All photo credit: The Starship NEXIS © 2080

On Tuesday, November 6, Amercian citizens will vote in their first election for president.
Here are the details of the voting process:

• The designated polling place will be the NEXIS lab, located in Hinds Hall 339.
• Voting will be available between the hours of 9AM and 7PM.
• Voting must be completed in person.
• Voters may be required to show an SUID card to access the polling station.
• Voting is open to all members of Syracuse University.

Candidates Robert Lawrence (R), Matt Diaz (D) and Carter Rhodes (I) will have campaign headquarters located on the third floor of Hinds Hall. Campaigns will have staff in these locations to answer questions, speak to the media, etc.

Polls will close at 7PM and the winner of the election will be announced sometime before 9PM.

I would not have believed it but pictures speak a thousand words. We have been sent a video that clearly shows Romney pulling an item from his pocket and placing them on his podium. Take a look at this close up of Mitt Romney pulling something from his pocket during the debate on October 3rd 2012.

The rules state – “No props, notes, charts, diagrams, or other writings or other tangible things may be brought into the debate by any candidate.”

Don’t take our word for it, view  for yourself!

Paper and pens are provided ahead of time on the podiums for the candidates. So what could Romney be pulling out of his pocket? You be the judge. View the full video here.

As the voters of the great nation of America, we must be vigilant when looking at all types of media to understand the true value of each particular image. While Romney certainly did a tangible item to the stage we can not be certain at this time as to the true nature of the item. Our question is – why would he jeopardize his reputation by reaching into his pocket and not just have the item placed on his podium before the debate? We do not know the answer to this question.

One thing we can be certain of is that Gov. Romney certainly came prepared to the debate, unlike President Obama. Romney showed great confidence and an attacking strategy that dominated during the debate. Now we must wonder, what was Obama thinking about? His mind was clearly not in the game at the debate.

While we may never know what truly happened on this night, we can be sure that the next round of debate will be quite a different scenario. The format is townhall style at Hofstra University. This type of format seems to be tailor-made for Obama. He will need to bring his best game to combat the damage done by Romney during this first debate.

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Gov. Hugh Jass and Gov. Jake Price push to become Independents in the race for President. Speaker Rotolo is holding a forum to discuss the legality of this event. With input from constituents he is put under pressure to make a decision.

Should Amercia mirror the actions of America? Should these candidates be allowed to enter the race? The public will speak on the topic of these campaigns and make a decision regarding the fate of the Independent candidates.

Let’s take a look at our Independents:

You may recall Gov. Jass as a previously in the  running for President but fell behind in the preliminary voting process. He is a Conservative and the sitting Governor of Taxes. he is no quitter. he has made the decision to continue his campaign as an Independent because he believes he has a lot to offer our great nation.

Our next candidate is lesser known,  Governor Jake Price of Pennsylvania.He is an independent candidate for the President of Amercia. He self proclaims to be a Hemp and bio-fuel enthusiast, as well as a Libertarian. We have not been able to find much information about Gov. Price as his media exposure is limited. His appearance at the next debate will uncover more of his platform. Best of luck, Gov. Price!

Speaking of the next debates, we are counting down to this historic event. A recap of the previous debate leaves us with Samantha Adams dropping out of the race only to join the campaign of Robert Lawrence. She has stated that she has great confidence in Mr. Lawrence and can see him as a competent candidate. The big surprise was a tie in the Democrats race between Albus Potter, the only openly gay candidate, and Matt Diaz, an outspoken, strong-minded politician. If there is truth in the power of ads, we at the Gazette feel Sen. Diaz may have an edge on the other candidates. His continuous stream of ads have hit the airwaves with a resounding impact. His portrayal of himself as a leader comes through loud and clear in his ads. If you have somehow missed his most recent ad you can see it here. Diaz comes out shooting with his campaign videos and ads. It is clear that he has his eye on the prize. We would like to share one of our favorites.

This a bold move by Sen. Diaz and we will be curious to see how it fares at the next primary vote. Best of luck Sen. Diaz!

A look at the Republican candidates reveals a clear winner with businessman Robert Lawrence. It is a great surprise that a person with no political background to speak of won by such an overwhelming margin. Mary Ann Taylor and Brandii Matthews came in closest behind Lawrence. This race is truly interesting!

Check back as we take a look into the futures of our remaining candidates and bring you the NEW NEWS of Amercia!

That’s right Amercia! We have narrowed down the field to just two opponents with the Independents still vying for a position on the ballot. Gov. Matt Diaz and businessman Robert Lawrence have captured their party’s endorsements. It has been a long road to this place in the election, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

This unknown face to the world of politics has taken the Republican National Endorsement from many experienced and qualified candidates. What has caused his popularity? Could it be his business prowess and his captivating presence that has endeared him to some Americians?

Many people that we interviewed have stated they believe Lawrence has a vision for America. His business approach gives them great promise for a much needed uplifting of the Amercian economy. For a better understanding of how the economy works watch this video .

