Polls Are Like Bills...

they just keep coming, they all say something different, and it takes just a single odd one to turn everything on end.

Between Zogby, Rasmussen, and Gallup, you can pick and choose to get the picture of the election you really want (unless you are Rep. Ron Paul, in which case the picture rarely changes). I was already over this whole primary process, but I guess I can follow along and try to keep up with all the new numbers. In the meantime, here are my presidential picks for 2008.

Democrats: It's gonna be Sen. Clinton. Sen. Obama might have glittery poll numbers, but is still behind in fundraising by almost ten million dollars. And even with a Clinton slump, she still leads nationally by a wide margin. She's politically experienced, something which Obama still is not, and has an army of rich Hollywood liberals to help her along the way, another thing, Obama is lacking.

Republicans: This is more complex, as there are more people. Giuliani is the clear frontrunner nationally, but Romney, according to most polls, leads in Iowa and New Hampshire. If Mike Huckabee continues his rise to national prominence, the fact that he is a liberal with a fundamentalist Christian streak will come out. Exactly how much momentum he picks up after Iowa and New Hampshire will be the ultimate test. I think that Romney will be able to pull it out, and thus I predict Romney will win the nomination.

Independents: Mayor Bloomburg, with up to one billion dollars at his disposal, could still launch a center-left campaign as an independent. If Bloomburg does enter the race, everything is out the window. But I find this unlikely, as he will probably use the threat of his entry to try and influence the process.

In closing, elections are better than television. You know why.

Lott Leaves Senate In Suprise Move

In a surprise move, Sen. Trent Lott, the Republicans second in command int he Senate, will leave office by the end of the year. According to reports, despite the Senator's insistence that he is leaving to spend more time with his family and pursue private-sector opportunities, Larry Flynt is alleging that Lott had a relationship with a male escort.

If it is the former, then that's all good and well. But if it is the latter, then America has another instance of a smear king taking down a good man for no reason. Just like when Lott expressed support for the late Sen. Strom Thurmond's presidential run in 1948. Thurmond was by no means perfect, far from it, but Thurmond was a good man, and a bunch of latter-day feelings police tried to take a good man (Lott) down for saying something good about another good man.

Where Flynt is coming from with these allegations, I don't know. But I highly doubt they are true, and when they are proven to be false, someone needs to come out in public and decry him for what he has done. and somehow, the of America needs to learn that nothing good happens from dragging a good man down.

Whose Afraid of Student's With Guns?

Well, at least the way this story is slanted, The Associated Press is. Between the latent editorializing in the sixth paragraph, quotations from a girl who has no qualifications to speak on the subject other than being a student, and not even bothering to expound on the rational of a nonsensical old police chief, this is a pretty loaded story. But at least both sides are presented.

I honestly think it is positively silly that our society is so afraid of guns. When did this happen, and why? This country would have never began, expanded, or even still exist without armaments in the hands of citizens.

Happy Thanksgiving. I'm off to the range.

SHAB Pounces On Those Who Puff

The Student Health Advisory Board, which does not seem to be very good at publicizing it's meetings or seeking student input, has announced that it is prusuing an initiative to make the OSU campus Smoke-Free. That's right. If their goals come to fruition, nowhere on our large, scenic, open-air campus, would a person be able to have something as simple as a smoke break.

Here's a less restrictive suggestion. Take some of that huge wad of cash we, as students, give SHS every term, and commission a study to evaluate potential locations for "Designated Smoking Areas" on campus. Criteria could include areas with (curently) minimal pedestrian foot traffic, the ability for smoke to dissipate quickly, and an absence of opening first and second story windows.

Instead, SHAB has chosen to take the easy way out, as government tends to do. Government is good at two things: Banning things and taxing things. For a government, especially student government, to do anything else requires exceptional intelligence and character among the members of that government body. Let's see if the SHAB has got it.

Protesters Launch Offensive Against the Military, A Little Too Close to Home

Michelle Malkin's sites have been covering the recent open sedition in Olympia, Wash. In case, you haven't heard, crazed left-wing protesters have been doing everything their warped minds can come up with to stop the transportation between the Port of Olympia and Fort Lewis of troops and supplies returning from or being sent to Iraq.

Aside from the usual obnoxious tricks like lying on roads to block convoys, these creeps actually poured concrete on train tracks to prevent the transport of military supplies and threw rocks at police. I don't know exactly what these people are thinking, but they ought to be grateful that the police and military men they are assaulting have good consciences. Pouring concrete on train tracks? Don't they have any concern that somebody could be killed? Or do they have any idea that they are protesting the people and equipment that are being used to defend their right to protest? I would laugh at the irony of it all--if it wasn't so dangerous.

And in the process of screwing things up for the military, the police, and Washingtonians who want to get to work on time, they are bringing their kids along for the fun. One lunatic mother worked herself into such a frenzy that she let her infant son fall off her lap, causing him to hit the pavement face-first. A reader provided Michelle Malkin pictures of the event. In the background, you can see older children (dressed as terrorists/anarchists) looking on.

They bring their children along not only to indoctrinate them in the ways of the lunatic-left, but also because police are less likely to remove the protesters for fear of injuring the children.

