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A Journal of Conservative Thought and Opinion purduereview

w w w.purduerev i ew. co m
On the Inside
6 Climategate
Turning up the heat on
global warming scien-
tists.

10 Football Review
Good News: the Boiler-
makers have nowhere to
go but up.

12 FLOTUS Fashion
Tips Dress like Michelle
and make her proud of
this country.

14 Final
Exam Study Tips
Great advice to help you
do your best.

15 Diversions
Fun things for your not
so fun classes! Not yet
taxed by the Federal
Government.
Volume 7, Issue 3 December 2009
2 December, 2009 The Purdue ReviewThe Pur

Letter From the Editor-in-Chief

Join The Purdue Review We at The Purdue Review would like to extend our most sincere thanks
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ReviewThe Purdue Review
Green Tips For ITaP
As our materialist student
body and Purdue administration
continue to bulldoze through our
earth’s natural resources, we draw
closer and closer to catastrophic
ecological disaster. One of the
greatest wastes on campus is our
bloated technological infrastruc-
ture, which everyday continues to
strangle our dear fragile Mother
Gia. Here are our solutions:
1. Fewer computer labs. In
Beering there are 6 whole com-
puter labs. In Stanley Coulter
there are 10. Throughout campus
there are over 50 computer labs
containing over 1600 comput-
ers. That is a lot of wasted power!
No one’s education is worth that
much damage to the environment.
2. Smaller monitors. Over-
sized screens are overrated. While
LCDs are more environmentally
friendly than the old CRTs, they
still require more power if they
are large. An easy solution is to
get rid of all the current moni-
tors and replace them with 13” to
15” monitors. This is perfect for
an 800x600 display, allowing for
computer necessities without en-
couraging the frivolity that is kill-
ing our planet.
3. Fewer projectors/com-
puters in classrooms. What is
the purpose of blackboards again?
It seems more and more profes-
sors are taking the easy way out
by creating “PowerPoint presen-
tations” and projecting them onto
screens. Their laziness and desire
for flashy graphics are wasting
power through both the comput-
ers and projectors (in over
300 classrooms
across campus!)
These professors
need to take respon-
sibility for their planet
and start using chalk-
boards and erasers again.
4. Charge more for print-
outs. While many people wanted
to go to double-sided printing to
save money, the true purpose of
green goals is to help the planet,
not the pocketbooks of college
kids. If students were given a
smaller quota, or were charged
more per page, printing would be
discouraged. This would save in-
nocent trees from being slaugh-
tered in the Amazon to feed our
paper fetish. This might also al-
low ITaP to get rid of some of those
huge, power-hungry printers they
have scattered all over campus.
5. Use lower-quality paper.
Currently, ITaP’s computer labs
use bleached, durable, profession-
al-looking paper. This is unaccept-
able in a sustainable lifestyle! We
should use thinner, bleach-free,
100% recycled paper. While it
may look horrible, fall apart, break
the printers, and be useless, it is
one more way of pulling the knife
out of Mother Nature’s back.
6. Set time limits for com-
puters. Students throughout the
year will sometimes sit at a com-
puter in a lab for hours. During
Dead Week, this gets even worse as
the Stanley Coulter labs are open
24 hours. The students may say
this is in the name of education,
but the potential damages to both
the environment and the student’s
health from them sitting at a single
desk for hours are much more se-
rious than any minor final exam or
senior project. A hard time limit
would force students to work effi-
ciently with the environment
always on their minds. They,
of course, would be kept from
log- ging on to other
computers once their daily allot-
ted time had expired.
7. Force multiple pages
per sheet. While the double-sid-
ed printing idea was great, it didn’t
go far enough. Some students are
still able to purposefully do dam-
age to their home planet by choos-
ing single-sided printing for what-
ever reason. This ability needs to
be taken away. Another option is
forcing multiple pages per sheet.
This ingenious technique would
condense pages of notes to ½ or ¼
of their regular size and put multi-
ple pages on a single side of paper.
If this is done correctly, 1 sheet of
paper could be used where 8 were
once the norm! This might make
the notes a bit harder to read, but
students should just go get a stron-
ger prescription for their contacts
and remember the environment.
8. Turn off computers at
night. Currently, ITaP leaves com-
puters in both labs and classrooms
on all night long. They claim this
is for “cleaning” and
“updating software”
and “watching the
status” of the ma-
chines, but this
is clearly un-
necessary. Any
updates that
would require
a computer to be on
all night are just not
December, 2009 3
worth it. These updates should
occur during the day. This may
disturb normal use of the comput-
ers, but that is a good thing when
one considers how much energy is
saved through the discouragement
of computer use.
9. Offer carbon credits as
an alternative to print quotas. If
ITaP really wanted to prove their
fidelity to the green cause, they
would revoke their capitalistic
method of charging money for
printouts. The best way would be
to allow students to either pur-
chase or work toward carbon
credits that could be redeemed for
printer privileges. If they cannot
be afforded with cash, the next
best option would be giving them
to students for participation in
green activist student groups, pro-
testing Republican and capitalist
establishments, taking liberal in-
doctrination courses, or by re-
cruiting others to the carbon cred-
it movement. This
method would truly
force students to start
caring about our Moth-
er Earth and finally al-
low our broken planet
to begin the healing
process.
 4 December, 2009
True Life: I am the Huckster
By ROHAN JOHNSON
If you were to ask the student movement. The esteemed pro-life
body here at Purdue the name of leader outlined his position quite
the candidate who came in second frankly as being a proponent of
to Senator John McCain for the Re- protecting life at every stage and
publican nomination in 2008, very every age.
few would actually be able to re- In addition to his position on
spond correctly. That individual is abortion, Governor Huckabee did
former Governor Mike Huckabee, not hesitate to address other ques-
and to say that he is a character tions that were posed to him about
would be an understatement. Prior other issues that leaders deal with
to the 2008 Republican primary, every day. When asked about health
the conservative candidate served care reform, the governor not only
as a Southern Baptist pastor for addressed the consequences of
twelve years before launching his the bill on the pro-life cause, but
career in politics and serving as he also mentioned the fact that
the Governor of Arkansas for two it would increase overall costs of
consecutive terms. Since his all but healthcare on a macroeconomic
successful run for the Republican level and limit families on a micro-
nomination, Governor Huckabee economic level. “A government-
has amassed a considerable fol- backed program would subsidize
lowing through his number one what is not covered. This should be
rated weekend hit “Huckabee” on a problem whether you are on the
the Fox News Channel and his daily left or right. We don’t want to bank-
radio show the “Huckabee Report.” rupt families and impoverish them
In the midst of his newly acquired in order for them to get mediocre
fame and fortune, Mike Huckabee medical assistance. I always look
still prioritized his recent speak- at it this way: That could be me,
ing event at a fundraiser for Tippe- could be my child, or my family. It
canoe County Right to Life here at also means that you are not going
Purdue University. to have as much uncompensated
“I’m convinced that Jesus would care from the hospitals and doctors
not do banquets like this. I know which results in ‘cost shifting,’ one
that for a fact because if he did, then of the reasons why medical costs
there would have been an addition- are so high.” Governor Huckabee
al beatitude: ‘blessed are the brief, called the proposed health care
for they shall be invited again,’” the plan imprudent and wasteful.
governor joked in When questioned by a journal-
his brief, yet ef- ist on the economy, Mike Huckabee
fective speech revealed the theory which he be-
on the core of lieves to be the answer to many of
the Pro-Life our economic woes: The Fair Tax.