Our Democratic candidate, Senator Matt Diaz, has been considered one of the favorites of the democratic race from the inception of the election. His style of politics has given great confidence to the Amercian people. He has embarked on a successful ad campaign that has been the driving force behind his campaign.

Where do these candidates stand on the issues? How do they compare? Lets look at that now.

Candidate                 Economy

Innovation & Education

Government Reform

We first found out Democratic candidate Matt Diaz’s VP pick. Senator Albus Potter. A move in my opinion very smart for Senator Diaz. Senator Potter has been nothing but spot on during the prior two debates, and combining his ideas with Senator Diaz’s will be very beneficial for the two moving forward.

Next was Republican candidate Robert Lawrence. He chose Texas’ own Mary Ann Taylor. I also thought that this was a smart move for Lawrence because of the history of Republicans to get fewer female votes. Having Mary Ann Taylor as his running mate should really help swing some undecided female voters, as well as veterans from Amercia, having fought in the Persian Gulf War.

More importantly though was the fight to get on the ballot as an Independent. Republican Governor Hugh Jass announced that his running mate would be Democrat Jake Price. We then heard from Carter Rhodes, announcing Democrat Bencroft Countryman as his running mate.  However  these choices would have no relevance without the signatures of the Amercian people.

Each candidate was required to get 40% of signatures from the Amercian people (47 votes). Jass running as a Libertarian, spoke to Amercian’s with Jake Price about his 4 E’s. Carter Rhodes then went on to introduce the party he has created: the Everyone Is Invited To This Party in a video using Twisted Sister lyrics to show that he is not going to take it anymore.

After the break was complete and all the signatures were signed, only one Independent candidate was left standing. None other then Carter Rhodes. He managed to just get by with 48 signatures, why Governor Jass fell short 8 votes at 39. It will be sad saying goodbye once and for all to Hugh Jass.

#ElectionClass ended with a quick poll for Amercians asking who they would vote for if the election were today. Surprisingly, Independent candidate Carter Rhodes won with 38% of the vote. Second was Senator Matt Diaz with 30%, and third was Robert Lawrence with 18%. 10% of the voters were still undecided.

It’s clear that all three candidates still have some work to do for this election, but after seeing Carter Rhodes take the lead, Amercians must wonder: Will Carter Rhodes be the first Independent President in the history of Amercia? Stay tuned!

Big Bird

During the first presidential debate, Mitt Romney said that he planned to pay for tax cuts by cutting funding to programs like PBS, which includes shows like Sesame Street, which, of course, Big Bird is on. His exact words: “I like PBS. I love Big Bird. Actually, I like you [Jim Lehrer], too. But I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for.” It should also be mentioned that the debate moderate, Jim Lehrer, who Romney supposedly likes, is the host for PBS’s NewsHour.

Binders Full of Women

During the second debate, Obama was asked the question: “In what new ways do you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace, specifically regarding females making only 72% of what their male counterparts earn?” Obama discussed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and then Romney was asked to answer the same question. Romney started out by saying that when he was building his cabinet, he noticed that most of his staff members were men, and that surely there must be some qualified women somewhere. So they went to find some. The Result: “I went to a number of women’s groups and said: ‘Can you help us find folks?’, and they brought us whole binders full of women.”

Horses and Bayonets

During the third debate, Romney made the comment that that United States Navy “is smaller now than at any time since 1917″ and that he wanted to provide the Navy with more ships. A fine idea, but Obama didn’t like it. When it was his turn to speak, he said,”We also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.”

Despite all of this, Romney is slightly ahead of Obama in the polls. Only time will tell if Obama will serve another term in office, or if Romney will take over.

At 10:43 PM on October 21, 2012, I received an email from Governor Hugh Jass’s campaign titled “#ElectionClass New Update.” I was not surprised to receive this email.

After all, the Texas governor and his running mate Governor Jake Price had already announced their bid for the presidency on an independent ticket and they needed signatures from at least 40% of the class to go on the ballot.

What did pique my interest was one line in the email: “Hugh Jass may not be your candidate, but he can be someone else’s.” This is an interesting plea toward alternative options and democracy. What that lines tells me is that essentially, no matter whom I support, I should take into account the opinions of my fellow Amercians and their possible support of Jass.

If somebody is opposed to Jass’s stances on the issues and does not want him to become president, should he or she adopt this view? In addition, a danger of independent candidates is their ability to siphon votes from more popular partisan candidates, potentially costing them the election.

These are a couple of things you might keep in mind as you decide whether or not to sign for independent candidates.

So, since everyone is talking about the second debate between Obama and Romney, why don’t we take a break and look at what other candidates are doing to run their campaigns. To put these campaigns into perspective, Obama’s main Twitter feed (@BarackObama) has 21,087,365 followers, and 7,072 tweets, while Romney’s Twitter (@MittRomney) has 1,489,209 followers and 1,266 tweets. Their Facebook pages boast 31,039,672 and 9,980,184 Likes, respectively.

