Aggie Volleyball Swept By No. 5 Hawai'i

bleedCrimson.net Report
The Aggie volleyball team was swept by No. 5 Hawai'i on Sunday night in Honolulu as the Wahine took the match by winning the first set 25-18, the second set 25-10 and then holding off the Aggies 25-23 in the third set. The Wahine hit .384 on the match while the Aggie offense struggled hitting just .140. Kayleigh Giddens was the only Aggie in double-digit kills with a match-high 12 as she hit .194 for the match. Kanani Danielson was the only Wahine is double-digit kills with 11 and hit .240 for the match but also added three service aces, a solo block and two block assists.

Kelsey Brennan finished the match with five kills but also had four attack errors hitting .059. She added two digs and a block assist. No other Aggie had more than three kills and Desiree Scott, Amanda Tonga, Whitney Woods and Michelle Kuester each recorded three kills. Kelsi Phillips led the Aggies with seven digs.

After torching the Aggies for 11 kills on 12 swings in their first meeting, Brittany Hewitt once again punished the Aggies finishing with eight kills on 11 swings hitting .727 on the match. Emily Hartong and Michelle Waber each finished with seven kills and hit .400 and .500 respectively.

After failing to record a block in the first meeting, the Aggies finished with four total blocks but were outblocked by the Wahine who finished with seven total blocks.

The Aggies fall to 15-10 on the season and 9-2 in WAC play while Hawai'i improves to 21-1 and 11-0 in conference play. Click here to read more.

Share/Bookmark

Difficulties With the "Base"

Democratic Party difficulties with getting out the “base,” deserves some exploration. For starters, committed progressives are angry. Indicative of this fact is the strange absence on the laundry list of elections issues of how to fight the War on Terror. No doubt if McCain had won the presidency the wisdom of an escalation of U.S. troop involvement in Afghanistan would be a front and center issue. Almost since President Obama took the oath of office, progressives have been shocked, puzzled, or downright irate over the remarkable similarity of the Obama and Bush policies in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would seem that the new president’s reading of a steady flow of daily intelligence briefings have led him to reach much of the same national security conclusions of George W. Bush. Another troubled plank of the Democrats’ base is the youth vote. Unfortunately for the president and his party, the energy of the youth vote is gone. Perhaps the energy has been diverted towards an exhaustive and mostly fruitless job search. There have been two graduating classes since the magic of the 2008 “hope and change” campaign.
The youth group now includes millions of young voters that may well be wondering if President Obama knows enough about economics to ever create an environment chock full of employment opportunities. Reality is replacing the platitudes and naïve job rhetoric of the aging campaign songs.

Yet another plank of the Democratic base includes millions of racial and ethnic minority voters. In this sphere, not only have job opportunities been virtually non-existent, there has been no sign of the start of the “post racial” era in America. In fact, the topic of “race” keeps surfacing, and it keeps being brought to the surface by the president’s proponents, not by the so-called diversity antagonists. It is becoming increasingly apparent to all minorities that the constant conjuring up of the specter of race is more often a thinly disguised attempt to manipulate perceptions for political gain rather than for promoting real justice and equality……the most recent evidence being the Juan Williams firing by NPR. The efforts to suppress Williams’ free speech rights were met with nothing but silence from the ACLU, and other alleged freedom fighting organizations in the so-called “base.” The lack of outrage was remarkable.
Finally, we turn to the female plank of the so-called Democratic Party base. Here too the actions of those holding the majorities have not mimicked their drumbeat of pro-female rhetoric. Shrill calls for “tolerance” of those that embrace subjugation and intolerance of the rights of women have been ringing hollow for two years and counting. This inconsistency has also not gone unnoticed by female voters in the U.S. It has thus far been a gross miscalculation for the Obama administration, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid to extend remarkable new levels of sympathy and tolerance for governments, societies, and cultures that treat women like second class human beings. It also does not go unnoticed that embracers of the concept of Sharia Law are being treated far more politely by partisan Democrats than the mainstream American GOP women that happen to be running for office.
With a just few hours left before the vote counting begins on the mid-terms, the partisans in the Democratic Party are scratching their heads while trying to explain why they are having to scramble so furiously to “get out their base.” The explanations run the gamut of excuse making. “Irrational voter anger,” a new era of “knownothingness,” and the “party of no” simply managing to win the fickle P.R. battles more cleverly are but a few excuses floated about. There is a more simple explanation. These four planks of the “base” are paying very close attention to inconsistencies in so-called philosophy along with the massive wasteful spending under their watch. Too few traditional Democratic Party base members like what they see or hear from those in control.

Share/Bookmark

Get Out the Laugh: Stewart Draws Huge Crowd in D.C.

