The NFL Season In Review - Pre-playoffs

Some of my thoughts on the NFL season thus far (Pre-playoffs edition).  In no particular order:

1. The Arizona Cardinals are 10-5 and just beat the Seahawks...in Seattle.  Who saw that one coming?  Bruce Arians is one heck of a coach.  Easily the Coach of the year, in my book.

2. I didn't think it was possible for a team to be so bad at stopping the run as the Bears are this year.  Dick Butkus, Brian Urlacher, Mike Singletary, and Mike Ditka would be rolling in their graves....if they were dead....which they aren't.  But you get the idea.

3. The playoffs are looking to be really, really good this year.  Like, really good.  We're talking the Brady vs Manning in the AFC championship kind of good.  And the battle of the two best defenses in football (Seattle and Carolina) in the NFC Championship kind of good.

4. Gus Bradley must be a really good coach, to get 4 wins out of a completely untalented Jaguars team.  In other news, Jim Schwartz is not a really good coach.  Seriously, how did the Lions not win the NFC North this year?  Both the Bears and the Packers lost half their teams to injury, AND you have Megatron.  C'mon man.

5. Watch out for the Niners.  They're getting hot at just the right time.

6. I wonder how long Peyton's record will stand.  Especially if the season goes to 18 games (which I really hope doesn't happen).

7. Bill Belichick is a football genius.  He has the Patriots at 11-4 despite losing all their best receivers, the best interior lineman in football, and their best linebacker.  Speaking of football gods, how bout' Tom Brady?  What QB can do more with less, as well as Brady?

8.  What the heck is wrong with the Giants, Texans, and Falcons?  Oh, right...Eli Manning is the only QB in the last 25 years to throw 25 INTs in 2 separate seasons. As for the Falcons and Texans, who knows...

9. Does anyone know what to make of the Eagles?  Brilliant one week and awful the next.  Anyone's guess as to which version we'll see any given week.

10. Just when the Chiefs were giving me reason to believe in their offense, they laid a huge egg.  How do you lose 23-7 to a team that is used to playing in a dome?  That aside, the Chiefs are a very scary team when their week 15 offense shows up (56 points, Jamaal Charles...).  It will be interesting to see which version we see in the playoffs.

Women in Combat

To continue my lazy streak of not actually writing anything...here's a really good article about women in combat...written by a woman who was in combat:

The Problems of Women in Combat - From a Female Combat Vet

   It’s not all about qualification. I’m speaking as a female Marine Iraq war vet who did serve in the combat zone doing entry checkpoint duty in Fallujah, and we worked with the grunts daily for that time. All the branches still have different standards for females and males. Why? Because most women wouldn’t even qualify to be in the military if they didn’t have separate standards. Men and women are different, but those pushing women into combat don’t want to admit that truth. They huff and puff about how women can do whatever men can do, but it just ain’t so. We’re built differently, and it doesn’t matter that one particular woman could best one particular man. The best woman is still no match for the best man, and most of the men she’d be fireman-carrying off the battlefield will be at least 100 lbs heavier than her with their gear on.

   Women are often great shooters but can’t run in 50-80 lbs of gear as long, hard, or fast as men.  Military training is hard enough on men’s bodies; it’s harder on women’s.  And until women stop menstruating, there will always be an uphill battle for staying level and strong at all times.  No one wants to talk about the fact that in the days before a woman’s cycle, she loses half her strength, to say nothing of the emotional ups and downs that affect judgment. And how would you like fighting through PMS symptoms while clearing a town or going through a firefight?  Then there are the logistics of making all the accommodations for women in the field, from stopping the convoy to pee or because her cycle started to stripping down to get hosed off after having to go into combat with full MOP gear when there’s a biological threat.

   This is to say nothing of unit cohesion, which is imperative and paramount, especially in the combat fields. When preparing for battle, the last thing on your mind should be sex; but you put men and women in close quarters together, and human nature is what it is (this is also why the repeal of DADT is so damaging). It doesn’t matter what the rules are. The Navy proved that when they started allowing women on ship. What happened? They were having sex and getting pregnant, ruining unit cohesion (not to mention derailing the operations because they’d have to change course to get them off ship.)

