Take Some Time and Learn

Today’s political atmosphere is more volatile than ever.  As American citizens, we cannot go a day without listening to some political rhetoric from the left, or the right.  However, is that a bad thing?  I am not sure, I will leave that up to every individual.  But for me, it’s great.  I eat sleep and breathe politics.  I love watching CSPAN and Fox News.  I love listening to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.  To me, they are educators who want nothing more than to keep the politically savvy and not so savvy educated.  Whether you are a Republican or Democrat you can learn a lot by watching cable news and listening to radio.  These personalities are people who, for the most part, have no political ambitions of their own.  Whether your cup of tea is Fox News, CNN or MSNBC you can learn a lot by just watching an hour of programing a day.  Personally, I believe that Fox News is the most fair out of them all.  However, that is not to say they don’t have a slight right-wing bias.  There are so many different outlets whether it is print, online, T.V., or Radio that is up to you.

Now as we continue to move closer to 2012, it is extremely important for people my age (18-25) to become involved in politics, and news on a daily basis.  You may not think that decisions that people in Washington make affect us, but they do!  As a college student, you are on your way to a life, and career.  It is in your best interest to stay informed.  Recently, I started a twitter account.  I am starting to get the hang of it, and actually enjoy it.  I already follow over a 100 people, or organizations.  My favorite outlet to follow is “Breaking News.”  This account constantly updates throughout the day with a wide variety of topics from politics to sports.  As we some of us begin the next chapters of our lives, you will start to see the things that people in Washington do affect us much more frequently.  At this point in time, the future looks to be very eventful.  You should want to know what is going on around the world, and in our country.  Politics for me is the most important and will continue to be.  2012 is a huge year and we all need to start paying attention.

The Presidential election is about 21 months away.  That means it’s time to start getting back into the swing of things.  As most people know, this is the time of year when Presidential Candidates start to make their intentions known.  The first Republican Primary debate is already scheduled for May, of this year!  As the candidates start to announce their intentions, it behooves you to learn about these candidates.  Even President Obama will have a primary challenge, even if it is against low profile candidates who have virtually no chance.  Take some time to learn about who these people are, what they believe in and maybe some votes that they have taken (representatives or senators) or supported (governors, ambassadors, generals etc).  I will list some candidates who I consider to be “for real” below for the republicans, and of course the President.

Democrat:

President Barack Obama

Republican:

Gov. Haley Barbour

Amb. John Bolton

Gov. Mitch Daniels

Sen. Jim Demint

Speaker Newt Gingrich

Gov. Mike Huckabee

Gov. Sarah Palin

Gov. Tim Pawlenty

Gen. David Petraeus (although, most people believe he is next in line as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  He is also in line to be the first possible five-star general since General Omar Bradley in 1950).

Gov. Mitt Romney

Sen. Rick Santorum

Sen. John Thune

Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump

Also, I will list some news outlets and programs that I read and watch on an almost daily basis.

Newspapers and Online:

New York Post

Wall Street Journal

Washington Times

Politico.com

Newsmax.com

Drugereport.com

Huffingtonpost.com

Time.com

New York Times

T.V.

The O’Reilly Factor

Hannity

On the Record- With Greta Van Susteren

Special Report with Bret Baier

And of course all Local Programing.

Happy learning, and please don’t hesitate to ask questions!