Randy
Leer writes a regular column for his college newspaper regarding "campus
politics and student issues." He appreciates the
opportunity to write at EverydayCitizen.com because this site's broader topics
and large national audience give him nice opportunities to stretch his legs. Randy was
born and raised in Hays, KS, and graduated from high school there. He
joined the U.S. Navy in 2001 as a Hospital Corpsman. After
training in Great Lakes, IL, and Jacksonville, NC, Randy was
assigned to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan. From 2002 to 2006, Randy
lived and worked in Japan in the Emergency Medicine Department and the Medical
Materials Management Department. Following his discharge from the Navy, Randy
was medically disqualified from reenlistment or from entering
any officer program.
Now, as a disabled veteran, he understands the
barriers to services that his brothers and sisters in arms face. Randy holds
these issues near and dear. Randy also believes that if we can find money to
kill people, then we can find money to help people. He explains, "We need to end the war in
Iraq and create universal health care for all Americans." Whether or not readers
agree with his views, Randy welcomes feedback and hopes that readers
will free to leave comments on his posts here.
Randy plans to earn
a graduate degree and law degree following graduation. He is currently
attending FHSU as a double major in Political Science and Geography.
He's hoping to work in the international or diplomatic forum once he completes
his education. We're sure that he has a successful career awaiting him. We're
also confident that Randy will make our world better through
his interests in law, foreign
relations and his passion for social justice. We are so grateful for
his service in the Navy. We are honored that Randy shares his thoughts and ideas with
us here. You can browse through and read entries from Randy's
complete historical blog archives
here, as it continues to grow over time.
By Randy Leer on August 25, 2008
As I have watched coverage of the Presidential Race for the past few months I have scratched in to my head a bald spot, figuratively of course…the bald spot was actually already there. None the less, I am scratching as I try to understand this overwhelming effort to paint Obama as an elitist.
Do they not understand what that word means? According to Webster it is defined most closely by defining the word elitism. That definition states:
- leadership or rule by an elite
- the selectivity of the elite; especially : snobbery
- consciousness of being or belonging to an elite
Other contextual definitions infer the existence of a legacy.
Still confused? So am I. Let us take a look at where these men came from.
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By Randy Leer on July 1, 2008
By now we have all heard about Obama supporting the FISA renewal. He has really gone against the beliefs of his party, and I believe himself as well.
This really seems like a politics as usual move. I know campaigns can be crazy but I certainly hope that Obama sees how he is straying. The Republicans are going to beat on him as weak on terror no matter how he votes. I only hope he realizes this and goes with his "gut" because I believe that will lead him to vote against this bill.
After all, this bill is only going to give the Bush Administration permission to walk all over the Constitution. They have done that, are doing that, and will continue to do that regardless. The other disgusting attribute of this bill is what is effectively a blanket Presidential Pardon, delivered via the Congress, to protect the telecom giants from being held accountable for their own lack of ethics.
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By Randy Leer on June 28, 2008
I spent some time thinking about this so I thought it would be an interesting article. Also, if I end up being right I want it documented for bragging rights.... So here it is. The next Executive Branch that will fix the country.
President Barrack Obama. I'm not going to explain this here because it's not necessary for this article.
Vice President Jim Webb. I think this guy has the rocks to be a firm Vice President / President of the Senate. Also, it is hard for Obama to pick a better representative of the Veteran and Military demographic. This man has a son who has served in Iraq and may still be there. Being a veteran himself, he carried his son's "seasoned" combat boots with him on the campaign trail. He has given the Democratic response to the State of the Union address and is a complete package and, in my opinion, ideal for Obama as a running mate.
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By Randy Leer on May 24, 2008
I've watched Senator Clinton execute an endless parade of political stunts. In fact, in my opinion, she has lead one of the most conceited campaigns that I have seen, and amazingly she doesn't even have Carl Rove working for her. She has changed positions on issues so many times that the organizations that keep track of this stuff have probably had to assign a team dedicated to updating her positions 24/7...
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By Randy Leer on May 20, 2008
I cannot believe it! I am still being asked about this whole thing with Senator Obama "not covering his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance and/or the National Anthem." I was happy to discover this video to make it easy for everyone to spread some truth instead of a manufactured story...
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By Randy Leer on May 16, 2008
Many apathetic and disaffected people ask me about my drive, dedication and determination to change those politics that are not right. They're going to do what they want regardless of what we say... How are you going to change these things... Washington is corrupt... These problems are too big
These are all things I hear. What our forefathers must be thinking. To see our own countrymen surrendering without having even fought. How can we take our country and hand it over to these corporations? Have we forgot what it is to be American? How did we get to this point were we handed it all over without any questions or accountability?
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By Randy Leer on May 15, 2008
I was working on a research paper. My topic was how 9/11 and the War on Terror looks from the other side. I needed a few examples to tell the story and make my point. I ended up finding so much that I had to narrow my topic and now I am looking at writing a book.
So what am I talking about? Well, how the United States is just as much of a terrorist state as any other.
The Western world has actively intruded in to Muslim nations, most specifically the Middle Eastern nations. The motives have rarely been to spread religion, as in the Christian Crusades, or to bring democracy to a nation, as the United States has proclaimed numerous times. Charles Lewis from the Center for Public Integrity explains our foreign policy...
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By Randy Leer on May 14, 2008
Tonight I heard something that got me a little choked up. While I enjoy his show I have never been as moved as I was tonight when Keith Olberman presented 12 heart felt minutes of true statements toward Bush. I had to post this. If only I could see him and Bush face to face for this...
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By Randy Leer on April 18, 2008
So this evening on NBC Nightly News they were discussing a movement taking place across the country. Apparently some individuals believe that the answer to all these school shootings is to have students carrying concealed firearms. If it wasn't for the peacock in the background, reminding me I was on NBC, I would have thought I was watching some kind of fictional short story.
Yes we've been having school shootings, but let's look at what else we have that is on every campus.
- Immature people with little or no life experience
- Hormone driven young people
- Young people that enjoy drinking and in some instances, drug use
- Thousands of students, most of whom dress relatively similar to each other
Now think about handing them all a bunch of guns. We can expect people getting scared at night and shooting someone who IS NOT trying to hurt them but happens to be in the same place...
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By Randy Leer on April 16, 2008
The answer is no. Now the explanation.
We have heard a lot of big stern talk toward China in this election already. We have all kinds of ideas for flexing our diplomatic muscle. This really makes me shake my head. We've made more mistakes than we can count, in regards to China. We are just now starting to really build relations with them. We are coming out of an era were we told our military that China is going to attack us, and China told their military that we are going to attack them.
Let's cut the crap! Militarily we would devastate each other to the point that no one could really declare victory. So lets agree that there is no benefit in us getting in to a war with each other. Let us not forget that they hold the title to our land, thanks to the Bush administration. Now lets lay the sticks on the floor and put our carrots on the table and start off with a good hand shake. Now lets drop our egos and use our heads.
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