NYSYR Spring Board Meeting & Leadership Conference

For more information about the NYSYR Spring Board Meeting & Leadership Conference on February 29th - March 2nd in Albany, visit the NYSYR website at NYSYR.us.

A Message from NYSYR Chairman Christopher Dziedzic

Happy New Year, my fellow Republicans!

As we enter into 2008, there are lots of reasons to be excited as a Republican in New York State.

First, Spitzer has disgraced himself with a couple of scandalous missteps.

There was Troopergate, an attempt to misuse the state troopers in order to smear Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. This boomeranged on him and disgraced members of his staff, leading to some high profile resignations.

Later, Spitzer overreached himself in Licensegate. This misguided attempt to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens was eventually withdrawn after widespread opposition.

December polls by both the Siena Research Institute and Quinnipiac University show the governor’s approval rating dropping below 40%. As the Democratic standard bearer in the state, this bodes well for our Assembly and Senate candidates in the autumn of 2008.

Also, we have multiple New Yorkers running in the presidential content. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is one of the strong and viable candidates viable for the Republican nomination. Many Republicans can only imagine how much less blue our state would be wit a prominent fellow New Yorker on the top of the ballot. Our New York State Young Republican organization does not endorse individual primary candidates, but we do distribute information to our membership to help them get involved if and how they so choose. We were all honored to have representatives from five different presidential campaigns attend our Annual Holiday Dinner back in mid-December.

I am asking each of you to resolve as we begin the new calendar year, to work hard with me to help our entire Party throughout the year. It promises to be one of great opportunities, so let’s ensure it ends as one of our great successes.

Christopher Dziedzic, pleased by the return of the McRib, even if only for a limited time and only at selected locations, is the Chair of the NYSYR.

Will Barclay for State Senate

YRs at the Plate: Lee Zeldin & Dan Schorr

Lee Zeldin

Lives In: Shirley, Suffolk County, NY
Occupation: Lawyer & Captain, U.S. Army Reserves
Running for: U.S. House of Representatives, 1st Congressional District
Website: www.Zeldin08.com

New York's First Congressional District promises an exciting and action-packed race this year as an Army paratrooper, federal prosecutor and military magistrate all join the race on the Republican ticket--and as one person: Lee Zeldin.

Lee, a Shirley resident and an Army JAG and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran with Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division, says he's running for Congress in order to restore "the Suffolk County Dream."

Born in 1980 in East Meadow, New York and raised in Shirley, New York, where he attended William Floyd High School, Lee earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany, majoring in Political Science, and his Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School all in five short years.

His campaign’s priorities include cutting taxes to make raising a family more affordable and to help create jobs, decrease the cost of health care for seniors, support our troops in the field, secure our borders and take care of our military veterans who have served our country admirably.

He recently left his position as Counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, in order to practice law at Raiser & Kenniff, P.C. and devote most of his time to his run for the United States Congress. He previously served as an aide to State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle.
Lee lives with his wife, Diana, and their twin one-year-old daughters, Mikayla and Arianna.

Special thanks to Suffolk County YR President Chris Como for this information.

Dan Schorr

Lives In: White Plains, Westchester, NY
Occupation: Lawyer & Prosecutor
Running For: District Attorney, Westchester County
Website: www.ElectDanSchorr.com

“Serving as District Attorney can help so many people and keep so many safe—there’s no better way to improve people’s lives,” says Dan Schorr, 35, candidate for Westchester County D.A.
Though the race isn’t until 2009, Schorr is looking to get an early head start to take back the D.A.’s office. Until current D.A. Janet DiFiore switched party affiliation from Republican to Democrat in 2007, Republicans had held the seat for the past 100 years.

Dan was born in New York, attended the University of Pennsylvania majoring in English. After graduating from UPenn, he went directly into Harvard Law School to earn his J.D and focus particularly in criminal law.

Once out of law school, his passion to serve the public as a prosecutor was realized. He was first hired as an Assistant District Attorney in the Queens D.A. Office in the Domestic Violence and Homicide Investigations Bureau. In 2001, Dan was hired as an A.D.A. in the Westchester County D.A.’s office in its Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes Bureau.

In 2005, Dan received an offer to teach judicial and legal reform as an Adjunct Professor in Criminal Law and Trail Advocacy in Tsinghua University and Zhongshan University to Chinese judges and lawyers for the better part of a year in Beijing.

