OCR Text |
Show OPINION not read to elected lead, Legislators 8 -- WEDNESDAY, DIXIE SUN BY MARK GREEN Dixie Sun Opinion Editor The heavy burdens of wining and dining, constant tax funded travel and a brutal day work week make it impossible for elected representatives to read and understand all of the legislation they vote on. Of course, there are those out naive political have-nothere who rant and rave about the alleged lack of actual work done by members of Congress. These peanut gallery protesters must be completely unaware of the many additional duties required of their legislators. They have not yet grasped the full weight of the responsibilities our legislators are burdened with. These extra demands on legislators time make informed and active representation in Congress a foggy far away pipe dream. As an example, I direct your attention to the latest ts proposed healthcare bill. The Senate version of health care legislation is 2,074 pages long. Who on earth has the time to read that much text? This isnt 2,000 pages of "Harry Potter" mind you. Were talking about dense legal terminology and obscurely worded new laws complete with footnotes and cross references to other legislation. Our legislators arent super heroes. They are not gifted with inhuman powers of speed reading and memory retention. Simply put, the nature of legislation these days makes it nearly impossible for a normal person to read and understand laws in their entirety, and our legislators are no exception to this. Of course, there will always be dissenters, those old fashioned goody who babble on about slowing down and thinking two-sho- es things through. They urge our legislators to read all of the legislation they vote on, and take time to discuss, debate and decide. But most of these dissenters are easily dealt with, if not ignored entirely. According to Republicans Blast Bait and Switch Health Bill," by the Associated Press published on Nov. 20 and available at http:www.foxnews.compo litics20091 Republican Sen. Tom Cobum had threatened to ensure the proposed health care bill be read aloud in the senate chamber. Fortunately, our noble leaders were spared this incredibly boring and intensely long process. Cobum rescinded his threat and the bill will go to vote having never been read by many of those voting on it. If the bill had been read aloud, the process would have cut into Congress Thanksgiving break, and God knows Thanksgiving is when we need our legislators the most Certainly, forcing our leaders to hear every word in the health care bill might allow them to expose hidden pork barrel spending, tax increases and other slightly troublesome nuggets of information. However, if at events for unions, clubs, charities and other organiza- legislators arent around to pose with their picture-perfefamilies at various parades, dinners, celebrations and army base photo ops, then how will they stand any chance at getting I mean, if they lose the expensive and viciously cutthroat election they face every two to six years, they will no longer be able to represent their constituents. It is imperative that our legislators be given as much time off from legislating as ct tions. Without the financial honey coating on these groups' political agendas, most politicians would not be able to afford a respectable campaign effort. As much as they might prefer to be at their office answering letters from constituents or reading pending legislation, they need to constantly work to fund their campaigns. Sadly, this is often a very strenuous and they need to campaign vigIf a orously for home to needs senator fly for a week and pose with inner city orphans and play basketball with some locals during his or her civic pride week, then he or she should feel no guilt in leaving Washington to do so. Taking a private jet at time consuming process. In addition to money, often requires a large number of endorsements from prominent persons and organizations. These powerful bigwigs have to be wooed slowly, carefully and at great expense. Just imagine a modem equivalent of a wealthy baron courting a relative to royalty during the 17th Century. These VIP opinion swayers must be given favorable legislation and plugs in speeches. They must be assured their politi- - tax-pay- er expense is, of course, only to be expected. Of course, often hinges on money. Our representatives have to spend time eating dinner and playing golf with lobbyists, as well as appearing DECEMBER 2. iB SflA cian will vote in beneficial ways and do their best to meet their interests. Th no easy task, and there are piiie 'A only so many hours in a 4 list Reading, debating, neg ating and talking about W jjinti lation is a luxury our .Meat representatives simply do not have. The complexity the laws, the strain of the b; tie for and the exhaustion of pandering a vast varieties of voters com bine to create a situation which our legislators can only act based on summaries. And, of course, on the polite insistence of the special interest groups fat fund their campaigns andf. list their voters. Clamoring for a return rational thought and under standing followed by del, compromise and possible t m tc passage of legislation,!! not change this condition the slightest We must sin ply shoulder this burden ar: do our part to ensure that only the most photogenic and indim uals are elected to serve Congress. ion The Skewed Review: Dear Kate: Big gap in Better heroes needed age not a deal breaker BY MATT JACOBSON Dixie Sun Staff Writer cally fit and looked good in skin-tigoutfits as well as glasses. Not to ht Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Steve Young? Or is the future of sports full-tim- planet. He was physi- - valor whose actions and deeds were exemplary to the young people who observed them. These patriots of all shapes and sizes deserve the Congressional Medal of Skewed Reviewism. Its a gold plated, diamond encrusted piece of happiness, made of stardust and dipped in liquid moon beams. Its imprinted with the hoof print of a baby lamb and hung on a shining rainbow. According to Vogue, it is the ultimate fashion accessory and even goes well with Crocs. Now skip a few chapto ters on your day. present I have nothing against Lady Gaga. In fact I find her to be incredibly entertaining, but when little girls are looking up to the likes of the Gaga-natas a heroine, something is amiss. When a young musician no longer looks to . the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin or Bach and instead reveres musicians like Eminem and Kanye West, it is an obvious sign of some unforeseen impending doom. I fear the future of music looks bleak. Should the review be to have Eminem and Kanye be forced to listen to each others music for 10 out of 10 days? Or would a more fitting punishment be to have those 10 days be spent listening to