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Show Page 3 Friday, November 17, 2006 Editorial Editor in chief Maria Villsenor 626-7121 Managing editor Cynthia Loveland 626-7614 The Signpost Signpost Viewpoint Some political banter With presidential candidates emerging and the buzz from the recent local elections still lingering in the air, political conversations are once again filling our classroom, coffee houses, and dinner tables. Every word that emerges from our country's potential new leaders is closely scrutinized for authenticity. Popular topics in the political are the Iraqi war, gay rights and environmental issues. Scarcely a newspaper article goes by in which some politician offering his or her opinion can't be found. When natural disasters hit, a governor will soon unveil a plan, with its various stages and objectives, with which to deal with the disaster. When homosexual rights legislation is being considered, political figures gather to advocate civil unions or defend the sanctity of holy matrimony. Should we lynch the psychopath serial killer, or should we lock him in a rubber room for 60 years? Here's a graph explaining how this impacts taxpayers. Sociology professor soand-so from Motown had this to say. No matter what the problem, there is always a ready-made partisan argument, custom-fit and easy to apply to the situation. Democrat or Republican? Would you like that Reaganomics style? Freedom Fries with your order, ma'am? But looking over the past few years, when have these snazzy, flashy, 30-second sound byte plans ever delivered? We've had 9-11, the Iraqi war and hurricane Katrina, all in the space of a few years. The headlines became: Terrorist attacks continue! New Orleans still a disaster. Iraqi War: End not so near. Osama at large! Katrina Victims still homeless. And in recent news: Rumsfeld quitting, Bush still chirping his 2003 catch phrases, and democrats promising a myriad of new tantalizing policies. What ever happened to the good old days when the president's sex life filled the front page for a year? So is politics the answer? Or is it only a way of distracting people from the real problems? When a story about child abuse or homosexual batterings cuts to a . politician, complete with smile and sound byte, is this an avoidance tactic, to sidestep the real issue? Then again, let's not be too hard on politics. The ignore-the-real-issue strategy works pretty well. Perhaps the illusion of a solution is more stabilizing than real analysis. Real analysis is depressing anyway. Think about it: every four years we get another chance at a clean slate. Future historians will undoubtably comment on the genius of a system that has a built-in scapegoat. Discontent has been an overthrower of nations throughout history. In a sense, every election is a cardboard revolution, offering the sensation of new hopes and brighter horizons, without all that mess to wipe up afterward. "The last guy really botched some things up," we say. "It's so nice to finally have somebody with fresh ideas and real innovation." Joe Camel isn't the only animal who smokes than to point to years of "scientific evidence" showing just that? Cigarette manufacturers are perfectly aware that vast differences exist between species The 30th annual Great American and that data taken from one species Smokeout is Nov. 16. Unless they've cannot always be correctly applied to been living under a rock, smokers another. Different species of animals know that cigarettes are bad for them vary enormously in their reactions to and for the people in their homes. But toxins and diseases, as well as in their not everyone realizes that cigarettes metabolism of drugs. are harming animals too. Dogs, rats, To further its goal of selling cigaprimates and other animals are forced rettes, the tobacco industry has fundto inhale smoke and injected with nicotine in experiments funded by the ed experimenters who have cut holes tobacco industry. These experiments in beagles' throats and made them breathe concentrated cigarette smoke should be stopped now. for a year. They've inserted electrodes The companies say they just want to into dogs' penises to measure the efdetermine how harmful cigarettes are fect of cigarette smoke on their sexual to human health. But we've already determined that smoking can be deadly, performance. They've confined rhesus and as everything we know about lung monkeys to chairs with head devices cancer and other smoking-related ill- and exposed them to nicotine and nesses has come from human epide- caffeine to determine how these submiological and clinical studies - not stances affect their breathing. Cigafrom animal experiments - there must rette smoke has been pumped directly into the nostrils of rats and mice. Milbe another reason. lions of dollars and hundreds of thouThis other reason, I believe, is that sands