I’m in class today and my professor was trying to get a video to play and she said, “How do I make this go?” and another student said, “You push play.” I was thinking to myself…”duh.” But then the student started helping and he asked, “How do I get the sound to work?” The professor replied, “You turn the speakers on.” Again, I was thinking, “duh!” I love it how people ask questions and then others reply with obvious answers, because the college professor/master’s student clearly isn’t smart enough to think of the basics. It’s the little things that keep life interesting.

CNN announced today that Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) is leading his opponents by more than 20 points in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two states that kick-off the primaries early next year. Paul Steinhauser, deputy political director for CNN states in his article that although Romney is showing a strong showing, he could be in trouble further down the road because he may lose his support from evangelical Christians. Their support could very easily swing to Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas), a Baptist minister. Hans Nichols and Christopher Stern state in their article on Bloomberg that the best way for Romney to keep the evangelical vote is to stop trying to assimilate himself with their faith. Representative Bob Inglus (R-South Carolina) told Romney, “…you cannot equate Mormonism with Christianity.”

At some point, Romney will have to explain his faith to mainstream America, and will then have to say how his faith will impact his presidency. JFK did this during his 1960 presidential run, but as a Republican who depends on the Christian vote, Romney can’t afford to use JFK’s tactics; he can’t say that he will uphold separation of church and state. Many on the right believe that this has resulted in the social problems we see today.

Utlimately, only time will tell how Romney will fare in the primaries. Battling against celebrity politicians like Giuliani and McCain will present a difficult challenge. His success will depend on his ability to keep the Christian vote, so he must start doing a better job of explaining why he is the better candidate when compared to Huckabee and stop worrying about Giuliani and McCain.

When I went to England, one of the places that I just absolutely adored was the art museum. I would love to see a good art museum again. Park West at Sea has an art gallery that I definitely think I should check out. I guess they are home to the largest collection of fine art in the world. They conduct art auctions throughout the United States and Canada, so if I like the art I see, I could even purchase it. I think that is awesome, especially since I haven’t lived here for very long and I am always on the lookout for a good deal on decorations.

I guess I’m addicted to CNN this evening. I found an article that discusses President Bush’s response to the wildfires in Southern California. He’s very proud of the way he has handled the situation. “I made a pledge to the people of California on behalf of all Americans: We will help you put out the fires, get through the crisis, and rebuild your lives,” he said in his weekly radio address. It’s a good thing he did something right in the face of a natural disaster. After he botched up the response to Katrina. Unfortunately, he’s now receiving complaints because he is giving praise to beaurocrats in California, who many believe do not deserve the recognition. I can’t help but wonder if there has ever been a good response to a disaster.

Have you ever heard of Uptown Saturday Night in St. Augustine? Evidently, if you’re in Florida and in the mood to shop, you should check out St. Augustine shopping. It is on the last Saturday of the month in October and November. October 27th has passed, but you still have time to visit and do some great shopping on November 24th. Just think of all of the fun you could have doing your holiday shopping while experiencing lively street music and finding great antiques, rare books, and authentic Spanish treasures. St. Augustine is our nation’s oldest city, and there is some great shopping along Aviles Street. That is the oldest street in America. I would love to experience these historical areas while doing some interesting shopping. Best of all, you can visit the Mission of Nombre de Dios, which provides free parking! Having lived in the city, I can tell you that free parking is something that you should not ever pass up. So, whether you are looking for a great place to go antiquing, or you want to meet local authors, visit art galleries, or you like visiting some of the oldest, most historical places in our country, you should really check this out.

According to an article on CNN, the 75% of Americans do not approve of the job congress has been doing. This is bad news for Democrats, who control both houses. Last year’s victory in the midterm elections was mostly due to the fact that the Republican-controlled houses held a 63% disapproval rate. It appears that the Democrats have not been progressive enough to appease voters. What impact will this have on the 2008 elections? Time will tell.