their own music? Are future athletes going to continue to live up to the standards of legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, athletic child looks up to them, I have to award them two years locked up with a German body building woman whose steroid use has put her past the 400 pound mark. What happens when an aspiring actor stops looking to greats such as Orson Welles, Lena Horne, Audrey Hepburn, Gary Oldman and Meryl Streep and instead begins a journey to imitate the likes of Pauly Shore, Dave Chappelle, Seth Rogan, Will Ferrell and Sarah Silverman? What on earth will the Academy hand out awards for in the coming years? I can just see it now: Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg announcing the Oscar for the Best Motion Picture of the Year going to Eurotrip 3: Frequent Flyer Miles. The makers of these movies that only seem to make us all dumb and dumber get the review of 1 9 out of 20 Oscars. The catch is they have to swim the English Channel naked in January with said Oscars strung like a necklace of pearls around their necks. Upon their arrival on the opposite shore, they must then be subjected to British dental care. What happened to our lovely world where bravery and accomplishments warranted the title of hero? Heres a goal for everyone, myself included: Be the kind of person the next generation will look to and want to imitate. slog P1 frbe HOI someone asks you if nyr than I. He was distinoff is your dad, then it nit guished, accomplished, articulate and really fun. not be worth it. At the 'iiml end of the day you are I liked him a lot, and we i.es still the master of decided to go on a and you are capa weekend getaway toias ble of choosing the dur gether. He took me to course that will bring itei his beach house in where Carolina South you happiness. eshi we spent time cruising Sincerely, Kate around in the water on Dear Kate is a his boat, window shopweekly advice column ping downtown, propfor DSC students. and erty hunting, firethe Send letters to cuddling by place. As magical as every moment with Mr. Distinguished was, our relationship dissolved Rachel Tanner, Editor in Chf because of the differences in our age. He Whitney Phillips, News was practically perfect Mark Green, Opinion Editor in every way, except he Tyler Roberts, Sports Editor had teenage daughters. Katie Johnson, A & E Edita Natasha Vu, Lifestyles Editor To this day, as Ive said Casie Forbes, Online Editor more than once in my Onlmt Dayna Lundin, Assistant Amanda Anderson, Photo E& column, I still feel 18, Efc , Bryan Uhn, Assistant Photo and that was even more Taylor Forbes, Ad Manag true five years ago. Richard Bnggs When you have an Lauren Centrella involved girl Enk Dorn Kassi Gillete with someone who has AJ Griffin daughters, Matt Jacobson Shannon Johnson. things can get a little Adam Metcalf , sticky. Kory Phelps Before you get Kate Semmens , Bree Skinner creeped out and call Trevor Whitlock DCFS, remember, I wafb' Zach Vu snt really an 18 years old. I simply functioned Rhiannon Bent, Adnttr as one most of the time. to When all is said and DIXIE SUN done, age is just a number. You may be calculated as 23, but function HOW TO REACH C and act on the level of a riia Dixie State College 14 year old. Or you could be 21 and come Jennings Bldg. iht off as if you were 50. I 225 South 700 East have met individuals on St. George, UT 84770 both sides of that spectrum. In fact I fully inPhone: (435) tend to be 85 years Fax: (435) young and still be getdixiesundLxie.edu ft ting asked for ID when the circumstance haphul ww.dixiesunlmk.com ' tie pens to arise. Is it possidistribute! ble? Well, anything is SUN is j DIXIE The Wednesday during Fall and o as a semesters publication possible. nd Sc''"c College Aei!. Letters Sen Still Young, if you Dixie State College Student . The unsigned editorial on t o like the guy, give it a the position represents page edito"' SUN as determined by us shot. However, if the Otherwise, the views and opinl SUN expressed m DIXIE status quo when you're the individual writers and do ot the reflect opinions sanly with him is paranoia SUN or any entity of the co over what others may be thinking and knowing you will explode if hi BY KATE SEMMENS Dixie Sun Staff Writer , Dear Kate, back on your childhood and remembered the people who you used to look up to? Mom, Dad, Mrs. Holland the third grade teacher, and perhaps even Superman. Although these people all play different roles in a childs life, particularly Superman, they had one thing in common: merits. If you were lucky, Mom and Dad were loving and nurturing. One brought in the money and kept the family fed, and the other kept a watchful eye to prevent you from starting yourself on fire. If you werent so lucky to have such a family, count your blessings that somewhere along the way someone popped up in your life who helped steer you toward a life where going to college was an option for you. Somewhere along the bumpy road of life there was most likely a teacher you took a shining to. This is the educator who, despite your many flaws, saw the best in a young little troublemaker. This teacher gave you a good grade but made you work for it and made you realize how important learning actually was. And as for Superman, despite his one real defect of not actually existing, his motives were always virtuous. He e job as a kept a journalist, something in and of itself a grand accomplishment, and in his spare time saved the lives of screaming wemen, babies and the it! I got asked out by a guy who is me. He than older way seems pretty cool and stuff, but I dont know what to do. How old is too old when dating? From, Still Young Dear Still Young, I have great news for you. There isnt a set rule when it comes to age and relationships. Well, except for the whole against the law thing concerning minors. And there are also certain social norms that most follow, but I am one of those people who really enjoys challenging the norm. If you are looking for a definitive number, this is the only time you will get one from me. My current gauntlet of acceptable ages for dating is five years younger to 10 years older than me; anything between those numbers is fair game. However, in that same breath I will tell you to never say never or al- ways. Any relationship with someone of any age could turn out to be the greatest love affair of your life. I know people who married someone 11 years their elder (my mother) and others who married someone 15 years younger (Demi Moore). In both cases, although I dont personally know Demi and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, it seemed to produce a beautiful relationship. Like I said, never say never or always. Once upon a time in a land far away I had a gentleman suitor who was considerably older -- DIXIE Si Editor tyfl 'i 8 , e Spy n ct! |