   When I deployed, we’d hardly been in the country a few weeks before one of our females had to be sent home because she’d gotten pregnant (nice waste of training, not to mention taxpayer money that paid for it). That’s your military readiness? Our enemies are laughing – “Thanks for giving us another vulnerability, USA!”

Then there are relationships.  Whether it’s a consensual relationship, unwanted advances, or sexual assault, they all destroy unit cohesion.  No one is talking about the physical and emotional stuff that goes along with men and women together.  A good relationship can foment jealousy and the perception of favoritism.  A relationship goes sour, and suddenly one loses faith in the very person who may need to drag one off the field of battle.  A sexual assault happens, and a woman not only loses faith in her fellows, but may fear them.  A vindictive man paints a woman as easy, and she loses the respect of her peers.  A vindictive woman wants to destroy a man’s career with a false accusation (yes, folks, this happens too); and it’s poison to the unit.  All this happens before the fighting even begins.

Yet another little-discussed issue is that some female military members are leaving their kids behind to advance their careers by deploying. I know of one divorced Marine who left her two sons, one of them autistic, with their grandparents while she deployed.  She was wounded on base (not on the front lines) and is a purple heart recipient. What if she’d been killed, leaving behind her special needs child? Glory was more important than motherhood. Another case in my own unit was a married female who became angry when they wouldn’t let both her and her husband deploy at the same time. Career advancement was the greater concern.

   I understand the will to fight. I joined the Marines in the hopes of deploying because I believe that fighting jihadists is right. And I care about the women and children in Islamic countries where they are denied their rights, subjugated, mutilated, and murdered with impunity; and where children are molested and raped with impunity (not to mention defending our own freedom against these hate-filled terrorists who want to destroy freedom-loving countries like America.) Joining the Marines was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life, and I’m glad I got to deploy.  It not only allowed me to witness the war, but to witness the problems with women in combat.

   Women have many wonderful strengths, and there is certainly a lot of work for women to do in the military.  But all the problems that come with men and women working together are compounded in the war zone, destroying the cohesion necessary to fight bloody, hellish war.  We are at war; and if we want to win, we have to separate the wheat from the chaff. And the top priority should be military readiness and WINNING wars, not political correctness and artificially imposed “equality” on the military.

(For Part 2, click here)

Letter to the President

This was a letter to President Obama, written by a single mom in Texas.  Way too good to not share.

Dear President Obama,

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all you have done and are doing. You see I am a single Mom located in the very small town of Palmer, Texas. I live in a small rental house with my two children. I drive an older car that I pray daily runs just a little longer. I work at a mediocre job bringing home a much lower paycheck than you or your wife could even imagine living on. I have a lot of concerns about the new “Obamacare” along with the taxes being forced on us Americans and debts you are adding to our country. I have a few questions for you Mr. President.

Have you ever struggled to pay your bills? I have.

Have you ever sat and watched your children eat and you eat what was left on their plates when they were done, because there wasn't enough for you to eat to? I have.

Have you ever had to rob Peter to pay Paul, and it still not be enough? I have.

Have you ever been so sick that you needed to see a doctor and get medicine, but had no health insurance because it was too expensive? I have.

Have you ever had to tell your children no, when they asked for something they needed? I have.

Have you ever patched holes in pants, glued shoes, replaced zippers, because it was cheaper than buying new? I have.

Have you ever had to put an item or two back at the grocery store, because you didn't have enough money? I have.

Have you ever cried yourself to sleep, because you had no clue how you were going to make ends meet? I have.

My questions could go on and on. I don't believe you have a clue what Americans are actually going through and honestly, I don't believe you care. Not everyone lives extravagantly. While your family takes expensive trips that cost more than most of us make in two-four years, there are so many of us that suffer. Yet, you are doing all you can to add to the suffering. I think you are a very selfish and cold hearted man, who does not care what is best for the people he was elected by (not by me) to represent, but more so out for the glory of your name attached to history. So thank you Mr. President, thank you for pushing those of us that are barely staying afloat completely under water and driving America into the ground. You have made your mark in history, as the absolute worst and most hated president of the United States. God have mercy on your soul!

