As you can see over there to the side I participated in NanoWriMo this year and made over 50k! Last year I did it and barely made 7k but this year I was determined to make it. I set a daily word count goal and made sure to make it everyday. I'm quite proud of myself for making it because usually I get bored quickly. 50k is a lot of words to write in 30days...but I'd reccommend it! Its going to help me with my massive hours of homework for college.

I'm finally going to start college at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, about 30 or so minutes from home. For now I'm just going to get my AA in general studies. It's a lot cheaper to get my gen ed in at a community college than it is to do at the university. I have 5 classes this semester, one of them being an online course. Not sure how I will do with an online course but hopefully I will be okay with it. I have Physical Science Survey and Lab, American Government, College Study Skills, College Psychology and Diversity in America. I have another science class to take and a math class that I didn't take this semester because I suck at both of them. My advisor told me because I'm going in to Poli Science that I should try and get in all the social science classes before I tranfer to UNI so the credits can count towards my major. I start Jan 10th and I'm looking forward to it actually! It'll give me something to do besides go over algebra and cross stitch a canvass for my dad and one for my sister.

Ryan and I are doing wonderful. It's strange living with my dad but we're making it. We pay rent and everything though. We were able to get to his parents over the Thanksgiving holiday which was nice. We hadn't been back to the other side of iowa for about 7, or since we've moved. We're enjoying each others company as usual. He's got even more computers than he had when we moved haha but thats okay, as long as he enjoys them he can have them.

wellllll its 2am, i have laundry to finish and have to be up early to go back to HCC and turn in some paper work for financial aid. Seeeee ya!

RALPH NADER

Nader on Affirmative Action; Supports affirmative action policies

Nader on Gay marriage; Backs same-sex marriages to ensure GLBT full equal rights

Nader on Gays in the military; favors allowing gay men and women to serve openly in military

Nader on Gay adoption; No public position, but supports full equal rights for GLBT

Nader on Hate crime legislation; In 2000, supported strengthening hate crimes legislation

Nader on National Missile Defense; Opposes NMD, major critic of military 'overspending'

Nader on Increasing the size of the Army; Criticizes deployment of forces in Europe, East Asia, Iraq

Nader on Program budgets; Curb funding for 'wasteful ... military industrial complex'

Nader on drilling in the Artic National Wildlife refuge; Opposes oil exploration in Arctic refuge

Nader on Alternative Fuels; Invest in renewable energies such as wind, solar power

Nader on Energy Policy; Do not subsidize energy interests; promote sustainable energy

Nader on Gas mileage requirements; Push for more efficient automobiles, energy sources

Nader on Drugs costs; Challenge drug industry, negotiate for cheaper drugs

Nader on Medicare solvency; Says single-payer system will fix program's "precarious future"

Nader on Prescription Drugs Benefit; Universal health care addresses issues, lowers drug prices

Nader on Nationalized health care; Single-payer program with full coverage for all

Nader on Suing HMO's; Get insurance companies out of health care administration

Nader on Enemy Combatants; End secret detentions, no tribunals for civilians

Nader on Patriot Act; Repeal Patriot Act, restore and expand civil liberties

Nader on Immigration; Offer worker permits, employee rights; opposes open borders

Nader on Intelligence agencies; No public position on reform

Nader on War in Iraq; 'Faulty and fabricated rationale' led to quagmire in Iraq

Nader on Iraqi reconstruction; Replace U.S. troops with U.N. force, expedite Iraqi elections

Nader on Pre-emption policy; For limiting force, says pre-emption violates international law

Nader on Afghanistan; Wary of unrest, harm to Afghans, absence of U.S. exit policy

Nader on Middle East; Sympathetic to Palestinians' plight; urges open, balanced dialogue

Nader on Abortion; Supports a woman's right to an abortion

Nader on Death penalty; Opposes death penalty; says it doesn't deter crime, has racial and class bias

Nader on drug policy; End 'drug war,' legalize some drugs; calls drug abuse a health problem

Nader on gun control; Backs trigger locks, licensing of gun owners, bans in some cases

Nader on Education Reform; Bar vouchers, curb standardized testing push

Nader on Supreme Court; no public position on justices

JOHN KERRY

Kerry on Affirmative Action; supports affirmative action policies

Kerry on Gay marriage; against gay marriage, back benefits, rights for gay couples

Kerry on Gays in the military; favors allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the military

Kerry on Gay adoption; supports gay adoption by gay men and lesbians

Kerry on Hate Crime legislation; expand the federal hate crimes legislations, assure equal justice

Kerry on National Missile Defense; opposes NMD, supports nonproliferation and arms control

Kerry on Increasing the size of the Army; recruit more service members, start Community Defense Services.

