Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts

Book Review: The Art of the Deal

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Around the time I read Hillary Clinton's It Takes a Village, I also purchased a copy of Trump: The Art of the Deal, by Donald J. Trump with Tony Schwartz.  This year, I finally got around to reading it--and was surprised how quickly I finished.  This book has a very easy-to-read style.
Published in 1987,  the first chapter details a week in Trump's life.  The book then goes on to tell Trump's story, with a special focus on each of his big deals.  The stories are revealing.  Love or hate him, Trump is Trump.  He's well educated, but a bit rough around the edges.  And that's exactly what his book is like.  The type of language he uses in his speeches is what you'll read in his book.

The Grand Finale - Election 2016

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

It was August 2015 when I met my first Presidential candidate of the election, Bobby Jindal.  In the more than a year and two months since then, I've attended rallies for and met just about every candidate, listened to every debate, considered the opinions of family, friends, and complete strangers, read countless news articles, read a book by Clinton, and interviewed two minor party candidates.  Exploring every viewpoint has not expedited decision-making.
Faced with the prospect of voting today, yesterday I was still deliberating between Trump, Hoefling (America's Party), and Castle (Constitution Party).  Clinton, Stein, are Johnson are too liberal to be compatible with my beliefs.  I could go into details, but I won't waste your time, especially since I have discussed Clinton in previous posts.

America's Party: Tom Hoefling

Friday, November 4, 2016

A third party Presidential candidate I was privileged to interview over the phone earlier this year is Tom Hoefling of Lohrville, Iowa.  Mr. Hoefling and his running mate, Steve Schulin, are the candidates of America's Party.  
Tom Hoefling originally hails from Nebraska and is a political activist, writer, publisher, organizer, and consultant.  He founded America's Party in 2008, and has since been the party's chairman.  In 2012 he ran for President of the United States, representing his party.  In 2014, he competed in the Republican primaries for Iowa governor.  And now again, he's seeking votes for the Presidency.  

Book Review: It Takes a Village

Sunday, October 30, 2016

A few months ago, I checked out It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us, by Hillary Clinton from a local library.  I decided to read the book because I figured my best bet on persuading myself to vote for Donald Trump would be to become thoroughly appalled by Clinton's way of thinking.
It takes me a long time to finish a book when I'm reading it just because I dislike the author.  And It Takes a Village was anything but a captivating thriller.  The only thing making me excited to flip each page was the prospect of being that much nearer the end.  

Vice-Presidential Candidate: Mike Pence

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Monday, September 19th, we went to the Music Man Square in Mason City, Iowa to attend a Mike Pence rally.  Governor Mike Pence of Indiana is Donald Trump's running-mate.  We wanted a good seat, so we arrived just a few minutes after the doors opened at 1:00 pm.
The Secret Service was on duty, so we had to go through a metal detector and have our purses searched.  Inside, we ran into Chris Hupke, an awesome guy who works on the Trump campaign (and to whom I will always be thankful for rescuing our Trump photos from the Secret Service at another rally, so we could have them autographed).

Answers: Politics and Blogging

Thursday, September 29, 2016

It seems like courthouses and answer posts are the easiest topics for me to actually get posted these days.  I have so much more to write about, but for now I'll answer the awesome questions posed to me about blogging and politics!
Summer asks: What inspires your writing?
The places I visit, things I do, books and articles I read, what I think and pray about, and the people I talk with.  I'm also inspired by the five years of posts I already have on this blog, my love of writing, and the kind comments I receive.

Prohibition Party: Jim Hedges

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Since many people seem dissatisfied with the choices offered in the Presidential election this November, I decided to do a little research into the alternatives offered by third parties.  A couple of the candidates agreed to phone interviews, so I will have the pleasure of introducing them to you!
First, let's meet Jim Hedges, candidate for the Prohibition Party, the oldest existing third party in the United States.  Mr. Hedges is a native Iowan, who currently resides in Pennsylvania.  He was a professional tuba player in the Marine Band.  He also has been a science writer and editor, serving 11 years as the editor-in-chief of the National Speleological Society Bulletin, the most widely circulated journal in the world on the science of caves.

Debt, College, and More...

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

"The Lord bless these vittles we've got, and help us to be beholden to nobody," is Mother York's prayer in the 1941 Gary Cooper film Sergeant York.  With our national debt well over $19 trillion and student loan debt in the U.S. over $1.2 trillion owed by over 40 million students, the ideal of being "beholden to nobody" may seem strange.
Marianne from the financial website Personal Capital recently asked me, "Would you be interested in sharing your opinion on the student loan bubble (tuition prices are outrageous!) currently plaguing millennials and the economy?" 

Book Review: A More Perfect Union

Thursday, February 4, 2016

At the Ben Carson book signing at Barnes and Nobles in Waterloo back in October, I purchased Carson's 2015 book, A More Perfect Union for $20.  Carson signed it on the front page.

Caucus 2016

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Seven Carsons in my close family voted--my parents, grandparents, a couple siblings, and myself.  Between us, we voted for five candidates: Cruz, Trump, Carson, Huckabee, and Paul--quintupling our chances of selecting a winner.  I love my family!  We're united in voting our consciences and standing for what we believe in.

My Decision - 2016

Monday, February 1, 2016

Would you like to have a very easy time deciding for which of the candidates to vote?  Here's a word of advice: *don't* go meet them all.  Just go meet the one you have a preconceived notion you will like; imagine everyone else is a villain, and vote.  
But you've taken the hard way with me through my candidate series, so let's see if we can reach an educated decision.

