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(11/29/11 5:00am)
There is a striking scene in the documentary “Gasland” where a
man, whose property was fracked by a company drilling for natural
gas, lights his tap water on fire for the camera. You read that
sentence correctly — the fracking chemicals in the man’s water
supply created flammable tap water. It makes sense, then, that some
people are worried about drilling for natural gas. When the
technique involves shooting dangerous chemicals into the ground —
so they can easily end up in water supplies — it hardly seems worth
the energy produced. The New Jersey Assembly Environment and Solid
Waste Committee was right on point yesterday when it voted 4-1,
with one abstention, to approve a bill which would ban the
treatment, storage or disposal of wastewater produced by fracking
in the state. Currently, there is no fracking being done in New
Jersey, and such a bill would prevent the wastewater from other
fracking sites, like the ones in Pennsylvania, from reaching our
state in any capacity.
(11/28/11 5:00am)
Up until only a few days ago, students in George Parrott’s
psychology 101 lab class at Sacramento State had an odd requirement
on their syllabi – bring snacks to class. For 39 years, Parrott ran
his class this way. According to Parrott, the reason for this was
to teach the students to work collectively. In his own words,
“Having these goodies in the class breaks down some of the
formality and some of the rigidity in the class, which is one of
the most stressful for students.” If students failed to bring the
snacks to class, Parrott would simply leave class for that day.
Following an outcry from students when Parrott walked out of a
midterm review because the required snacks were not provided, the
psychology department at Sacramento State has made Parrott remove
that requirement from the class. The department was absolutely
right to do so. While Parrott’s snack requirement may have had good
intentions, the results were far from perfect.
(11/28/11 5:00am)
We here in the United States are fighting an obesity epidemic.
That is no secret, but that does not mean it has not had some
startling ramifications. Take, for example, the case of an Ohio
third-grader who was recently wrested from his family and placed
into foster care because he weighs 200 pounds. County social
workers argue that this is an obviously dangerous weight for the
youngster to be at, and his mother is not doing what she ought to
be doing in order to keep him at a healthy weight. It is, they say,
equivalent to medical negligence, on par with a failure to seek
medical attention for the child if he were ill. The mother,
however, is fighting against the county’s decision, arguing that
the social workers abused their power, and that the child is not in
life-threatening jeopardy. It’s true that the child may not be
deathly ill just yet, but seeing as he is already 200 pounds, it is
clear that some changes are necessary if his mother is to prevent
him from facing that danger. The county social workers who removed
the child have a right to be concerned for his health. However, we
have to agree with the mother that they overstepped their
bounds.
(11/21/11 5:00am)
A group of University of California-Davis students engaging in
an Occupy Wall Street-related protest on the UC Davis campus on
Friday found out that their peaceful protest was not sitting well
with the university’s police force when one officer, Lt. John Pike,
resorted to firing a group of them with pepper spray at almost
point-blank range. In a video of the incident, widely available
around the Internet, the protestors can be seen sitting calmly on
the ground, their arms linked. They pose no physical threat to the
officers. Without being provoked, Pike walks to the line and fires.
In the wake of this act, which many have been quick to call police
brutality, some are calling for UC Davis Chancellor Linda P. B.
Katehi to resign, claiming that the violent police tactics were her
fault. Nathan Brown, an assistant English professor at the school,
wrote an open letter to Katehi asserting, “You are responsible for
it because this is what happens when UC chancellors order police
onto our campuses to disperse peaceful protestors through the use
of force: students get hurt.” While we agree that Pike’s conduct is
unacceptable, we think it is wrong to totally lay the blame on
Katehi. She may have called for the police presence, but she never
instructed Pike to use unnecessary force.