Kerry on Program Budgets; Invest in new equipment, offer better pay, benefits

Kerry on drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge; Opposes oil exploration in Arctic refuge

Kerry on Alternative Fuels; Promotes clean, renewable fuel sources, especially ethanol

Kerry on Energy Policy; Set goals, incentives to reduce dependence on fossil fuels

Kerry on Gas Mileage requirements; Push new requirements, hybrid cars, hydrogen fuel

Kerry on Drug Costs; close loopholes, financial incentives to lower drugs costs

Kerry on Medicare Solvency; Fund all health care by rescinding tax cuts, cutting waste

Kerry on Prescription drug benefit; tighten rules on drug companies, focus on seniors, vets

Kerry on Nationalized health care; let people buy into government system, fund by reversing tax cuts

Kerry on Suing HMO's; Allow patients to sue HMO's, collect money for damages

Kerry on Enemy Combatants;against labeling U.S. citizens "enemy combatants"

Kerry on Patriot Act; Backs letting act expire without congressional approval

Kerry on Immigration; Speed immigration process; unite families; patrol borders

Kerry on Intelligence agencies; Reform domestic intelligence; start targeted alert system

Kerry on War on Iraq; Supported the war; later said Bush misled nation

Kerry on Iraqi reconstruction; Involve other nations more in Iraqi rebuilding, security

Kerry on Pre-emption policy; Denounces threat of pre-emption; would seek global consensus

Kerry on Afghanistan; Boost international efforts to secure peace, beat al Qaeda

Kerry on Middle East; Improve social, economic, political conditions in region

Kerry on Abortion; Supports a woman's right to an abortion; planning resources

Kerry on death penalty; Opposes death penalty

Kerry on drug policy; More police; aggressively target traffickers; fund treatment

Kerry on Gun control; Close gun show loophole; require child safety locks

Kerry on Education reform; Bar vouchers; fully fund NCLB, special ed., school building

Kerry on Supreme Court; Appoint judges committed to law, civil and abortion rights

GEORGE W. BUSH

Bush on affirmative action; has both supported and opposed affirmative action. There are many articles out where Bush now opposes affirmative action. Example

Bush on Gay Marriage; Backs a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Bush on Gays in the military; supports "don't ask don't tell' policy

Bush on Gay adoption; Opposes gay adoption

Bush on Hate crime legislation; opposes expanding federal law to cover sexual orientation

Bush on National Missile Defense; has ordered limited National Missile Defense system deployed by 2004

Bush on Increasing the Size of the Army; he has not proposed increasing the Army's size.

Bush on Program Budgets; would increase military spending by 4.2% to $380 billion

Bush on Drilling in the Artic National Wildlife refuge; favors opening refuge for gas and oil exploration, drilling

Bush on Alternative Fuel; Proposed $1.7 billion to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells

Bush on Energy Policy; supports market-based solution to improve air quality

Bush on Gas Mileage Requirements; supports 1.5 mpg increase for SUVs, light trucks by 2007

Bush on Drug costs; supports reducing drug costs for low-income patients

Bush on Medicare solvency; Introduce private sector competition to reduce costs

Bush on Prescription drug Benefit; supports adding drug benefit to Medicare

Bush on Nationalized Health Care; favors improving current system over government-based system.

Bush on Suing HMO's; would place limits on patient lawsuits against HMO's

Bush on Enemy Combatants; Supports labeling of U.S. citizens as "enemy combatants"

Bush on Patriot Act; supports all of Patriot Act

Bush on Immigration; Proposed increasing budget to enforce immigration laws

Bush on Intelligence agencies; Homeland Security Dept. primary home of threat information

Bush on War in Iraq; authorized the war to oust Saddam Hussein regime, based on idea that Hussein had WMD's and was part of the Sept. 11th plot

Bush on Iraqi reconstruction; initially opposed the U.N. involvement, is now warming up to the idea

Bush on Pre-emption policy;Announced new policy of pre-emption in June 2002

Bush on Afghanistan; More than $1 billon proposed for reconstruction

Bush on the Middle East; Co-sponsored "Road Map" plan for peace process.

Bush on Abortion; opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to save a woman's life.

Bush on the Death penalty; supports death penalty

Bush on Drug policy; reduce illegal drug usage by 10% over two years

Bush on Gun control; protect gun makers from lawsuits

Bush on Education reform; signed No Child Left Behind act; federal budget has not fully funded legislation

Bush on the Supreme Court; has cited Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia as model justices

Bush on Social Security; Supports investing some Social Security taxes in stocks

Bush on State fiscal crisis; allocated funds to help states pay increased security costs

Bush on Tax cuts; Signed two tax cut bills, helped wealthy out more

Bush on Budget deficits; reduce deficit by holding spending increases to 4%

Bush on Job Creation; says 2001, 2003 tax cuts have helped keep economy going, however the people of Americans do not see this. Since the president took office, the nation has lost 2.2 million payroll jobs.

So that's it. Read it, do more research. Do something! VOTE! Know why you are voting for a candidate. Any questions or comments you know what to do.

Ryan snapped this photo while driving around Chicago (lost!) in June for my cousins graduation.