New Spice Study like a Scholar, Scholar

Brigham Young University / BYU - New Spice | Study like a scholar, scholar

Talk about amazing. BYU can stump all when it comes to some great things in life.

Ronald Reagan

For my American History class I had to read 2 different books about the same subject and I decided to read 2 on former President Ronald Reagan.

I thought I knew a lot about Reagan but I learned some things from the books that really astonished me about the man.

First off I find it interesting to note that both authors mentioned that Reagan really had no intimate friends. He had A LOT of associates but no one that he was really close with and opened up about everything. Even Nancy his second wife who was by his side through a lot seemed to not truly know the man. While in the Presidency he spoke with his aids daily and I guess as soon as he was done as president that he never spoke to many of them ever again. He would be close enough to work effectively with people but never had true deep friendships.

One reason that has been mentioned for this lack of friendship is the fact that Reagan was an actor. He was always in the spotlight and not always enjoyed it. Even with him being an actor though it was noted that he truly did not have friends even in high school while he was the captain of his football team.

Secondly, it was interesting to learn how simple minded President Reagan was. This should not be taken negatively but actually as a compliment with how he ran the country. His ability to be relaxed and laid back really helped him as President especially while working with the Soviet Union.

His simple minded leadership really could be seen by how he addressed issues he had to deal with. He required that his aids would compile a 1 page paper listing the issue at hand. ALL ON ONE PAGE, the issue, the problem with it, the proposed plan and important facts would be listed. Yeah I do not think the health care bill could be listed on one piece of paper.

Something really cool though was the fact that President Reagan had a photo graphic memory. He would really surprise other leaders by his understanding and knowledge simply because he had a photo graphic memory.

All in all, my respect for Reagan grew a lot through reading the books. I do feel that he might be overrated in some facts of his presidency but as a whole, the way that he led the country has been missing since he left the presidency.

Health Care Bill

I do not have much time to discuss the Health Care bill as I am writing this as break to a paper that I need to write for one of my classes. I did feel though that I should mention a few of my first impressions on the subject and what I saw from the vote on Health Care.

First off is the fact that the vote was almost 100 percent by party lines. George Washington mentioned in his farewell address that he never spoke but only wrote, that he warned against the creation of parties. Now I am someone that does feel that parties are needed to create some competition and different opinions I also feel that in situations like this it is a very negative thing. Health Care is a topic that should not be voted fully upon party lines as their are so many parts to the bill. Its not just about what and how it will be covered but with it being a very big bill I feel that in a real vote more people would of voted the other way either yes or no depending on how they voted. Why did they not, because sadly in politics if you go against your party you often commit political suicide and with an election coming up soon this was not what they wanted as politicians.

Secondly, I have thought all a long and it has been shown by the lawsuits coming from the states, I am wondering how it is even constitutional. In the constitution it states and I paraphrase, that whatever is not in the constitution is left up to the state to decide on how its ran. Even education which seems to be federally ran has differences as you go from state to state. So it will be interesting to see what happens with these lawsuits and I know that if I was a supreme court justice I would find it unconstitutional. Along these lines how are other pieces of legislation even constitutional such as No Child Left Behind. Anyways...

Lastly, I find their to be one positive from this Health Care Bill and I will be agreeing with Glen Beck which I find to be way to passionate most of the time. That is that finally people will realize that conservatives are right. President Obama has many attributes of socialism. This has been negated many times by the media and democrats but I find no way that conservatives can be debated on the fact that this bill is a sign of socialism. That is a strong word but really in no other bill ever that I know of requires us to sign up for insurance. Where is the freedom of choice I ask.

So lets hope that people do realize this sickening reality and that in 2012 things go the elephants way. In a perfect world, the bill will be found unconstitutional and will be scratched.

I am not saying that any type of Health Care Reform is bad but I am saying that any that takes away my choice of even insuring myself (which I will do) is not good.

