consider both sides...

I have a lot of respect for any individual- regardless of political affiliation- who runs for office. It is not easy to put who you are, your family and everything you have ever done on a chopping block for all to see and criticize. It take a huge amount of confidence and gumption to out yourself out there and say, “yes, I can lead you.”

To that end, though, I do have experience where it relates to being involved in an election. And whenever I tune in to political commentary and debate, my experience always comes in to play.

And I guess what I think overall is the ultimate message of this particular blog.

Yes, I certainly do have my political beliefs. And I would be willing to bet that most people that follow my Facebook or blog can probably guess to which party I align. However, that aside, I still have some thoughts that transcend that altogether.

I see an increasing trend of people on both sides of the political spectrum that spew hate for the opposition. For a great number of conservatives today it is Obama; they act as if his mere presence as a president is offensive. For liberals, the acknowledgement of Romney as a presidential candidate is akin to an endorsement of Hitler for president. To each side I say: you are wrong.

In 2008, Obama ran a campaign against Senator McCain and won. Fair and square. And he did so outside of a contestable margin. He won by an arguable landslide. McCain, as the revered veteran and POW would not have conceded the victory had that not been the case. Yet a great number of conservative act as if he held McCain at gunpoint and stole it from his grasp.

In fact, the last presidency that incurred a contestable result was the election of 2004 between George W. Bush and Al Gore. That election was decided by the Supreme Court. And the man that took office for the following 4 years was NOT the winner of the popular vote (as it were). That is not what happened between Obama and McCain. The win was definitive and it went to Obama.

With the same token, certain liberals act as if Romney somehow defied some kind of human test or ability and is now forcing his way onto the GOP ticket. Some liberals act as if they are almost offended by his presence…however, we all know they would act that way about any GOP candidate. But Romney was appointed the candidate of his party after strong an indisputable performance in the primaries. His chance to challenge the incumbent was earned, not taken.

Bottom line—both side of the political spectrum regard opposing candidates as thieves of political opportunity. And that is total crap.

When I was in high school, I was heavily involved in student council. At my high school, membership on that council depended entirely upon student votes. I was first elected by my class and then again my sophomore year. The following year, I was elected by the student body and that same result was repeated my senior year. I never ran unopposed—like a GREAT number of my colleagues did—and I won those elections fair and square. By my senior year, I had held office as a class vice-president, class president, student body secretary and finally, student body president. And I won definitively every year. Each and every time. However, I still had my critics. I still dealt with those mutterings behind my back about things being, “rigged,” or the favorable outcome coming as a result of my father’s employment at my high school. I assure you, as a close confidant of the administrator in charge of student elections, that was never close to the truth. Yet, I dealt with those doubters from the beginning to the end of each of offices I ever held.

So, I guess skepticism and doubt are a part of the process. I get that.

But what I do not get is the hatred. And I mean what I say when I use the word ‘hatred’.

The beauty of the American way is democracy. And democracy means that whoever wants to run for political office can do so.  And that, regardless of the electoral college and the inherent flaws therein, that the person most wanted for the job gets it.

However, individuals from both the Left and the Right treat opposing candidates like absconding thieves! And that is completely ridiculous!

Obama won the election in 2008 fair and square. Regardless of the job you think he has done since then, he earned the right to be the president in the meantime. With the same token, Romney EARNED the right to challenge Obama for the presidency; he earned the nomination FAIR AND SQUARE.

At this point, we have a FAIR fight on our hands; to the same degree I waged a fair fight on my opponents in high school. Disagreement on fundamental issues does not make someone undeserving of the right to fight for the opportunity to make it right.

Democracy has empowered our leaders—liked or not—to fix the issues that ail our country. And for me, I sincerely hope the best man wins. We all want and deserve a better tomorrow and I am hoping our leaders—or those that desire to be so--- will deliver that result.

The future of Texas A&M

If you have been so unfortunate as to inquire about my feeling about Governor Rick Perry, you know that the answer to that question is a long, bitter diatribe about the numerous reasons I detest him. And while I could make this entirely about why I cannot stand him, I am going, instead, to focus on the most significant TRUTH about why I do not like him as a politician and why I pray for the day he is finally out of office.

The cover story in the October 2012 issue of Texas Monthly- on newsstands NOW- is titled, "The Battle Over UT." The cover depicts the revered campus clock tower amidst rocket and gun fire, rubble and tanks and beckons the image of a battle ground. Before I even picked it up, I knew EXACTLY what I was about to read...because it STARTED at Texas A&M over two years ago.

And while I have a whole separate tirade as to why TM just NOW decided this is a crisis (when it has been going on for years now) because it has finally come to UT's doorstep (nevermind what it has ALREADY done to Texas A&M), I am going to skip ahead to what's important, because this article really does highlight the problems going on at BOTH schools. I guess a war-torn UT clock tower sells more magazines than a skirmish at Kyle Field, but I digress...

