Cassy Grey, Editor
The Eastern Progress | www.easternprogress.com
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Women and the draft
RAND SEEKS LAND AS HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SINKS
KATELYN FRALEY
CASSY GREY/PROGRESS
The great Rand Paul switches political race
SEBASTIAN TORRES Rand Paul was able to beat out four establishment governors in the Iowa Caucus. This feat was not expected at some points of the race. Paul, who seemed to invigorate the youth of the Republican Party, put his effort into focusing on three main early states: evangelical Iowa, Live Free or Die New Hampshire and the Battle Born State Nevada. In Iowa, Paul had a notably strong ground game that was comprised of over 1,000 precinct captains and plenty of volunteers. This ground game coupled with the youth operation, called Students for Rand, made over a million phone calls to Iowa voters. Rand Paul delivered a message that often differed from normal Republican talking points. His campaign focused on serious issues, such as the elimination of eminent domain and criminal justice reform. These issues, as well as dealing with the national debt and slowing down an aggressive foreign policy, were hallmarks of his presidential run. These issues drew support from individuals across every spectrum of the aisle and made him extremely appealing to young voters who do not sympathize with liberal values or identify with the Republican Party.
Though Paul built a strong coalition, it wasn’t enough. The media continually released polls showing Paul to be scoring low among the candidates. It should be noted that these polls normally focused on individuals with land lines who are predominately older voters and the opposite of Paul’s focused demographic. Low poll numbers had a slowing effect on the momentum of the campaign. Coupled with real estate mogul Donald Trump taking up all of the air at the debates, Paul’s campaign found itself fighting for the spotlight. After receiving fifth place in the Iowa Caucus, the campaign had to make a tough decision of whether to continue on to New Hampshire or to focus on the upcoming senate race against Lexington Mayor Jim Gray. Paul opted to focus on the Senate despite gaining over 8,000 votes. Although he could have very well continued the race, Paul made the conscious decision to fix his campaign focus onto Kentucky. Paul’s campaign has been active in the state since his nomination. The campaign team is well built and will easily transfer support for his Senate reelection. Rand is very popular in Kentucky. His popularity can be attributed to his fiscal responsibility in office and actions while in office. Examples include returning hundreds of thousands of tax payer dollars and his commitment to representing Kentucky in the senate by being present for over 95 percent of Senate votes. Lexington Mayor Jim Gray will have a very difficult time throughout this upcoming election season. Paul has built a strong base throughout the state and Gray is virtually unknown to those outside of the sixth district. That being coupled with the realization that Kentucky’s Democratic Party may currently breathing its dying breath after a massive loss last November spells out victory for Sen. Paul.
The top officers in the Army and Marine Corps testified that they believe it is time for women to register for future military drafts, following the Pentagon’s recent decision to open all jobs in combat units to female service members. My question is why let women in US special forces if they still can’t even be on the same sports teams as men? One is vastly more important than the latter. I understand the will to fight. It’s not all about qualification. All of the branches still have different standards for females and males. Why? Because most women wouldn’t even qualify to be in the military if there weren’t separate standards. Men and women are different, and those wanting to push women into combat just won't admit that truth. They preach about how women can do whatever men can do, but that just isn’t true. We’re built differently, and it doesn’t matter that one particular woman could best one particular man. The best woman is still no match for the best man, and most of the men she’d be fireman-carrying off the battlefield will be at least 100 pounds heavier than her with their gear on. Military training is hard enough on men’s bodies, but it’s harder on women’s. Then, there are the logistics of making all the accommodations for women in the field, from stopping the convoy to pee or because her cycle started to stripping down to get hosed off after having to go into combat with full MOP gear when there’s a biological threat. That’s your military readiness? Our enemies are laughing: “Thanks for giving us another vulnerability, America!” This is to say nothing of unit cohesion, which is imperative especially on the battlefield. It doesn’t matter what the rules are - the Navy proved that when they started allowing women on ships. What happened? They were having sex and getting pregnant, ruining unit cohesion (not to mention derailing the operations because they’d have to change course to get them off ship). No one is talking about the physical and emotional stuff that goes along with men and women together. When men and women are in tight quarters, human nature takes over. A good relationship can foment jealousy and even favoritism. A relationship goes sour, and suddenly one loses faith in the very person who may need to drag one off the field of battle sending repercussions throughout the entire unit. All these problems happen before the fighting even begins. Women have many wonderful strengths and there is certainly work for women to do in the military, but all the problems that come with men and women working together are compounded in the war zone, destroying the cohesion necessary for war. We are at war. If we want to win, we have to separate the wheat from the chaff. The top priority should be military readiness and winning wars, not political correctness and artificially imposed “equality” on the military.
