If corrupt politicians have you confused, you could look to the celebrities who endorse them for guidance. Of course, that would be stupid, but people are probably going to do it anyway, so I might as well write about it.

Chuck Norris wrote “…I believe the only one who has all of the characteristics to lead America forward into the future is ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee,” for WorldNetDaily. Apparently characteristics our nation needs do not include the ability to distinguish abortion from the Holocaust or gay marriage from bestiality or sex with children. Huckabee has experienced criticism for equating these things.

And, according to an Associated Press article, Huckabee’s political career has seen 14 ethics complaints and questions of integrity related to the destruction of computer files while he was leaving the governor’s office and his use of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income.

Nevertheless, I heard somewhere that Chuck Norris was the person God was talking to when he said, “Let there be light.” Who knows what an endorsement from that powerhouse can do?

But if Chuck Norris isn’t powerful enough for you, how about Rambo himself? Syllvester Stallone, was caught smuggling Human Growth Hormone (HGH) in to Australia last year. I respected him for standing by HGH when Yahoo News reported him saying, “Everyone over 40 years old would be wise to investigate it because it increases the quality of your life.”

But then Stallone endorsed John McCain, who has held Senate hearings on steroids in baseball. According to a Detroit News article, McCain shamed Roger Clemens for his alleged HGH use.

If Norris and Stallone aren’t powerful enough for you, you might consider Oprah Winfrey, one of the most powerful and influential people in the world. She’s supporting Barack Obama. Emotional enthusiasm has taken her a long way, but can it take Obama to the presidency?

Probably. When Obama said, “I don’t want to wake up four years from now and discover that we still have more young black men in prison than in college,” most of us were too enthralled to care that the number of black men between 18 and 34 in prison is less than half the number of the same demographic in college, according to Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker.” In fact, we let him violate federal law by conducting campaign business in his Senate office, according to Judicial Watch.

If you’re not impressed by Oprah’s influence, why not try Pat Robertson? He claims to speak for God Himself, and he endorsed former mayor Rudy Giuliani. They have extreme belief differences, and, according to a CBS Evening News report, Giuliani billed “obscure city agencies” thousands of dollars for travel expenses to visit the woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. But Giuliani demonstrated a willingness to lie in favor of religion when he told Beliefnet.com that, “...the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation.”

But Robertson’s endorsement for Giuliani probably won’t cause a victory any more than his claim on “The 700 Club” that God told him that there would be a massive terrorist attack on the United States in 2007 caused that to happen. (It didn‘t.)

Are you a big fan of Fred Thompson from “Die Hard 2” and “Law & Order?” Apparently no one else is either.. That may be why he had to run for the Republican nomination himself, and why he withdrew January 22.

The list of celebrities endorsing candidates seems it could go on forever, but the number of column inches in this article can’t. I hope I’ve been able to disillusion people significantly in the space that I have, because I run out here.

For those who aren’t in the know, craigslist.com is a Web site that allows users to connect with each other based on geographic region. People can arrange to buy and sell goods, offer services such as house cleaning and DJ’ing, and they can participate in online forums of many types, from general chit-chat to personal ads.

The other day I was on MSN.com and came across a rather interesting news piece about craigslist. It seems that a Grand Rapids woman was looking to hire someone for a ‘freelance job.’ When users contacted the woman, she would explain how she was offering $5000 to the right person to help her out of her . . . situation.

This woman (calling herself online “Marie”) was lusting after a man that she met over an online university. The man was from Oroville, Calif. – and so was his wife. Marie was looking to ‘fix the situation’ by hiring a hit man on craigslist.

Craigslist is possibly one of the greatest sites on the internet. It began in 1995 in San Francisco, according to their Web site, as an email list of events in the area. It was non-profit until 1999 when it became incorporated, in which eBay currently owns 25 percent.

Craigslist has been the host of other scams besides this murder plot. According to News.com, a user in Tacoma, Wisc. listed ‘his’ house online stating that anyone interested could ‘take everything.’ People reportedly came into the house and stripped it clean including the water heater and kitchen sink.

The listing was made on a rental house soon after the tenant was evicted. Users flagged the listing as fraudulent and the ad was pulled after only an hour and a half.

I must praise craigslist for all its efforts to create a social community where users can help each other out with the blogs, forums, and classified ads. Users can watch out for each other, and hopefully keep the site clean and free from the scams that plague other sites like eBay and Facebook. This is a site that I would compare to Google as having ‘gotten it’ and I hope they can keep it up.

