Between the health care debate, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the persistence of the recession, Congress has a lot on its plate right now. Which is why it totally makes sense that a House subcommittee spent time this Wednesday approving important legislation aimed at making college football teams switch to a playoff system.

Whaa?

The Associated Press reports that the new law “would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision game as a national championship unless it results from a playoff.” Maybe I’m not the most qualified person to be writing about this, since I’ve read that sentence ten times and I still have no idea what it means. Even though I’m from Pittsburgh, a city that proudly calls itself “a drinking town with a football problem,” I have been to exactly one professional and one college football game in my life. I didn’t know until a few minutes ago that the “BCS” was a thing, or that Congress had any say in how college football works.

But I know one thing: Georgia Representative John Barrow, who cast a dissenting vote only after saying, “With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on,” is totally right. Even the head of whatever the BCS is, Bill Hancock, thinks that Congress “has more important issues than spending taxpayer money to dictate how college football is played.” Read More »

When I heard this morning that Barack Obama had been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, I was pretty much speechless.  I’m not entirely sure how to react to this announcement.

On one hand, I’m undeniably an Obama supporter—even if I don’t have a graphic tee with his face emblazoned on it like most of my friends do. I read Dreams from my Father, voted for him (twice), and watched the election results breathlessly last year while furiously checking FiveThirtyEight every ten seconds. I love his eloquence, his poise, and everything he represents: the return of intellectualism to the White House and the possibility of improved race relations across the country. Plus, he graduated from my alma mater, even if he hates talking about it. And his wife is pretty kickass.

On the other hand… when I saw this SNL sketch last week, I couldn’t laugh because I was too busy cringing. I agree with most of the points that the Saturday Night Live crew is making: Obama’s rhetoric has rarely been matched by decisive action. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are still dragging on, healthcare is still a mess, and the recession hasn’t exactly ended, despite what some media outlets are saying. (Also, the sketch itself was just horrifically unfunny. SNL kind of blows this season… but I digress.) Read More »

So this is news to me, but today is National Student Day of Action Against War. Obviously my school never game me the memo, however 78 other universities and colleges across the nation have signed on to protest the war in Iraq. They’ll be having walk-outs and rallies; teach-ins and speak-outs; wearing armbands and raising flags. It all sounds  so “let’s grow our hair really long and wear peace signs” and I like it.

I have to say that our generation hasn’t been very active in the anti-war movement. What’s up with that? I think a lot of us may disagree with the decisions the presidential administration has made. So why not speak up? Get your voice heard today.

Read about all the details — which schools are involved, what they’ll be doing, how this all started, etc. — on this awesome blog.