(11/21/11 5:00am)
Telecommunications authorities in Pakistan are taking drastic
measures to ensure that no one in the country texts obscene
messages. Anjum Nida Rahman, a spokeswoman for Telenor Pakistan,
said authorities are ordering cellphone service providers to block
text messages that contain any of the more than 1,500 English and
Urdu words they have listed as offensive. For the most part, the
words on the list are run-of-the-mill expletives and sexual terms —
exactly the sort of things one would expect people to consider
“obscene.” But the list also includes some strange terms that don’t
seem so bad, including “idiot,” “tampon,” and “Jesus Christ.” Of
course, Pakistan is its own country, with its own sets of morals
and mores, so we should be wary in applying our Western values to
what they deem offensive and what they do about it. That being
said, this move to censor text messages seems a little bit
overboard. Technology in 2011 is becoming less of a luxury and more
of a right. Impeding people’s abilities to utilize the technology
they have in the name of anti-obscenity is extreme.
(11/18/11 5:00am)
When President Barack Obama was campaigning in 2008, one of the
criticisms raised against him was the assertion that he was an
elitist who was disconnected from the American people. Herman Cain
seems to be taking strides to assure that the same accusation will
not be made against him. At a campaign event in New Hampshire, the
Republican presidential candidate reportedly announced, “We need a
leader, not a reader.” Cain made the statement as an attempt to
defend his poor job of demonstrating his foreign police knowledge.
According to The Associated Press, Cain believes “the president
does not need to know every detail about every country.” He may not
need to know every detail, but he should make an effort to know as
much as possible. We give Cain a dart for defending his ignorance
instead of owning up to his flaws.
(11/17/11 5:00am)
In the wake of the apprehension of a man accused of firing a
semi-automatic rifle at the White House, a student at the
University of Texas decided to lighten the mood by tweeting a joke
about the ordeal. Lauren Pierce, president of the College
Republicans at UT Austin, wrote, “Y’all as tempting as it may be,
don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST
president we’ve EVER had! #2012.” Needless to say, this remark did
raise some eyebrows, as any statement about assassinating the
president will do. Pierce has defended herself on the grounds that
her tweet was just a joke, and while that may be the case, she
would do well to watch what she says about President Barack Obama —
or any president, to be honest — especially in a public forum such
as Twitter.
(11/17/11 5:00am)
The Internet is great in large part because it is essentially
the 21st century’s wild west — an infinite expanse of unchartered
territory wherein a person can largely be whoever they want and do
whatever they want with very little restriction. That’s why the
Internet is such a hot spot of cultural growth and general
innovation — it affords users the sort of unbridled freedom that
allows them to do the sorts of incredible things that they cannot
do so readily in the outside world. But this freedom could be
drastically curtailed if the House‘s Stop Online Piracy Act and the
Senate’s Protect IP Act are passed. These acts are designed with
major media corporations in mind, and they give those corporations
far too much power. Under SOPA, copyright holders — think The
Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry
Association of America — would have the ability to team up with law
authorities in order to block websites that supposedly infringe
upon copyright.
(11/16/11 5:00am)
As the Supreme Court prepares itself to hear the cases for and
against the Affordable Care Act this spring, at least one person is
already crying foul over the conduct of two justices. Rev. Al
Sharpton, a man who needs no introduction, has publicly called for
Judges Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia to sit out the case, on
the grounds that they both have clear conflicts of interest.
Sharpton points out that Thomas’ wife is the president and CEO of
Liberty Central, a conservative group which has taken a strong
stance against the Affordable Care Act, and that both of the
justices have attended conservative fundraisers in the past.
Sharpton has specifically named Federalist Society’s 2011 Lawyer
Convention Annual Dinner as one such conservative event that both
Scalia and Thomas have attended. Sharpton is right to call
attention to these realities. If the job of the Supreme Court is to
determine the constitutionality of any given action or law — in
this case, the Affordable Care Act — then the justices who make the
decision should be as impartial as possible. If they run around
involving themselves in clearly partisan events and issues, then
their judgment becomes suspect.
