New Jersey is one of the most expensive states to live in. I know. I live here. Last year, however, we say a decrease in car insurance rate of 168%. Now the average auto insurance rate in New Jersey is $2,737. We don’t pay the highest though. The top of the list is Louisiana, followed by Washington, DC (we are a proud number three). The cheapest? Wisconsin, with an average rate of $1,352.

Hillary Clinton is hoping for a miracle. She is just not going to get it. Even if she wins all the remaining states, she still can’t get the nomination. That is unless she can get delegates to change their votes. In the Democratic Convention, you don’t have to vote for the candidate you pledged for. You can change your mind. I think Hillary wants to make the case that she is the ONLY one that can beat out John McCain for the Presidency in November. I am sure that every delegate will have their cell phones on hand (and probably cell phone amplifiers as well to make sure they get a good signal) to report any funny stuff going on to the outside world.

If she does “win” the nomination, be prepared for a lot of anger and resentment in the Democratic Party, potentially splitting the Party apart.

CSM Robert Prosser and LTC Erik Kurilla
1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment (Deuce Four)

LTC. Erik Kurilla and CSM. Robert Prosser’s story is an amazing one. One that Michael Yon has told far better than I ever could. Warning. The site contains very graphic images. Some may want to turn off images before viewing.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

When it comes to capturing votes, candidates do not always XX their speeches by state. Instead they may focus on particular areas of the country. Why? Because states often encompasses very different voting blocks. After searching the internet on my laptop computer, I came across this interesting map that was originally posted in the Boston Globe.

Here is the breakdown of each region:

Northeast Corridor - most densely populated, educated and affluent. Strongly Democratic.
Upper Coasts - well educated and affluent. More liberal than the Northeast Corridor, but also more fickle. Votes Democratic most of the time.
Farm Belt - smallest nonwhite population. Solidly Republican.
Big River - most closely contested region. Can go either way.
Appalachia - poorest and most rural. Starting voting Republican in 1980 and hasn’t changed since.
Sagebrush - named after the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s (wanted the federal government to give more control of government owned land to state and local authorites) and includes parts of 17 states. This area is probably the worst for the Democrats.
Great Lakes - centered around Chicago. The urban areas tend to vote Democratic. The suburban areas are starting to lean that way as well.
Southern Comfort - average in education and income. Fifty years ago was solidly Democratic. Now solidly Republican.
Southern Lowlands - highest number of African American voters who vote Democratic. However, there are the same number of Republicans there as well. A swing area.
El Norte - highest number of Latinos and also includes Denver, Miami and Las Vegas. Usually Democratic but have voted in Republicans over the years.

In a speech in North Carolina, Hillary promised a “game-changer” after the primary elections next week. This comes as Obama’s lead is shrinking in North Carolina. However, it may be just a little too late. She also demanded that something be done about gas prices, but offered no immediate solution. All talk, no action.

In Indiana, Obama’s numbers are still strong. Hillary may not gain an advantage there either. It will be interesting to see if, after losing both Indiana and North Carolina, she will still be hanging on, hoping for superdelegate support that may never materialize.

Not only do they have notebooks, textbooks, pens, pencils and the occasional acne treatments in their backpacks, college students are also often seen with Obama pins and stickers on their bags. In a recent poll in Pennsylvania, 71 percent of college students in the state supported Obama. Of course, this is not very surprising. Obama has won that section of the vote in almost every state since the primaries began.

Unfortunately for Obama, voter turnout among college age voters still remains low. In the last election about 50 percent of eligible voters turned out to vote. Only 47 percent of voters 18 to 24 voted, while 70 percent of voters over 45 made their choice known.

Now something from the annals of weird politics. Back in 2004, a Zimbabwean politician offended the party he was representing when it was determined that he was handing out hot lingerie in order to gain women voters. I certainly hope that the women were smarter than to accept something like this for their vote. It might have been a little more appropriate to hand out food and other life necessities in a country where $100 a month is the average salary.

I am always hesitant about a candidate when I read that they are receiving a large number of support from college students. Unlike the American Revolution, where a small group of individuals raised awareness about the tyranny of England and vowed to give the people individual rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, other revolution that we now do not admire have been propagated on university campuses.

Take for instance China. The university students in China were all in support of Mao’s plan. They had sit ins, they ratted out their friends and neighbors, all for the good of the country. Yet, we know realize that communize takes away many individual rights. A similar situation happened in Iran. When Iran became the Islamic Republic, many university students were on the forefront of supporting the new regime.

Why do college students seem to be more radical in their views than the rest of the country? Party because of idealism and naivety. When you are studying governments and political viewpoints, the ideal looks very appealing. Sure it would be nice if everyone contribute to society equally and that we had all our needs met. But real life does not always afford this idealism. College students have not experienced enough of real life to grasp the whys and why nots of political factions and positions.

This does not mean that college students have not been on the forefront of changing the nation for the good. Think the civil rights movement. Many college students stepped up when others refused to do so. However, we must be wary that radical change or revolution is not always a good thing. In fact, it can be a terrible thing.

April 22, 2008 was a big day for Hillary Clinton. She easily won the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Even with 55 percent of voters favoring Clinton, she only received 83 delegates compared to Barack Obama’s 73 delegates. This still puts her behind by 135 delegates. Hopefully, she hasn’t hired any movers New York to Washington DC yet.

What’s next for Clinton? She still is using the tired phrase “ready to lead on day one” and is having trouble paying her bills and raising money needed to continue her campaign. She must also be facing pressure from Democratic party officials who may want her to step out of the race before the convention. She will definitely need wins in Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th to keep her in the race. She is tied with Obama in the Indiana poll, but is clearly behind in the North Carolina poll.

Bill Clinton’s role as the first male first lady may soon be out of grasp!

Spitzer has been out of the news after the big prostitution ring blow up. I guess he is awaiting trial. I wonder if he is focusing on bedding sets or actually hiring himself a good lawyer. I think he should represent himself. That would be the case to watch.

David Letterman did a Top Ten list on Eliot Spitzer’s Excuses. Hilarious!