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| NCAA Mascot Ruling |
| 08.27.05 (4:50 pm) [edit] |
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What a bunch of damn hippocrits. I think that this ruling should be taken seriously when the NCAA removes their headquarters from INDIANapolis before they offend someone. But on a more serious note, if this offends so many people, how come the North Dakota Fighting Sioux have such a high rate of Native American enrollment? I sounds like they're not too offended.
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| NASA Again |
| 07.01.04 (10:33 pm) [edit] |
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After numerous screw-ups on missions to the planet Mars, it would appear that NASA has managed to pull off a successful mission. As Cassini sends us back images of Saturn's rings, one must wonder, is all this really worth it? Is this mission useful or or are we just on a multi-million dollar long distance photo safari. I could understand the expense if a cure to cancer were involved but that much just to snap a few pictures, and prehaps end with a dramatic plunge into the planet? Come on guys at least do something useful like develope a new rocket for Bush to pummel some undeserving country with or something.
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| Gas Prices |
| 05.03.04 (10:16 am) [edit] |
I have but one question that I would like answered. Why does the price gas continue to climb while the price of a quart of oil stays the same, when both come from the barrel of oil whose price is going up?
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| America's Declining Morals |
| 04.06.04 (11:36 am) [edit] |
I feel that America’s morals as a whole are on the decline. If it’s not one thing it’s another. We have our beloved decorator, Martha Stewart, on trial for the cover-up of a scandal; a government that may or may not have attacked Iraq for the right reasons; and there really aren’t any decent movies playing that don’t have sex, violence, or vulgar language in them.
First off, we have dear old Martha Stewart. She’s got a perfect house and fantastic food but apparently the same can’t be said for her life. Of course the problem is one that has plagued us for centuries. We do the crime, someone finds out about it, and we try to cover it up. I’m sure everyone’s done something similar to this whether you’re 16, 22, or 55. Most of the time the crime isn’t something you’d get in huge trouble for. In Martha’s case, with her celebrity status, she probably would have gotten off the hook with a slap on the wrist. But she saw the need to lie about it, for whatever reason. The lie, that’s what got her in trouble. I mean isn’t this something we all learn as children; that lying is wrong.
Then, we have our trusted government. They made a big case last March about how Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction. However, later work came out of the United Nations that based a year of searching, Iraq might not have Weapons of Mass Destruction or the means to manufacture them as the Bush Administration claimed. Whatever the reasons war is immoral, in my opinion. And the fact they didn’t tell us the whole truth or they stretched the truth to provide justification to us and the world, which makes it worse. Beside’s there are plenty of ways to protect our freedoms right here at home, like securing our border with Mexico, and securing our seaports. Last year, ABC News proved that it is possible to obtain nuclear material in Eastern Europe and ship it to the United States. While they didn’t actually do it, they did make the contacts needed to do so and shipped a package that supposedly emitted small amounts of radiation into the United States successfully. Not only were we not told the whole truth, we were also told that United States attacked Iraq for freedom’s sake, but I don’t think freedom encompasses lying and items like war that are immoral on all accounts.
Last, we have the movie industry. While they do provide a valuable outlet for us in the form of entertainment, it doesn’t need to be this. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy an action movie or “The Lord of the Rings” but why does nearly every new movie that comes out need to include senseless mayhem and violence. Look at SWAT, there’s no real plot to that, just mayhem and violence. In reality most SWAT teams take extreme effort to avoid civilian casualties and collateral damage. Sure the movie is entertaining. But it aids in the decline of America’s morals, desensitizing our sense of right and wrong. But that’s not the problem I have with it. It’s the force behind the movies that irks me, greed. I don’t think anyone would bother with today’s crap if we hadn’t been showered with it for years. But Hollywood knows we have developed a taste for violence and comes out with more movies like this. They do this because of greed, preying on our weaknesses to get rich quick. It has become an endless cycle, forced on us by greed, which by the way is one of the seven deadly sins.