Now, he is an Adjunct Professor teaching Criminal Law and Legal Writing in Pace University Law School.

In his free time, he has coached a local youth basketball team, serves on the White Plains Planning Board, and is active in the Westchester YRs.

A Weekend in New Hampshire

by Rich Alicea, Queens YRs

Growing up and spending my entire life in New York, I have grown accustomed to seeing presidential candidates skip over our state, in favor of those states that are more competitive.
Because of this, I have never had the opportunity to take part in any aspect of a presidential campaign, let alone actually traveling to other states to campaign for a candidate.

Luckily, presidential candidate and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani has made New York a priority, keeping his national headquarters in Manhattan. As he has said in the past, he is making his presidential campaign a 50-state race, unlike in the past, where candidates would pass over states like New York, which frequently sway to the left.

The Queens County Young Republicans, as well as several other groups in the area, as well as YRs from across the state, including former state Chair, Jason Weingartner, have taken advantage of the opportunities afforded by this campaign strategy to become more active.
For months, volunteers have been working out of Giuliani’s Manhattan phone bank, making calls to Iowa and New Hampshire.

However, during the weekend of January 5th, we got a small taste of life on the campaign trail, making a trip to New Hampshire to campaign for Rudy during the final push before the primary, along with groups from across the five boroughs and Long Island.

Arriving in Manchester, NH on Saturday, we were immediately thrust into what was a hotbed of political activity.

Campaign workers for virtually every candidate, Republican and Democrat, were present, doing things from simple sign waving, to going door-to-door with campaign literature, which is what we spent most of our time doing. In contrast to the first trip we made to NH, back in November, the streets were packed with campaigners and journalists.

The bulk of our time in NH was spent talking with New Hampshirans about the policies we saw enacted by Rudy Giuliani during his tenure as Mayor. Because most of us lived in New York City during the Giuliani years, we were in a good position to speak of the great changes implemented under his administration, from tax cuts to the massive drop in crime rates to welfare reform. Many of the people we spoke to were very receptive to the issues we spoke to them about, particularly tax cuts.

They were impressed by the fact that many of us came up from New York City to talk about the candidate we know very well through our own experiences, rather than some candidate whose policies we learned about on the bus ride to NH.

As one would imagine, the days were long, and there was never a dull moment.

At the same time, it can be exhilarating, knowing the difference you are making on the campaign trail.

Even though the results of the primary may not have been ideal, our time was not spent in vain. According to the campaign, the volunteers from NYC accounted for visits to almost 10,000 New Hampshire homes and several thousand phone calls in only two days, making it one of the largest grassroots operations in the days before the New Hampshire primary.

With similar commitments in other states, especially those whose primaries take place on February 5th, we can hope to see much more encouraging results. Only then will the volunteers who are spending countless hours making phone calls, attending events and traveling to early primary states truly see the effect of their work.

Rich Alicea is the President of the Queens County Young Republicans.

Fundraiser - February 27, 2008 for Dan Schorr, Candidate for Westchester County D.A.

It’s Not Heaven, it's Just the Iowa Caucuses!

by Rick Cordaro, Onondaga YRs

I was born, raised, and educated in Iowa. When I tell people this, they assume I'm a farmer (I'm not. I grew up in suburban Des Moines, a city roughly the size of Syracuse, but with a much brighter economic future).

People figure Iowa is merely a patchwork of farms and hog lots somewhere "out west" with lots of flat land and very few people. Or they think Iowans grow potatoes (yes, people confuse Iowa and Idaho even though they are nearly 1,000 miles apart).

But every four years, Iowa becomes the center of attention for the media, presidential candidates, and the news consuming public. So, let me share with you a bit about the place.

First, some background: This is a state that has never had a female governor, never had a female member of Congress, and never had a female Senator. One current Senator is a Democrat, the other a Republican, and both are two of the most powerful Senators in Washington. Senator Tom Harkin (D) chairs the Agriculture Committee and Senator Chuck Grassley (R) is the ranking member and former Chairman of the Finance Committee.

The Governor's mansion has been occupied by both a Republican and a Democrat in just the last 10 years. President Herbert Hoover was from Iowa. And thanks to federal subsidies, 89 octane gas (that's the "mid-grade" gas here in New York, not the cheapest 87 octane or the premium 92 octane) is actually cheaper than the low- end stuff because it contains corn-based ethanol.

