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Show Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 Page 13 ViewS&OpiniOH McCain: Not much going for him [Mcontinued from page 12 seemed confused. A couple of weeks ago, for instance, McCain referred to Vladimir Putin as the president of Germany—no little gaffe, in my opinion. Then, of course, there's the concern that McCain will die of old age in office. I know how callous that sounds, but that possibility must be considered. Whomever McCain recruits as his vice president (and I fear it will be Huckabee), will be thrust into the Oval Office. A more likely scenario, however, is that McCain slips into senility like Reagan, ceding power to his advisers and VP. Voters will also be turned off by McCain's grating personality. In high school, McCain earned the nicknames "Punk" and "McNasty." Then, in Naval Academy, McCain received more than 100 demerits for his unruly behavior and graduated fifth from the bottom of hiss class (894th out of 899). He didn't shed his testy temperament when he entered the Senate. Sidney Blumenthal, of Salon, wrote McCain is "a volatile man with a hair-trigger temper, who shouted at Sen. Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor to 'shut up/ called his fellow Republican senators 'shithead,' 'asshole/ and joked in 1998 at a Republican fund raiser about the teenage daughter of President Clinton, 'Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.'" McCain's temper has already surfaced in this race. In the last couple debates, McCain could scarcely conceal his hate for Romney. This behavior is unbefitting of a presidential candidate. It is true that McCain is often a maverick among Republicans, sometimes refusing to toe the party line. But will this fact serve him well in the general election? I doubt it. He's still too conservative to attract most independents and yet not conservative enough to energize his party's base. In fact, many conservatives are imploding at the prospects of a McCain nomination. His stances on taxes, torture, immigration and climate change won't soon be forgiven by many in the Republican Party. Rush Limbaugh has said that McCain would "destroy the Republican Party." Ann Coulter wasn't about to be outdone, threatening a few days ago to campaign for Clinton if McCain gets the Republican nod. While McCain deserves our thanks for giving Limbaugh, Coulter and their ilk the finger, he still has too often caved to the radical right on issues. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants' kids who graduate from high school. In 2007, he voted against the bill. McCain used to support campaign-finance reform. Then, in 2006, he announced his opposition to a major McCain-Feingold provision. Moreover, a recent study by the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute and the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen found McCain has "more lobbyists raising funds for his presidential bid than do any of his rivals." And when McCain first ran for president in 2000, he famously called evangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance." Now, he's courting their followers. Apparently, McCain's "straight-talk express" took a right turn on the road to the White House. Ironically, the one issue where he has been fairly consistent is the one most liable to sink his campaign: Iraq. McCain served honorably in the Navy and rightly commands authority on military matters, but Americans will nonetheless recoil at his strident defense of the war and occupation. McCain has said U.S. troops could be in Iraq for "a thousand years" or "a million years," as far as he was concerned. This sentiment won't sit well with the two-thirds of us who believe the war was a mistake. So take heart, Democrats. McCain may be the best the Republican running, but that, frankly, is not saying much. Jon Adams is a junior majoring in political science. Comments and questions can be sent to him at jonadams© cc.usu. edu. Taggart Student Center 2nd Floor Visit www.usu.edu/career Or Call 435-797-7777 Dress For Success Bring Plenty of Resumes Roy Miki February 12, Sky View High School Auditorium 7:00 pm on Take- 3 load off and foil \J$ afcovf \t t>H kvrifinc. a le-fter to trie- c-fifitor at WWW.VTAttSTATESMAN. Roy Miki is the author of Redress: American Odysseys Inside Japanese-Canadian Call for Justice, and Surrender, a volume of COM. If5 than a poems. Miki, who was born on a beet Literary farm in Canada where his parents had and Exploration rviorc- been forcibly relocated during WWII, than Threat: ID cards violate privacy of Historic will give a multi-media presentation of visuals, poetry and discussion J continued from page 12 driver's license or identification card for official purpose, including boarding of commercial aircraft, must have a Real ID-compliant card." The Federal Register currently defines "official purposes" as boarding commercial aircraft, using federal facilities or entering nuclear power plants. However, authority was granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security to dictate other areas in which Real ID compliant identification must be used. The citizens of states which have refused to comply with the federal standards may have to use passports instead of state-issued drivers licenses to enter a federally regulated aircraft or use federal facilities, as early as May of this year. Under the law, states will still be allowed to issue nonReal ID compliant identification. However, these cards must be clearly marked to identify them as non-compliant with the federal regulations. Federal agencies will not be allowed to accept these cards for official purposes. This measure has been promoted as an effective tool to combat terrorism that has been made essential after the 9/11 attacks. However, the creation of federal standards for state-issued identification is not new. A similar bill was presented in Congress in 1996. The creation of national standards for state-issued identification, as well as a national database holding sensitive personal information, creates several prob- lems. The privacy of American citizens could be severely compromised by the creation of a central database containing sensitive personal information. Also, it may be possible for private businesses and government agencies to obtain sensitive information from the bar codes that will be included on the cards. The imposition of federal standards for the issuing of drivers licenses greatly infringes on the rights of states to govern in their internal affairs. This violates an important principle of federalism by taking important authority from the states and placing it in the federal government. The law also gives the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security a great deal of power in determining key aspects of the Real ID program. This also opens the way for the federal government to monitor American citizens, helping to transform our republic into an authoritarian police state. The Department of Homeland Security has contemplated the inclusion of technology on these cards that would make this possible. A great deal of burden will be placed on the states and law-abiding citizens by the Real ID program. The Department of Homeland Security is asking Americans to accept this burden, with the assurance that these measures will somehow make us safer from terrorism. However, many critics of the new program have questioned how well it will really work in stopping potential terrorists. Several states have spoken out against this dangerous extension of government power and have passed laws prohibiting their agencies from implementing this program. They deserve our support. It is time that we became more aware of this threat and the impact it will have on our future. There is still time to stop this - but we must act now. Cultural Events Japanese-American redress in the movements with contemporary discussions about Multicultural nationality and race. Americas Local high school students will present their responses to Miki's work. Colby Lyons is a senior majoring in law and constitutional studies. Comments can be sent to him at c.lyons@ aggiemail, usu. edu Sponsored by the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, the USU Department of English. UNIVERSITY . • • • - ' " - - -• •••. ?• •• • ' i ' '" Pt Getting marrie9? Looking for your own space? s | Tired of throwing your money away? Want aifoalable housing. Wallcilraigh and see available mobile homes for sale.: Come and jsee^what bur subdivision has to offer. Ereview some of the homes on our website. iteroff200.\Y.30d725 410 West725 North,Logan'753-9552"www.palatialliving.com M O B I L E H O M E S U B D I V I S I O N Friday, Feb 8th 8:30-11 :oo pm Girls Choice Formal Dance- Free and open to public. A book signing will follow. UtahState FNA (Friday Night Activity) IWA DANCE! Grab a Date Today! linking the Japanese-Canadian and Resistration for Spring 2008 is still open Register @ wise.ldsces.org Religion In Life Fri. 11:30 V, Pres. Louis Lficlerno Stake President of Wellsvillc Stake. Se\Ved as an Intelligence Officer fpr the Air Force in Eastern Europe, Middle-East, and Ndr'th'Africa. Lunch for S \ after ^«^ |