(11/16/11 5:00am)
Zuccotti Park has become a landmark space since the first Occupy
Wall Street protesters laid down with their tarps and sleeping bags
in the New York City park two months ago. It is — or was — the tent
and generator-ridden nucleus of the sprawling movement that has
been reproduced in nearly every major city throughout the nation —
not to mention those areas outside the U.S. borders that have also
taken up the cause against corporate greed and influence. These
protesters for weeks called the park a home and headquarters for
their cause. But ongoing pressure from city officials and the
park’s owners to relocate — along with the recent ruling of New
York Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman regarding the legality
of 24-hour occupation of the area — have forced the protesters to
break down their tents and pack their bags.
(11/15/11 5:00am)
A more cynical critic of the Republican Party might agree with
the popular narrative that the GOP only cares about the wealthy and
point to things like former President George H. W. Bush’s tax cuts
and trickle-down theory of Reaganomics as proof. However, it can be
dangerous to make blanket statements about any political group. If
you are one of those cynics in need of convincing that not every
Republican is out to destroy the middle and lower classes, look no
further than Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., whose recently released
report, “Subsidies of the Rich and Famous,” attacks the government
for spending $30 billion a year on what he calls “welfare for the
well-off.” Coburn is calling for an end to such subsidies, and we
agree with him.
(11/15/11 5:00am)
The Associated Press reported in September that the New York
Police Department was spying on innocent Muslim people. This
information did not sit well with Muslim-Americans, and rightfully
so. Ethnic profiling, even in the name of the “War on Terror,” is
never acceptable. Now, some groups have decided that, because of
the NYPD’s misconduct, they cannot and should not be trusted.
Organizations, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) and the City University of New York Law School, released
pamphlets and organized meetings warning people to watch out for
police informants and urging them to refuse to cooperate with NYPD
investigations. These groups argue that involvement in these
investigations would lead to unintended trouble for innocent
Muslims. We agree that what the NYPD did was wrong, but to create a
better relationship between the NYPD and the Muslim community, the
key is cooperation.
(11/14/11 5:00am)
Near the end of former President George W. Bush’s time in
office, high-level members of his administration decided to
discontinue the torture practice of waterboarding on the grounds
that the practice was illegal. Just ask Stephen Bradbury, head of
the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice under
Bush, who in early 2008 stated “there has been no determination by
the Justice Department that the use of waterboarding, under any
circumstances, would be lawful under current law.” But despite the
illicit nature of waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique
used during interrogations, not everyone in the United States has
given up on trying to justify its usefulness, especially in the
wake of Osama bin Laden’s death. The event gave many proponents of
the practice the chance to claim that without information obtained
via waterboarding, the Al Qaeda leader would not have been found.
Perhaps the most high-profile supporters of waterboarding at this
moment are three GOP presidential hopefuls. Herman Cain, Rep.
Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and Texas Gov. Rick Perry all stated at
a recent debate that they would like to reinstate the use of
waterboarding. The problem with this desire to return to
waterboarding, though, is that it relies on misleading semantics
and hazy evidence to make its case.
(11/14/11 5:00am)
Just like the United States, Russia has problems getting people
to the polls when it comes time for elections. We here in the
states are treated to such lovely campaigns as 2004’s “Vote or
Die,” which for some reason thought the best way to get people to
the polls was to have P. Diddy threaten them. Likewise, the Russian
public has found itself at the hands of a similarly ridiculous
attempt by the United Russia Party to use sex to encourage voting.
In the party’s latest advertisement, a very attractive young woman
strolls into a polling station and proceeds to have sex with a
young man in a voting booth. Or maybe the two just make out
intensely — the commercial is sort of unclear about what exactly
happens. All we know is that something sexy is going on inside that
booth before the two leave hand-in-hand and cast their ballots in
the box. The United Russia Party’s commercial fails for exactly the
same reason the now-defunct Citizen Change’s “Vote or Die” campaign
did. In trying to encourage citizens to get out and vote, the
United Russia Party has forgotten that voting is a serious civic
duty, not just another product.