In short, the Fair Tax is
a plan that would
elimi- n a t e
t h e income
tax whilst
placing a tax
on sold goods
to replace it.
“The Fair
Tax is
one of
the few tax
Photo by Andrew Nguyen plans that does not
punish productivity.” The governor
was one of only two presidential
candidates in the 2008 election to
support the Fair Tax, and he stands
by that position. “It is my belief that
those who do not support the Fair
Tax either are too attached to our
current system, or simply do not
understand what the Fair Tax re-
ally is.”
The former Governor of Arkan-
sas has come under fire lately for
an act he carried out several years
ago. In 2000, as Governor of Ar-
kansas, Mike Huckabee commuted
the sentence of the then 27 year
old Maurice Clemmons so that he
might have an opportunity to per-
suade the parole board that he
deserved a second chance. At the
age of 16, Clemmons had been sen-
tenced to 108 years for burglary
and robbery without a weapon.
Clemmons was not pardoned, but
the clemency did make him parole
eligible. On November 29th of this
year, Maurice Clemmons killed four
Lakewood Police officers in Seattle,
Washington. The gunman has since
been shot and killed by state police
after an extensive search effort.
After the series of events, political
advisor Mark McKinnon came out
and confidently stated “Huckabee
is done as a political candidate for
good. Doesn’t matter what the cir-
cumstances were, doesn’t matter
whether there was a convincing
rationale at the time. This is poli-
tics, American-style. Stick a fork in
him.” This declaration, while logi-
cal, does not seem to be the case.
In a series of interviews, Governor
Huckabee has stated that he thor-
oughly regrets the commutation;
he had good reason to commute
the convict at the time. The gov-
ernor wrote a piece explaining his
rationale at the time and what the
series of events were that lead to
the eventual commutation. In the
piece, Huckabee explains that the
Arkansas Post Prison Parole and
Transfer Board recommended
The Purdue ReviewThe Pur
clemency for Clemmons in a 5-0
vote. He says that during his 10
1/2 years as governor he denied
92% of the requests for clemency.
Huckabee also points out that there
were no objections to his parole by
the prosecutor, law enforcement,
or the Attorney General’s office
during the comment period prior
to Clemmons’ parole.
While this incident is a hurdle
for Huckabee in the public eye,
it’s certainly nothing that he can’t
overcome. The former presiden-
tial candidate is renowned for his
genuine and kind spirit. Although
he may come across as overly
compassionate and soft, Huckabee
touts personal responsibility and
accountability as cornerstones of
his character. He displayed his be-
lief in one taking responsibility for
their actions through the story of
Maurice Clemmons. “Unfortunate-
ly, many of my fellow conservatives
don’t seem to want to take respon-
sibility for the facts surrounding
the case,” said Governor Huckabee
in reference to the facts surround-
ing the grant of parole to Clem-
mons.
Maybe we as citizens missed
something in the election. We may
have underestimated Huckabee. It
may be true that John McCain and
Sarah Palin go against the brush on
many issues and speak out about
what they think is best. But Gover-
nor Mike Huckabee boldly stated
his regrets, and rebuked others for
not doing the same. What more can
a true “maverick” do? He’s a dia-
mond in the rough, an individual
with humility and compassion and
yet a sense of conviction for per-
sonal responsibility. Upon receiv-
ing similar compliments to his
character by the gentleman intro-
ducing him at the Tippecanoe
County Right to Life dinner, Gover-
nor Huckabee wittily joked, “Who’s
he talking about? I thought I was
the keynote speaker tonight.”
ReviewThe Purdue Review
Bush Is Ruining Obama
By BRUTUS LIBERTATI
I thought we had finally done
it. I thought we had thrown Bush
out of office, voted in a young, vi-
brant, diverse leader, and turned
the course of American history. I
thought that maybe the messes
of the Bush years would contin-
ue their effect for a few months,
but that Obama would quickly
and decisively end the capitalist
and imperialist disaster that was
America under Bush. But after
almost a year of having our guy
in the White House, I’m starting
to think I was wrong.
I know that the effects of
presidential policies can stretch
far into future Presidents’ terms,
but this was supposed to be dif-
ferent. Bush is a moron, and
Obama is the brightest mind in
the nation. There is no way that
a moron can make a mess that a
genius can’t fix. But I think the
problem we as liberals have is
that we took Bush for an idiot
“Obama is clearly taking the fall for all of
the free-market and business-based tactics
that were typical of the bourgeoisie Bush
administration.”
when he might have been just a
well-paid plant of the conserva-
tive conspiracy to ruin this coun-
try.
Take, for example, the sta-
tus of the economy. It is clearly
Bush’s fault. Due to years of
pro-capitalist policy, our econo-
my has taken a beating that the
government won’t be able to
solve easily. As Bush’s true toll
on our country continues to be
felt, for some strange reason,
people are acting as if Obama
had something to do with it. It is
that type of delusional thinking
that glosses over all of the jobs
Obama has saved, and complete-
ly ignores how bad the economy
would have been had Obama not
stepped in to rescue our failing
nation. Obama is clearly taking
the fall for all of the free-mar-
ket and business-based tactics
that were typical of the bour-
geoisie Bush administration.
On the foreign policy front,
Obama is taking the heat from
the mistakes of the Bush years.
George W. Bush invaded two
completely harmless countries,
had innocent fundamentalist
Muslims tortured, and didn’t
plan on pulling out until the
mythical concept of “victory”
was achieved. Upon his leav-
ing office, the situation in Iraq
miraculously fixed itself just in
time to make Obama’s promises
of leaving seem a bit outdated.
Also suspicious is the amount
of violence that has stepped up
in Afghanistan since Bush left
office. Everyone knows that it
was Bush who dithered for eight
years in Afghanistan, but Obama
is the one getting heat for tak-
ing only 100 measly days to de-
cide whether or not to provide
his general with troops. In the
Bush years, no exit policy ex-
isted, and the terrorists had no
idea how long we would stay.
But now, Obama supports our
nation by announcing to the ter-
rorists when we will stop fight-
ing them, and people say he isn’t
“qualified!” How can this type of
criticism be aimed at a man who,
were it not for eight years of
December, 2009 5
failed cowboy diplomacy, could Palin, troop-supporting, climate-
easily solve every problem in the destroying conservatives take
world? over this nation and force their
All of these coincidences fascist policies on all aspects of
seem a bit too coincidental to our once-free society (I mean
“I know that the effects of presidential
policies can stretch far into future presi-
dents’ terms, but this was supposed to be
different. Bush is a moron, and Obama is
the brightest mind in the nation. There is
no way that a moron can make a mess that
a genius can’t fix.”
be authentic. It is clear that at free like it was under FDR, JFK,
least some thought was given LBJ, Carter, and Clinton, not the
to how Obama might be voted oppressive society of the slave-
out of office as soon as possible, owning Founders).
and the easiest way would be to Whatever his motive, this
make him the fall-guy for various much is clear: George W. Bush
problems. My opinion, hard as it purposely ruined this country
may be to believe, is that Bush and set in motion events that
purposely put in place policies would bring down Obama’s pres-
and created scenarios specifi- idency. It is the only reasonable
cally designed to harm Obama. explanation for why so many bad
Bush clearly encouraged the things keep happening with
tanking economy because he did Obama around, and why he con-
not want Obama to solve single- tinuously gets blamed despite all
handedly every economic prob- conventional wisdom showing
lem as he would have otherwise. that certain despicable Republi-
Bush clearly forced the Iraq cans (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld,
situation off the table through etc…) were the real culprits.
insidious tactics, while secretly Let’s just hope that all of Obama’s
ginning up anti-Americanism in change will finally begin to undo
Afghanistan. It has even been all of the religious, capitalistic,
proposed that Bush had some- provocative, and interventionist
thing to do with the creation evils that George Bush and pre-
of the “swine flu” virus, conve- vious Republican administra-
niently released on the popula- tions have forced on America.
tion just in time to foil Obama’s Obama save us all.
plans to finally fix our broken, Brutus is the resident Com-
free-market healthcare system. munist at The Purdue Review.