Interview with Christinia Crippes

Friday, January 15, 2016

One person who has met more candidates than I is Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier reporter Christinia Crippes.  I first saw her in September, and since then have ran into her at almost every campaign event I've attended in the Waterloo area.  
Reporter Christinia Crippes and Photographer Matthew Putney of The Courier.
Before the Kasich townhall she interviewed me for this story...and was kind enough to let me interview her as well!  Thanks to my father, Tim Carson, and photographer Matthew Putney for adding a few thoughts.  It's a treat to spend time with knowledgeable people interested in the election.

***Election Extras***

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Now that I've finished my Presidential Candidates series, it's time to tell you the rest of the story! 
I had the honor and privilege of meeting these two lovely ladies at the Sullivan Brothers Convention Center during my candidate-stalking journeys.  The lady on the left is the widow of a brave soldier who gave his life in the Middle East.  The lady on the right is Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter of Al Sullivan, one of the five Sullivan brothers of Waterloo who died together on the USS Juneau when the ship was torpedoed.  

Presidential Candidates - #16 John Kasich

Sunday, January 10, 2016

We returned to the Waterloo Center for the Arts on December 17th to hear John Kasich speak.  Governor Kasich arrived on time, with no fanfare.  Basically someone walked into the room, and after a few moments everyone noticed, "Hey, that's the Governor!" and applauded.  While he was introduced he walked over to the water cooler for a drink.
Kasich's style was surprising.  He was more down-to-earth than most other candidates.  While most candidates create a boundary between themselves and the audience, sometimes even with an actual rope separating the stage, Kasich acted as if his job was to break those boundaries and actually talk with (rather than to) the audience.  

Presidential Candidates - #15 Hillary Clinton

Thursday, December 24, 2015

December 4th, we traveled to Ft. Dodge, Iowa to listen to Hillary Clinton speak at Iowa Central Community College.  
Thirty-five minutes before the scheduled start, the local campaign manager took the stage to speak about why he plans to vote for Hillary Clinton.  After that we all waited till 5 minutes after the scheduled start when Labor Secretary Thomas Perez arrived with Clinton.  Perez spoke for 20 minutes, and then handed the meeting over to Secretary Clinton.

Presidential Candidates - #14 Martin O'Malley

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

My family and I had other engagements in Cedar Falls, Iowa on November 15th, so we were only able to make it over to see Martin O'Malley just as he finished his speech and started visiting with the audience.  
O'Malley was friendly.  I told him I'd watched him on the Democratic debate the night before.  "Was that fun?" he asked.  "Yes," I told him, "I'm a Republican, but I think if Democrats are smart they should vote for you because I think you'd do better in a general election than the other Democratic candidates."  O'Malley agreed.  (At the time, I thought he should have been doing much better, since Clinton has so much baggage and Sanders is polarizing.)

Presidential Candidates - #13 Ben Carson

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The first time I met Dr. Ben Carson was at a book signing at Barnes & Nobles in Waterloo.  I bought a book for about $20, stood in a very long line, had the book autographed, got a picture with Dr. Carson, and left.  You can't tell very much about a person from that, so I was very happy when Dr. Carson returned to Waterloo for a townhall meeting.
The meeting was hosted by Concerned Veterans for America.  Iowa director Flora Schmidt opened the meeting at 1:30, and a retired chaplain led an invocation. Next was the presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance.  CEO Pete Hegseth spoke about the purpose of the townhall meetings and introduced notable people in attendance.  Carson's speech began at 1:45, and was followed by a question and answer session with questions from Mr. Hegseth and members of the audience.

Guest Post at C'est La Vie

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

I was invited by one of my favorite bloggers, Lydia of C'est La Vie, to guest post about what a lady should know about politics and government for her "Being a Lady" series.   Be sure to check out other thought-provoking posts at her blog.
Politics & Government
There are two things a lady should know about politics and government: #1 How to Stay Out of Jail, and #2 How to Vote Responsibly.  Many thanks to Lydia for inviting me to share the depths of my insights as someone who has only been to the police station a couple times, only been to jail once, and has met 14 Presidential candidates so far this election.

Presidential Candidates - #12 John Cogswell

Monday, November 16, 2015

We arrived at the Iowa Grassroots Coalition's Candidate Honest Assessment Summit early.  First we listened to a lady speak, and then I took a seat and relaxed, lackadaisically listening as a gentleman talked about how we need to amend the Constitution.  I was rudely awakened when he announced, "that's why I'm running for President."
"What?  Running for President?!"  I thought, "Who is this man?"  John Cogswell is a Colorado attorney, running for the U.S. Presidency as a Republican, but only in Iowa.  He asks Iowans to vote for him to send a message across America.  Cogswell was very pleasant when my sister and I asked to take pictures with him afterward, and he gave me an autographed copy of his book, Fix the System: Reform the Constitution.  

Interview with Kathleen Franck

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

On the campaign trail, you run into many interesting people.  You start to recognize all the news reporters and camera-people, and then there are the familiar faces you see here and there and everywhere, and yet can't seem to place.  
Photos in this post are courtesy of Kathleen Franck.
One of those faces was that of Kathleen Franck.  Eventually she came across some of my photos from events she attended on Facebook and sent me a friend request.  "I know this lady," I thought, "but who is she?!"  It turned out we had both been at the same places to see Jeb BushMarco RubioDonald Trump, and Carlee Fiorina!  We finally met after listening to Ted Cruz in Waterloo.

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