Today, Ohio seceded from the US--TeenPact Day 3

We left the house around 7:30 again and this time, got to class about 25 minutes early. Today we were in a different building than Monday and Tuesday, so we hung out in the cafeteria and looked out the windows until class started. (again, pictures of this at the end of the post)

This morning for prayer walks, we were able to pray outside the governors office, which was pretty cool. The State House has a map of Ohio with all the counties on the floor in a room, so we got to pray for our local government near that. Again, it was pretty neat. 

Our only speaker today was a person by the name of Clarence Mingo, the Franklin county auditor. He was my favorite speaker so far. He talked about a lot of things, but his main point was that God needs to be the center of everything we do. Compromise is not allowed in the life of a Christian. He had a several main points, and I list those:

• Remember you're different from everyone else because of who you serve, and therefore at times you might be alone
• Never separate God's truth from ANY subject 
• Never be afraid to speak the Lord's truth
• It is well with us to guard your tongue and speech
• Public conduct should match your private conduct
• Bible study and prayer must be a daily discipline in the life of any Christian
• Resolve to please God rather than men

He spoke for a long time and there was very little time to ask any questions. I thought it was so cool that an elected official stood up there and talked about what he did. That was probably one of the best parts of the day.

After Clarence Mingo finished speaking, the newbies went off to field experiences and the alumni stayed behind. We were assigned in small groups (3-4 people) to go walk around the State House and interview random people, asking their beliefs on various movements (Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party). I had another person in my group who lives in the same city and we actually got to talk to our senator, Senator Dave Burke. It was SO exciting. The other two people in our group thought we were really weird, because both of us were grinning ear to ear.

Senator Burke graciously answered our questions and we got to chat with him for a little while. He invited us to come sit in on a meeting he was holding in the North Hearing room. We went to the TeenPact leader to ask permission and that's where our adventure began. For at least 15 minutes, we wandered/walked very quickly around the State House trying to find the North Hearing room. I learned that I can go pretty fast in heels and I can also run up/down stairs in heels. By the time we found it, we were all breathing hard and sweating, but got to sit in. Senator Burke didn't talk before we had to leave, but it was still pretty cool.

Lunch was a lot of fun too. We had a rather interesting bill, which I'll mention later. Another one of the bills had to do with the government and CPS having more control over children/families. There was one girl in our group who was completely for it and said something to the effect of, "Well, the government should have way more control than they do!". Everyone freaked out a bit and debate broke out. I'll summarize and say it was rather interesting.

General elections were held this afternoon. Senatorial candidates gave their speeches first. They were asked some serious questions, but one was "If you were a donut, what kind would you be and why?". I remember thinking, "Okay...this is ridiculous. This isn't going to help me decide at all." However, it was quite the opposite. Several people said things like, "I would be a chocolate glazed donut because it's like me. It's awesome on the outside, but even awesomer on the inside." So...that cut out quite a few people I didn't realize were quite so arrogant and they didn't receive my vote. 2 of the 3 people I voted for became Senators.

Gubernatorial speeches were next. My friend Spencer was one of the candidates and he did a pretty good job with the questions. Someone else, Peter (someone in my committee, actually) ended up winning. He did really well too. 

Then the best part of the day: TPL (Teen Pact Legistlature, or TPLeg). Just so you all know, Ohio is now seceding from the United States. We voted on that today. The Ohio TeenPact class will be the government (so I'm a politician now!). I really, really loved this bill. It said that Ohio would secede from the US. Those who are unfairly using welfare will be forced to work to build an iron wall around the borders of Ohio and will receive a pay of $6 an hour. They will work until they pay back the already hardworking citizens of Ohio. Patriarchs/Matriarchs will be required to own an AR-15 and at least 500 rounds of ammunition. We'll have 5 iron domes that will protect against missile attacks.

Another bill was also presented today in first reads. It said that the prisoners who are in prison for life will be randomly selected in groups of 24 and put in an arena to fight to the death. That's right folks, it's the Hunger Games. I expected a bill like that to pop up at some point.

The car ride home after TeenPact was just as much fun as the rest of the day. We are all getting tired and were pretty slap-happy and just generally crazy on the way home.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.

The skyline of Columbus. It was actually pretty hard to get a picture of.

The State House from the 19th floor of the Riffe Center.

Me and mah sissy. ^_^

I believe this is the House chambers, but don't quote me on it. Abbie took this picture. Anyways, we'll be doing TPLeg in the House tomorrow. I'm INCREDIBLY excited.

The senatorial candidates. It's not the best picture, but I can sort of point out who I voted for. From left to right, I voted for number 5, 7 and 11. 5 and 7 were the ones who got Senator, as well as number 3.

Me, Sarah and Abbie after class today.