What would Bush get out of Life size posters of Karl Marx
this? Well, money is a start. Or, and Friedrich Nietzsche adorn
possibly a good biography in re- the walls of his office. He firmly
visionist history books once the believes that Sarah Palin and
Bible-thumping, gun-toting, pro- George Bush are Satan’s children.
 6 December, 2009
Climategate
Global Warming Scientists are in “Hot Water”
Since the mid 1970s, global
warming has been a widespread
topic of public interest. Scientists,
environmentalists, and politicians
have warned us about the poten-
tial dangers of a changing climate.
As a result, the green
movement has ex-
panded beyond activ-
ism and entered into
our economy. In recent
years, we have heard
discussions about
green cars, green
housing, and green
jobs. However, the
last few weeks have
presented us with an-
other green phrase
that we can add to our
eco-friendly dictionar-
ies- “green scandal.”
In late November,
thousands of docu-
ments and emails from
the Climate Research
Unit (CRU) at the Uni-
versity of East Anglia
in England were ex-
posed. These commu-
nications were hacked
into and posted on an
internet blog by an
anonymous source.
Over the last few days,
the emails have been
confirmed as discus-
sions among British
and American scien-
tists who are well-
known promoters of the global
warming theory. In the past, some
of these men have been accused
of silencing differing opinions. In
many of the email exchanges, it
seems that some scientists dis-
cussed how to manipulate or even
get rid of data that does not directly
support global warming. This is the
main concern within the “Climat-
egate” scandal.
Professor Phil Jones, director
of the Climate Research Unit, and
Professor Michael Mann, director
of the Earth System Science Center
at Penn State, are facing particular
scrutiny. Both of these men have
been involved with the United Na-
tion’s Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). The most
highly reported email comes from
Jones and Mann’s discussion about
an experiment with two sets of
data. The first set includes ther-
mometer readings over the past
century, while the second contains
tree density and the length of tree
rings. Personally, I think this study
The Purdue ReviewThe Pur
By CHRIS ELLISON
is kind of unsteady from the start. the thermometer readings contin-
One has to look at the inside of a ue to rise into the second half of the
tree to get the ring length, which twentieth century.
means this environmental study In the email, Jones mentions us-
requires that trees get chopped ing a “trick” to “hide the decline”
down. Very ironic. in the tree data. This “trick” would
present the warming temperature
effects on the tree rings as more
intense. These results would be
useful because it would show one
of the ways global warming has al-
ready impacted the Earth.
Professor Mann, in an interview
with The New York Times, said that
the email was legitimate, but the
language was portrayed the wrong
way. He stated the consistency of
the tree-ring data was question-
able, so it is no longer used. He also
explained that “trick” is a word of-
ten used by scien-
tists “to refer to a
good way to solve
a problem, ‘and not
something secret’.”
Global warm-
ing skeptics don’t
buy Mann’s expla-
nation. They have
pointed to this
email as evidence
that global warm-
ing studies and
data may be over-
valued. However,
proponents of the
theory have re-
sponded by saying
the skeptics are
“cherry picking”
Artist rendition of original E-mails. Actual content has not been altered. certain statements
and taking them
Up until about 1960, the tree out of context in order to prove
ring data and thermometer read- their point.
ings suggest a rise in average tem- In another email, Professor
peratures. The correlation here is Jones criticizes studies that suggest
that as the Earth warms, the trees the relationship between human
have the capacity to grow larger. activities and global warming is
Then, for reasons that the scientists uncertain. Jones writes, “I can’t see
seem unable to explain, the tree either of these papers being in the
density and average ring length be- next IPCC report.” He also prom-
gin to decline after 1960. However, See “Climate...” on Pg. 7
 ReviewThe Purdue Review
Climate...
From Page 6
ised to “keep them out somehow—
even if we have to redefine what
s contin-the peer-review literature is!”
alf of the Professor Jones finds himself
in more trouble after a May 2008
tions us-email that encouraged his col-
decline”leagues to “delete any email you
k” wouldmay have had” about data for an
peratureIPCC report. The British Freedom
as moreof Information Act makes it a crime
would beto delete this type of material,
how onewhich is subject to a freedom of in-
ng has al-formation request.
Since the debacle, Professor
nterviewJones has temporarily stepped
said thatdown as the head of the Climate
but theResearch Unit. This will most likely
he wronglast until an investigation of the
stency ofCRU is completed. This indepen-
question-dent review is intended to see if
d. He alsothe accusations of manipulating
word of-data to present a stronger case for
by scien-global warming are true. When
efer to aasked about his choice to step
to solvedown, Jones stated, “What is most
, ‘and notimportant is that CRU continues
g secret’.” its world leading research with as
warm-little interruption and diversion as
ics don’tpossible...I have decided that the
’s expla-
hey have
to this
evidence
al warm-
Liberal Holiday Wish List
ies and
be over-1. Obamacare - $1 Trillion+
However,2. Unemployment below
ts of the
ave re- 10% - $787 Billion
by saying3. Ban Christmas Bonuses -
tics are
picking” Dow Jones under 5000
atements4. End of the “Situation” in
ng them
Afghanistan - Our Nation-
to prove
al Security
Professor5. A very mild winter - Po-
t suggest
n human lar Bears
rming is6. Repeal of the 2nd
can’t see
ng in the Amendment - Revolution
o prom-
best way to achieve this is by step-
ping aside from the Director’s role
during the course of the indepen-
dent review…”
Another researcher involved
was Dr. Kevin Trenberth, who
works at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research in Boulder,
Colorado. Trenberth discusses in
an email that Boulder is dealing
with a couple days of record low
temperatures in October 2009. He
mentions that the October weather
is more typical of the month of Jan-
uary. In addition, he has concerns
about the adequacy of his observa-
tion systems and claims, “The fact
is we can’t account for the lack of
warming at the moment and it is a
travesty that we can’t.”
There is nothing wrong with
what Trenberth said, but it shows
how the scientists were hungry for
data and evidence to back up their
predictions. Instead of analyzing
the data and then drawing a con-
clusion, critics are saying these sci-
entists were pushing for the results
before conducting the experiment.
The news on Climategate has
somewhat been covered on televi-
sion channels and radio stations,
but most of it is coming from the In-
ternet. This seems fitting seeing as
the story involves emails that were
exposed on an internet blog. How-
ever, over the past few days, the
news broke fast online and people
have responded by offering opin-
ions, suggesting conspiracies, and
even creating videos that make fun
of the climate scientists involved. If
you search “Climategate” in Google,
you will get over 30 million re-
sults. Compare that to other envi-
ronmental terms such as “climate
change” with 22 million or “global
warming” with only 10 million.
