Project Red Leaf: Growing Conservative Voters on US College Campuses

Project Red Leaf’s objective is to grow a conservative voter base on college campuses across the United States. It is based on the belief that increasing the number of registered conservative voters on college campuses will positively impact local, state, and national elections, giving conservatives a better chance of winning or retaining seats.

Project Red Leaf (PRL) is a national network of certified Third Party Voter Registration Organization’s (3PVRO’s). For example, Project Red Leaf – University of Tampa is a 3PVRO registered in the State of Florida (ID#13-1). So, PRL has been legally approved and is acknowledged by the state’s Supervisor of Elections. This is what provides the permission needed to register people to vote in local, state, and federal elections.

PRL’s motto is: “One student at a time will make all the difference.” The organization continues its work with college conservative groups and College Republican organizations, which allows for the leveraging of national resources. The project follows a two-step process:

1) The college conservative / College Republican organization participates in local activities to promote conservatism.

2) After receiving an education on the key differences between conservatism and liberalism, they are urged to register to vote.

A movement like PRL is needed because:

• During his political campaigns, Barack Obama was on college campuses 1 out of every 10 days.
• Liberal students dominate college campuses at a ratio greater than 2:1.
• The Millennial Generation makes up about 1/5 of the electorate. By 2015, they will account for 1/3.
• Overall, 28% of young voters identify as Republicans, with 30% of young men categorizing themselves as Republican, compared with 26% of young women.
• The majority of young voters identify themselves as Democrat (47%), with 55% of young women classified as Democrats, compared to 38% of men.

Project Red Leaf is busy at work, attempting to become the largest national, conservative voter registration organization. Traditionally a bastion of liberal politics, PRL aims to take a chunk of the college campus electorate by increasing conservative voter registration year-round.

So, how does Project Red Leaf work? PRL works in conjunction with conservative groups on any given campus. Once affiliation is made between PRL and the campus organization, the organization appoints a Campus Director who works closely with PRL. This individual is the liaison between the organization and Project Red Leaf’s national team. Depending on the university, it is recommended that a minimum of 1-4 hours per month be dedicated to registering individuals to vote.

PRL, though still only in its first year, is currently established on 8 campuses. Already making an impact, at the University of Tampa, with PRL’s assistance, there was an almost 50% increase in student votes, from 2008 to 2012, for Republican candidates. I asked PRL president and co-founder, John Publicover, how many college campuses the organization plans to have expanded to by election time in 2014 and 2016. He estimates approximately 40 campuses by the 2014 election and 100 by 2016.

Publicover, originally from New Hampshire, is a student at the University of Tampa and began working on Project Red Leaf during the 2012 general election when he was helping to organize voter registration efforts in Tampa Bay. Now a sophomore, he reflects on the fact that his parents encouraged him to develop his own political viewpoints independent of theirs. His enthusiastic embrace of conservative politics was just the momentum needed to propel Publicover to take his passion to a national level, developing Project Red Leaf.

If you are interested in learning more about Project Red Leaf or would like to pass this information on to a college student or college campus, please visit the website at ProjectRedLeaf.com. A representative from PRL will assist the school with voter registration. Alternatively, you can reach the organization by phone at (813) 501-LEAF or send me an email to John@ProjectRedLeaf.com.
You can also fill out the form at this link. To help PRL get the word out, follow them on Twitter and Like them on Facebook.

US Army: First Lieutenant Jason Togi

First Lieutenant Jason Togi, twenty-four of Pago Pago, American Samoa, died on August 26.

He was killed when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device, in Hasan Karez, Afghanistan.

Togi was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.

Scientists Successfully Test Mind Control

Scientists at the University of Washington have successfully tested mind control.

One professor thought about moving a finger to type on a keyboard to play a computer game he could see.

Across campus, another professor had his hand resting on a keyboard, but was unable to see the computer game.

Using an EEG skullcap set to monitor the left motor cortex of the brain and a transcranial magnetic stimulation coil the first professor's thoughts were transmitted to the second.

The transmitted thoughts were enough to move the hand of the second professor, without his deciding to do so, and play the game.

During a series of four separate tests, they achieved a ninety percent success rate.

4,200 Firefighters Gain 23% Containment on The Rim Fire

Forty-two hundred firefighters and two dozen aircraft have battled the Rim Fire to twenty-three percent containment.

The fire has burnt one hundred and eighty-eight thousand acres in California, including forty-three thousand in Yosemite National Park.

One hundred and eleven buildings, including thirty-one homes, have now been lost to the flames.