Now that you're up to speed, let's talk caucuses. By now, you know the Democrats have a wacky, drawn-out process of standing in groups horse-trading candidates and that Republicans simply cast a vote. But what is that like?

I spoke to my dad (a Republican) who caucused this year. He mentioned that it took 40 minutes, start to finish, to complete the process. That's because the Republicans give anyone in the room a chance to speak before the votes are cast. Joining my father was a United States Senator, several local elected officials, and a handful of regular citizens. My parents don't live in a high profile district, but the caucuses draw out all the big guns. Iowa is the first race in the country and no matter how many times New Hampshire negates the results of Iowa, it's a major political market that first week in January.

Then there are the commercials. I was back in Iowa over the Christmas holiday. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that three of every four commercials on network TV are for a presidential candidate. All those commercials we watch on YouTube and hear about on the news - they are running in Iowa. Going to Iowa makes me glad the candidates neglect New York! It is a constant, 24-hour, endless barrage of advertising.

And of course, there are the phone calls. Several times a day, the phone rings with another friendly voice chatting up their candidate. After a while, you just stop answering.

What does this all mean? If a candidate is not viable in Iowa, will they be viable anywhere else? Can they win nationally? Should you or I or anyone contribute to a candidate that is not electable nationwide? Any why do small states like Iowa and New Hampshire get to decide the fate of a candidate who may one day run the entire country? Do these states reflect the national interest? Is the process broken?

I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but I will be casting my vote on Super Tuesday! You should too. Vote for your favorite candidate in the primary and vote Republican in November.

Rick Cordaro is the Chairman of the Onondaga County Young Republicans and serves as Executive Director of the New York State Young Republicans.

One "Huck" of a Candidate

by Guy Amisano, Steuben YRs

It has been a long and winding road to the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, one which has not yet been fully traversed. As we in New York prepare to cast our ballots on February 5th, the time seems to be appropriate for a review of the nomination race as it has developed so far and as it is likely to develop going forward.

By 2006, a consensus seemed to have developed among the political punditry that the nomination would be contested between a couple of Republicans whom social conservatives may have some reservations about supporting wholeheartedly.

One candidate, however, did emerge from the contenders who has supported many issues important to social conservatives consistently throughout his career; this is former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Though deviating from the conservative line on economic and foreign policy issues, Huckabee has impeccable credentials as a social conservative. Buoyed by strong debate performances and the support of Evangelical Protestants, Huckabee won more votes than the much better financed Romney in the Iowa Caucuses. This disrupted Romney’s strategy of leveraging wins in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire to capture the nomination.

Further, McCain was able to claim the New Hampshire primary in large part by taking advantage of Romney’s loss of momentum in Iowa.

In my view, the Republican contest will soon prove to be a two-man race between Huckabee and McCain. Romney needs to win Michigan to resurrect his campaign, but I don’t believe that is likely to happen considering the negative momentum working against him after performing below expectations in Iowa and New Hampshire.

One-time frontrunner Giuliani paid little heed to early states while focusing on larger and later-voting states, and this strategy seems to have doomed him. Giuliani must win Florida to stay in the race, but he may be unable to do that after losing primary contests leading up to Florida. Fred Thompson needs to win South Carolina, which figures to be a friendly Southern state, but he has polled so low recently that a win in any state seems improbable.

That leaves Huckabee and McCain. I expect that McCain will win Michigan and then face a battle with Huckabee in Evangelical-rich South Carolina.

If McCain wins Michigan and South Carolina, I believe the nomination is his. If Huckabee wins South Carolina, then I expect that Huckabee will also win Florida and he will be a slight front-runner over McCain going into “Tsunami Tuesday” on February 5th.

YR Club Notes

Brooklyn YRs

The Brooklyn YRs made a last-ditch mobilization effort to help Rudy Giuliani in the New Hampshire primaries earlier this month. President Bob Capano went up to New Hampshire for several days to help out with door-to-door campaigning. Back home in Brooklyn, Vice President Britta Vander Linden and Secretary Jonathan Judge helped to staff the local Brooklyn phone bank with YR volunteers, reaching out to a couple of thousand voters within the last 72 hours.

Usually meet the second Wednesday or second Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM. For the latest meeting and events information, visit the Brooklyn YR’s website.