(11/11/11 5:00am)
Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has been having a
rough time in the spotlight these days, thanks to sexual harassment
allegations from four different women. But not everyone thinks
these claims need to be taken very seriously. During Wednesday’s
debate on CNBC, host Maria Bartiromo asked Cain about these
allegations, much to the dismay of the crowd, who thought it
appropriate to boo Bartiromo’s question. The audience immediately
applauded Cain as soon as he began speaking about these “unfounded
accusations.” Frankly, sexual harassment claims are serious
business. Despite all of Cain’s protests, there is no evidence yet
as to whether he is guilty. Until there is, these claims need to be
taken very seriously by the public — not easily dismissed with
childish booing. We dart the crowd members who found it so easy to
side with Cain before any solid evidence has been brought
forward.
(11/10/11 5:00am)
Talks are France and Germany are discussing a new “elite” euro
zone. Anonymous sources from within the European Union have told
Reuters that French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his opinion
in a speech in front of students in Strasbourg on the border with
Germany, when he defended the idea of one Europe moving at two
speeds, according to Le Figaro. He said the euro zone moving at a
different speed than all 27 EU countries was the only model. This
should not be the case. Morally and financially, this is
shaky.
(11/10/11 5:00am)
Google might be the new weapon in Herman Cain’s arsenal in
battling allegations of sexual harassment — Google ads, to be
exact. Those interested in finding out more about the Republican
presidential candidate’s scandal will see, at the top of any Google
search an ad linking to CainTruth.com, a website denying the
harassment charges. It seems like subliminal advertising for one
man’s cause, but this strategy is perfectly logical, despite
negative press and doubt surrounding Cain. It is just another
political tool, if only to test voter attention.
(11/09/11 5:00am)
Salem and Green Run High Schools in Virginia Beach are taking an
interesting approach to encouraging students to achieve
academically. Whereas most of us probably attended high schools
where the best incentive offered was the teacher’s verbal praise —
and, really, who cared enough about that to let it push them to try
harder? — students at these schools are receiving cash for a job
well done. Thanks to a privately backed grant, these high schools
can afford to pay students $100 for each score of at least a “3” on
an Advanced Placement exam a student achieves. So, if little Johnny
manages to get a “5” on his calculus, history and English
composition exams, he’ll stroll out of school with $300 in his
pocket. That’s some serious cash. While it’s an unorthodox
strategy, we can see nothing but good coming out of it.
(11/09/11 5:00am)
Technological advancement, we must remember, is about more than
just coming up with efficient ways to access and share Internet
memes. There are more practical applications, and some of these
applications have downsides. Case in point: The Supreme Court is
hearing a case regarding an incident in which police officers
attached a global positioning system device to a suspect’s car
without the suspect’s knowledge or a warrant. The GPS tracked the
suspect over the course of a few weeks, recording where and when
the suspect drove. The suspect’s lawyer argues that such a use of
the GPS device violates his client’s Fourth Amendment rights, which
shield citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. The U.S.
government, for its part in the case, is arguing that using the GPS
in this situation allowed officers to access the same sort of
information they would if they had followed the suspect themselves
— something which is perfectly legal. Despite what the U.S.
government may claim, however, there are major difference between
physically trailing a suspect and trusting a GPS device to do the
work for you, and these differences make the use of a GPS device by
police officers in incidents like this unacceptable.
(11/08/11 5:00am)
A new trend has cropped up in law enforcement — giving police
officers small body cameras to wear on their shirts. These
lightweight video cameras are designed to record everything that
happens to an officer in the course of his duties to keep a log of
potential evidence in criminal investigations, as well as monitor
police behavior. Currently, officers in Cincinnati, Ohio and
Oakland, Calif. are wearing the cameras, and Seattle City
Councilman Bruce Harrell wants to see them come to Seattle, too. As
these cameras spread to precincts across the United States, some
officers are fighting against them, arguing that the cameras keep
unbearably close tabs on officers — like having a superior look
over your shoulders at all times. Others oppose them on the grounds
that victims of some crimes may not want to be recorded in certain
situations. We understand the apprehension, but we ultimately feel
that the benefits of these cameras far outweigh the potentially
negative aspects.