From The Hill.com - Tens of thousands of people poured onto the National Mall on Saturday to hear comedian Jon Stewart plead for tolerance and temperance in politics and the media, and for a greater culture of cooperation in Washington. Along with fellow Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert, Stewart led a lively but restrained rally that was part variety show, part music festival, and, in the spirit of the season, part Halloween parade. There was plenty of liberal irreverence at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, but pop culture often trumped politics. Read here:
Share/Bookmark

Rage Against the Machine - Washington D.C. is THRIVING

From Townhall.com by Salena Zito - WASHINGTON – A friend once told me, after completing a cross-country drive, that he always thought you should feel somehow different as you crossed a state line. No doubt it was a feeling left over from grade-school geography classes, in which U.S. maps showed each state in different, vibrant colors. Instead, the difference is unnoticeable. Changes in terrain can be the most dramatic but usually are gradual; so are changes in dialect. Whether they live on Elm Street in North Platte, Neb., or Mulberry Street in Springfield, Mass., Americans remain the same at their very core. Read more:
Share/Bookmark

Borrowing Goes Non-Stop

News New Mexico did a quick check of the national debt clock to determine the latest total borrowed on behalf of every income tax paying citizen in the nation. Almost fittingly, on Halloween the total stands at $123,983. Tomorrow morning when NewsNM hosts take the air at 6:00am they will begin their fifth month. During the first four months (since July 1st 2010) the federal government, in addition to spending every nickel of tax revenue it has received from the private sector, has borrowed $5,241 dollars for every taxpayer in America. This comes to $1,060.25 for each of the four months we have been on the air. Taxpayers will head to the polls on Tuesday. In part the elections will be about whether citizens feel they are getting good resource management from elected officials.

Share/Bookmark

Aggie Football Stuns San Jose State 29-27 For Homecoming Victory

bleedCrimson.net Report
The Aggie football team jumped out to a 14-point lead at halftime but then fell behind 27-23 before rallying for a dramatic 29-27 victory as time expired. Matt Christian found Taveon Rogers from eight yards out for the game-winning touchdown. It was the second touchdown connection between Christian and Rogers on the day.

The Aggies and Spartans combined for 980 yards of total offense as New Mexico State had a balanced attack rushing for 180 yards and passing for 259. Matt Christian finished the day 23-of-44 with two touchdowns and no interceptions, however, it was a fumble by Christian late that nearly cost the Aggies the football game.

With the Aggies down 27-23 and under four minutes to play the Aggies had a 2nd and 20 at their own 34 yard line. Christian kept the ball and rushed ahead for five yards but fumbled as he was tackled by SJSU's Vincent Abbott. Travis Johnson recovered the ball at the Aggies' 40 yard line and it looked like the Aggies' Homecoming hopes would be dashed. However, the Aggie defense rose to the occasion as they forced a field goal attempt by SJSU kicker Harrison Waid after the Spartans had driven down to the Aggies' 21 yard line. Waid, who had missed on two earlier field goals, missed his third field goal of the day.

Christian and the Aggies took over at their own 21 yard line with just 52 seconds left to play. On first and 10 Christian delivered a 34-yard strike to Marcus Allen to the Spartan 45 yard line. On the very next play Christian would hook up with tight end Kyle Nelson for a 19 yard gain down to the Spartans' 26. After an incompletion, Christian would again find Allen for 18 yards down to the Spartans' eight yard line. After three consecutive incompletions, the Aggies were faced with a fourth down, do-or-die situation with less than four seconds left to play. Christian took the snap, rolled to his right and fired a pass on the run from the right hashmark as he found Taveon Rogers rolling across the right side of the endzone. Rogers would haul in the pass with a Spartan defender draped over him and was immediately mobbed by his teammates on the ground.

The Aggies would take a knee on the extra point attempt to end the game and cap the victory. Click here to read more.

Share/Bookmark

Martinez: Denish Financed by Entitlement Crowd

Albuquerque – Susana Martinez for Governor Campaign Manager Ryan Cangiolosi today released the following statement with regard to the news that Big Labor bosses are funding the majority of Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish’s campaign in the final reporting period: “In taking $215,000 from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish shows quite clearly that she intends to continue the failed leadership of the Richardson/Denish Administration. The SEIU has demonstrated throughout the country that when they spend big, they expect to receive access and political payback. Allowing special interests such as the SEIU to put their needs above those of New Mexicans is the same kind of political favoritism and patronage that bankrupted our state under the Richardson/Denish Administration.”


Share/Bookmark

Obama Weighing New "Us versus Them" Tactics

From Bloomberg - The Obama administration is considering a plan that would preserve tax breaks for both the wealthy and the middle class as it faces likely Democratic losses in the Nov. 2 midterm elections, the Washington Post reported. Administration officials are discussing “decoupling” the Bush-era tax cuts to allow permanent extension for families making less than $250,000 a year and temporary extension of cuts for those making more, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with talks at the White House and among senior congressional Democrats. The Republicans would then be under pressure to defend extending the cuts for the wealthy as they expired in a year or two. Read here:
Share/Bookmark

Consumer Confidence Index Down

From Bloomberg - Confidence among U.S. consumers fell in October to the lowest level in almost a year, which may temper the biggest part of the economy. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment decreased to 67.7 from 68.2 in September. Economists had forecast a reading of 68, almost matching the preliminary figure of 67.9, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Read here:
Share/Bookmark

$420 Million for Corporation for Public Broadcasting?

Bill  O'Reilly
From Townhall.com - One of the big reasons the Democrats may get hammered next Tuesday is that under that party's congressional leadership, the nation has run up an astounding $5 trillion in new debt over the past three years. And what do we have to show for all that deficit spending? Nancy Pelosi flying home to San Francisco in a private jet? As part of the federal gravy train, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is set to receive $420 million this year alone. No wonder Elmo is smiling. This is free money for a group of people who should be competing in the private marketplace. Read here:

Share/Bookmark