So, Patrick Buchanon wrote a column about what to expect in the first 100 days of an Obama presidency. I think he's a little alarmist in some of his views, and I felt like sharing mine alongside his. Here we go:

Pat says: Swift amnesty for 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens and a drive to make them citizens and register them, as in the Bill Clinton years. This will mean that Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona will soon move out of reach for GOP presidential candidates, as has California.

Jake says: Pat a little alarmist on this one; swift amnesty is hardly what Obama is planning.But, by the same assertions on that page, if they're successful, there will be less bureaucracy to navigate in securing citizenship. I just hope we have enough jobs and housing for everyone.

Pat says: Border security will go on the backburner, and America will have a virtual open border with a Mexico of 110 million.

Jake says: You think Obama wants to be the guy who let a suitcase bomber slip through? Let's at least give the guy a chance, Pat, before you damn him. 

Pat says: Taxes will be raised on the top 5 percent of wage-earners, who now carry 60 percent of the U.S. income tax burden, and tens of millions of checks will be sent out to the 40 percent of wage-earners who pay no federal income tax. Like the man said, redistribute the wealth, spread it around.

Jake says: Am I supposed to cry for the rich? You've had it pretty darn good for the last 8 years -- way better than I. Go cry to someone who cares. There's a "Joe the Plumber," "Everyman" kind of answer for you.

Pat says: Social Security taxes will be raised on the most successful among us, and capital gains taxes will be raised from 15 percent to 20 percent. The Bush tax cuts will be repealed, and death taxes reimposed.

Jake says: Again, not my problem. And, for the sake of correct semantics, the tax cuts will expire, not repeal.

Pat says: Two or three more liberal activists of the Ruth Bader Ginsberg-John Paul Stevens stripe will be named to the Supreme Court. U.S. district and appellate courts will be stacked with “progressives.”

Jake says: I'd rather see more of a centrist-type appointed to the court myself, but that's a pipe dream. Can't argue with Pat on this one.

Pat says: Special protections for homosexuals will be written into all civil rights laws, and gays and lesbians in the military will be invited to come out of the closet. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” will be dead.

Jake says: GOOD!

Pat says: A “Freedom of Choice Act” nullifying all state restrictions on abortions will be enacted. America will become the most pro-abortion nation on earth.

Jake says: OK, first of all, nobody is "pro-abortion." Abortion is horrible, grisly and must be an absolute last resort. But it is not my place to judge, nor my place to decide what is best for a mother. Her body, her choice.

Pat says: Universal health insurance will be enacted, covering legal and illegal immigrants, providing another powerful magnet for the world to come to America, if necessary by breaching her borders.

Jake says: Check out the ColumbiaMissourian.com opinion section for some interesting debates on this very topic. Because that's such a hot issue in our section right now, I'm going to hold off from commenting.

Pat says: A federal bailout of states and municipalities to keep state and local governments spending up could come in December or early next year.

Jake says: And isn't Bush president until Jan. 20, 2009? How does this fall into Obama's first 100 days?

Pat says: The first trillion-dollar deficit will be run in the first year of an Obama presidency. It will be the first of many.

Jake says: Research done by two fine reporters at the Missourian show that while Obama's tax plan would put the nation in the hole another $3.5 trillion, McCain's plan would be $5 trillion. Talk about picking the lesser of two evils. Whatever happened to fiscal responsibility?

So, I'm thinking about shaking up the columnist lineup in the Missourian. Here's what I'm going to propose to my superiors.

Because the news space in the Sunday Missourian has been so tight, and since most of the talk about print centers around a five-day a week model, now is when I'd like to start positioning the section for a five-day model. I think this notion will also play well on our Web site, since the majority of our traffic comes during the weekday between 8-5 p.m.

My proposal:

-- Move George Kennedy to Mondays and take Global Journalist out of print. Leave Five Ideas in Sunday and continue to develop it as a conversation starter/editorial. Eventually I'd like to see Five Ideas evolve into a daily editorial designed to spark conversation.

-- Do away with the short "state view" space and begin developing something else designed to start conversations. An infographic in the same vein as USA Today's snapshot a few days a week; basically, a chance to present facts visually and ask our readers to respond. A comment from the Web site on a particular issue is another possibility.  Or, heck, take the same stateview but ask a question at the end of it. We could also start a "They Said It" column of notable quotes from the week and ask readers to respond (this one would play particularly well on the Web; for print, we'd probably just do one or two quotes a week and package with reader comments).

So ya, those are just a few ideas I'm noodling.

Mikey T, my dear friend and an amazing musician, got to play with Weezer the other night at the Broomfield Events Center. Read all about it on his blog.

Here's a group shot of everyone who got to play, including a good look at Mikey for those who don't know him (should help you pick him out in the videos too).






And check out some of the videos from the big event below:

 

 

Did you know that if you're a University of Missouri employee you can save money at Verizon Wireless? Ya, neither did I until recently.

It's not something that's widely advertised, but one of the employees at the store on Stadium told Jenny about it when she went in to buy a new phone recently. So yesterday, I finally found an old pay stub and went in to collect my discount.

We'll save 18 percent off of our primary land, 25 percent on data usage above a certain amount and 25 percent on any accessories we buy. I think we'll mostly save with the 18 percent off the primary line, which should come out to between $10 and $15 a month.

Not a ton of savings, but every little bit helps.