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Show MONDAY, MARCH 28,2005 U T A H'?S 9 T A T E S M A N Contact: 797-1762 editor@statesman.usu.edu •-»•...--,,•„ .-*.•!..*,•*. r.r--. l.i. i . . . Utah Statesman Constituents i need respect Staff Editor in Chief Emilie Holmes News Editor 1 With polls opening for student body elections Wednesday, fliers promoting the platforms of various ASUSU hopefuls will be passed around campus like candy this week. Finalists will be announced Friday and the candidates will undoubtedly be looking to spread y their message and secure as many last-minute votes as possible. The fliers that will be passed out like candy will be made more enticing by including candy and handshakes and -,, smiles. n / nc Ullf nfiVj^^i|imiiiibi£i^i ^ ' candidates, i, o r t n e i r supporters, will knock on the -doors of most apartments, dorms and nearby houses to spread their message face-to-face with the common man. It'll be a full-fledged political campaign, minus the baby kissing. In all of this, our only hope - aside from not making promises that can't be kept - is that candidates will be considerate of their constituents' wishes. Candidates, if over the course of your fliering efforts, someone respectfully declines to take iyour handout, please accept their position and don't force the pamphlet/candy/flier on them. Be aware of what time it is when you're going door to door. While college students might keep different hours than most of America, it would still be a courteous gesture to avoid late-night visits. Furthermore, don't overstay your welcome when someone is kind enough to invite you inside. Your message is important, but it will be more appealing if it is short and sweet. Letters to I lie Editor Logan needs to take action Editor, Air quality improvement strategies will be implemented as soon as we have a plan, Mayor Doug Thompson says. So how many more years are we going to have to cough and wheeze our way through winter because we can't get our act together? I've been waiting for action ever since I moved here 10 years ago. During last year's inversion, I was diagnosed with the precursor to asthma. I have endured two 1 winters of asthmatic symptoms. So I am literally sick and , tired of the delays ana excuses. £ A voluntary inspection pro: gram is worthless. I lived with a . mandatory program on ^Colorado's Front Range for •years. Folks, ifs no big deal. • Once a year you get your car tested. The right to drive comes with certain responsibilities. } You are just as responsible for i endangering the health of oth• ers with a pollution-belching \ automobile as you are when i you speed through a residential (^neighborhood or school zone. tem of government that has made our country strong, and oppose the "nuclear option." Despite an almost 95 percent success rate in Senate confirmation of President Bush's judicial appointees, radical Republicans want to stack the Supreme Court so they can reward big donors by rolling back worker protections, privacy rights and environmental laws - all at our expense. This is not a partisan issue. Ultimately, you don't even need to oppose the president's appointees to oppose the "nuclear option." Tnis is about supporting the system of checks and balances that prevents absolute power from residing in the hands of one party. It is the system of checks and balances that keeps our democracy honest and strong. Peter Ruben Alcohol ad completely fair Editor, In response to Erik Valdez' letter concerning the anti-alcohol ad published March 21: While Mr. Valdez may be accurate in his interpretation of Jane Goetze the photograph, he is incorrect with several of the perceptions voiced in his letter. The ad is fair, in that it depicts a possible outcome when individuals drink (irresponsibly) and simply makes a statement about appearances and opinions. Editor, Any inferences beyond these Next month, the Senate will must come from the mind of most likely vote on what has the viewer. To say the ad is been called the "nuclear unfair is to miss the larger pic\option." This would limit the ture that alcohol marketing use of filibuster specifically in shows only the positive side of decisions on judicial appoint- alcohol use, with the goodments, and is a grasp for power looking, sexy guys relaxed and by radical Republicans so that drinking with good-looking they can appoint Supreme sexy girls, having fun, enjoying 'Court justices who favor corpo- success ... the implication rate interests and extreme-right being that alcohol makes you objectives over the rest of us. I more desirable. Only the 'sexy' sincerely urge our senators to stand up for the checks and balances provided by our sys- IFTTFRS See Page 70 f Checks, balances need to stay Katie Ashton Assistant News Editor Brooke Nelson Features Editor Joel Featherstone Assistant Features Editor Steve Shinney Sports Editor Aaron Falk Assistant Sports Editor Andrea Edmunds World & Nation Editor Lindsay Kite Photo Editor John Zsiray Conservatives are waging war against intellectualism It doesn't matter if you look at congressional budget cuts for higher education funding, Rush Limbaugh ranting daily about the horrible liberal effects of universities or our own conservative students ridiculing the English department because literature is just too damn