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Today is "Pitt Day in Harrisburg" here at Pitt.  Pitt day in Harrisburg is a day where a large group of students all take a bus to Harrisburg and speak with our representatives about, concerns or comments on current or possible future legislation.  This years big issue is the proposed cut in state school funding that would get rid of over 50% of current funding.  This budget cut would effect; all public elementary, middle, and high schools plus the 14 state-owned universities and the state-related schools including; Temple, Pitt and Penn State.

These cuts are outrageous.  While almost every politician preaches during campaign time on the importance of education, they seem out of touch on how to solve the problem.  How can this country compete with the rest of the world if higher education is simply not an option due to the high cost of tuition.  Higher education is not the only institution taking a hit, Corbett also proposed a 10% cut in funding for grade level's K-12.  This hits close to home as my younger sister(8th grade) no longer has the option to take a language due to lack of funding.  If the new 10% cut takes affect it is sad to think of how many more programs will be cut.

The bottom line is that Tom Corbett does not care about your kids, the education system, or the future of this country.  The only thing he gives a damn about are votes, and re-election.  The cuts in education give the Pennsylvania budget enough money so taxes do not need to be raised.  Many people hate raised taxes which could lead to a decrease in votes.

If you live in Pennsylvania I urge you to contact a state representative, congressman, or senator to help stop these budget cuts that will only hurt our education system.

Hines and the Steelers

Today news broke that the Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was released from the team.  Love or hate the Steelers, Ward deserves respect for his accomplishments on and off the field.  As the all time leading receiver for Pittsburgh he was one of the most beloved football players of his time.  The painful break-up between him and his organization was bound to happen, even if no one(including the Steelers organization) wanted to see it happen.

Ward was quoted today saying that he planned to continue his career in the NFL next year for another team.  While I can respect his choice to continue to do what he loves, I believe he should hang up his cleats and retire.  His leadership would boobs undoubtedly be invaluable to any team that decided to pick him up, but he would still at best be a 3rd string WR.  Ward should retire and go live his life in peace, or join the ESPN commentator cult as so many other former players do.

An Evening with Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers is a comedian, a head writer for Saturday Night Live, and does Weekend Update on SNL. Last night, Seth Meyers came to the University of Pittsburgh and did an hour of stand-up followed by a short Q & A. 

I'll admit I was not a huge Seth Meyers fan, I've watched his sketches on SNL and never really found them very funny.  The tickets for last night's performance were free, so I decided to go with my girlfriend as something to do on a slow Sunday night.  I am so glad that I did.

Seth started his set with some quick jokes about Pitt and other related content.  Within seconds he had the whole room laughing, myself included.  The rest of his set was filled with just as many laughs, and it felt like he really enjoyed what he was doing.  During the Q&A he kept the laughs going with witty answers and short anecdotes.  

I'll admit that I was wrong.  Not only was Seth Meyers an extremely funny guy, he also seemed very down to earth.  I am not afraid to admit that I am now a Seth Meyers fan and can't wait to see what he comes out with in the future.

Today I decided to post some education content.

If you are in a MacroEcon class or just want to learn some basic terms that could help you sound smarter when talking to friends, this is the link for you!

The link will take you to Quizlet.com, a completely free site that helps you make flashcards or quizes to  study with.

My friend made an account that uses all of the vocabulary, and concepts in our book so far.
It's not perfect but hopefully some of you guys are interested

Click here for ------->  SOME COOL STUFF

This is the Cathedral of Learning, owned and operated by the University of Pittsburgh.

Every morning I get to go to class in this awesome building.  As I walked up to it today I felt like I had to take a picture (above).  This picture exemplifies human potential.  When it was built almost 100 years ago it was an engineering master piece.  Now it helps thousands of students to reach their potential by providing a place for them to study and learn.

                                       

As the Republican Primary circus continues, I wonder more and more everyday how anyone can take these candidates seriously?  I usually try to stay politically indifferent when it comes to blogging, but I would really like to know what makes people vote for some of these candidates?  It seems like almost every major Republican candidate has a history of hypocrisy, or major flip-flopping on more than one issue.  To any Republicans reading this, please comment with a reason why you would give your vote to any of the current contenders.  I am genuinely curious,  obviously I am not an expert but it seems like Obama will be easily reelected into a second term if running against any of the Republican incumbents.

Also the CNN debate is tonight so check it out, and decide for your self!

Picture Source: Here

I haven't posted in a couple of days but in my absence the folks at Bonnaroo gave out one of the best Valentine's day gifts possible(the line-up!).

Here is the link to the site:

2012 BONNAROO LINE-UP

(Headliners include: Radiohead, Redhot Chili Peppers, Phish, Skrillex, and the Beach Boys)

Be sure to tie your shoes tight, because this line up will blow your socks off.  If you were to buy a ticket for each of the bands mentioned above, it would cost 500+ dollars.  Bonnaroo is $250.  That's easy math, and you would have to be an a-hole to skip out.  Just kidding, you're not an a-hole, but you will regret not going...  All I'm trying to say is that Bonnaroo is an experience of a life-time that cannot be put into words, and if you add this years incredible line-up, it's downright dangerous how much fun you will have.

(Overhead View of Tent City)