I am an independent voter who leans conservative. This year, I was sickened by a lot of the manipulative rhetoric being used during the election, from the campaign for President-elect Barack Obama, to the “No on Proposition 8” campaign. But more importantly, as an American, I was saddened to see the Republican Party vilify Muslims, portraying Obama as the enemy because he had Muslim associations. The Republican Party should never have alluded to Obama as a Muslim, because instead of revealing a flaw in his leadership, they revealed the flaw they considered most important — his faith.
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Since the Founding Fathers penned the Constitution, pardoning has been an executive privilege of the president. It is one many have used, and one that I will never get used to. I’ve never heard of a more ridiculous concept than presidential pardons.
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We’re always uncertain about how to handle children who commit brutal crimes. The case of Vincent Romero, the 8-year-old in Arizona who allegedly shot and killed his father and his friend and roommate, Timothy Romans, is no different. Currently, prosecutors are still trying to determine the exact charges and whether or not the boy will be tried as an adult.
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The San Diego State football team is full of truly generous guys. Whenever those altruistic Aztecs get a chance, they practice the art of football philanthropy. This season, they gave away seven games to their Mountain West conference opponents. Our Football Bowl Subdivision team gave away an average of 37.2 points and 247.5 rushing yards per game, which can’t be denied after the loss to New Mexico that ended with a score of 70-7. So generous!
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Over the years, religion has become a giant wall between us. You may think that political loyalties cause the divide in this country, but it’s more often people’s faith. Lives and rights are being sacrificed, leaving only one conclusion: The world would be a much better place without religion.
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In April 1983, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, Raphael Eitan, was quoted in a New York Times article, “When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.”
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Last Sunday, our military launched a raid from inside Iraqi borders into Syria. The operation’s goal was to eliminate a former lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda’s leader in Iraq until he was killed back in 2006, according to BBC News. The U.S. said that it had asked Syria to hand over the lieutenant for quite some time, but Syria refused to comply.
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If you thought that $700 billion was a lot of money, then you’re going to love this. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has recently urged Congress to consider a second stimulus package. The triple-threat of the housing, credit and financial crisis has created a need, he said, for another energizing “boost” with an undetermined, but “significant” price tag.
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Cheering fans, vivacious stadiums, fierce competitions — a scene professional athletes dream of. Nobody would have guessed that scene describes competitive swimming — and unless it was between Aug. 8 and 24 this summer, the chances are slim anybody would have cared about competitive swimming, either. Maybe it was Michael Phelps’ kickin’ bod or the chance to show China that even with more than four times as many people, we can rock their socks off in gymnastics — but there’s a solid chance that for 17 days, you were glued to NBC.
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