EKU: The master of internet frustration
TAYLOR CUSICK Frustration lurks in the shadows of every college student’s life. Whether it be in the form of a mountainous pile of homework that seems like it will never be completed, or perhaps the loud neighbor who persists on blasting the newest “trap” song at inconceivable hours of the morning, it is a monster we all must face. I bring to you a recent frustration of my own - one truly fit for an internet addicted millennial such as myself. Recently, I was afforded the pleasure of moving into Grand Campus. Alas, my very own toilet and shower, complete with a full size fridge. What more could a man ask for? After doing the usual unpacking someone does at the beginning of a semester, it was time to plug up the ole’ computer. After hoisting it up multiple flights of stairs due to a busted elevator, I was ready to plug in and enjoy some premium internet. I come from a small town in Appalachia where the broadband connection is shitty, so I always look forward to returning to campus and enjoying some sweet Time Warner Cable magic. So, I plug in and head over to speed-
test.net to see how things are cooking. It showed 1mps download speed, and 10mps upload speed. Excuse me? Certainly, something must be wrong here. Previously in Martin, I kept a steady 15mps download speed. How the hell could a person ever need 10mps upload speed? This is bananas! So, I try the test again and again on different websites. The same result every time: between .5 and 1mps download and unnecessarily high amount of upload speed. If these results were true, I would have the internet required to stream on Twitch, but wouldn’t be able to view my own damn stream! So I tested it out, and gave it time. Surely enough, my worst fears were realized, and my internet really was, for lack of a better word, garbage. YouTube videos had to be loaded dial up style. You could forget about online gaming and accessing Blackboard is a damn near spiritual experience. So, I did what any pissed off consumer does when there product is faulty: I called the help line. Starting at EKU IT, I was greeted by a very friendly voice who, after hearing my issue, was much confused just like myself, but informed me I’d have to call Time Warner considering they’re the ones who are over Grand Campus internet. Fair enough. So, I call Time Warner Cable, and after jumping through a series of hoops, I get a very friendly man who asks for my account number. “Well I’m a student you see, so I guess
it’d be a business account. You guys provide the internet for Grand Campus here at Eastern,” I said. “Yeah I see that on here,” said the fellow, “Problem is, you don’t have a modem in your room, plus you’re not the business account holder, so I technically can’t even discuss this with you,” he continued. “So they’re giving me the run around?” I ask. “Sounds like it,” he says. So, I parted ways with my fellow human and ended the call. Frustration was now showing itself at maximum power. I tried again numerous times to contact EKU IT to find out a separate solution, but each time was told I’d need to call Time Warner. Each time I call Time
Warner, I’m told there’s nothing they can do to help me. Furthermore, after asking around the area and polling different social media, such as Yik Yak, I’ve determined I’m not the only person around Grand Campus having this issue. While I openly have no evidence to support this theory, my claim is this: EKU purchased enough internet to support the first Grand Campus building. When the second one came along, they split it instead of upgrading it. As if your new policies and poor parking decisions weren’t frustrating enough, now, the students paying the most to live on your campus have to deal with this lack of internet connectivity. For shame, EKU. For shame.