This past weekend I had the chance to get out of Big Rapids and forget about life’s responsibilities for a few days. I, along with several other students who attend the Ferris Campus His House Christian Fellowship (HHCF), headed up to Cedarville, Mich. and inhabited Cedar Campus Retreat Center.

This was my first experience being in the U.P. in the winter on this retreat. I’ve attended other HHCF retreats in the fall that were truly amazing, but given my dismay for the winter, I was a little worried about what I would get out of this time away.

The weather was fairly nice up in Cedarville. Not really all that worse than Big Rapids. There was about a foot of snow, mid-twenties temperature, and overcast. The campus is separated by a rather large lake, frozen over. There were two large meeting halls that also included lodging. In the main hall where we had our meetings, the girls stayed up stairs. The guys stayed across the lake in the other hall. A little mandatory chivalry is always a good thing. The guys had to cross the frozen tundra to get to breakfast in the morning, though most of us just drove around the lake.

Living in a place where temptation is everywhere, and support for purity is scarce, I cherish the time I have at these retreats. While I felt very distracted, being that it was only the second week into the semester. I did come to realize that my faith is in constant struggle. I felt the brokenness that was needed to bring me back to Christ.

The whole weekend was centered on the theme of “Living a God Saturated Life.” A lot of the time we can forget what we really are living for. It’s so easy to just go through the motions and become a slave to the routine. Hosea 6:1-3 says, “Come let us return to the Lord. Let us strive to know the Lord. He will come to us like the rain.” Whatever it is that we aspire to be, we shouldn’t loose focus. There is always need to reflect upon ourselves and decide why we do the things we do. Life without reason is worthless.

It was good to hear the things that I did at that retreat. It reminded me that even though I’m surrounded by a cold, desolate, colorless environment, God still has a plan for me. Whatever dire straights we may be in, we have goals in life that we can always look forward to. Just because we may be feeling held back or lost, doesn’t mean that we won’t ever find our way. Our goals are like a point on a GPS. All we have to do is make sure we’re headed into the right direction. Sure we may veer of course a little bit, but if we constantly look back to that reference point, we’ll get there.

A key point I learned over the weekend about keeping my eye on the goal is the usefulness of accountability. We weren’t put here on this Earth to live alone. We are a social species meant to interact with each other. We depend on each other for help. No one has ever achieved anything on their own accord. We live in a world where we must consider others in order to be successful. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.”

I’ve always been a very quiet person. I haven’t depended on others for moral support in nearly all my life. Even when I had a girlfriend, I confided very little of my problems in her. I am slowly realizing how hard it is to take care of yourself on your own. We can’t be afraid to tell others when we have a problem. Even if its just getting it off our chests, that release will bring relief. Its hard to find someone who can be trusted with the deepest and darkest secrets of our lives. But that relationship can become the most fruitful relationship we could ever encounter. When nothing is hidden, and there is complete trust, an inseparable bond is created. I hope to have this relationship with someone soon.

I’ve taken a fellow Torch staff member’s advice and begun to listen to comedians on my iPod before going to bed each night. I concur with his results that I frequently fall asleep with a smile on my face and wake with one as well.

Recently, as I was performing my regular nightly rituals, I put on one of my least favorite comics, Dane Cook, and settled beneath the linens. As I was listening and slowly drifting off, I began to notice that the voices of the audience members at the live performance were easily heard at times. So much in fact that entire words and sentences can be made out.

Typically, this wouldn’t irritate me except for just then; one voice rang out above the rest. As Cook said the word ‘edifice’, referring to the place where he lives, a gentleman in the crowd repeated the word while softly chuckling. Perhaps he just likes the word and found a small amusement in the phonetics of it. Perhaps not. From there on I mostly tuned out anything Cook said and focused completely on the responses of the audience members. I soon began to realize that they were unable to wait until after the show to repeat the punch lines of jokes. They felt compelled to do so during the performance.

It is unlikely that the people sitting near them may have been temporarily distracted by a small itch on their left leg or the buzzing of a fly overhead and unable to hear the joke in its entirety. What a great service these people are doing for their fellow patrons, ensuring that they don’t miss a joke that they are already paying attention to.