of animal lives have been wasted experiments on animals are misleadon experiments that are so inhumane ing. Decades of study have shown that animals do not develop lung cancer as and pointless that they have been illehumans do. A 2002 paper in the journal gal in Britain since 1997. It's time for the tobacco industry to Inhalation Toxicology blasted inhalation experiments on animals for failing pull its head out of the clouds of smoke to show that smoking cigarettes does and be honest about the facts: Smokincrease the cancer risk in humans, ing causes cancer. It is a leading cause noting that "significant increases in of pulmonary illness and death in the the numbers of malignant tumors of United States, including chronic obthe respiratory tract were not seen in structive pulmonary disease, asthma, rats, mice, hamsters, dogs, or nonhu- influenza and pneumonia. Smoking man primates exposed for long periods contributes to cardiovascular disease, of time to very high concentrations of coronary heart disease and birth demainstream cigarette smoke." fects. U.S. federal law does not require toBut the tobacco industry is still desperately grasping for anything that bacco products to be tested on animals. might convince the public that smok- The money wasted on worthless aniing isn't dangerous. mal experiments would be much betHow better to convince the pub- ter spent on education, health services lic that cigarettes aren't all that bad and addiction-treatment programs. By Heather Moore People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals McClatchy Tribune submit letters to the editor to: The f~y • WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY^ Signpost C? -L THEY'RE TAKING IT REALLY, REALLY HARR PENTAGON IS FRAUGHT WITH SAPNE550V£R RUMSFELDS URE. --*-**••*••• Letters to the editor Weber State University students not as openminded as they think Many of the professors involved in the grievance • process insisted there was no school statute to support his cause in this particular case - and none assisted him in writing up a proposed policy to take before the Faculty Senate. At best, the student was bribed with tuition reimbursements and grade changes to keep silent. I'm left to wonder, is this what The Signpost defines as "academically liberal" and "open-minded?" - , Those truly open-minded • to the way•WSUffefcts some of its students with traditional values can find more information at www. thepurplepamphlet.com. - Chad McBride WSU alumnus graduated 2005 The author(s) of The Signpost's viewpoint October 25, 2006 expressed something of praise to WSU for being "academically liberal (or to use a synonym - openminded)." Liberalism, as a political view, is no more open-minded than is conservatism. Both are equally open-minded/closeminded to the other side's view. - While political position^ should never become an angle for attack, what becomes unfortunate is when a professor attempts to push a political view on students. This phenomenon has been demonstrated at WSU. One student has Thank you for your votes listed a complaint against a WSU professor by name at Dear voters: noindoctrination.org. Another student seeking Thanks for voting and redress for harassment a special thanks to those by a team of professors who voted for me. I was for publishing editorials successful if I stirred supporting traditional political thought. We are the values was denied . only nation on Earth where, student rights said to be by law, we are responsible "guaranteed" by WSU. His to self-govern. I stand upon plea for assistance was that principle and I will rejected by the chair of the never surrender. psychology department, The foundation for our ridiculed by the Dean of Republic is set on the simple Students, and ignored by the two-sentence principle Dean of the University. stated in the Declaration of i •••-A'i Vie Signpost welcomes your comments Independence beginning with "We hold these truths . . . " signed by proxy for each and every person who loves Liberty. Unrealized goals were established for U.S. Citizens in the Preamble to the Constitution with "We the people . . . " I will continue to strive for Liberty. Truth and Justice with Honor and Honesty at www.rogeriprice.com. I work to reestablish boundaries, within which free men and women may have abundant opportunity and escape all forms of tyranny. -Roger I. Price 2006 U.S. Senate Candidate Personal Choice Party "Just Weber" article blatantly sexist Dear Editor: No article has angered me more in The Signpost than the article in Wednesday's (Nov. 15, 2006) edition titled "Just Weber State?" First of all, reading Ryan Wilson's quote made my blood boil. He said that girls come to Weber to get their MRS. degree. This quote is so blatantly sexist I am surprised that The Signpost would choose to print it. Wilson, WOMEN come to Weber to get their education, not a