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Show mion The College Times A5 MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008 19 percent approval, and he's telling us what to do? Furthermore, the bill would remove Opinion writer legal immunity from telecommunications companies who helped the govBush tells us he is trying to keep ernment eavesdrop on U.S. citizens afAmerica safe from attack. But what ter Sept. 11. Yet, it would still provide about attack from within our own bor- for judges to privately review sensitive ders? For the past six years, our own government documents to determine democratic freedoms have been con- whether telecom companies acted lawtinually attacked by the Bush admin- fully. At least one party would be held istration. This is not new for our gov- responsible to the American people. ernment. We are dangerously headed Interestingly, in the current lawsuits, down the same path McCarthy recent- Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) would ly paved, only this time, the president replace the telecom companies as dehimself is heading the scare, and ter- fendants with the government itself. rorists have replaced communists. Consider that without judicial interThe current House Surveillance cession, the government and our teleBill would actually restore some mea- communications companies can and sure of the freedoms we have lost since have worked out whatever "arrangeBush fueled and exploited the climate ments" they want in secret, at the exof fear after Sept. 11. But Bush has pense of citizens. There is no oversight. threatened to veto the bill There is no recourse. The House Surbecause it would force veillance Bill would stop this. all government But Bush says current and agencies to once possible lawsuits against teleagain obtain court orders before being granted legal wiretaps of U.S. citizens. Our intrepid leader obviously feels impervious to his 19 percent approval rating of last February — an all-time low for U.S. presidents. In a stoic display of staying the course, American dissatisfaction still doesn't warrant a change in Bush's plans. Carmeli Hoopes-Clark com companies would expose state secrets. (No George, this is addressed in the bill.) Moreover, and more illuminating. Bush says that such lawsuits would make companies and individuals in the private sector less willing to work with the government in apprehending terrorists. I wonder if he would have won more support if he had just come out and said lawsuits would make it harder to trample American freedoms. Bush then essentially ordered the House to do as he wished, saying, "They should not leave for their Easter recess without getting the Senate bill to my desk." The Senate bill on surveillance would give him what he's had and what he wants: "a blank check," in Arlcn Specter's words. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) pointedly questioned why Bush is misrepresenting the House bill. He suggests the fight over the House bill is less about surveillance issues and more about the House refusing to bend to (King) George's wishes. si ration by MenndJ Pome/ College Times Courtesy of Loraine Glucck-Choldston College Times opinion columnist Loraine Glueck-Goldston with X96 radio personality Artie Fuflcin at the 2005 "Big Ass Show." Revenge of the Nerd brains. I was just a space cadet and was unfortunate enough I don't listen to much to have a mom who dressed morning-show radio. When me in bell-bottoms in the I'm flying up the freeway, early '80s. The bus stop was late for school, I prefer lis- the second-most miserable tening to something loud and place in the world besides obnoxious, like old-school school, the bus rounding out the top three. Ozzy or Rob Zombie. I had a lot of rocks thrown So I was rather surprised and pleased when a friend at me there. These days, of mine informed me that a all the schools are cracking popular Utah radio station's down on bullying, thanks to morning talk show hosts had studies that show the horrible commented on one of my ar- long-term effects on the bulticles. And called me a nerd. lied. Took them long enough "Nerd" is a rather illustri- to figure it out. Maybe someous title, compared to what one should have clobbered a I'm used to. Especially com- social scientist with a rock a ing from folks who are paid bit sooner. But I digress. to insult people at length for Eventually I rose from five hours every morning. the ashes of the term "loser" You see, I started out as to become a "misfit" and/or a born loser. I grew up in "troublemaker" in middle Southern California in a hor- school. We smoked, we rible little meth town where drank, we ditched school. weakness was not tolerated. S«NERD- A6 Even the nerds had an edge: Loraine Glueck-Gholdston Opinion vvmii-r Activism or just blowing smoke details of which are being suppressed from media attention by the interests of "fat corporate spit." This week is EnvironI would say that the day mental Awareness Week. second-hand smoke is as The press release sent out harmful as car exhaust is from the College Marketing the day locking one's self in department on behalf of The a smoke-filled bar becomes Center for the Study of Eth- a widely used method of ics announcing all the topics suicide, similar to locking and guest speakers for this one's self in a garage with week's 21st Annual Envi- a running car engine. ronmental Ethics ConferThere has even been ence opens with the followsome whispered speculaing question and statement: tion as to whether or not the "Did you know that Salt USU smoking ban will set a Lake City, Provo and Logan precedent destined to trickconsistently rank in the top le down south to UVU. It 10 U.S. cities for worst acute seems silly, and yet all too spikes in air pollution? Environmental issues and the plausible, right? It's said health concerns that come that the zoobies have bewith them are problems that stowed UVU with the moniker "the high school with are not going away." ash trays." Would we prefer It's a good and relevant to simplify the denigration question to an important and to just "the high school?" compelling topic, to be sure. In any event, it seems as But what the hosting of this if a more locally pertinent environmental ethics conferquestion may be to ask why ence implies is that air, and it is that expanding gasmost other types of polluses and particulates from tion, I dare say, are topics certain burning objects are that we, the public, must be held as morally problemcoached like children into atic while expanding gasacknowledging. ses and particulates from Two weeks ago the Salt other burning objects are Lake Tribune reported that dismissed and ignored. The ASUSU -- student govern- producers of the latter polPhotos by Dave iba / College Times ment at Utah State Univer- lutants tend to be left unfetsity - proposed a campus- tered to their own devices, Cigarettes, car exhaust, and industrial smoke emissions are included in the spectrum of pollutants that affect Wasatch Front air quality. wide ban on smoking and aside from being the topic of any other tobacco use. Ad- conferences on environmen- cal local weather patterns lutants germinaiing from can afford. They may ,also depth than passing smoking vocates of the proposal cited tal issues, of course. — temperature inversions within the local cultural say our apathy is the result bans, the removal of what medical studies on the danand the like -- compounding paradigm. Do we not care? of politics either working are known as "alco-pops" The fact is there just the problems all the more, gers of second-hand smoke Once again, it's dominion out in our favor-most of the from grocery store shelves, and the risks posed to asthma aren't enough people who it seems vastly more likely versus stewardship in a win- time or of feeling powerless and the occasional censorsufferers as a primary reason smoke around here for the that the virtuous and peace- ner-take-all, steel-cage death to effect any real change re- ship of television. And while for the ban, although neither second-hand smoke issue to loving asthma sufferers of match on pay per view. But gardless. these may make us feel of these reasons addresses be of any serious concern. the local community would nobody is buying. So in Utah, and I would good about ourselves, ultithe ban on other types of to- With exhaust from cars and be harmed most by the most Tme, Americans tend to guess other places as well, mately, they are just placebacco use. One wonders if factories being the most common pollutants. And yet be politically inactive and what activist endeavors we bos. In the greater scope of there's a study on the dan- abundant and pervasive of we hear of no homegrown apathetic. Some say our apa- do undertake tend to have gers of second-hand spit, the the atmospheric pollutants crusades against other pol- thy is a luxury we think we no broader scope or deeper in the region and with typi5«SMOKE- A6 Jared Magifl Opinions editor |