Contact Information:
www.BrooklynYR.com
BrooklynYR@gmail.com
(Bob Capano, President)
(718) 360-9583

Capital District YRs

For the latest meeting and events information, visit the Capital District YR’s website.

Contact Information:
www.CapitalYR.org

Dutchess County YRs

Usually meet on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7 PM in the Poughkeepsie Grand, 40 Civic Center Plaza, Poughkeepsie NY. For the latest meeting and events information, visit the
Dutchess County YR’s website or e-mail them.

Contact Information:
www.DutchessYR.com
angelaflesland@yahoo.com
(Angela Flesland, President)

Livingston County YRs

Young Republicans are working together to form a club in Livingston County. They held an organizational meeting on Sunday, January 20th in Geneseo, NY. For more information about the club-in-formation, e-mail Aaron Galvin at agalvin@frontiernet.net.


Monroe County YRs

Usually meet on the third Thursday of the month (except July & August), Spot Coffee, 200 East Avenue, Rochester. For the latest meeting and events information,
please e-mail the Monroe County YRs.

Contact Information:
pkgullo@yahoo.com
(Paul Gullo, Chairman)

Nassau County YRs

Usually meet the fourth Thursday at 8PM of the month at Mineola Knights of Columbus Hall, 186 Jericho Turnpike, Mineola. For the latest meeting and events information, please visit the Nassau County YR’s website or e-mail them.

Contact Information:
www.NassauYRs.com
NassauYRs@gmail.com
(Andrew Stream, President)

New York YRs

Usually meet every third Thursday at 7 PM, Union League Club, 38 East 37th Street, New York, NY. Usually host socials the first Wednesday of the month. For the latest meeting and events information, please visit the New York YR’s website.

Contact Information:
www.NYYRC.com
info@nyyrc.com

Oneida County YRs

For the latest meeting and events information, please call the Oneida County YRs.

Contact Information:
(315) 542-1974 (JP Kidwell)

Onondaga County YRs

For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail the Onondaga County YRs.

Contact Information:
www.ocyrepublicans.org
rick.cordaro@ieee.org
(Rick Cordaro, Chairman)

Ontario County YRs

For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail the Ontario County YRs.

Contact Information:
OntarioYRs@gmail.com
(Ellis Oster, Chairman)

Orange County YRs

For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail the Orange County YRs.

Contact Information:
www.ocyrs.com
www.myspace.com/ocnyyr
Lorena609@gmail.com
(Lorena Becerril, Corresponding Sec’y)

Oswego County YRs

Our fellow young Republicans in Oswego County are working to establish a YR club. They will be holding an organizational meeting on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 6:00 PM in Chubby's, Fulton, NY.
For more information, please contact Terry Wilbur at tmwilbur1@hotmail.com or Scott McManus at scottmcm@twcny.rr.com.

Queens YRs

The Queens YRs now have a Facebook group, which can be located by searching for “Queens County Young Republicans”.
For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail or call the Queens YRs.

Contact Information:
www.qcyr.org (Under Construction)
info@qcyr.org
(Rich Alicea, Chairman)
(718) 418-7873

Rockland County YRs

Rockland YR President, Frank Sparaco, was successfully elected to the Rockland County Legislature this past November. Congrats Frank!

For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail or call the Rockland County YRs.

Contact Information:
www.rcgop.org/Young_republicans.html
frankieps3@aol.com
(Frank Sparaco, Chairman)
(845) 323-9099

Saratoga County YRs

Meet usually at 7:30 PM at Saratoga GOP Headquarters, 77 Van Dam Street, Saratoga Springs, NY. For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail the Saratoga County YRs.

Contact Information:
SaratogaCountyYoungRepublicans.org
mveitch201@hotmail.com
(Michael Veitch, Chairman)

Staten Island YRs

Usually meet the third Tuesday of every month at Canlon's Restaurant, 1825 N Railroad Avenue, Staten Island, NY. For the latest meeting and events information, visit the Staten Island YR’s website.

Contact Information:
www.YoungRepublicans.info
info@youngrepublicans.info

Steuben County YRs

Usually meet last Thursday of Every month at 7 PM upstairs at Captain Morgan's at 36 Bridge St., Corning, NY. For the latest meeting and events information, visit the Steuben YR’s website.