I think Alabama winning the National Championship in College Football is a good sign, (The Rise of the Elephant!!!

Principal El and Love the true educator

Being a future educator I always am looking to learn from those who have experienced much in the education field. For two of my education classes I was offered extra credit to go and listen to a guest speaker from Philadelphia. The only problem is that I would have to get off work one hour early and so I debated is the extra credit worth the money. Let me tell you that YES it was well worth the money.

Principal El is a principal for a high school in the inner city of Philadelphia. He grew up and went to the same school as a child and can remember more kids getting murdered each year than those who would go onto college. With a mom that always pushed him he graduated in communications and than felt that he needed to go back and teach. Many people are so grateful that he did.

With the passion and love for the children he associates with he has helped his school become one of the best schools in all of America. His experience is truly amazing and it really helped me realize why I want to become a teacher. Some of my favorite quotes from his presentation include...

"Believe in them until they begin to believe in themselves"

"Discipline is a form of love"

"Smart is not something that you are but something that you can become"

"It is so important to be in touch with your mission as a teacher"

"Leadership is about service, if you don't serve you cant lead"

"Teamwork makes the dream work"

"Their is unity in diversity" and my personal favorite

"I love them before I meet them"

All of these quotes were just part of his overall message of how to help the students. He was such an inspiring many and if I could describe it in one word it would be LOVE. In my multi cultural class we discussed the differences of cultures and I have realized that the one part of education that can be the same across all the world is if LOVE is shown. Principal El showed love and I could even feel that he loved me and he did not know who I was.

His success is simply amazing when you think about it. He started coaching the chess team when he first moved to the school and amazing things happened. Even though he did not have a strong history of chess he helped the students understand how it worked. In his chess teams very first year they traveled to a huge tournament in New York that had amateur players from across the world. That included college kids from Ivy league schools.

In this very first tournament one of his kids from the inner city beat a kid from the Bucknell University Chess Team. With all the success that his kids had they were invited to dinner at a very expensive hotel. He had one rule for them. Nothing inside the hotel leaves the hotel. He expressed the fact that some of these kids had never had a steak in their lives and had the opportunity to eat anything they wanted to on the menu.

His chess teams have gone on to win the national championships 8 different times for high school and lets remember that they are form the inner city ghetto. That simply did not matter.

One other great story he told was about being able to go to the first college graduation of one of his students. The quote "Rather go to Jail than to Yale" was popular in the school and he changed this thought. Having a kid graduate from college let alone high school was amazing for this area.

With the love that he has shown most importantly by example he has been able to create a success story that most anyone would love to read about. Luckily we can watch it. Disney is making a movie about his story soon and Principal El will be acted out by Will Smith. I cant wait to watch it and see in action the great man that I was honored to meet.

I just hope that I can be an educator half as good as he was.

Also check out his website at principalel.com

Spring is in the Air

Spring is one of the most amazing seasons as it fits somewhere in the top 4 ranks of top seasons. I will explain why I love it so much though. BASEBALL is upon us.

I simply love spring training and feel that it needs to be broadcast more. As I watch and listen to ESPN I hear almost everything their is about the NFL. Sam Bradford's shoulder is probably the most talked about body part ever going into the NFL draft. I do love the NFL but this time should be more about the true American game.

I care more about how Cliff Lee, Roy Holliday and Johny Damon are fitting into their new teams. I care more about who the Giants 5th starter is going to be. How Aubrey Huff is going to fit into the Giants line up and also if Timmy is ever planning on cutting his hair.

Basically the SF Giants are my team and I love checking the website daily.

The NFL is overrated in March and needs to wait a few months. Lets go BASEBALL

Sorry for the lack of posts these last 2 weeks as I have had midterms in all my classes. I have some ideas and will get them posted soon.

Harry Reid Re-Election

So I was asked to discuss Harry Reid's chances of Re-Election and I find the subject to be very fascinating and so I will try to explain my thoughts on the issue at hand.