I moved into my first apartment about two months ago, and I had to buy a lot of things, but there were some things that I just plain forgot about, like a mixer. I volunteered to make cupcakes a while back, and when I was in the middle of mixing the ingredients together, I realized that I didn’t have a mixer or anything, so I ran out and bought a whisk. I was in a pinch. I’ve made cupcakes again since then, and I am really getting tired of using the whisk. It does not work very well, and my arm gets tired. You can probably tell that I do not lift weights on a regular basis if I am complaining about having to use a whisk, but at the end of a long day, I just don’t want my arm to be any more tired than the rest of me.

I am thinking about maybe buying an Eclectrics® Mixer or a Hamilton Beach® Mixer. I really think that a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer is the way to go for me. To illustrate just what I think may happen to me if I do not get a stand mixer right away, I have made a video for all of you to watch. Feel free to share it with all of your friends.

Governor Mitch Daniels (R-IN) announced his property tax plan. Thanks to Pat Bauer (D-South Bend) and his Democratic buffoons in the House, the residents of Indiana faced staggering property tax bills this year, but were saved by the governor’s intelligent move to essentially freeze homeowners’ rates to those of 2006. However, there has been no solution posed to Hoosiers for 2008. This wouldn’t have been as big of an issue if the Democrats hadn’t killed every bill and amendment that the Republicans put forth in the Democrat-contolled house. However, each one was killed by a party-line vote.

Once again, Governor Daniels has come to the rescue with a controversial new approach. Mitch has proposed a cap in property taxes at a value of 1% of the property’s appraised value each year for regular homeowners, 2% for rental properties, and 3% for businesses. To counter-balance this, he has proposed an increase in the sales tax, from six to seven cents per dollar. Unfortunately, Mitch is calling for the property tax cap to be created as an amendment to the Indiana constitution, which must pass two consecutive sessions for the Indiana General Assembly. This means that, if proposed in 2008, the earliest it would be in place is for the tax bills received in 2010, and even that is doubtful because the House Democrats have proven that they will kill any tax legislation that is attached to a Republican. However, when Democrats kill this proposal, it will make them look bad in front of voters and will help Mitch gain a second term, and help to bring the House back into the control of the Republicans. If this happens, this legislation might actually pass in 2009 and 2010 (assuming Republicans stay in power), taking effect in 2011.

For more details, read his full statement below.

Good evening.

For the last few months, no subject has been on my mind, or the mind of most Hoosiers, as much as property taxes. In almost every county, some homeowners were hit with huge increases; in some counties, it seemed almost everyone got a big jump. Assessments were inconsistent and often grossly unfair. It is not acceptable that any citizen cannot afford to keep the home they may have worked all their lives to buy. The status quo is not tolerable and we must act to fix it.

Several causes combined to produce this situation. Back in the 90s, courts ordered a change to assessments based on market prices. In 2002, the legislature repealed the inventory property tax on business, and switched from reassessment once a decade to once a year, or trending. And, the biggest factor of all, total local spending on schools, libraries, school construction, and other services has continued growing faster than taxpayers’ incomes. When that happens, property taxes can only go up.

We’ve been here before. Repeatedly over the last 35 years, state government has tried to help out. State taxes have been raised and the money used to subsidize local budgets and reduce property taxes. By now, 85% of school operating costs are paid for by our state taxes, not our property taxes. Half the sales tax, 3 cents out of 6, is sent back to support local government, or your property taxes would be far higher than they already are.

What we do next must learn from this history, because the old approach has not worked. In every case, a few years later our state taxes were higher and our property taxes were, too. It only took 5 years this time.

I have looked at every option for change. I have talked with Hoosiers all over the state. I have studied Indiana’s past approaches to this issue and the attempts of other states to deal with their own problems. When Indiana acts this time, and act we must, our steps must be fair, far-reaching, and final.

I have prepared and will recommend to the legislature a proposal to cut every homeowner’s property taxes sharply and cap them forever, at no more than one per cent of a home’s true value. This last provision must be added to the state’s constitution to ensure its permanence, and guarantee that no Hoosier ever again pays more than a penny on the dollar of their home’s value.