Contact Information:
www.SteubenYR.com
SteubenYR.blogspot.com
phalliday@steubenyr.com
(Peter Halliday, Chairman)

Suffolk County YRs

Usually meet last Thursday of the month (except in July & August), Bobbique, 70 W. Main St. in Patchogue, NY, 7:00 PM, Networking/Social; 8:00 PM, Meeting. For the latest meeting and events information, please visit the Suffolk County YR’s website.

Contact Information:
www.SuffolkYoungRepublicans.com
chrscm@gmail.com
(Chris Como, Chairman)

Warren County YRs

On January 11, 2008, the Warren County Young Republican Club of Upstate New York celebrated their one year anniversary since their re-establishment in 2007. They have successfully recruited over 30 members to their group, and held their first fundraiser, the Annual Warren County Family Fun Day. The group has also helped out in various state, county, and local elections such as the 105 Assembly District special election, the Warren County officials’ elections, the Town of Queensbury elections, and the City of Glens Falls elections. Currently, the group is preparing for the upcoming 20th Congressional election, which is one of the most highly anticipated elections in New York State.

Usually meet on the 1st Friday of the month. For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail the Warren County YRs.

Contact Information:
www.freewebs.com/wcyr
Warrencountyyrs@gmail.com
(Gabe Bedore, Chairman)

Washington County YRs

For the latest meeting and events information, please e-mail the Washington County YRs.

Contact Information:
myspace.com/washingtoncountyyrs
WCYRepublicans@gmail.com

Westchester County YRs

Next meeting: February 6, 2008 at 8 PM in the Westchester GOP Headquarters, 214 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains.

Contact Information:
www.WestchesterYRs.com
info@westchesteryrs.com

1-800-JOE4CHAVEZ

by Fernando Villegas, Orange County YRs

We should embrace Joe Kennedy’s call to accept free oil from Venezuela after he spends one winter night in a cold house of his own.

“Some people say that it is wrong to take this oil, I say it would be wrong not to.” Once again, a Kennedy is trying to undermine our national security interests and trying to be a hero doing it.
Not since Senator George Voinovich’s tearful opposition to John Bolton’s nomination for Ambassador to the UN have I been so entertained by a man whining for all the wrong reasons.

Although Voinovich eventually did a 180-degree turn-around when it was trendy to support the stellar job Bolton did while at the UN, I won’t hold my breath for the same with Joe Kennedy. With the Kennedys, however, it doesn’t matter how many people oppose their destructive ambitions. They are motivated by one thing, and that is permanent memorials built in their honor by the “little people” that they have kept down, while convincing them they have helped.

I have yet to hear from one person that came from modest means that credits liberal democratic policies for their rise to wealth (this excludes trial lawyers, of course). The fact of the matter is we defeat poverty with free market economics and capitalism not with so-called “free” or “low cost” oil, complements of Socialism or Communism.

If Joe is really interested in helping make home heating oil more affordable he would spend his time lobbying for the oil industry, instead of taking the easy way out as most liberals do. By “easy”, I mean parading “victims” of our cruel society or as Joe says, “the ones left behind.” The oil companies of this country are begging to explore for oil in places like ANWR and off the coast of the United States. The costs of exploration would be wholly paid out by the oil companies, not the taxpayers.

With the class of Michael Moore, we see Joe salivate over real, heart-wrenching stories. “Wait, wait, wait, you can’t afford heating oil AND your kid has a medical condition, AND you own a smoky wood burning stove? Are you available for a photo op tomorrow at 5, I’ll be the guy in the blue jacket--see you then.”

A carrot on a stick never kept anyone fed, let alone warm. Liberals enjoy walking around with carrots on sticks, leading the poor of this nation around for their amusement. Every once and a while they will let a carrot drop to the ground so the poor continue to trust that the leadership that they perceive to be “for them.” The truth is, if the poor in this country didn’t have the Democratic Party offering handouts instead of incentives, highlighting victims instead of opportunities, then the poor and even maybe the Democrats may just realize what this country has to offer. Ok, possibly not the Democrats, but definitely the poor!

Joe Kennedy boasts how his non-profit helps the people of the Northeast, close to if not in the very geographic area he represented while a member of Congress. Instead of creating jobs while he was in Congress so that people could pay for their heating oil, he would rather undermine our foreign policy to be called a hero again. While in Congress, had Joe focused on economic growth he would have had the ability to help many more people than what he claims to be doing now. Maybe Joe should travel to the outskirts of some Venezuelan cities and personally thank them for the heating oil. After all, isn’t this a gift from the people of Venezuela?