First off I will say that I think its way to soon to predict or even know at all if he will be re-elected and I will explain why. Their are many different issues that will impact his ability to be re-elected and most of them impact each other so we will see if they have a positive or negative domino effect for Senator Reid.

As all know, Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader for the democrats. Reid being in this position really will have the biggest impact on his re-election chances. The reason for this is because he will be linked directly with what happens with President Obama. If Obama is able to improve his pool ratings than I feel that Harry Reid's pools will go up as well. Being linked to Obama overall is not a bad thing if President Obama can improve on a few main issues.

I find that the worst thing that Obama, Reid and Pelosi have done for themselves is continue to strive with their Health Care bill. They were not successful with 60 Democrat Senators and so I really do not see them being successful with 59. Their overall outlook has only really been viewed upon by looking at their health care success and if it does not improve than their pools will not improve. I feel they should scratch the issue and really either start over or distance themselves from the subject and try to improve their candidacy from a different angle. So Harry Reid's re-election will depend a lot on Obama's health care bill but their is one issue that being linked to President Obama is a positive for him.

Obama recently mentioned that he is planning on closing down Yucca Mountain and with Nevada residents not really being supportive of Yucca this really could help Reid's re-election. I personally was in favor of Nevada having Yucca Mountain but for Reid and many of those who did not like the waste coming to Nevada it is a very positive thing for them for Obama to mention it being closed down.

With a few years for more and different national issues to arrive, Reid's link to Obama as his Senate Majority Leader will continue to impact his re-election chances a lot.

Moving on. When people think of Nevada they all think of Vegas and the revenue that comes from Gambling. Senator Reid for many decades has had a close tie with the gambling industry and many times it has been this link that has helped him continue to be re-elected. Nearly one in every three jobs in Nevada is linked to the gambling industry and so if he can keep his link to the industry it will help him a lot in the long term. Something to note though is that the gambling industry really is not tied to democrats or republicans but to the people themselves so if any other candidates can convince some major casinos to back them than it could help swing them into election. Recently the owner of the MGM backed Senator Reid and so his link to gambling as of now seems to be strong which will help him.

In politics many times it is not what you know but who you know and what they give you. This is where Senator Reid as the incumbent really I feel owns Nevada. He has so much more money than any other person and it has been his money that has basically bought his re-elections the last couple of times. With a chest full of cash he really has the advantage of advertising and with many voters that are ignorant to the issues it is their ability to simply know someones name that causes them to vote for someone.

As of now Harry Reid is behind all of the republican candidates in the pools but we must first remember that the republicans still will be going through a primary. A primary election will cause three negative things for the republicans.

First Reid will be able to focus his attention on improving his positive outlook at a time that his opponents really wont be able to focus on him.

Secondly, as most primaries bring, the republicans will be fighting against each other and this usually causes their pools to all go down. For example Huckabee as a republican himself really caused Mitt Romney to have no chance in the republican primary and both of them basically hurt each other. Primaries are interesting as they settle who will be the candidate but basically it tears the candidates down. So Harry Reid will be hoping for Lowden,Tarkanian and other Republican candidates to basically kill their own chances for election by bringing up dirt on each other.

Lastly the primary will cause the republicans to spend a lot of their already small budgets on each other. By the time one of them wins their might not be much to spend and so Reid would be able to come in and dominate the advertising spending and no matter who the republican candidate is it really might not matter.

So after all of my rambling I will conclude on why I feel that Harry Reid has a lot more of a chance for re-election than the pools really show. I hate how money really can buy an election but with Harry Reid having about 5 times more money than the other candidates I feel that this cant be over looked. If the republican candidate can get out of the primary with a decent amount of money, unscratched with no dirt on them and momentum than Reid's money might not have as much impact.

Lastly as mentioned above I feel that Reid's re-election will actually depend on how Obama is doing. With Reid being linked so heavily as part of the 3 headed monster this really could help the Republicans if their overall success does not improve nationally.