We can lower the average Hoosier property tax bill by more than a third by removing forever the rest of school operating costs, and the cost of protecting abused and neglected children, from the local to the state level. Immediate relief should be provided to every homeowner on the May ‘08 bills, and the full 1% ceiling protection put in place by 2009.

We can fund this reform through a one-cent increase in the sales tax, and by using a small share of the surplus we have restored to the state budget these last three years.

Before settling on the cut and cap approach, I looked hard at the idea of totally eliminating property taxes in our state. Much as I would like to have taken that route, the risks to our schools, to small business, and to our economy generally, dissuaded me. In particular, I could not support the large increase in personal income taxes, paid by every Hoosier worker and most small businesses, which would be necessary for total elimination.

Any plan that makes a real difference in property taxation will have to go to its root cause, and that is excessive spending. Total local spending on school construction, libraries, fire departments, and all other local services simply cannot keep rising faster than Hoosier incomes.

To achieve better discipline while preserving local control, we must have single-point accountability for spending. Today, no one is responsible; each local taxing district sets its budget and sends you its part of the bill, which is only added up when it hits your mailbox. The County Tax Board in each county must accept the duty of reviewing the total of local spending plans and trimming those budgets as needed to keep our taxes down.

As further protection against overspending, we should strengthen taxpayers’ direct say in local decisions, especially the borrowing for new schools and other construction which has been the biggest driver of property tax increases. I will propose that any significant new capital project, or any spending in excess of the growth in local income, must be approved by voter referendum.

Next, we must protect other property taxpayers from being exploited. I will propose hard ceilings, with no exceptions and no loopholes, of 2% for rental properties and 3% for other businesses, also written into our constitution.

Finally, our unfair and unfixable assessment system must go. I will propose the elimination of all political assessors and the appointment by each County Council of a single, qualified and certified assessor to oversee trained professionals in conducting future appraisals.

Immediate relief for every homeowner; a one per cent permanent cap on every homeowner’s taxes; an end to unfair and inaccurate assessments; real limits on local spending. As bold as these changes would be, I am very optimistic of achieving them, especially if you will help.

In the last 3 years, we have already solved problems like the state government deficit and the state highway shortfall that people said would take years or were simply impossible. We can solve this one, too, and open a new era of opportunity in which Indiana is the nation’s leader in defending and promoting the American dream of home ownership.

Thank you and good night.

As you may know, I recently created a new website. As I was setting up the files, I realized just how beneficial it can be to back up your files online. It’s so easy to lose important documents if they are saved only to your computer or to a flash drive. My mom uses a flash drive all the time and it’s bent and will probably stop working one of these days. That’s why she needs to check out a service like VPS Hosting. They offer server space for as little as fifty dollars per month. With this option, you get 10 GB of disk space, up to ten domains, and 50 pop email accounts. They also have options at seventy five dollar and one hundred dollar levels. With the one hundred dollar level, you get 50GB of disk space. This is perfect if you do a lot of web design or if you work with videos, or something else that takes up a lot of space. For me, I doubt that I could ever use 50GB of space, but it would be nice to never have to worry about my hard drive getting filled up. Packed with disk space, RAM, and data transfer speed, this is a great option.

The campaign of presidential hopeful Barack Obama (D-Illinois) recently sent a postcard to Iowan voters that slams many senators, including Hillary Clinton (D-New York), because of their vote in favor of labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. I’m not advocating support for Clinton, nor am I advocating opposing Obama, but I personally think it is ridiculous that he is sending out these messages to voters. He is drawing attention to a vote for which he wasn’t even present. Through my work in the Senate, I understand that it is sometimes necessary to miss a vote, but never one that will have the political ramifications of the Lieberman-Kyl amendment. If he cared so passionately about the topic, he should have been present for the vote. If he had voted against the amendment, like Sens. Dodd and Biden, then he would have room to talk.