Sincerely,

Yolanda Vestal

Average American

Government Shutdown

     Our country is going through a very...shall we say....interesting time.  Apparently the government is "shutdown".  But who can tell?  I definitely haven't noticed anything.  We're still getting the mail, the troops are still in the field, and our Congressmen are still getting their paychecks. Oh right, but all the National Parks are shut down, Obama was arresting 80 year old WWII veterans for trying to visit their own monument, and a bunch of .gov websites are shut down (because we all know how terribly expensive it is to keep a website running).  Probably the biggest effect of the shutdown is the furloughing of 800,000 "non-essential" government workers (Good grief, we have that many non-essential government employees? Talk about big government...).  In my opinion, it seems pretty hypocritical to shut down our parks and monuments and still pay Congress and the President.

     So, whose fault is all of this?  Obama is blaming Congress -- specifically the Republicans in Congress.  The front page of whitehouse.gov says, "Because Congress did not fulfill its responsibility to pass a budget, much of the federal government is shut down."  The GOP is blaming Obama, Harry Reid and company.  However, the House is passing bill after bill to fund the government, giving in to the Dems on many issues, but the Democrat-controlled Senate won't budge, or so it seems.  How 'bout a little compromise here, guys?  Anyone?  And I'm not just talking to the Democrats.  Both sides need to come together and work something out.  In the words of Dr. Kessler, according to the liberal media, "the sky is falling" and its all the GOP's fault.  And since the media always tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, I guess it must be true.  It is really horrible of the Republicans to not want to fund something that we can't afford, and something that has the potential to ruin the economy.  Completely selfish and hypocritical.  Ok, sorry...enough with the sarcasm.  But seriously....come on people.  As much as I hate the word, Congress (both parties) has to make some serious compromises, or nothing is ever going to get done.  Maybe the Boehner and the GOP need to allow the debt ceiling to be raised (yet again), and maybe Obama, Reid and the Dems should consider delaying the funding of Obamacare.  Just a thought.  What do you think?  Leave a comment below.

My VERY Premature NFL Pre-season predictions

Here are some of my (very early) premonitions about next year.  Don't judge too harshly...even I'm not too sure about all of this.  Enjoy :-)

5 surprise teams who will make a lot of (unexpected) noise:

1. St. Louis Rams
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Cleveland Browns
5. Miami Dolphins

Playoff teams who have the best chance of missing the playoffs this year:

1. Minnesota Vikings
2. Washington Redskins

Teams who missed the playoffs last year, but will make them this year:

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Chicago Bears
3. Dallas Cowboys
4. New York Giants

3 teams who will finally live up to expectations:

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Chicago Bears
3. Cincinnati Bengals

3 teams who won't live up to expectations:

1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Washington Redskins
3. New York Giants

The 5 most improved teams will be:

1. KC Chiefs
2. Cleveland Browns
3. St. Louis Rams
4. Miami Dolphins
5. New Orleans Saints

The top 5 teams will be:

1. Denver Broncos
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. New England Patriots
5. Green Bay Packers

The NFC Division winners will be:

1. Green Bay
2. Seattle
3. Dallas
4. Atlanta

The AFC Division winners:

1. New England
2. Denver
3. Houston
4. Cincinnati

The Wild Cards will be:

1. Chicago
2. San Francisco
3. Baltimore
4. Indianapolis

The Super Bowl will be:

   