Whether politicians support the
theory of man-made global warm-
ing or not, it is important that they
consider this scandal before spend-
ing billions through environmental
legislation. However, Senator Bar-
bara Boxer of California, the top
Democrat in the Senate Environ-
ment and Public Works Commit-
tee, has chosen to focus more on
December, 2009 7
the “real culprits.” In a committee
meeting, Boxer stated “You call it
Climategate, I call it email-theft-
gate.” She went on to add, “Part of
our looking at this will be looking
at a criminal activity which could
have well been coordinated.” While
the activity of the hackers was
wrong, that does not take away
from the fact that some of the sci-
entists involved acted irresponsi-
bly. Concluding accurate scientific
results based on independent stud-
ies is legitimate, but only focusing
on only the data that supports your
own personal beliefs is unethical.
Few believe that Climategate is
evidence to dump the global warm-
ing issue, but many are raising le-
gitimate questions on just how se-
rious the pattern may be. The
conclusion to draw from this scan-
dal is that there may be evidence in
some studies that suggest mankind
has an influence on climate, but in
no way is the theory of man-made
global warming indisputable.
7. Christmas officially has
nothing to do with Jesus
- The Christian Vote
8. One World Government -
United States Sovereignty
9. Subscription to the New
York Times - $384.80 per
year
10. Rush Limbaugh off the
air - Priceless
 8 December, 2009
Where’s Our Stimulus Money?
By MORGAN IKERD
Along with many other Ameri-
cans, I can’t help but wonder what
happened to the 787 billion dol-
lars that was supposedly pumped
into the economy. I, for one,
haven’t seen any of this money and
it seems that the economy contin-
ues to regress and jobs continue
to be lost. No one, least of all the
American people—whose money
it is that is being spent—seems to
know what the heck is going on, or
why our economy continues to de-
scend into the pitfalls of recession
with this so-called Recovery Bill.
The 1,073 page stimulus bill
passed through the Democrat-
controlled Congress with ease
just four weeks after President
Obama stepped into office. Obama
defended the need for haste in
the passage of the stimulus bill
by stating, “Each day we wait to
begin the work of turning our
economy around, more people
lose their jobs, their savings and
their homes. And if nothing is
done, this recession might linger
for years. Our economy will lose
5 million more jobs. Unemploy-
ment will approach double digits.
Our nation will sink deeper into a
crisis that, at some point, we may
not be able to reverse.” And the
politics of fear worked. The stimu-
lus package, promised to “save or
create” roughly 3.5 million jobs,
was rushed through Congress and
passed before there was sufficient
time to read it. The irony is that
there were 1.6 million more jobs
the day the stimulus bill passed
than there are right now. The em-
ployment rate, starting at 7.2%,
has now risen to 10%. Therefore,
we would have been better off,
and had significantly more jobs if
Obama had done nothing at all!
Despite the inefficiency of this
stimulus package in the employ-
ment category, what does this bill
mean for taxpayers? Republican
Congressman, Paul Ryan stated
when the bill was passed, “The
headline price tag of $787 billion
doesn’t include the extra $348 bil-
lion it will take to finance the new
debt, or what it will cost when
Congress extends the spending
programs in the bill, as is likely —
as much as $2 trillion more. Add in
the billions that are being used to
prop up the financial system, and
when the dust settles on 2009,
with millions of baby boomers
retiring and entitlement spend-
ing exploding, taxpayers will face
a financial nightmare.” Despite
the shock of these astronomical
numbers, Congressman Ryan was
being far too kind. The actual cost
of the stimulus, according the Con-
gressional Budget Office, will be
3.27 trillion dollars!
If we are going to spend this
kind of money to improve the
economy, it has to be going to
good use, right? Unfortunately,
this doesn’t seem
to be the case. De-
spite the money
invested in Wall
Street which was
expected to trickle
down but has yet
to do so, most of
the money seems
to be “porkulus”
spending rather
than stimulus.
Vice President
Joe Biden warned
Americans to ex-
pect that their
stimulus mon-
ey—billions of
dollars of taxpay-
ers’ money— to
be either wasted
or scammed. So,
wait… we’re supposed to “expect”
our hard-earned money to be
“wasted or scammed” by our own
government? According to Senator
Tom Coburn’s stimulus waste re-
port; the top ten abuses of stimu-
lus money are ranked as follows:
1. $1.5 million in “free” stimu-
lus money for a new wastewater
treatment plant resulting in higher
utility costs for residents of Per-
kins, Oklahoma.
2. $1 billion went to FutureGen
in Mattoon, Illinois, the “biggest
earmark of all time” for a power
plant that may never work.
3. $15 million for “shovel-ready”
repairs to little-used bridges in ru-
The Purdue ReviewThe Pur
ral Wisconsin were given priority
over widely used bridges that are
structurally deficient.
4. $800,000 for little-used John
Martha Airport in Johnstown,
Pennsylvania airport to repave a
back-up runway; the ‘Airport for
Nobody’ has already received tens
of millions in taxpayer dollars.
5. $3.4 million for a wild-
life “eco-passage” in Florida
to take animals safely under a
busy roadway.
6. Nevada non-profit gets
a $2 million weatherization
contract after recently be-
ing fired for the same type of
work.
7. $1.15 million went to in-
stallation of a new guard rail
for the non-existent Optima
Lake in Oklahoma.
8. Nearly $10 million went
to renovate an abandoned
train station that hasn’t been used
in 30 years.
9. 10,000 dead people get secu-
rity checks, but the Social Security
Administration blames a tough
deadline.
10. Town of Union, New York
was encouraged to spend a
$578,000 grant it did NOT request
for a homeless problem it claims it
does not have.
Unfortunately, all of the listed
expenditures are just some of the
pork barrel expenses that have
resulted from the stimulus plan,
despite Obama’s promise to for-
bid all earmarks in the bill. Some
other examples include $1 billion
dollars for Amtrak, which hasn’t
turned a profit in 40 years, and
$400 million for global warming
research. Meanwhile, companies
are continuing to lay off more and
more workers, homes are being
foreclosed, factories are shutting
down, and the American people
are suffering from this economic
downturn with seemingly little
See “Stimulus...” on Pg. 11
ReviewThe Purdue Review December, 2009 9

FairTax... By bringing out the underground the FairTax in the long run would completely transparent, which is
From Page 16 economy, the tax base is necessar- be even greater. not a feature (by design) of the cur-
ily widened. This is the reason that One of the biggest arguments rent tax system.
current tax system. With increased FairTax collects as much revenue against the FairTax (and in sales At this point, you may be think-
savings, the macroeconomic im- as the current system, even though taxes in general) is that they hurt ing one of two things: “the FairTax
pact of that would be that it would the tax burden for every income the poor. Some argue that the Fair- is a miracle” or “the FairTax would
push down real interest rates that level (with the exception of the Tax is regressive, that is, it would destroy big government.” Both are
we pay on borrowed money.” extremely wealthy) is decreased. affect the poor more negatively inaccurate. The FairTax only seems
Many opponents to the Fair- Additionally, it would collect tax than the rich. Although, for rea- like a miracle because it would be
Tax would argue that home sales from illegal immigrants and the sons too technical to explain here, so much better, in terms of eco-
would plummet because the mort- many more millions of foreigners sales taxes are neither progressive nomic benefits, than the current
who visit this nor regressive, the FairTax would system. The FairTax would not re-
country legally actually be more progressive than duce the size of government as it
Did You Know?... every year.