As of right now I would say that Reid will not be re-elected as all democrats are suffering all over the nation but lets remember that time always changes things. When the election is upon us many things would of been forgotten, issues could of changed and anything is possible. If you do not believe this just remember the changes that really helped Obama take office. (Change form National Security Issues to Economy in just a few months).

Lets go GOP and lets try to win back the Senate starting with taking out the Senate Majority Leader.

Mr. P.

(Please Respond With Comments)

Dating

If you ever have been around me you would know that the subject of dating is one that I have very strong opinions about.

First off, I am not married so its not like I am an expert on things but their are some ideas that I wish people would just understand.

Last week I was talking to a young man that I will not name and I asked, Who are you going to take on a date this week? He answered, "I dont know of any girls that would want to go on a date with me?" SO GUYS, if you have these same thoughts I just want you to know that they are really retarted as I could count about over 1000 girls that would want to go on a date with you. (I dont really know of 1000 girls by name but I still know that their are plenty of girls who would drop pretty much anything to go on a date)

To go along with this, just because guys might think that their are no girls who would want to go on a date with them, that is the point of dating. Most girls will not turn down a first date and than after the first of 2nd date is really when the girls start thinking if they want to continue going on a date with you. THIER IS NO HARM to a first date.

Now for the girls about this subject of first dates. Please DONT OVER THINK THINGS. If a guy asks you on a date, it does mean we are interested but it DOES NOT MEAN, that we are planning marriage, thinking of ring shopping or naming our first kid. Just relax and have a good time and than feel things out from the date. Also unless the guy is a 100 percent creeper, atleast say yes on the first date.

On my last evening of the mission my Mission President spoke on dating, (It would be a miracle and a sin if they didnt). President Bullock stated that one thing that has really blessed his dating life is that he has take time out of his busy life to go on atleast one date for the rest of his life. This includes when he was pursuing to date, dating someone, engaged and married.

I have tried putting this to practice and it has been great. Since my mission, (Not counting the time in Fallon when their were no one to go on dates with) I have only missed 3 weeks of going on atleast one date. This has really helped me realize how much fun dating is and also helps me take the nervousness out of dating.

So you married people out their, try to take time out of your busy family life to do something if at all possible with just you and your spouse. President Bullock mentioned this could be going food shopping, watching a movie, playing a game or reading a book. It does not have to be fancy. Well like I mentioned I am not married, so back to the single life of me and other singles.

Since I have gone on atleast one date a week and many times 2 or 3 I have noticed that dating is a number game. Its not about how many dates I go on but with taking out more girls it is so much easier to really see the type of girl that I want to pursue. Just think that the more dates I go on, the more likely their is one that really interests me. Latly I have been dates with a Ball Room dancer, future Librarian, Swimmer, Someone that loves politics, someone that hates politics. Basically what I am saying is that it doesnt matter who they are and what they like its how they are.

Lastly I would like to compare dating in England to dating in Provo. I have noticed that the singles that I worked with in the UK really understand their position in dating. With about 100 YSA in one area they realize that is the pool they have to pick from and no matter how small it is they know they have to deal with it. They are very successful and happy in their dating and a lot of them do get married.

Compairing this to Provo with about 150 youth in one ward and I know of hundreds of wards. Many people go on dates and just think, "Their must be someone better". Our pool of singles seems to be to big as we sometimes think that our special someone is still out their. I am not saying to quickly get married to anyone but I am saying that dating simply is not happening many times as people think to much. With this the church has stated and I know that their is not just one person out their that we can each get with.

Basically to step off my soap box, as you could tell I am passionate about the subject. I am not married so I have not experience the whole path myself but I do feel that if we just open our eyes, realize their are people out their wanting to date and I am sick and tired of guys putting vidoe games over the wonder beuatiful girls waiting for them.

OH THE JOY OF DATING LIFE

Jacob Perazzo