      Denver vs. Seattle

Sophomore Year in Review

     Well, it's summer.  I'm officially done with my sophomore year of college (wow!), which means that I'm now an upperclassman (double wow!!).   At the end of freshman year it seemed like that was the fastest any year had gone by in my life.  But now, here I am, a Junior in college.  Sophomore year came and went almost before I realized it.  So many things happened that its hard to keep track of them all.  My first two years of college have been a blur...I can hardly remember what happened when.  Let's see, what did happen during this past year?  I will try and remember some of the main things.
     Well, to start off, Matt Maher came and performed at Benedictine last fall.  I was super excited about that since he is one of my favorites.  My brothers drove down to see him too.  As expected, the concert was great, and we all had a blast.  Afterwards, my friend, Jake and I got this priceless photo with him.  We were pretty pumped after we got it.  Easily one of the best pictures I've ever been in.
     I spent fall break in Kansas City with two of my best friends, Jake and John.  We had an all around blast.  We watched movies, played video games, went go-karting, went to see a movie, ate good food, cruised around in a convertible, and best of all, we relaxed.  It was one of the best breaks I've had so far.
     My intramural flag football team started the season out strong with 2 wins, but then we lost our next three.  One of those losses was the fault of the guys in the striped pajamas (aka referees), but oh well.  We all had great fun anyways.  We're hoping for a great winning season next year.  One reason to hope is that the team that has won the championship 3 years running, and is pretty much unbeatable, had all its players graduate this year...so they won't really be a problem anymore.
     My frisbee team had great year, going 3-0 during the season, and 1-1 in the playoffs.  We made it to the semi-finals, before losing to the eventual champions.  I had to make some frantic, last minute recruitments after our best player ditched us for another team (the dirty traitor).
     I also played intramural softball this spring.  It was good to get back on the diamond again. I still think softball is kinda lame.  Oh, well...its better than nothing, I guess.
     While I'm on the topic of sports, I started a tackle football club at school.  We've played several times, and it has been lots of fun.  Nothing beats a good game of tackle football (touch and flag don't count).  I'm hoping to get recognition as an official club from the college next year.
     One of the most fun (and crazy) things I did all year was taking part in the Homecoming parade (representing Newman Hall).  Along with several of my friends, I painted my entire body red and black.  Unfortunately, it was only 45 degrees outside.  We had to endure that for around two hours.  But it was totally worth it.  I also was a little hoarse afterwards from screaming, chanting, and yelling, for two hours straight.
     Academics-wise, I took many interesting (and some not-so-interesting) classes this year as I move forward with my Political Science degree.  Some of which were: US History, Presidential Elections, Intro to Research Methods, Macro and Microeconomics, Theology of Vatican II, US Civil War, Public Policy Analysis, and Development of Political Thought.  I am currently sitting at a 3.2 cumulative GPA.  Hopefully that will go up a little over the next two years.  My professors are all really good, and they all take a personal interest into each student's progress.  That is one of my favorite things at BC.

In my 4th Degree Regalia

     This past year I became increasingly more involved with the Knights of Columbus, receiving my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degrees.  As a fourth degree I finally get to wear all the cool regalia that the Knights are so famous for.  I was also appointed to the position of Vocations officer in our council.  Next year is looking to be an exciting year for St. Benedict's College Council #4708.
     I was also very happy and honored to be elected Vice-President of the Benedictine College Republicans.  I am very much looking forward to working with all my fellow Republicans next year.
     Earlier this semester I applied for an internship with Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, of Nebraska's 1st District.  I spent many hours laboring over my application and resume.  It was definitely all worthwhile, though, as I got an email asking when I was available for an interview.  I went in for the interview over Easter break, and a couple weeks later I got the job.  I am very excited for this opportunity.  It will look great on my resume for the future, and I'm getting my foot in the political doorway.
     The biggest highlight of the year was, by far, going to the March for Life, in Washington, D.C.  You can read all about that trip right here. This was the second year I was lucky enough to go to the March.  Both times were incredible experiences.  This year was even more special because I got to meet one of my heroes, Rick Santorum.
     I know I'm forgetting many things, but there's no way I can mention everything that happened this past year.  That would take a lot more than just one blog post.  Overall, 2012-2013 has been a great year.  I am looking forward to next year with great anticipation.

Procrastination

     Why is it that I always leave my papers for the last minute?  Every semester I'm assigned two or three big research papers, and every semester I say, "This time I will get started on them early."  Hasn't happened yet...and I'm on semester number 4.  Take last semester for instance.  I was assigned two major research papers at the beginning of the semester.  I fully intended to start them months in advance.  Nope. I kept putting it off saying, "Oh, I have 2 months" and "I still have 1 1/2 months" and "oh, I still have a month."  Suddenly, I look at my syllabus and *wham* I have 6 days left.  I still hadn't started. (Cue: Panic mode extraordinaire.)  I freaked out.  Like really a lot.  Like I nearly had a heart attack.  I had to write 30 pages in 6 days...and I hadn't even started.  Well, as it turned out, I ended up putting getting them both done in time (I got an A on one, and a B on the other).  It definitely took some doing, and many hours of work.  I spent a good 5 hours a day researching and writing.  On the weekend that is all I did.  I ate, slept, and wrote.  After that episode of brain frying, I swore I would never do it again.  Well....here I sit, with two papers due in 10 days.  I guess I still haven't learned my lesson.  Tomorrow...tomorrow I shall write.  Wish me luck.