If corporate
the current system. This is due to is designed to collect as much rev-
several factors. First, as mentioned enue as the current system, but it
taxes and capi- above, the FairTax would complete- would make it more difficult to in-
It is estimated that American cor- tal gains taxes ly untax the poor with the prebate. crease the size of government.
porations spend more than $500 were elimi- Secondly, the FairTax would elimi- The FairTax is officially support-
nated, foreign nate the Payroll Tax, which is by ed by 80 economists, including one
BILLION every year just to comply companies far the most regressive tax in place. Nobel laureate, and is sponsored
would be much Removing this tax eliminates the by nearly 70 members of Congress,
with the current tax code. Can you more willing largest tax burden of the work- including Indiana Representatives
think of better ways that money to invest in or ing and middle classes. Lastly, the Mike Pence and Dan Burton. “I
relocate to the FairTax would tax the wealthiest think more people understand it
could be used? We can. United States, Americans at the full 23% of con- and how it works,” Huckabee stat-
as it would sumption. With
be the larg- our current
gage interest deduction would be est tax haven in the world. Addi-
eliminated. First of all, more than tionally, as Huckabee noted, “The
system, the ex-
tremely wealthy
Did You Know?...
65% of Americans choose to file other thing [the FairTax] does is only pay 15% on
the short tax form, and therefore that it brings capital back to the capital gains and More than $13 TRILLION of US
cannot deduct mortgage interest. US. Right now there’s an estimated dividends. They capital is currently parked off
As Dr. Holland noted, the increased 13 trillion parked off shore. That’s pay little to no
savings resulting from the FairTax legally moved. It’s not that people income or pay- shore, legally? What would hap-
would drive down real interest are evading taxes, it’s that they’re roll taxes . Un-
rates, thereby reducing the cost of avoiding taxes legally, which is un- der the FairTax,
pen if all of that came back to
a mortgage. Additionally, the vast derstandable, because multi-na- the tax burden the United States?
majority of homes sold every year tional companies have to make tax on the wealthi-
are used homes which would not decisions to stay in business.” The est Americans
be taxed at all (remember, only new effect of attracting foreign invest- (those making well over $500,000 ed, “There’s growing support. Most
goods and services are taxed). ment and bringing US capital back per year) will actually increase. people who say they aren’t for it are
The FairTax would nearly elimi- to our shores would undoubtedly In addition to the economic ben- people who don’t understand it.”
nate the underground economy. be enormous. efits of the FairTax, there would Bob Holland had a slightly dif-
Huckabee explained, “Right now Recent economic studies of also be numerous political benefits ferent take. “Personally speaking, I
there are a lot of people who are the FairTax show that real wages (or costs, if you believe government would prefer the FairTax over our
involved in illegal activity, whether would in increase by 10.3%, dis- is not big enough). Dr. Holland not- current system, but I don’t think
it’s drug dealing, prostitution, gam- posable income would increase ed that the FairTax is “a politician’s this proposal has a snow ball’s
bling. They don’t pay taxes. But by 1.7%, GDP would increase by nightmare. As long as you can keep chance in hell of getting through
those people buy things at retail 2.4%, and consumption would in- the current tax system sufficiently Congress.”
whether it’s a car, a house, food.” crease by 2.4%, all in the first year. complex, then I can easily use the True reform will not be easy. It
Holland added, “You don’t even Although there would be initial lay- tax code to reward supporters will require a large grassrroots
need to go to illicit activities such offs due to the transition, according and punish detractors. If it’s just movement. If you’re interested in
as drugs or prostitution, all you to a recent study, employment has a simple sales tax, I’ve lost a lot of learning more about the FairTax,
have to do is think about the aver- the potential to grow by 3.5% in the juice, a lot of power.” Increasing visit http://www.fairtax.org or
age waiter or waitress who doesn’t the first year. Additionally, govern- taxes and spending will be much check out the FairTax books by
report their tips. There’s a lot of ment revenues would increase by more difficult under the FairTax Neal Boortz and John Linder.
under-reporting of income.” 0.5% in the first year. The effects of because the tax burden would be
 10 December, 2009
Purdue Football Recap
It just hasn’t been the same since Drew Brees left…
The 2009 Purdue football sea-
son was an intense emotional
rollercoaster. Uncertainty was a
prevalent theme throughout the
year. Before the season started,
there were many questions to be
answered. Will Danny Hope con-
tinue to run Tiller’s West Coast
offense out of the spread? How
will inexperienced quarterback
Joey Elliott perform? Which run-
ning back will get the lion’s share
of the carries? Will Ryan Kerrigan
really be the next great defensive
end in Purdue’s proud history at
that position? For Purdue fans,
the tremendous uncertainty sur-
rounding our team did not stop
after the season began.
Week 1 was a home game
against Toledo. Toledo, although
they play in MAC, are not a com-
plete cupcake team. We saw quite
a few things in this game. First
and foremost, Purdue was going
to run the ball out of a conven-
tional I formation – and what a
job we did! In his very first start,
Sophomore RB Ralph Bolden
ran for the third most yards in a
single game in school history. He
contributed 234 of Purdue’s 315
rushing yards and he ran for two
touchdowns. Elliott threw three
touchdowns and three intercep-
tions – not overly surprising given
his lack of experience. Although
Purdue gave up 31 points to an
inferior team, fans left rejoicing
over Carson Wiggs’ school record
59 yard field goal.
The following week featured a
highly anticipated road game at
Oregon. Unfortunately, like the
year before, Purdue lost in a heart-
breaker, 36-38. There still seemed
to be hope (no pun intended) be-
cause even after week 2, Bolden
led the nation in rushing. Little
did we know at the time, our
heartbreaking loss to Oregon this
season would have a similar ef-
fect as the season before. In both
The Purdue ReviewThe Pur
By JAY WOOD
years, the Oregon loss seemed to off one of the biggest upsets in tion. Unfortunately, the fol-
rattle our confidence and both history, defeating the Buckeyes lowing week’s 37-0 loss to
seasons seemed to unravel af- 26-18. This time it was Purdue Wisconsin gave us a huge reality
ter losing to the Ducks. After the who was forcing turnovers and check. Standing at 3-6, we had to
week 2 loss, we had no idea that capitalizing on them. Beyond that, win each of our final three games
the Boilers would proceed to lose Purdue was able to generate a sol- in order to be bowl-eligible.
the following four games as well. id pass rush. Ryan Ker- rigan That would be quite a task,
The home losses to Northern recorded three sacks – a See “Football...” on Pg. 11
Illinois and Northwestern were sign that he could
extremely upsetting. Losing by live up to his hype
seven points or less is always a of being the next
bummer, but losing to tiny schools great Purdue de-
that are almost always grossly in- fensive end. Joey
ferior is worse. The home loss to Elliott beating
Notre Dame was equally tough. a ranked oppo-
Although we were underdogs nent was very
against the Irish, losing to a fierce special. His
rival in the final minute of play p r e d e c e s s o r,
was very hard to swallow. QB Curtis Paint-
Notre Dame was a night game er, never beat a
and the Boilers came out wear- ranked opponent
ing black pants to go along with during his col-
their traditional black uniforms. lege career. The
At the time, I assumed this was win over Ohio
merely for show, possibly a play State was also
on the fact that it was dark out- special because
side. However, this became the it marked Dan-
Boilermakers’ standard home ny Hope’s first
uniform for the remainder of the Big Ten victory.
season. I have nothing against I was very
the gold pants of yesteryear, but interested to
I must say, the all-black-look was see Purdue’s
pretty sharp. performance
A road loss at Minnesota (35- the following
20) was our biggest losing deficit week against Illi-
of the year – at least to that point. nois. A loss would
We had only fallen by a touch- indicate that our
down or less in each of our previ- victory over
ous losses. Turnovers were prov- Ohio State was
ing to be treacherous week in and just a fluke. We
week out. Purdue went into the didn’t lose though.