There is a serious crisis happening RIGHT NOW in both College Station and in Austin. And what's at stake is the very thing that you-- and I-- hold as the source of our pride in our Alma Mater-- their pristine academic reputations. THEY ARE IN JEOPARDY.

And that is almost entirely because of Rick Perry.

Without going into gross detail-- seriously, read the TM article if you want names and dates and/or to double check that I am not completely full of shit-- here is the situation.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation-- a "conservative think-tank" located in Austin determined about four years ago that there needed to be reform in public institutions of higher education in the State of Texas. Read-- Texas A&M and The University of Texas.

Generally speaking, these individuals determined that tenured professors with high salaries, as a whole, are not the best individuals to be teaching students because they are too expensive, they dedicate too much time to research and they answer to no one. The reforms they seek to impose would stress, "accountability, efficiency and productivity."

As a result,  they moved to evaluate the public university system in the state because of rising costs of tuition and how that impacts prospective students and families. And that is a just and valid reason to evaluate where fat can be trimmed and things can be changed to try to keep tuition costs down.

But I guess the bigger picture here is that, the Governor cut the education budget in the state and as a result, ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS are having to find other ways to bring in the money they did not receive from the state. Tuition was raised in DCCCD for this exact reason; UT and Texas A&M are no exception.

The reforms the TPPF wants to instill would link professor salaries to student evaluations, increase professor workload, quantify the amount of work that professors do and correlate it to the value it beings the university. Essentially, the idea is to change the structure of the university to mimic the efficiency of a major corporation.

What Rick Perry has done, as a result of the agenda of the TPPF, is to appoint his apolitical allies (and generally, a huge segment of the membership of the TPPF) to the Board of Regents of both Texas A&M and The University of Texas. And for those of you that are unsure of how major decisions are made at a university, suffice it to say that the Board of Regents are like mom and dad-- you aren't going anywhere or doing anything without their Permission. for the most part, actually, they tell YOU what to do.

So essentially, good 'ole Rick Perry has infiltrated the powers-at-be at BOTH institutions to impose this agenda...all, they contend, for the sake of the "customer" (AKA-- the student).

I have so many problems with this, I do not even know where to begin.

First of all-- what makes Texas A&M and The University of Texas the schools they are is their academic reputation. Say what you will about what happens on the gridiron, but these institutions are respected on a national scale because of their academics and their RESEARCH STATUS. These schools would NOT be competitive-- and draw the number of students (both domestic and international) to their campuses (which serve to stimulate the local, and thus, state economy)- without those reputations.

WELL, THOSE REPUTATIONS WERE EARNED ON THE BACKS OF PROFESSORS AND THEIR RESEARCH!THE CREDENTIALS OF THOSE REVERED SCHOLARS IS WHY THESE SCHOOLS HAVE GOTTEN TO WHERE THEY ARE. WHAT HOPE DO THEY HAVE OF MAINTAINING SUCH A STATUS WITHOUT THEM?

And that is EXACTLY what Rick Perry wants to attack. To attract the biggest and brightest, you have to offer the biggest and brightest. Is that not what Mac Brown and Kevin Sumlin offer their prospective players? Why should that be any different for students interested in the school for its academics?

Beyond that, linking a professor's salary to student evaluations? Seriously? I am a professor. And I am sure there are a few students that would say I should pay them to be their teacher. College is HARD and immature 18-year-olds who are pissed off they have to read The Canterbury Tales on the same night as their frat's big party are NOT going to write a favorable evaluation of their professor. And THAT GUY is going to affect a seasoned, PhD professors income!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

I am not saying that evaluations should not be factored into job performance, but having them linked to SALARY? Ok, so the most popular teacher makes the most. Cool, sweet-- bet you that teacher decides to stop testing his students altogether and just hands out A's for showing up...he'll be a millionaire.

And as far as pleasing the customer-- well, I was a customer. And I am one of those people they are trying to serve because my parent's couldn't afford tuition and I am saddled with my entire education's worth of student loan debt. And I didn’t struggle to find a job outside of college because of my debt or because I was ill-prepared; I encountered trouble finding a job BECAUSE THE ECONOMY IS IN A DOWNTURN! And what did I do in that time? I worked a job beneath my education level until I could find one that suited my interests and experience and NEVER ONCE did I miss a student loan payment. I still, have never missed a student loan payment.

Furthermore, as I entertain the notion that my student loan debt would be less at the expense of even one day of difference from my college experience (academic or otherwise), I cannot come around to how that would EVER be worth it. I will happily pay my student loans each month until I’m 100 because what I learned from Texas A&M as a student, citizen and human being, truly is priceless to me. And I would be willing to bet that it is priceless to a lot of people, with or without student loans, Texas Aggie or Texas Longhorn. I know my parents wouldn’t trade what money they DID spend to help me out in college for my experience to have been different OR cheaper. And again, I would be willing to bet a LOT of parents would feel the same way.