Gary Johnson

Former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson is the Libertarian candidate for President, and is on the ballot in 48 states. His Facebook page tells the story of an entrepreneur who “built a one man handyman business into a 1000 persona company,” whose favorite book is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and who is an adventurer. His Facebook has donation options, an event calendar, and posts range from behind the scenes pictures to articles, to rhetoric on the campaign. The page boasts 309,000 Likes.

Johnson’s Twitter feed (@GovGaryJohnson) is updated regularly with comments on the campaign, images from campaign stops, and discussions on the third party candidate debates. The page boasts 87, 190 followers and has 2, 589 tweets.

Dr. Jill Stein

Dr. Jill Stein is a physician, environmental-health advocate, and the Green Party candidate for President. She’s the author of two reports on the environmental impact of aging and development, created a “Healthy People, Healthy Planet” teaching program, has acted an expert on numerous news shows and ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002. Her Facebook page posts often and has extensive user interaction and discussion on the merits of not only Stein’s run for President, but on the third party candidate process. Her page has 67,046 Likes and has a donation tab and a custom Stein meme generator app.

Stein’s Twitter feed (@jillstein2012) is active and interactive, with conversations on getting rid of the “lesser of two evils” candidate philosophy, linked articles and calls for donations. Her Twitter has 17,434 followers and has tweeted 2,129 times.

Virgil Goode

Virgil Goode is the Constitution Party’s candidate for President from the state of Virginia. His Facebook page states that he is “American Patriot, former Congressman, and illegal immigration opponent and that he is for getting the U.S. out of the UN and supports freedom and liberty. His page has 2,814 Likes and has significant follower interaction on almost every post the campaign logs, and welcomes debates on the issues.

Goode’s Twitter feed (@VirgilGoode) is practically inactive, with only 9 tweets and 531 followers. The last post was on October 5, and was a YouTube video response to the first Presidential Debate between Obama and Romney.

Rocky Anderson

Former Mayor of Salt Lake City Rocky Anderson is the Justice Party nominee for President. Anderson is also the founder and former Executive Director of High Road for Human Rights, practiced law for 21 years, and is a champion for several causes, including GLBT rights and ending the “war on drugs.” Anderson was the only mayor to advocate for the impeachment of President George W. Bush for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. His Facebook page posts often, including campaigning as a write-in candidate in many states, and links to interviews and articles, and has 8,330 followers.

Anderson’s Twitter feed (@RockyAnderson) interacts directly with followers and followers regularly post polling statistics and opinions on third party candidacy. Anderson has 3,064 followers and has tweeted 1,585 times.

While the social media stats clearly signal that America is not fully behind a third party candidate, if you add up the different candidates Facebook and Twitter fans, it would equal 387,190 (Facebook) and 108,219 (Twitter) which could make a difference in votes for either Obama or Romney in specific states. While no one suspects that any of these candidates could disarm Obama or Romney for the eventual presidency, some believe that their votes in certain states could affect the outcome of who wins that state for Obama or Romney.

It should be noted that even though these four candidates have not been seen on the national stage standing next to Obama and Romney, they are taking to social media to debate the issues, primarily on Google Hangouts. There will be a YouTube debate between Stein and Johnson on October 25, and a debate moderated by former CNN host Larry King will take place on cable and online between Johnson, Stein, Goode and Anderson. Of the third party candidates, King says, “They have a story to tell. It’s a valid story. It’s a two-party system, but not a two-party system by law.”

In the history of our country, we’ve only had one Catholic President, and one non-white President. And they were all men.

We’ve never had a female President, or for that matter, a female Vice President. If you need a visual, picture the image above with all blue stars, and no pink.

What is wrong with Amercia that in this age of progress and increased equality, we still don’t see women as viable candidates for the world’s biggest job? Mary Ann Taylor performed fantastically during both debates, and has more experience in the political arena as well as within the military, but lost significantly to Robert Lawrence. I’d love to see the breakdown of the votes by gender, to see if there was a significant amount of women who voted against the female candidates, specifically against those who were not polarizing (like Rachel Wayde), particularly Mary Ann Taylor. She held her own, and had clear, definitive plans to improve Amercia and to support its citizens. So why, why wasn’t she chosen as the party candidate?

In a race with so many diverse candidates (Hispanic, gay, female veteran) how is it that Amercia decided to choose the two candidates that are as boring and as conformed as sliced Wonder Bread? Could it be that Amercians want something comfortable, someone who won’t surprise them and who won’t deviate from the status quo? Are we scared to elect someone who may have a different perspective, different ideas, and who may accurately represent a growing population of Amercians? I hate to think so little of my country and her voters, but in all honesty, I’m ashamed that we picked what looks like the two correct candidates against the historical backdrop, but who may not truly represent what Amercia looks like, acts like, and understands our needs.

I suppose we can wait to see who these candidates choose as their running mates, and I can only hope that at least one will have an alternative choice. But if on Wednesday, when the campaigns announce their VP picks, they look exactly like them, I may have to pick up and move to Germany, where at least they see the validity in electing female leaders.