What Do Ya Know Joe---It’s Your Birthday

Today is a very special day. It is our Vice President’s Birthday. He was born on this day in 1942. We have been blessed with Joe Biden’s existence ever since. So in honor of the first Delawarean (or is he a Pennsylvanian?) to become Vice President I decided we should celebrate with the top five Joe Biden moments.

Number Five---Barack and Joe’s Berretta. I like the fact how Joe is essentially threatening violence against the future president.



Number Four---He knows where Bin Laden is. If he knows why haven’t we captured him?



Number Three--- JOBS! That Three Letter Word!



Number Two—Oh Thank Heaven For Seven Eleven. You know that if a Republican would have said this there would have been hell to pay.



Drumroll Please----The Number One Joe Biden moment of all time…Why don’t we have Chuck stand up and tell us what it is.



Happy Birthday Joe! Here is to many more great moments!

This Made My Life

This week has been filled with great events. I officially got a job as a research assistant for a political science professor. That was a miracle. I had interviewed for another job with the same professor and I didn’t get, but then out of the blue he e-mailed me and offered me a job. I’m going to be searching through books about Supreme Court Justices to look at their interactions with the Press and Politics. Awesome! Then as a result of getting a job, I got to put in my two weeks notice at the Cannon Center. I will miss my co-workers, but I will not miss smelling like a hamburger at the end of my shift. I could not stop smiling the whole day. I was so happy.

Yesterday was Cougar Tip Off and I really wanted to go to it. Cougar Tip Off is where the BYU Basketball Team splits in two and they play against each other. I talked Mike into going, which was way good because that meant that I didn’t have to go by myself and I didn’t have to walk in the cold, windy weather (I’m so grateful for roommates with cars). I didn’t think there would be a lot of people there, but there were tons of people. The game was well played. We rooted for the blue team because of Jimmer. He not only won a guy a trek mountain bike at half time, but he also scored the winning shot at the buzzer. P.S. He had 22 points in the game.



So…I am a really huge fan of Jimmer Fredette. His name is Jimmer! How can he not be the coolest guy ever? That is such an awesome name. He is also from Glenns Falls, New York (just like Rachel Ray) and we know that people from New York are awesome. So, I had seen him on campus a couple of times, but never had the nerves to go talk to him. After the game they had an autograph line with all of the team members. After waiting in line for a while we approached the table. Notice Jimmer in the background.



Getting closer….



Then we made it. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. He didn’t even hesitate when I asked him if I could have my picture taken. I also shook his hand. It was awesome. Needless to say I was on cloud nine all night. I would have to say that this has been one of the best weeks ever! And it’s not even over yet.

This Made My Day

This week has been really hectic. The school work just keeps on coming. I did take a break on Friday to go to my “sister’s” wedding reception. Now I know what you’re thinking: How can he have a sister if he is an only child? Well it was my adopted mission sister who was in my MTC group, Sister Call. She is one of the most amazing people on the earth. I don’t think I would have survived my mission without her. She is the only sister I have. I was so glad I was able to go. That was only possible because of one person: Savannah Steele! I’m so grateful that she gave me a ride to the reception which was in Alpine. That meant so much to me. I would definitely say that she is one of my “sweetest” friends, which is appropriate because October 17th is Sweetest Day. Thanks again Savannah!



On Saturday I spent close to 11 hours in the library. It should be illegal to be in the library for that long in one day. At any rate, I got done what I needed to get done. Just when you think you are over the hump, the humps just keep coming, but the semester is half over. Because of this stress, I have been finding things to be a lot funnier than maybe they actually are. This definitely made my day today. I mean, I knew about the Sacred Obama Candles, the Obama Bobbles and the B. Hussein Obama toilet paper (we're going to need that to wipe up the mess he has made), but when I saw the Obama Sushi I busted out in laughter.



It gave me the best laugh I’ve had in a while. I think it’s ironic that the word sushi, according to Wikipedia, means “it’s sour,” which I think is a proper term, fitting of our President.

Rise and Shout

So, the biggest home game of the year was on Saturday against Florida State. I thought that I would go the extra mile to show my support for the Cougars by coloring my hair blue for the game. It was pretty liberating actually. Well, my show of support didn’t help the Cougars, who were soundly defeated by the Seminoles. There have been many excuses for the loss, but I think it is because they didn’t do the haka.

Niner

So today was an unofficial holiday. 9-9-9 (in case you can't figure out why it's because all of the numbers are the same when writing the date). I thought it was cool, but apparently some people take the celebrating to a whole new level. I knew something was up when Owen made pancakes with nines in them made out of chocolate chips. Apparently it is really big to celebrate these types of days in their family. So, according to tradition of following the Barnes' lead in celebrating holidays in a particular way (first it was chili dogs on Halloween) we made a cake. It turned out pretty well. Happy "Niner" everyone! (P.S. Notice Owen's shirt in the picture. How does he always end up wearing that shirt when a camera is around?)

Van egy ország, ahol álmomban jártam: Magyarország

Today, August 20th, is the biggest national holiday in Hungary. Today they celebrate the life of their first and most revered king. King Stephen did many things for the benefit of Hungary. His most notable act was probably was officially bringing Christianity to Hungary. He also made it easier for missionaries to travel through Hungary. He was eventually made a saint by the Catholic Church. They revered Stephen so much that a later king dug up his body and cut off his right hand and put it on display at the basilica in Budapest to remind the people of the goodness of Szent István.


There will be fireworks today along with a really cool airplane show on the Danube and plenty of drinking in Hungary today. This country that has been through so much throughout history needs something to celebrate. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve in that country among the amazing Hungarian people. Milliók áldása szálljon rád!

Obama Lies, Grandma Dies

So I thought with all of the protests going on at town hall meetings around the country I thought I would comment on President Obama’s slipping poll numbers and health care reform. First of all I am against socialized health care. "Obamcare" might not be that exactly, but it would create a slippery slope that would lead to socialized medicine. I had a chance to live in a country with socialized medicine for about two years. It sucks! Their hospitals were gross. Six people in a room with very poor care. I’ll never forget Kovács Maria and her story. She had a grandson with a myriad of health problems and he needed two operations immediately after he was born. In order to get the operation performed the parents had to pay money under the table in order to get a doctor to do it. So it really wasn’t free. People seek incentives. I learned that in Econ 110. Socialized medicine doesn’t work. Plus one proposed plan gives the government direct access to our bank accounts if people don’t pay certain fees. That should not be allowed.


In other news, Obama’s support is slipping. More people now oppose his health plan and his approval ratings overall are slipping. Shoot even the Russians won’t shake his hand.



Hillary Clinton has even come unhinged. When she was asked a question concerning what her husband thought on an issue she got very angry at the reporter. Turns out the translator just messed up the translation.



Finally, for most of the last four years of the Bush administration people protesting the war used the phrase (Bush Lied, Kids Died). Funny how those people protesting the war were normal Americans rightly exercising their rights. When the right protests however it is wrong and evil concoctions of the far right. What a bunch of hypocrites! There is a new slogan for the health care reform opponents: Obama lies, Grandma dies.



Regardless of this report I do think that Obamacare will result in poorer healthcare for senior citizens. Obama doesn’t even know what’s in the plans. This was all topped by the white house asking people to turn in people who express opposition to his plan. Hopefully I’m still alive tomorrow morning.