Laughs

This is too good not to post :)  Enjoy

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats

and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved."

Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or
even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the
blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been
re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the
British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when
threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get
the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they
have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300
years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror
alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are
"Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire
that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the
country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to
"Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective
Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance"
to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher
levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat
they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels .

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy.
These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy
can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to
"She'll be alright, Mate." Three more escalation levels remain: "Crikey!",
"I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend", and "The barbie is
cancelled."

Papal Resignation

    Well, Pope Benedict XVI resigned.  Wait, what???  Popes don't just...you know...quit.  Or do they?  Apparently they do...as of a couple days ago.  Actually, that is false. The first pope to resign was Pope St. Pontian, who resigned in 235 after being exiled by Emperor Maximinus Thrax to the salt mines in Sardinia .  In all there have been 10 popes who have stepped down from the Chair of St. Peter, the most recent being Pope Gregory XII in 1415....and now finally Pope Benedict XVI.  So now the Church is in a state of limbo. The "Sede Vacante".  Although Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is the "acting head of the Church" as the Camerlengo, we don't really have a leader.  This is an historic moment of history.
     The general consensus is that whoever is elected to be the next Pope will have some very large shoes to fill.  See photo à Speculations are rampant on who it will be.  The Cardinals who are numbered among the "favorites" include:  Cardinal Scola of Venice, Cardinal Ouellet of Canada, Cardinal Turkson of Ghana, among others.  My personal preference is, of course, Cardinal Dolan of New York.  I find it quite amusing when I hear all these speculations.  I could almost put money on it that the Cardinals will elect someone whom nobody has hardly even heard of, and who will turn out to be one of the greatest Popes to date.  We need a Pope capable of guiding the Church through the rough waters of today's world.  Someone who is able to stand up to her critics and confirm her teachings.  We need a Pope who has the energy and willpower of Blessed John Paul II, and the holiness, faith, and intellect of Benedict XVI.  The next Holy Father needs to reform the reform of Vatican II (translated: he needs to implement what Vatican II really wanted...not how liberal Catholics misinterperated it).  I trust that the Holy Spirit will do his job well, and inspire the Cardinal Electors to choose a truly saintly man to lead Jesus Christ's One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, Church.

March for Life - Part 2

     This is the promised second installment of my experiences in Washington D.C. for the March for Life.  If you didn't get a chance to read the first part you can read it here.
     Well, I left off the last post with dinner in the "Vantage Point" restaurant.   A very delicious dinner, by the way.  And yes, I ate too much.  Way too much.  But it was definitely worthwhile.  I was making up for my malnourishment at school (courtesy of the crummy cafeteria food, which would make anyone lose their appetite).  The hotel was relatively near Ronald Reagan National Airport so we had a great view of all the planes coming in.  One would appear on the horizon just about exactly every two minutes.  It was quite interesting.  We all slept soundly that night, partly out of utter exhaustion and partly because we all had full stomachs.
     The next day (Saturday) we had almost the entire day for sightseeing.  My friends Scott, Abby, Eileen, Kathryn, and John, and I started the day off with breakfast at McDonald's (McDonald's has some good pancakes, for the record).  Then we headed off to Arlington National Cemetery where we watched to changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  I had been to the changing of the guard before, and I have to say that it is one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed.  To watch the soldier stand guard at that tomb, pacing slowly back and forth, is quite the sight.  When his relief finally arrived the sergeant addressed the hushed crowd in a harsh, solemn, and commanding tone.  He ordered us to be silent during the proceedings out of respect and everyone instantly fell silent.  I'm pretty sure that everyone would've rolled around on the ground if he had ordered us to do so.  The entire ceremony had a sense of awe and solemnity around it.  After witnessing that awesome spectacle we visited the tombs of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII, and of John F. Kennedy, where I got yelled at for trying to answer my cell phone.  Apparently cell phones are strictly verboten.  After leaving the cemetery we walked to the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, which happens to be my second favorite site in D.C., the other being the Lincoln Memorial.  We were soon joined by several more of our friends and we all walked to Chipotle for lunch.
       During the afternoon Eileen and I toured the Mall, visiting the Washington Monument, the National Museum of History, the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam wall, the Korean Memorial, and my favorite, the Lincoln Memorial.  I only wish that they would've built all those things in an area of about 4 blocks.  Your feet get sore with all the walking.
       No matter how many times I go back to DC (I've been three times now), it never gets old.  There is just something amazing about being in our nation's capital.  Every time I go there I feel like I am a little bit of a part of all the history that is there.  Standing in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln, I always feel like I'm almost actually in his presence.  It was especially awesome this time since I had just recently seen Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, "Lincoln".
     We ended the day with Mass, before boarding the buses for the 24 hour ride back to campus.  Looking back, being a part of a 650,000 strong protest for life was an incredible experience.  I am proud to be able to add my voice to the fight for life and I am looking forward to going back next year (hopefully).