Lastly-- it is an incredibly ignorant and foolish assertion that professors do whatever they want and only care about research and publishing papers. I teach on the community college level and cannot think of a full-time teacher I work with who is not over extended. I am SURE that translates to 4-year universities as well. To suggest that college professors do not work hard enough-- especially at a school as large and populous as Texas A&M or UT, is absolutely absurd. The suggestion that part-time professionals would be a better fit (as offered by the TFFP) is preposterous! Our adjunct faculty-- AKA, the part-time teachers-- are usually ALWAYS the source of problems. They do not have enough invested in their TEACHING JOB to put in the extra time and commitment NECESSARY to be a teacher. Teaching on the college level requires a lot of extended office time, student meetings, project grading, etc. Try and find me a part-time teacher with a regular full-time job or commitment that is going to give their students the time or attention they require to succeed in college.

(oh did you see that just there...that was Texas A&M's future going down the drain...)

And what I fear is what this spells for future students and the reputations of these two institutions. And that has no relationship whatsoever to politics or my feelings thereof. If you want a cheaper option in the State of Texas—or anywhere for that matter—there are ALWAYS alternatives; Texas Tech, UNT, University of Phoenix, etc. But trying to restructure the core of what makes these institutions the academic pillars they are will do NOTHING but hurt the future of great minds, great students or this great state.

good people.

i am one of those people that chooses to believe that most people are inherently good. i acknowledge that every person may have the occasional proclivity to make bad choices, but on the whole, i firmly believe the best of people out there...whether i know them personally or not.

my boyfriend does not share this same ideal; he actually believes the opposite. to him, until you prove yourself to be a good person, he is probably going to regard you with a certain level of skepticism and doubt. until you have given him no reason to doubt your intentions, he is probably going to assume you have ulterior motives.

certainly it is easy to see how two such differing ideologies could cause some friction; they certainly have in our past as a couple. and what i have always believed is that he is completely irrational and close-minded in his assumptions. 

well, that was until today.

and to clarify- there have been a few situations in the past where things have happened without a provided explanation that we have both chalked up to reasons that support our own belief system. and on those points, we have agreed to disagree.

but today, i guess, i gained a better understanding and insight into his thought process. or at least why he is as skeptical as he is.

case in point-- a few weeks ago i received a promotional email from urban outfitters touting incredible sales and free shipping. well, as a a devoted fan of online shopping and urban outfitters, i perused the sale items and before i knew it, had amassed a shopping cart of about $110 worth of merchandise i promptly purchased and earmarked to be shipped within three days.

i received email confirmation of the purchase and two days later, a subsequent email alerting me the purchase had been shipped. that was on september 17.

so, essentially, every day since about the 20th, i have been rushing home and going straight to the front door to retrieve my package. and everyday, i have been left wanting.

so, today, as i was leaving work, i logged into my urban outfitters account to check the status of my shipment. the website told me it was shipped on the 17th and accepted via UPS on the 20th...to the address i had in denton while i was in graduate school.

this was obviously a mistake. when i logged into urban outfitters the day i made the purchase, that old address was still on file and i promptly updated it to my new address before i ever been to finalize my purchase. however, it was clear that a glitch had occurred somewhere in the process and my purchases had been delivered to the wrong address.

so, i called customer service. and after speaking with the representative who answered the phone and eventually, her supervisor, i was told that when the package was delivered, it was accepted and signed for by "Lindsey Coyne" at the address in question, and as a result, could not be resent or refunded because for urban outfitters purposes, the merchandise had been successfully delivered.

so essentially: the $110 worth of merchandise i paid for was "successfully" delivered and accepted by the new residents of my old duplex in denton. they received the shipment 11 days ago and FRAUDULENTLY signed MY NAME and ACCEPTED a package on my behalf and have not sent in on to its rightful owner. i mean, i could try to convince myself they are looking for a way to send it back to me, but the UPS driver that delivered the package gave them the option to refuse the package if it was wrongly delivered and they chose not to do so. so, essentially, the residents of 1409 paco trail in denton are the new, proud owners of $110 worth of urban outfitters merchandise.

and i guess what i am getting at that is relevant to my original assertion about the nature of people is that, perhaps, i am completely wrong. maybe people out there are minimally interested in doing the right thing and only care about what services their own interests.

what i wish these people knew- because for some reason i think it would make a difference- is that they are stealing from a teacher who makes limited money who took advantage of an opportunity to purchase some things that could be worn to WORK from an establishment who accidentally fucked up the shipping information. could these people possibly understand that stealing $110 out of my pocket IS a big deal and that unless i find a way to rescue my purchase, it will be significantly painful for me at the end of the month when my bank account balance is dwindling and $110 could go along way to help with gas and groceries. how could a stranger not look at a seemingly "free" delivery of clothing and not KNOW that someone spent good money for it and will certainly be missing it when it never hits their doorstep?

all i know is, if i had answered the door that day, all of those things would have crossed my mind. and i would have refused the package so it WOULD make its way to the rightful owner.

 but i guess what i learned is that most people-- or at least these specific individuals- are not me.

because even if i begin to suspect the worst of others, i will never stop expecting the best of myself...