For those in my home state of Wisconsin, it is election day.  Make sure to get out and vote, and vote with your heart.  The presidential contest for both republicans and democrats will be close.  I could see either candidate for each party winning the state.  If you care about America, make your way to the polls before 8 p.m. this evening.

The murder of five at Northern Illinois University is the latest in a series of shootings involving innocent people, most with their whole life ahead of them.

MidwesternBoy has some advice for the next potential gunman in America that plans to go through with these kind of murders. Do the world a favor and start, rather than end with yourself.

The families of the victims are in our thoughts and prayers.

Over the last couple days, Madison has been home to some of the top campaigns for the 2008 presidential election. I’ve had the opportunity to cover each of them for dane101.

Here are my personal thoughts on each candidate, with a link to my article on Dane.

Barack Obama. I decided to fight my way to see him with friends rather than take a press pass for his speech. Apparently about 18,000 other people had the same idea. The entire experience was a bit surreal, like Elvis coming back from the dead to give a performance. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed in his speech. He came off as charismatic and intelligent, but I guess after all the hype I just expected more.

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Comments I’ve heard from normally rational people leading up to the elections:

“I’ll vote for Hillary because I don’t think an african-american can be elected, even in this day and age.”

“A vote for Mike Huckabee is like throwing your vote away. He’ll never be embraced by the country as a whole.”

It’s Super Tuesday, the day where the citizens from 24 states head to the polls to cast a ballot for their favorite candidate. Well, at least that is what is should be. The “who is most electable” variable is already in play, as people right of candidates they do not think they can win the general election in November.

What the hell is wrong with our country?

When did we as a country stop voting for who we believe would be the best candidate to lead our country for four years, and become lemmings that vote for a candidate that “we think can win?” This year started with one of the deepest field of candidates on both sides; yet on the democratic side we are already down to the two that sound most alike.

Iowa had the privilege of leading off the primary season. Rather then follow the latest Zogby poll, they voted for two of the most “unelectable” candidates in the race.

They voted with their hearts, not their minds. They voted for who they believe in, not who has the best chance to win. We saw what happened for years ago when “the most electable” person won the democratic nomination, no one gave a damn about him and he lost to an unpopular president.

As voters in 24 states go to the polls today, all I ask is that you do the same as Iowa voters did. Don’t over-think your vote. Don’t vote for someone because they are the lesser evil, vote for who you see as the best candidate.  If everyone does, the best candidate will win.

The website Valleywag has an editorial piece on why magazines should stop covering gadgets.  They state that magazines will always be behind the curve because they need to produce articles months before the magazine is published.  By the time articles run, gadgets have been thoroughly dissected and reviewed on the web.  They use the example of Entrepreneur Magazine, which ran a review of the Palm Foleo.  The problem was the device that was discontinued by the time the review was published.

While Valleywag makes a strong argument, there are two reasons why gadgets need to be covered by magazines.
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Simple.  Basic.  That is how life and art look to spectators when perfected.  The complexities are there for those that look closely, but the average person should easily determine what an artist is trying to say.  Jane Hammond’s mastery of this skill is one reason why her “Six Sets” piece currently showing at the Chazen Museum of Art can attract even the casual observer.

Simple.  Six identical televisions hang on the wall, each on a different “channel,” each channel a human trait.  Color and depth make the carved wood sets pop from the paper, while the television concept evokes simplicity.  The sets are an old design of a bygone era when televisions had separate dials for UHF and VHF; a time before the flick of a remote could provide access to hundreds of channels.

Hammond’s uses a collection of 276 found images in all her work from this period.  The images that reside on the televisions are visible throughout her collection.  The six traits used by Hammond are easily grasped, even without the note cards that list their names; Faith, Insight, Kinship, Patience, Perception, and Fairness.
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Censorship. As a writer, I have strong opinions about it in any form. We as individuals have a choice to read or ignore what is presented to us. News outlets that prevent individuals from seeing something that is topical or controversial are a danger and threat to our country.

This weekend, the Washington Post along with 25 other newspapers became a danger and a threat to our country.

What story could be so controversial that the Washington Post; a bastion of news and opinion would refuse to publish it? Alas, it was not a story that tarnished the Post’s reputation, rather the weekly comic strip Opus.
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Before it even hit shelves, 12 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were shipped to retailers. It was the most anticipated book in years, and the end of the epic quest that kept children and adults alike enthralled for a decade. People lined up at local bookstores hours before its midnight release to assure their copy (except in Madison), and be one of the first to know the outcome of their favorite characters. However, some of us decided to wait and borrow it from a friend rather then give in to the insanity.