liberal, conservatives despise intellectualism. In an interview at the Democratic convention, Bill Clinton said, "Democrats do better when people think." This piece of Knowledge has not escaped Republican strategists in their quest to gain control and power. Republicans have declared war against intellectualism and their weapons of choice are fear, God and slander. The events of Sept. 11, 2001, allowed the Republicans to capitalize on Americans' fears of terrorism. Because of fear, Americans blindly followed anti-intellectuals into an unjust, unfounded war, were stripped of our civil rights to privacy and none of these things have gotten us any closer to capturing public enemy No. 1, Osama bin Laden. The most fascinating example of the conservatives' rule by fear is the Tom Ridge-inspired color chart that flashes constant warnings of yellow, orange and red {never blue or green) as a constant reminder that something terrible is just on the horizon. I wish I could say that this warning system was not a political tool, however I can't help but notice that the terror treat advisory has not moved at all since the election. Republicans have used similar tactics in order to get Americans believing Social Security and tort reforms are crisis issues. Fear is a powerful tool that hinders people's ability to think critically and make rational decisions for their best interest. "Who would Jesus vote for?" This seems to be at the forefront of conservative talking points. While Republicans boast a religious base and claim their policies are steeped in moral values, the only two moral values conservatives CyMartz Conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have discouraged their listeners to read newspapers or get their news from any other sources than Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. seem to legislate are the systematic demonization of homosexuality and abortion. The constant use- of homosexuality and abortion as key issues stirs up many emotions that are used as decoys that detract Americans from critically assessing otherwise unchristian policies. As long as abortion and gays are under control, poor people can starve and our government can kill innocents. The results of the conservative anti-intellectual agenda will have detrimental effects on our society. CHOCOLATE P&e fivueo AX r*te BACK The Far Left Bank For example, the invocation of God has allowed conservatives to rail against stemcell research. As a result, this beneficial research will be outsourced to other developed countries and the findings will be sold back to Americans at extremely high costs. In order to make the political discourse become void of intellectual premise, conservatives have decided to frame intellectuals and higher learning as the enemy of the "common man." Meanwhile, Bush, with his inability to pronounce words correctly and his intellectual blunders that are commonplace in his public discourse, made him a "man of the people." During the election, John Kerry was constantly viewed from those on the right as an elitist. Conservatives used John Kerry's intellect in order to assassinate John Kerry's character. Conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have discouraged their listeners to read newspapers or get their news from any other sources than Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. The right perpetuates a myth that education automatically makes a person disingenuous or detached, which in turn has a chilling effect for the American public to want to pursue knowledge. Even President George W. Bush has been See Page 10 Assistant Photo Editor Michael Sharp Editorial Board Emilie Holmes Katie Ashton Brooke Nelson John Zsiray Aaron Falk Michael Sharp About Letters • Letters should be limited to 350 words. • All letters may be shortened, edited or rejected for reasons of good taste, redundancy or volume of similar letters. • Letters must be topic oriented. They may not be directed toward individuals. Any letter directed to a specific individual may be edited or not printed. • No anonymous letters will be published. Writers must sign all letters and include a phone number or e-mail address as well as a student identification number. • Letters representing groups — or more than one individual — must have a singular representative clearly stated, with all necessary identification information. • Writers must wait 21 days before submitting successive letters — no exceptions. • Letters can be hand delivered or mailed to The Statesman in the TSC, Room 105, or can be emailed to edito Estatesman.usu.edu or click on www.utahstatesman.com for more letter guidelines and a submission box. Utahstatesman.com Online Poll Will you be voting in the ASUSU primary or final elections? • Yes, it's important for the future of this university. (20%) • Yes, I have acquaintances running whom I will vote for. (3%) • No, my vote doesn't matter that much anyway.(10%) • No, ASUSU's decisions have little influence on my life. (50%) • Who knows, I'm just confused about its new organization. (7%) • I don't know yet. We'll see when the time comes. (10%) Visit us on the Web at www.utahstatesman.com to cast your vote and see results from past Utah Statesman online polls. Check out these links on www.utahstatesman.com • Local TV listings • Faculty evaluations • Comics |