Wait a minute Joe….

Fernando Villegas is the President of the Orange County YRs.

Out in Right Field

by Julius Ponds

Some nights ago, I took time to watch the results from the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary roll in.

It was especially entertaining watching Ed Rollins get really punchy with Chris Wallace on Fox News. Many of us will remember Ed Rollins for his high-level involvement with K.T. McFarland’s senatorial campaign in 2006. Now Rollins is serving as national campaign chairman for Mike Huckabee. He was a very sore winner, as noted later by Brit Hume. I would strongly suggest that, instead, they role out more Chuck Norris and less Ed Rollins for these high-profile television appearances. Otherwise, the campaign of the former Arkansas governor could quickly become a Hucka-been.

Over on CNN, as I was munching on my McRib, Anderson Cooper was presiding over so many guest panelists and talking heads as if he were now hosting Hollywood Squares. “Donna Brazile is correct, so circle gets the square.” “OK, Anderson, I’ll take Bill Bennett in center square for the block.” And how did David Gergen feel about being relegated to the “kiddie” table? When you have so many analysts that you need a “kiddie” table for the overflow, it’s time to rethink your format.

Speaking of rethinking one’s format, one has to wonder how the Giuliani campaign is feeling. True, Rudy has a sizable war chest, and has still been polling well in the bigger states with February primaries. But how long will his polling remain high when other candidates are racking up victories in early primaries states and Rudy’s campaign is only giving marginal efforts? It’s going to get harder and harder to motivate volunteers for phone banks and door-to-door efforts for a candidate who is only pulling single-digit leads in high profile contests.

The following Tuesday, I watched the results come in from the New Hampshire primary. I tried to broaden my perspective by watching a little of the coverage on MSNBC. I found it extremely problematic. First off, they featured that shrew, Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation. I find her so annoying. Among other things, she never uses the word liberal, but instead chooses to call her favored left-of-center positions progressive. Secondly, I found it disappointing that so much of the MSNBC coverage centered on making jokes at the expense of John McCain’s victory speech. It was as if, they slipped into a broadcast of one of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.

Earlier that Tuesday, I had an e-mail exchange with fellow Young Republicans, and discussed Hillary Clinton’s choking up episode. One of these was convinced that this was a calculated effort to win her some sympathy and show her in a more human and less calculating light. I disagreed. I could not think of a way in which showing weakness on television… crying or choking up or loosing one’s cool…could be spun into something positive. I felt that was especially true for a female candidate who would probably be fighting against latent misogynist biases in the electorate. I was expecting this to be an Ed Muskie moment, not a pivot for Hillary’s campaign to rebound.

In any event, a Republicans, we have an exciting winter head of us. With each of Huckabee (Iowa), Romney (Wyoming) and McCain (New Hampshire) having each won a state contest thus far, the field is wide open.

Tusk Talk with Tusk Harper

Dear Tusk,

All of my friends are Republicans. The last time I was amicable with a Democrat was in high school and she moved to Berkeley. Is it OK that I only associate with like-minded individuals, or am I constantly in a “spin zone?”

From: One Sided in Oneida

Dear One Sided,

You need to ask yourself some questions: why is it that you only associate with Republicans? Is it because, geographically, you can’t meet any Democrats or is it because you choose not to? Do you find that you get frustrated easily in debates? It is completely understandable that you do not want to waste conversation with some hippie from Berkeley, but the larger issue is determining whether you are specifically looking for liberal acquaintances or if you feel guilty that you “have to” have these friends. As long as you are secure in your own values, you shouldn’t have to worry about who you associate with.

Dear Tusk,

I am concerned about my weight. Doctors tell me to eat salad but I crave steak. I still live at home with my mother and she feeds me enough pasta for an army. Are there any good meals to eat? Help!

From: Dieting in Delmar

Dear Dieting,

Weight loss programs are often a hoax. Don’t believe all of the hype of avoiding carbohydrates while gorging on bacon and ricotta cheese. At the same time, be aware of portion control and try to stop yourself from taking that second helping. I am not a doctor, but I think that the McRib sandwich is small enough to meet your one-course requirement while also satisfying the primal urges for taste with a hint of mystery. It’s a meal worth driving two hours for.