Minnesota game with the second By all appearances,
most turnovers in the country Purdue had ignited a
and we committed three more in spark and was ready
that game. Our defeat by the Go- to make a late
phers set us up with a 1-5 record s e a s o n
heading in to week 7 against #7 run that
ranked Ohio State. would
By all speculation, the Boilers p u t
would get blanked 70-0, give or us in
take. As we came to see each week, bowl
nothing was EVER certain with con-
Photo courtesy of the Purdue University News Service
our Boilermakers. Purdue pulled ten-
ReviewThe Purdue Review
Football...
From Page 11
especially given the fact that our
next game was against Michigan…
at Michigan. Purdue had not won
at The Big House since 1966 when
Bob Griese played quarterback
for the black and gold. However,
this game proved that nothing
about the 2009 season was ever
certain. Joey Elliott’s threw for
367 yards (his career best) and
two touchdowns and he also ran
for a touchdown. We beat Michi-
gan by two points and kept our
bowl aspirations alive as we en-
tered our final home game of the
season against Michigan State.
The game was a playoff atmo-
sphere for our squad. It was win
or die. A loss meant that the sea-
son would be over after the Buck-
et game the following week. Car-
son Wiggs hit a 49 yard field goal
with 2:38 remaining to tie the
game at 37. If Purdue could get a
stop on defense, we would have a
chance to pull off a victory. What
Stimulus...
From Page 8
help from the government who
promised to bail them out.
Only a small percentage of the
stimulus money has been spent to
benefit the people thus far. It ap-
pears that some of the stimulus
bill was saturated with waste to
pay off politically-connected lib-
erals; which the Republicans pre-
dicted from the beginning. This is
supposed to be a new era of bipar-
tisanship, but the bill was written
on the wish list of every living—or
dead—Democratic interest group.
As Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it,
“We won the election. We wrote
the bill.” I guess Republicans can
let them take all the credit they
want for this one.
What makes the Obama ad-
ministration believe that they
can spend our money better than
happened on the next play? Mich-
igan State returned the kickoff 84
yards to our 11 yard line. They
had to settle for a field goal and
we got the ball back with some
time remaining. It wouldn’t mat-
ter though. Despite a late drive,
Joey Elliott was sacked on the fi-
nal play and with that tackle, the
season was effectively over.
Purdue had lost seven games
and was ineligible to compete in
post-season play, even with a win
over the Hoosiers. Even so, our
season ended on a positive note.
We beat IU and added a 56th P
link to West Lafayette’s #1 resi-
dent, the Old Oaken Bucket. The
Boilers finished with a 5-7 losing
record, but there were still some
things to celebrate.
We beat Ohio State and Michi-
gan in the same season. We beat
the Big Ten champion and only
lost by two to the Pac 10 cham-
pion. Bolden ran for close to
we can? If they were to put more
of an effort to place the stimulus
money in the hands of the people,
the economy would have a much
better chance of taking care of
itself. The money spent on pork
barrel projects is doing nothing to
benefit the nation as a whole and
is ultimately a huge waste, as our
own Vice President said himself.
What we need right now, first and
foremost, are jobs. For a program
to be efficient , it must bring forth
economic activity that otherwise
would not have taken place. The
classic example is public works.
When a new road or bridge is built,
construction companies have to
purchase concrete, steel and oth-
er materials that create business
for other companies. They also
employ workers that otherwise
1000 yards and Smith had over
1000 yards in receptions. Elliott
threw for over 3000 yards and 22
touchdowns. Kerrigan recorded
13 sacks and Wiggs hit eight field
goals from 40 yards or longer. If
nothing else, the end of the foot-
ball season meant that Purdue
basketball was right around the
corner.
In the BGR issue of The Pur-
due Review, I wrote a Purdue
Football preview and I predicted
that we would finish 7-5 and go
to a decent bowl game. My hopes
of a winning season that would
propel us to postseason play did
not come true. Looking back,
however, my prediction was not
overly outrageous. Five of our
seven losses were by seven points
or less. With a play or two going
our way in each of those games,
Purdue could have just as easily
finished the year 10-2 and been
headed to a very respectable bowl
would not be working, paying
them wages that they will spend,
producing jobs and incomes for
other workers.
America was founded on capi-
talism and free enterprise, but the
stimulus bill is just another plot to
widen government control of busi-
ness and the economy. The found-
ing fathers intended for private
businesses to thrive and the gov-
ernment to lightly regulate rather
than take over. With the stimulus
plan, small businesses are going
to be hit with tax increases to help
pay for the spending. As a result,
these small businesses are going
to have a hard time keeping their
employees. This is unfortunate
because it is these businesses that
have created the majority of stable
jobs in the past.
December, 2009 11
game. Even a compromising 8-4
would have been nice.
Next season might be a roller-
coaster as well. What we do know
going in is that we have tremen-
dous talent returning in Bolden,
Smith, and Wiggs. What we don’t
know is what the defensive line
will do without Mike Neal and
Ryan Kerrigan. We also don’t
know how new QB Caleb TerBush
will play. They say he has a set of
wheels, but he will enter next sea-
son with less experience than El-
liott did when he started last year.
I’m going to predict 7-5 again. If
we can stop losing to small
schools, avoid committing count-
less turnovers, and have Bolden
run for over 1000 yards, I think
we can have a winning season and
go bowling again.
As we all know, the economy
naturally experiences ups and
downs. Although the economy has
been declining for what seems like
years and years, this is a normal
occurrence and most economists
believe that the economy can usu-
ally straighten itself out over time.
Obama picked a perfect time to
run his campaign focusing on all
the economic problems that were
being struggled with during the
Bush administration. He promised
change and focused on govern-
ment as the solution to the prob-
lem while gaining America’s trust
with his swift speeches and novel
ideas. America: Government isn’t
the answer to this economic crisis,
it’s the problem.
 12 December, 2009
F.L.O.T.U.S. Fashion Factoids
By JORDAN HEBBE
As the holiday season quickly
approaches, many of us find our-
selves wondering what to wear to
our annual family gatherings, our
boyfriends’ company holiday par-
ties, or a New Year’s Eve soiree
and are looking for interesting
ideas for decorations. And what
better place to look for helpful ad-
vice than the First Lady of Fash-
ion herself ? Michelle Obama has
revolutionized Presidential style
by pushing the limits and the
price tags. Even though you may
not be planning to host 50,000
guests over a period of 28 gath-
erings this month, we have com-
piled some of our favorite tips to
get you through the holiday sea-
son.