Through closer examination of my daily routine I began to realize that this occurs in everyday conversation. Individuals will quickly repeat a word they just heard in order to create the illusion that they are thinking of the same thing at the same time. For example, “You know who is going to win the super bowl?” (Brief pause) “the Packers.” (Immediately followed by conversation member number two,) “Packers.”

I am not one who is easily duped and have taken evasive action regarding these individuals. I make sure they have plenty of time to guess. This way, there can be no mistake that they have no idea.

I receive a similar level of disgust while watching a rerun of a television show or TV Movie and a person within the proximity gives me tips to maximize my viewing pleasure.

Over Holiday break, a showing of the classic from my childhood, ‘Johnny Tsunami’ aired on the Disney channel. I settled in for a long jaunt down memory lane. Near the midpoint of the movie, a friend stopped over and proceeded to inform me that this was, “...the best part, Dude. Watch this. It’s sweet!” Perhaps he assumed that I had turned on one of the most adored movies of my youth in order to properly ignore it and spend the afternoon listening to the sounds of my own relaxed breathing. I was watching the show. I had seen it before. How could I be gracious to him for pointing out the good, really good parts when I, myself, already knew when they occurred?

Luckily I was able to cage my rage and continued to enjoy the Skys and the Urchins battle for snow sport supremacy. But I could have sworn that the girl from this movie used to be way more attractive.

One should only repeat a comedian’s joke if they are asked about it later, after the show. In an emergency situation where the joke then sets up another joke, if the person asks you what was said, then that is all right. Go ahead and tell them quietly, then give them a Charlie Horse for not listening in the first place.

If one is asked to express his or her opinion of a movie or television show, a simple answer is best. Not a play by play of the quotable lines or a description of the “best part.” Make it short and sweet, like an oompa loompa dipped in honey.

Take this as a polite warning that I am completely astute in my ability to listen and watch without the need of a ‘repeater’ or ‘pre-empter’ to keep my attention focused.

Also, Johnny Tsunami is an awesome movie.

It was only one year ago I was a new student at this university. I was a freshman that was looking around in a place that had plenty of unfamiliar faces. I had a full load of 15 credits, and had classes all across campus. I had no income and I wanted to get involved. Now a second year student, Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. is my second home.

The total was up from the 12,575 students who were enrolled in fall 2006 to fall 2007. On-campus students account for 10,860 of the University total, which was up 292 from the year before.

Now only one semester later, Ferris enrollment has increased again. There is a reporting increase of 376 students, or 3.1 percent, above spring 2007 enrollment of students.

The university is not only gaining students, but its retention to keep students cannot be left unacknowledged. The retention may be due to the fact that more Michigan high schools were visited, enhanced training for admissions counselors in financial aid, the establishment of transfer students, and office and community outreach through the Student Life Bus Tour by the Office of Multicultural Student Services, as reported by Campus News.

Fall semester to fall semester, retention rates have been increasing every year according to the 2006-2007 fact book for the university.

The fact remains that the freshmen this year were determined to stick around. Campus is overall a new experience from those transitioning directly to college from high school.

College is a place where individuals can be themselves and really figure out what they want to do in life. Freshmen, who are not another statistic, need to be acknowledged. We were all there once, and for some, freshman year wasn’t as easy as it was for others.

As a student who has made it over the first year hump, here are five good tips to make it one more semester at Ferris State University.

5) Get to know your roommate. The people you live with, most of whom you are facing similar experiences and emotions with, are your main safety net. You may change roommates after the first semester or you may stay roommates for all four years, just take the time to get to know your fellow first-year students.

4) Get to know your academic advisor. This is the person who will help you with course conflicts, adding or dropping courses, scheduling of classes for future semesters, deciding on majors and minors. This person is a key resource for you.

3) Get organized. In high school, the teachers tended to lead you through all the homework and due dates. In college, the professors post the assignments, often for the entire semester and (trust me) they expect you to be prepared. Buy an organizer, a big wall calendar -- whatever it takes for you to know when assignments are due.

2) Find the ideal place for you to study. It may be your dorm room or a cozy corner of the FLITE Library, but find a place that works best for you to get your work done because you will need to avoid as many distractions as possible.

1) Go to class. Obvious, right? Maybe, but sleeping in and skipping that 8 a.m. class will be tempting at times (I know). Avoid the temptation. Besides learning the material by attending classes, you’ll also receive vital information from the professors about what to expect on tests and changes in due dates.