husband. This isn't the 1950s and Weber State is not a finishing school where we "girls" are just biding our time waiting for some man to choose us as their wife. This statement is an insult to all of the women on campus who come to class every day who work hard in order to earn their BACHELORS degree. While I did meet my husband here, I did not come to Weber State to find a husband, nor am I done pursuing my education now that I am married. Secondly, to all the people who say they go to "Just Weber," if you think you're too good for Weber, then transfer somewhere else. You're receiving a great education from faculty who care about you and not just their research projects. I am so happy that I chose to go to Weber State out of all the schools I could have gone to because I believe 1 have received a more hands-on education than anywhere else and this school has prepared me for working in the real world. I know I bleed purple, why don't you? Sincerely, - Marisa S. McPeck-Stringham social work senior Global warming has economic consequences century there could be a sharp rise in sea level, droughts, floods, storms, crop failWe can wait no longer on ures, ecosystem disruptions, global warming. But if we act threats to public health and now, we can save not only the other negative impacts from environment but our econo- global warming. This could my as well. cost as much as 20 percent A new report puts a high of the world's total economic price tag on unchecked global output. warming. What's more, sea level Written by a team of top changes, floods and droughts economists and led by former could displace 200 million World Bank Chief Economist people by 2050, according to Sir Nicholas Stern, the report the report. concludes that fighting global The good news is that it warming now could save the would take only 1 percent of world trillions of dollars. the world's annual economic The heat-trapping gases output by 2050 to prevent the emitted from burning fos- worst effects of global warmsil fuels in automobiles and ing from ever happening. power plants are a major drivNew technology, increased ing force behind global warm- efficiency and carbon pricing ing. Carbon dioxide, the most can help keep costs low in the abundant heat-trapping gas, fight against global warming. stays in the atmosphere for Clean, energy-efficient decades, making the Earth in- production passes on savings creasingly warm. to consumers. As a result, by the end of the Generating energy from By Rachel Cleetus McClatchy-Tribune News Service The Signpost is published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during Fall and Spring semester and Tuesdays during the Summer Semester. To subscribe contact Georgia Edwards at 626-7974 or gedwards@weber.edu.The first copy of The Signpost is free, each additional copy is $.50. renewable sources, like wind and solar energy, creates more jobs than other types of power. Markets for low-carbon energy products are likely to be worth at least $500 billion per year by 2050, according to the report. Clean technology would reduce other types of harmful pollution, like smog and mercury. Cutting air pollution could save billions of dollars a year on health-care costs, the report says. Carbon trading, which has already reached a level of $30 billion a year, could encourage market-based solutions for reducing global warming emissions. The Chicago Climate Exchange is the world's first stock exchange where businesses can trade reductions in global warming emissions. California and seven Northeastern states are taking serious steps to curb their The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include name, address, telephone number and the writer's-signature. Anonymous letters will not be printed The Signpost reserves the right to edit letters for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Letters should not exceed 350 words. emissions. In September, California passed a bill that will cut global warming emissions 25 percent by 2020. Northeastern states are working toward capping emissions from the region's power plants at 2005 levels, followed by an additional 10 percent reduction in emissions by 2019. Bankers, insurers, investors, utility companies and carmakers, recognize the big financial risk climate change poses and are calling for action. With the stakes so high, we all need to pitch in to do our part. Persona] choices,, business decisions, community planning, state laws, federal laws and international treaties should all be part of preventing the worst effects of global warming. Trillions of dollars in potential savings make the choice to fight global warming the deal of the century. Bring letters to the editorial office in The Stewart Library room 69, mail to: The Signposf, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408-2110. Attn: Editor in Chief email:thesignpost@weber.edu |