Forty-five hundred homes and a thousand other buildings lie with a mandatory evacuation area, that is threatened by the blaze.

Winds continue to help the fire expand and drown nearby towns in smoke, making breathing difficult.

Yosemite National Park has remained opened, the main part of the park lies more than twenty miles away and authorities say that it is not in any danger.

Most worries are focused on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the O'Shaughnessy Dam, which are now less than half a mile from the flames.

San Fransisco gets eighty-five percent of it's water from the reservoir and significant amounts of power from the dam.

City officials say that they have adequate emergency reserves, should the water become reached by the smoke.

They are also doing hourly checks of water quality to ensure that contaminants from the fire are not reaching people's drinking water.

Power supply has already been interrupted, as some power lines have fallen victim to flames.

Hasan Sentenced to Die by Lethal Injection

After being found guilty, on Friday, Nidal Malik Hasan was sentenced on Wednesday to death by lethal injection.

He was found guilty of the November 5, 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in which thirteen people were killed.

Hasan will now be taken to Fore Leavenworth, Kansas to await his execution.

It may be several years til that can take place, as there are several automatic appeals which must be gone through first.

SEIU Calls for Fast Food Strike Across the US

The SEIU has called for all fast food workers to join them in a strike, across the US, on Monday.

While they did call for a general strike, they have singled out McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway, and Taco Bell.

They are demanding that fast food workers be paid a minimum of fifteen dollars an hour, from now on.

That is nearly double the average.

In a statement, the SEIU said that such an increase would boost the economy.

However, they had no comment when asked what the increase in costs to companies would do to the economy.

Iraq's Government Increases Alert Level After 80 are Killed in Baghdad Bombings

Eighty people were killed in Baghdad, on Wednesday, in a series of bombings.

Most of the bombs went off within moments of each other, showing that the attacks were carefully coordinated.

During the day, the bombs targeted busy Shiite parts of town.

Restaurants, markets, and mosques were all hit, leaving hundreds injured.

In the evening retaliation came as Sunni neighborhoods were struck at.

Al Qaeda is being blamed for the attacks in Shiite areas.

The Iraqi government raised alert levels, but it is unclear what more they can do to stop the violence.

US Soldier Among 29 Killed in Afghanistan

Three separate attacks killed twenty-nine people in Afghanistan, on Wednesday.

A car bomb struck a joint NATO Afghan base, in Ghazni. The explosion was followed by a militant attack on the base, which lasted several hours.

Between the bomb and the attack, ten militants, four policemen, three civilians, and a US soldier were killed. Ten Polish soldiers were wounded during the firefight.

In Farrah province, six truck drivers were killed and ten wounded when their convoy came under attack. Forty trucks, filled with fuel, caught fire and exploded.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for both of those attacks.

Four civilians were killed and fifteen wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle in Lashkar Gah.

No one has claimed responsibility for that attack.

Bubonic Plague Kills 15 Year Old in Kyrgyzstan

A fifteen year old boy died in Kyrgyzstan from the bubonic plague.

Officials believe that he was bitten by an infected flea.

The plague is often carried by wild rodents and can be transmitted to humans if they are bitten by an infected rodent or flea.

As a herder, the boy was quite often out in brush lands where wild rodents live.

Over one hundred people have now been quarantined, as a precaution, and two thousand have been tested.

The government has placed a ban on livestock travel and set up check points in the area, to further ensure nothing can be spread.

Rim Fire Burns Over 100 Buildings as it Reaches 180,000 Acres

One hundred and one buildings, including thirty homes, have now been lost to the Rim Fire.

Forty-five hundred homes and a thousand other buildings lie with a mandatory evacuation area, that is threatened by the blaze.

The fire has burnt one hundred and eighty thousand acres in California, including forty thousand in Yosemite National Park.

Nearly four thousand firefighters and two dozen aircraft have battled the flames to twenty percent containment.

Winds continue to help the fire expand and drown nearby towns in smoke, making breathing difficult.

Yosemite National Park has remained opened, the main part of the park lies more than twenty miles away and authorities say that it is not in any danger.

Most worries are focused on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the O'Shaughnessy Dam, which are now less than half a mile from the flames.

San Fransisco gets eighty-five percent of it's water from the reservoir and significant amounts of power from the dam.

City officials say that they have adequate emergency reserves, should the water become reached by the smoke.

They are also doing hourly checks of water quality to ensure that contaminants from the fire are not reaching people's drinking water.

Power supply has already been interrupted, as some power lines have fallen victim to flames.