I finally secured the book and the time required to flip though its roughly 800 pages of story. The main question is was it worthy of the hype? The answer is a resounding…
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The cover story of the NY Times today discusses how in Silicon Valley, a couple million dollars just isn’t enough for some people.

“A few million doesn’t go as far as it used to.” states Hal Steger, a marketing executive worth $3.5 million.

Excuse me if I don’t shed a tear for these whiny millionaires that are in the top 1% income bracket of Americans.

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“It’s not that I don’t like you; ok, it is that I don’t like you.” A normal conversation I had with a stranger during a night out.

I call it being blunt or overly honest. Most people call it being an asshole.  Rather than fight over terminology with these bastards, I simply smile and say, “Yea, that’s me.”  I embrace my inner asshole, because I enjoy it, and well, I’m good at it.

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I finally had a chance to catch Michael Moore’s new film Sicko.  For those unaware, the film is about the health care and insurance industry in the United States.  Moore is a powerful storyteller, and the movie really hit home.  Until about two months ago I was not covered by insurance.  As it stands now, I have Blue Cross catastrophe insurance only.  After watching the movie, I’m starting to think that is a waste of my money.

Needless to say there are two points which the movie alluded to that were not covered nearly enough.
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A blurb on the front cover of my Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reminds me that the wait is nearly over – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” arrives in bookstores tomorrow. The final chapter of the series will have kids and adults lining up at bookstores across the country tonight to grab a copy when it goes on sale at 12:01 a.m.

Flipping further through the paper, I find Milwaukee’s major independent bookstore Schwartz will host a party to celebrate the new book beginning at 9 p.m. The gathering promises costumes and free magical activities that “will keep wizards of all ages happy.” I attended the Schwartz party for the last book release, and enjoyed seeing kids and adults dress in Harry Potter attire. I decided since I am now a Madisonian, I would venture to a local bookstore tonight to enjoy PotterMania one last time.

I grabbed a copy of the Wisconsin State Journal on my way out of the coffee shop to find which local independent bookstores would have festivities tonight. The State Journal realized the importance of this book release, plastering an illustration of Harry across half the cover and moving less significant articles about a missing person and world events to the back pages. The “Potter Parties” section gave details of Madison bookstores that would be open late and have festivities to mark the arrival of “Deathly Hallows.”

Not one independent bookstore was mentioned.

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As the UW Board of Regents recently discussed changes in undergrad admission, I kept hearing the same story from colleagues and in the media.  A Wisconsin high school student with a high grade point average and good test scores did not make it the cut at UW – Madison.  How could this happen?  Were they the victim of reverse racism by UW admissions?

Last year over 22,000 high school students applied for 5,600 spots in the freshman class. The truth is there are few guarantees in life, including access to the UW’s flagship college.  However, if a student is serious about attending the UW, there are other ways to get in, guaranteed.

That’s right, guaranteed admission to UW-Madison.

Last year, the UW struck an agreement with three schools: Madison Area Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical College and Nicolet Area Technical College.  The agreement grants students who maintain a 3.0 grade point average and earn 54 credits admission to UW-Madison.

A similar program has been in place with the two-year colleges in the UW system for a number of years.  By submitting a “Declaration of Intent to Participate” form, and completing the freshman and sophomore year with a grade point average of 2.6, students are guaranteed admission to UW-Madison.

“It’s a great program, and it saves you a lot of money,”  states Nathan, a sophomore at UW-Marathon County and a participant in the program.  Like a lot of students, Nathan wanted to attend UW-Madison when he graduated from high school.  Despite good grades, respectable test scores and a list of activities, he was not accepted.

Nathan was a bit discouraged, but decided to start close to home at a local two-year college.  He knew that if he kept up his grades, he would be able to transfer to Madison after two years.  “It’s nice because I was able to keep my job and live at home.  It helped me save money.” Nathan also saved on tuition.  The difference between his two-year college and UW-Madison is about $2,000 a year.

When I talked with Nathan, both he and I were surprised more people don’t take advantage of the UW’s promise of guaranteed admission.  The UW system has thirteen two-year schools scattered across the state, including locations near most major cities.  The addition of the technical schools to the program makes a UW education even more accessible.

“I think some people think they are entitled to get into Madison if they did well in high school,” said Nathan.  “If they don’t, they’d rather blame it on someone else than find a different way to get in.”

Admission to UW-Madison is not a given, nor should it be.  Some people will be admitted to Madison right out of high school, while others will have to prove themselves at another Wisconsin university before gaining admission.  What is most important is the opportunity for a degree from Madison is there for those that want it.

In a world with few guarantees, admission to UW-Madison is a nice one to have.