Drinking game

Note: The Washington University College Democrats does not condone underage drinking or binge drinking in any way shape or form.

Now that that's over with, click here for the 2006 State of the Union drinking game!

Updates, 1/30

Hi, all. I just want to remind you all of the College Democrats' meeting tonight, Monday, 1/30 at 9:00 PM in the Barry Room. The room is located upstairs in Wohl and is accessible through the rear seating section of Center Court, near the entrance.

Among the topics we will be covering will be the upcoming US Senate race between incumbent Sen. Jim Talent (R) and State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D).

WustlDemsLAD pointed to an encouraging recent poll which has McCaskill beating Talent by 3 points, 47-44. This week, the American Prospect magazine has posted online an interesting article about the ramifications of this race:

Jim Talent is a well-liked incumbent, conservative senator with whiffs of moderation -- as well as a seasoned campaigner first elected to public office at 28. He is now 49.

Claire McCaskill, the state auditor and Democratic challenger, lost in a 2004 race for governor and, last month, requested privacy for herself and her kids after her ex-husband was murdered in Kansas City. She is going to have a tough time trying to win: Consider that Missouri has grown increasingly red since George W. Bush beat Gore by three points in 2000 after Democrats conceded the state to concentrate on Florida (ha!). In 2004, Kerry got stomped by seven points, 53 percent to 46 percent.

So what then is this rumble out of Missouri this week showing Talent and McCaskill in a statistical dead heat? The poll, which was done by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, (where I once drew a paycheck), puts McCaskill ahead of Talent by three points, 47 percent to 44 percent. That is not good news for the GOP -- even if there are ten months to Election Day.

For the GOP, losing Missouri would confirm the theory that Democrats, inside and outside of Washington, are busy cooking up using Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and domestic spying to stir the brew.

Read the whole thing. It's short and encouraging.

Also, on an unrelated note, everyone's favorite Pennsylvania senator made this mind-numbingly stupid statement about "sacrifice":

And yet we have brave men and women who are willing to step forward because they know what's at stake. They're willing to sacrifice their lives for this great country. What I'm asking all of you tonight is not to put on a uniform. Put on a bumper sticker. Is it that much to ask? Is it that much to ask to step up and serve your country?

And, no, he isn't talking about a "Support the Troops" bumper sticker. He's apparently talking about a Rick Santorum bumper-sticker. Remarkable.

Why WashU Students Should Care About Missouri State Politics

State politics isn't the most exciting or sexy brand of politics, but many people don't realize the effect that it has on their lives until it's too late. Approximately 10% of WashU's undergraduate student body is from Missouri, and numerous undergrads have probably gotten loans from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, or MOHELA. Well, guess what. Gov. Blunt is in segret negotiations to sell MOHELA in a no-bid contract to Sallie Mae, a private for-profit company that will almost certainly make college more expensive to anyone currently receiving a MOHELA loan. If you or someone you know is going to be affected by this, send Gov. Blunt a message about how you feel.

Welcome back

Welcome back everyone! True, it has been a relatively slow news week, but the blog world never sleeps! Over at DailyKos georgia10 has the real scoop on how the Bush administration is totally screwing up the war on terror and then lying about it, while MyDD's Scott Shields is dead on on how the media is playing right into Osama's hands. I mean honestly, people, do you really think he identifies with an American political party? He's a heartless killing monster, you lunatics!

Juan Cole has the scoop on the Iraqi parliament elections and predicts that "the Shiite religious coalition will certainly form the government for the next 4 years and will provide the prime minister." What's his rationale for this claim? The fact that the Shiite fundamentalist coalition won 128 of the seats in the Iraqi parliament (a party needs 138 for a majority). What better way to spread democracy in the Middle East than to empower a group of intolerant religious extremists! Wonderful job, George.

Speaking of unbridled success in the Middle East, Iran (you know, the country next to Iraq that actually had a significant and very real weapons of mass destruction program) is on its way to making nuclear weapons. No need to be concerned though...once freedom runs its course everything will be alright. But if you don't buy that argument, try Ivo Daalder's line of thinking on what we should do.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, Missouri Senator Jim Talent is in favor of government spying on American citizens. But maybe that's okay because he's currently polling 3 points behind McCaskill.

Another brief hiatus

As my laptop is currently in the shop, relegating me to the use of my households' barely-used old HP Pavilion, and since quite frankly nobody will be reading this blog until school starts up again, the blog will be going on a short hiatus until the spring semester begins. Enjoy the study-free days while they last!

What's up

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday break. Much has happened since the last post; Sharon's strokes, the domestic spying controversy, the Sago mining tragedy, and the end of DeLay's run as House leader. Though much has also happened in the blog world, here are some recent highlights for you: MyDD's Matt Stoller ponders the Democratic platform for the upcoming elections, the folks at Gadflyer examine the relationship between democracy and economic freedom and tear into conservatives' hypocritical arguements about Abramoff and "big government," and Mona Eltahawy writes about intolerance in the Islamic world on the Kevin Sites blog.