Save the Polar Bears – and
Some Money
The 18 ½ foot Douglas fir
Christmas tree that has been cho-
sen for the coveted title of “Offi-
cial White House Christmas tree”
is outfitted with multiple strands
of energy-saving LED lights and
will be replanted following the
end of the season. Don’t have
enough room for an 18 ½ foot
tree? That’s ok. You can create
your own version by decorating
your regular old tree with new
LED lights,
and save a po-
lar bear life’s
worth of fossil
fuel per day
by doing so.
With the ex-
tra money you
save, you can
spend more
on your holi-
day wardrobe.
Kick Back
and Enjoy
Some Eggnog
while Other
People Do the Decorating
While we can’t all convince 92
volunteers to spend 3,400 hours
decorating our homes to perfec-
The Purdue ReviewThe Pur
tion like the First Lady was able
to do this year, you can surely “If we all take initiative and start dressing like
recruit some bums sitting on a
nearby street corner to help out. her then maybe, for the second time in her life,
With unemployment soaring to she can be proud of her country.”
17.5% because of Bush’s trans-
gressions, there are plenty of job-
less who would probably love to first, don’t give up. Basically, it’s and you’re right in line with First
help transform your home into just Jackie O, only less classy. You Lady Obama fashion.
the North Pole at no cost. Offer take a poofy skirt, mix it with any Whatever your dilemma may
them some eggnog (spiking it of the cardigans, cinch a huge belt be, follow the simple suggestions
with whiskey is an added bonus, around your waist, blindly choose I’ve outlined above and you will
but that depends on how well a few pieces of jewelry, slip on make Michelle proud. If we all
they do) and sugar cookies and those heels, and you’re good to take initiative and start dressing
watch them work. All you have to go. This look is perfectly suitable like her then maybe, for the sec-
do is supply the decorations, LED for meeting the boyfriend’s fam- ond time in her life, she can be
lights, and refreshments. With all ily, brunch with your grandmoth- proud of her country.
the time you save, you can head to er, family holiday parties, or even “In my own life, in my own
the mall and stimulate the econ- meeting the Queen of England (in small way, I have tried to give
omy. Of course, there is always which case, you just add more back to this country that has giv-
the option of hiring paid help to jewelry). In all other situations, en me so much,” she said. “See,
come in and do the decorating for regardless of formality (or infor- that’s why I left a job at a big law
you as well. If enough people fol- mality) the sleeveless frock is the firm for a career in public ser-
low suit, unemployment will dip perfect choice. As before, jazz it vice.” - Michelle Obama.
even more and give the President up with some jewelry and a belt,
something else to boast about.
In Mrs. Obama’s case, she has 22
staffers whose salaries are gen-
erously paid for by the American
public to tend to her every need.
Apparently they were busy with
other urgent errands; hence the
need to call in 92 extra volunteers
to do the dirty work.
Onto the
Main Event:
Whatever Will
You Wear?
To take a
chapter from
the First Lady’s
book of holiday
fashion, all you
really need are
a few basics:
big, gaudy belts,
oversized jew-
elry, kitten heels,
a few sparkly
, te a c h e r - e s q u e
cardigans, some poofy, hip-slim-
ming skirts, and of course, sev-
eral sleeveless dresses. While it
all sounds a bit overwhelming at
ReviewThe Purdue Review December, 2009 13

Republicans Eat Their Own

Grow Big and Strong By MIKE CUNNINGHAM

Those crazy conservatives are lican, the government works for us Dede Scozzafava (R), and Doug vote based strictly on party rather
at it again! Dismantling the Repub- and not the other way around! We Hoffman (C). No, to any of you than values, the people would not
lican Party from the ground up, the people of this free nation de- smart liberals out there who may get the things that they truly need
foaming at the mouth as they sink cide our own fate; the politicians be reading The Purdue Review, the or desire, and the corruption and
their teeth into a juicy moderate or have the privilege of representing “C” does not stand for Communist special interests would continue to
RINO (Republican In Name Only). us. party; it means conservative. As it flourish.
The conservative mafia is rooting In today’s America, politicians turns out, Hoffman lost the race, It is not that “Republicans” are
out the politicians that do not fit have lost sight of their responsibili- but it is the story behind it that is eating their own. The fact of the
their needs, even if that means they ties as elected officials, and Ameri- truly telling. Hoffman was running matter is that conservatives and
are Republican. So, what seems cans will not stand for it any longer. as the conservative candidate, to “average” Americans work too hard
to be the problem? The answer to On September 12, nearly 2 million represent the people, with conser- to be toyed with. Conservatives are
that question is simply that there Americans gathered in Washington vative values like those previously usually Republicans and not liberal
is no problem, or at least there D.C. to express their concern about mentioned. Scozzafava, the Repub- or Democrat for a reason. They do
should not be. Yet the liberal media the carelessness and corruption lican candidate, ran a more moder- not have the same ideals. Yet, slow-
and some elected officials believe taking place in our nation’s capitol. ate campaign, so moderate that she ly but surely, it seems that the Re-
otherwise. They continue to paint Regular people: black and white, lost many supporters to Hoffman. publican Party is slipping away
an ugly portrait of the grassroots young and old, Democrats and Re- When it seemed that the race was from its conservative morals. Con-
movement as if to control the mes- publicans; they all came together out of her hands, she “bowed out servatives and members of the Re-
sage or to make the efforts of these with common values and principles for the party.” publican Party have been pushed
people seem worthless. in mind to remind the politicians Instead of doing the “Republi- to the limit and have decided that
I am, of course, referring to the that it’s the people that matter and can” thing and backing the conser- enough is enough. They will not sit
recent Tea Party movements, as not the special interest groups. vative candidate( like top Repub- idly by and let their party, the one
well as the NY-23 elections. It is not Conservatives especially had licans John Boehner, Eric Cantor thing that can represent their voic-
that the Republican Party is eat- their voices heard in early Novem- and Pete Sessions did), Scozzafava es, abandon them for popularity.
ing it’s own. It is, however, about ber during the NY-23 elections. showed her true colors and backed They want people who will say
the people and how they identify It was an exciting race that came the Democrat. If the people in what they mean and mean what
themselves. Just because you are down to three: Bill Owens (D), New York’s 23rd District were to they say.
a Republican does not make you a
conservative. And just because you
are conservative does not make
you a Republican. Most true con-
servatives would agree that the Re-
publican Party is a vehicle, and not
a way of life. Although the Republi-
can Party has typically been more
on the side of conservative values,
we do not live and die by the party.
We are individuals that hold
principles and values to the highest
of priorities. We cherish indepen-
dence, our God-given abilities and
our aptitude to decide what is best
for ourselves, rather than having
the government tell us what to do
and how we can do it. We believe in
the free market system and compe-
tition. We believe that if you work
hard, you can get the things you
want. We believe in life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness knowing
that the results are different for ev-
eryone. Whether you are conserva-
tive or liberal, Democrat or Repub-
 14 December, 2009
Ten Easy Steps To Exam Success!
By JENNIFER HAYWOOD
Averaging 4 hours of sleep a
night, constant butterflies in your
stomach, piles of lecture notes to
organise, fighting for a quiet corner
in a busy library and having to wait
20 minutes to grab a free computer.
Sounds like only one week - dead
week!
We are all familiar with the
stress that surrounds finals week.
We all promise ourselves that next
year will be different. Next year I
will be more organised, next year
I will make study notes throughout
the year, next year I will get plenty
of sleep. However, we are not all
perfect students and some things
never work out as planned.