March for Life - Part 1

   This past week I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Washington D.C. for the 40th annual March for Life.  Benedictine College took over 300 students to the March this year.  We were on the bus for 26 hours...and then 26 more hours on the way back.  We left campus Wednesday afternoon and arrived in DC on Thursday night.  I'll give you a little summary of how the trip went.

    Upon arriving in DC Abbot James Albers (the abbot of St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison) said mass for us at a parish somewhere in the city.  We didn't get to the hotel (a fancy Holiday Inn in Arlington) until late.  Everyone was pretty exhausted.  It felt amazing to get to sleep stretched out again.  It is quite difficult to sleep on a bus.

    The March was the next day and we were up bright and early.  Unfortunately for us, it was only 23 degrees out.  I was wearing jeans with my pajamas under them, wool socks, two shirts, a sweatshirt and a coat (better be safe than sorry).  Fortunately it was relatively dry...last year the entire Mall was a mud pit.  We started the day off with mass at St. Peter's church, which is about a half mile from the capitol building and where all the Catholic politicians go to church.  Then we walked down to the mall to wait for the rally to start.  We were about an hour early and literally some of the first people to get there, so we found ourselves right up in the front by the stage.  For the record, 23 degrees Fahrenheit is pretty dang cold.  Especially when you are standing still for two hours.   By the time the rally finally started at noon my feet were started to hurt.  By the end of the rally they were very nearly numb.  Maybe next time I'll invest in feet warmers to put in my shoes (do they even make those? Because that would be legit.)

Me with Rick Santorum

    Anyway, I was really excited when I heard that one of the speakers at the rally would be Rick Santorum, one of my political idols and heroes. He gave a short but wonderful and heartfelt speech. He said, "Give these poor children who are all too often if they’re discovered in the womb to have a disability, all too often aborted, please give them a chance. Welcome them into our home as you here welcome them into our human family [...] You are the voice of the voiceless. You are those who stand for love in a world of death. And we are proud to be here with you." Then the march finally started. As we were standing there waiting to move out (it takes awhile for 650,000 people to get moving. Think traffic jam) I look over and see Santorum standing about 15 yards away from me. People are pressing around him, shaking his hand and taking pictures. Realizing this to be the chance of a lifetime, I pushed my way over towards him. I shook his hand and told him what a big fan of his I was. And then I got a picture with him. Easily one of the most awesome things that ever happened to me (along with Tebowing with Matt Maher...yes, I have a picture of that too) It made the painfully long bus ride, the $200 it cost me to take the trip, and the frozen feet, all worthwhile :-)

    The actual March took probably an hour(ish).  Halfway through it the snow that had been falling sparsely started coming down steadily.  It was pretty cool.  After getting to the Supreme Court all 300 BC students prayed a rosary together.  Then we all walked to the senate offices where Terry Gainer, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and a Benedictine alum, provided us with lunch/dinner.  After that a couple of my friends and I took the metro back to the hotel...after getting this awesome picture (with a very awesome person).  We finished off the night with dinner (yes, another dinner) in the "Vantage Point" Restaurant on the 17th floor of the hotel.

   To be continued...

Oh yeah, I have a blog. I almost forgot

Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted anything on here.  Ooops.  But I've been pretty busy with Christmas and school and other stuff.  So I kinda have an excuse.  Speaking of school, I have to go to class now (Principles of Microeconomics.  Yeah, I know....exciting).  But I shall write something properly on here as soon as I get a chance.