Words cannot express how sick these people are.

Your Vote... or this fancy new iPod!!

Politico.com has apparently been able to show that 20% NYU students would trade their ability to vote in next year's election for an iPod. Are NYU students really so confident in the outcome of next year's election that they'd pass off their chance to participate in what will be the most contentious election in our nation's history? (Then again, isn't every election?)

Voting is your civic duty as an American. You don't have a right to vote; you have an obligation. And when I say vote, I mean make an informed decision in the political process. Learn, Discuss, Choose. I feel bad for those NYU kids who wanted to trade their vote for an iPod. Partially because it was the new iPod touch, and those things are basically just iPhones without the phone, and partially (mostly) because brave men and women fought and died and killed to give them something they would willingly throw away for a gadget. We say God bless America, but God bless them. They need it.

The Baro Doesn't Like Black People?

That's the message that protesters from the Black Cultural Center tried to send to the huddled masses waiting to get into the OSU-UW football game Saturday. Standing in a "circle" (looked more like a triangle to me) and holding signs that proclaimed an anti-diversity bias at OSU's camups daily and expounded such claims as "It's not just face paint" in reference to photograph run on the front page of the Baro preceeding the student-led "Black Out Reser" initiative.

I'll be giving a full discourse on this subject in the next Liberty, but just to be clear, if one looks at historical evidence, the Baro is the most diversity friendly (in the university's definition of diversity) newspapers anywhere, not just at OSU. It would appear the the multiculturalism crowd has a "one-strike" policy on not being nice to minorities.

Oregon Splits on Dem Designed Ballot

Oregon voters approved Measure 49, but rejected Measure 50 in a special election on Tuesday. So now we have it on record: Oregonians care about taxes, but not land use rights.

Eminent domain is now statute in Oregon. Even those with property inside UGBs, who supported the measure out of financial interest, will have to worry that government will want their land for something else. If any level of government wants your ground, they can take it out from under you. Doesn't mean they will, but the idea that they can is a blow to freedom.

Even though there were a million good reasons to oppose 50, the tobacco funded ads, cited by liberals as the deciding factor, picked the "Not in our constitution" argument to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The next print edition of The Liberty will showcase some of the arguments not given by the measure's official opponents.

About that print edition: it'll be out soon. Promise up and down.

Rep. Ron Rakes In Internet Cash

Rep. Ron Paul, Republican candidate for President, managed to raise 4.2 million dollars in an exclusively online fundraising effort to commemorate Guy Fawkes Day, November 5. Many will remember Guy Fawkes Day as the day, in 1605, a group of anti-royalist conspirators attempted to assassinate the King and Parliament of England by blowing up Westminster Palace during the State Opening of Parliament. Conclusions about Paul’s intentions for Congress and the President may be drawn now.

But the better question is, what could have $4.2 Million have gone towards that would provide more benefit to the 37000 people who donated it. Well,

• At current estimated cost of attendance, 80 people could have earned degrees from OSU
• Alternatively, one could have purchased 23333 cases of Natty Ice beer and had one hell of a frat party
• 168 Environment saving hybrid cars (estimated cost of 25000 per)
• Thirty million copies of The Liberty could have been printed.
• We could have gotten an office. The most epic college newspaper office ever
• Or 210 thousand gallons of Rogue Dead Guy Ale

But to be more realistically, here’s what $4.2 million won’t buy Rep. Paul

• Fame and adoration outside of his small internet following
• Legitimacy
• Any sort of sensible approach to government
• Any shot in hell of wining the Presidency, or the Republican nomination.

Happy Spending, Rep. Paul!

Welcome to the Liberty Blog

In the greatest traditions of the internet, we have established a blog.

This blog shall be a forum for commentary, satire, and the occasional bit of political rambling and posturing. Please feel free to comment. Also enjoy our regular website: www.theliberty.org

Recently, Greg Kendoll (Associate Editor) and Rockne Roll (Executive Editor) attended the Collegiate Network Editor's Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. The conference is the largest gathering of conservative collegiate journalists in the country. The bar tab reflected this fact. A session on journalism as a career mainly consisted of sitting at the hotel bar and watching UO march to victory over ASU. When the gentleman hosting the session was asked about this , his responce was something along the lines of "if you are really going into journalism, get used to this." It wasn't all fun and games, though it was all fun; A lot was learned, particularly about layout. You'll see results in print editions soon. But the best part really was the interactions with other papers, sharing tips and tricks.

During the game and most of the weekend, The Liberty staff enjoyed the presence of Ossie Bladine (Editor in Chief) and CJ Ciaramella (Associate Editor) from The Oregon Commentator, a conservative publication at UO. Plans for collabration were laid and the Civil War rivalry was cast aside in order that the two Oregon schools could pose a united front against the Ivy League pretentiousness that was so clearly expressed by (first and foremost) Harvard and others. Notable accomplices in our crusade, which mainly involved sitting around (you guessed it) the bar and watching football (like normal, non-Ivy College students), were the staff of The Sentinel (Ohio State University) and The Orange and Blue Observer (University of Illinois).

Thanks to everyone who was at the conference, to CN for hosting all of us, and especially to Joe Lindsley for letting us "put it on 289."