This is why we all need simple
study tips to get us through this
stressful time. Here are some use-
ful tips to keep in mind when you
are preparing for your exams.
1. Know what kind of learn-
er you are. There are three dif-
ferent types of learner; a visual
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4. Going Rogue: An Ameri-
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5. Subscription to the Pur-
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learner, an auditory learner and a
kinaesthetic learner. You should
adapt your learning methods to
suit what type of learner you are. If
you don’t know what category you
fall under do the learner quiz at
http://homeworktips.about.com/
library/quizzes/bl_lstylequiz1.
htm.
2. Take regular breaks and
review your material because
this is how you remember the in-
formation best. You could get your
roommate or a friend to test you on
the material you have revised. You
should also do activities that help
you forget about the exams. For ex-
ample, exercise or watching films
are effective ways to relieve exam
stress.
3. Sleep. Don’t skip on sleep.
It may work for one exam, but re-
member, all-nighters will catch up
with you. Sleeping is also a way for
your brain to consolidate the ma-
terial it has learnt; therefore it is
in your best interest to get a good
night’s sleep. Besides, you actually
need to be awake to take the exam!
4. Don’t skip meals. You
need to eat for energy. It is not a
good idea to skip lunch and dinner
for an extra hour of revision time.
5. Make a revision timeta-
ble for each course so you can plan
your time effectively and cover all
the material you need to. That way
you won’t have to do last minute
cramming.
6. Eat a banana because
they are slow releasing energy
foods. Therefore your energy lev-
els will remain consistently high
throughout the exam. That is why
you see a lot of tennis players eat
bananas during tennis matches. If
you don’t like bananas that is OK,
flapjacks work in the same way.
Just don’t eat chocolate. Chocolate
is a high releasing energy food. So it
will give you a boost of energy just
before your exam and then your
The Purdue ReviewThe Pur
energy level will suddenly drop
during the exam.
7. Plan your answers. If you
have to write essays then take 5 or
10 minutes to plan your answers.
Students who plan get the highest
marks.
8. Manage your time. Keep a
regular eye on the clock and make
sure you leave yourself enough
time to answer all questions.
9. Stay motivated. You must
remain motivated until your last
exam is over. Try not to be influ-
enced by the exams you have al-
ready taken, particularly if you feel
you have performed badly on them.
Just focus on the exams you still
have left.
10. Finally don’t panic, it is
only an exam! You may not think it
at the time, but there are more im-
portant things in life.
6. Ticket for the sold-out
O’Reilly-Beck Bold Fresh
Tour - $150
7. Golf Digest January 2010
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 ReviewThe Purdue Review December, 2009 15

Campus Diversions That Are Tax Free!

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e. Keep a
nd make
enough
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You must Mallard Fillmore by Bruce Tinsley
your last
be influ-
have al-
f you feel
on them.
you still

nic, it is
t think it
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Easy
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 16 December, 2009
Real Economic Stimulus
Abolishing the income tax, payroll tax, death tax, corporate income tax, alternative minimum tax, capital gains
tax, self-employment tax and gift tax, and replacing them with a simple, fair 23% federal sales tax
By SCOTT SOWERS
Nearly a year after Barack
Obama signed the American Recov-
ery and Reinvestment Act, an eco-
nomic “stimulus package” that was
supposed to jumpstart the econo-
my and create or save 3.5 million
jobs, Americans are facing double
digit unemployment, a declining
dollar, and a burgeoning debt. If
Jimmy Carter were president, he
would be giving a speech about the
malaise of the American people. If
we only believed in the President a
little more, we’d be a lot better off.
Or so he would say.
It’s time that Congress and the
President back a real economic
stimulus plan. No, I’m not talking
about massive tax or budget cuts
(though these would certainly be
better than the stimulus plans pro-
posed thus far), I’m talking about
replacing our current tax system
with the FairTax.
The FairTax is a national sales
tax that would tax the consump-
tion of all new goods and services
in the United States at an inclusive
rate of 23%. This means that if you
bought $100 of beer at the Village
Bottle Shop, the federal govern-
ment would get $23 dollars and the
VBS would keep the remaining $77.
There would be no exemptions
such as for food, drugs, or medical
expenses, but instead every house-
hold would receive a monthly re-
bate (more technically, a prebate)
equal to 23% of the monthly pover-
ty rate, a figure already calculated
by the federal government. Let’s
say that the annual poverty rate for
a family of five is $30,000. Every
family of five would then receive a
monthly prebate of $575 (30,000
× 0.23 ÷ 12) to cover monthly ex-
penses up to the poverty level. In
other words, a family of five that
only earns an annual income of
$30,000 would not pay a single
penny in federal taxes. The prebate
completely un-taxes those individ-
uals who are at or below the pov-
erty level.
Brief Overview:
• You keep 100% of your paycheck
• 23% tax on all new goods and services
• No taxes on savings & investment
• Monthly rebate for taxable expenditures up
to poverty level
• Economic growth
• More progressive than the current system
• No more April 15th
• No more IRS
The FairTax would also elimi-
nate the federal income tax, the
payroll tax, corporate income
taxes, the alternative minimum
tax, the gift tax, the estate (death)
tax, the self-employment tax, capi-
tal gains taxes, and the IRS. States
would collect the national sales tax
since most of them already have
the structure in place to collect
sales tax, thereby eliminating the
need for the IRS.
To understand why the current
system should be replaced by the
FairTax, it is necessary to under-
stand what is wrong with the cur-
rent tax system and the benefits
that would result from the imple-
mentation of the FairTax.
To help explain costs of the cur-
rent system and the benefits of the
FairTax, I spoke with former Gov-
ernor of Arkansas and one of the
most vocal proponents of the Fair-
Tax, Mike Huckabee. I also spoke
with Purdue professor of econom-
ics, Bob Holland.
Incentives and disincentives are
the forces that drive economic be-
havior. Governor Huckabee put it
this way, “If you reward something,
you get more of it. If you penalize
something you get less of it.” Our
current system penalizes produc-
tivity, investments, savings, and
The Purdue Review
therefore economic growth. It also
rewards reckless spending.
One of the biggest problems with
the current system is that taxes are
withheld from our paychecks. Dr.
Holland noted, “When we withhold
income taxes, we fixate more on
our after-tax paycheck. That’s how
we organized our lives. We know
how much that amount will be but
we don’t think about how much we
actually pay in taxes.” Because most
people don’t really know what they
pay in taxes, it’s very easy for politi-
cians to raise them.
Despite any disagreements with
these arguments against the cur-
rent tax system, there’s one thing
that virtually everyone can agree
on and that is the current system is
unbelievably complicated. “We ex-
pend a lot of resources in the Unit-
ed States just for compliance of the
current tax code,” Holland pointed
out, “Frankly, my wife and I, we ba-
sically hire an accountant to help us
with our taxes. And even then, I’m
never quite sure when I’m signing
my tax forms that I’m complying
with the law.” It’s estimated that
more than $500 billion is spent
every year just to comply with the
current tax code. If we could free
up those resources to be used more
productively than complying with
tax code, imagine the economic
benefits it would have.
The FairTax, on the other hand,
is almost the exact opposite or our
current system. It is simple, trans-
parent, and rewards productivity,
investment, and savings.
“The point of the FairTax,” ac-
cording to Holland, “is to promote
savings, first and foremost. Right
now, the US has a very low savings
rate and in part you can blame our
See “FairTax...” on Pg. 9