots for the 500 or so students that will occupy it?

-Very excited for the Bills season, so long as we dont throw 20 guys on the IR again this year, we might actually make the playoffs

-PSU finished 3rd in the country for party schools. This makes me happy even though I could only tell on home football days, the two frat formals I went to, and State Pattys Day thanks to the stiffs that inhabit our law school, most notably one who called the community security for me being loud on a weekend. However from what I have seen, it is a spot we deserve, even if I personally partied much harder from 2002-2006.

-A Philly friend and a New York friend were debating the merits of NYC when I got pulled into the discussion by whether I would rather identify myself with New York City or Pittsburgh. Personally, I hate both areas immensely so this was a 'lesser of two evils' analysis. I know lots of Pittsburgh fans and all in all I can tolerate maybe 3 of them while I can tolerate nearly all New York fans, even Yankees ones. Two things gain points for pittsburgh: the bar where midgets pour shots in your mouth, and the stunning redhead from the frat formals with the boyfriend who wore that stupidass sport coat. If I had to pick one, itd be New York, even if the passion of pittsburgh sports is closer to that of Buffalo, I will never forgive that city for knocking us out of the playoffs in 2004, when I was of course, dating a girl from Pittsburgh. Lets just say that if my career options after graduation are for those two cities, something went seriously wrong.