So what do we do about this? Well there isn’t much you can do. Hollywood’s greed isn’t going to be affected by a few. The government will continue to hide things no matter what, they’ve done it in the past and will undoubtedly continue to do so. However, Martha Stewart made the mistake that you as an individual can fix. No, you can’t save her from jail. But you can live your life in the best way possible and learn from her mistakes. Heck, you might even learn from the government’s mistakes once in a while.
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| What would a Democratic president really mean to America? |
| 03.04.04 (8:31 pm) [edit] |
"From the moment I take office, I will stand up to the special interests and stand with hardworking families so that we can give America back its future and its ideals," so says Democratic presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry. But what would a Democratic president really mean to us as young Americans just entering the work force. Let’s look at where the Democrats stand on the issues that affect us, specifically the economy, the “war” in Iraq, healthcare, and technology.
First off, the economy, where is it headed? Well in any case at this point it can really only go up, and it will no matter who is president. However, the president can affect how it affects you and me. Take George W. Bush’s recent tax cuts for example; they were targeted at the wealthy and special interest groups. Now look at the tax cuts proposed by many of the Democratic presidential candidates; they center on middle-class, working Americans. Which one is more likely to aid more people? Also, the candidates would make every attempt to bring back the more than 3 million American jobs lost in the last four years. They also plan to slow the mass exodus American companies are making to foreign shores with cheap labor. They also plan to make new laws holding major corporations, such as Enron, accountable for their actions.
How do you plan on paying for healthcare when you get out of school? Or even now? That is the question on the minds of many Americans. John Kerry’s plan is to give every American the same health care plan that is currently given to congress. The Democratic presidential candidates are also planning to target the industry and get high-spiraling healthcare costs down and under control where more Americans can afford good care. Among the many areas they plan on strengthening are healthcare affecting children and Medicare. We have the finest doctors and facilities in the world and yet few in America can afford healthcare. The Democrats plan on changing this for the better. The new plans will cover nearly 96% of Americans.
The Democrats feel that Saddam Hussein’s capture will present the opportunity to both rebuild our shattered alliances and the war torn country of Iraq. They feel a strong urge try the former Iraqi leader and build a lasting coalition to support our operations there. They feel that we need a president who will walk with, and not away from the world, one that will bring us into an era of peace security from war and terrorism. We have the opportunity to win the war in Iraq and the broader peace that will come with it.
Lastly, the Democratic presidential candidates are pledging to improve America’s technological resources. While already strong, the Democrats believe that they can be improved on in many ways. They also believe that technology has the potential to create many high paying, high quality jobs for Americans. The Democrats want a president who is committed to the growth of technology. They want to assure America new technology for the future, train a workforce for 21st century jobs and will use technology to improve our quality for life.
You may be wondering what all of this means to us, a new generation of Americans. Well, as the Americans with most knowledge of technology, and the most to lose in faraway places like Iraq or at home with a weak economy (as in last hired, first fired), we stand to gain the most. And when a chance to gain this much stake in our future arises we must grab it.
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| Domain-Name Squatters |
| 02.04.04 (11:20 am) [edit] |
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In my opinion the sale of internet domain names should work like an after Thanksgiving earlybird sale. First Come, First Serve, no Rainchecks. If you want a particular domain name you should be the first to purchase it. If someone else owns the name you want, then they should be able to charge you whatever they want within reason, of course. This would solve many trademark issuses such as www.mikerowesoft.com and www.intelrecon.com. Granted corporate bullying and trademark laws will prevent this from ever happening, but it is a nice thought.
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| NASA, Mars, anthe United States Government |
| 02.03.04 (7:41 pm) [edit] |
The United States has a proposed budget deficit of 521 billion dollars. This deficit will continue to grow until the government makes a conscious effort to stop it. However, the current Bush administration is making no attempt whatsoever to lower the deficit. As a matter of fact, one could almost say that they are actually trying to raise it. Between the military occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, which the new budget makes no mention of, and his proposed missions to moon and Mars, which will undoubtedly cost trillions of dollars by the time it is done, the budget deficit is sure to climb.
These proposed missions to the moon and Mars will have humans walking on the moon again in 2010 and walking on Mars by 2020. Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to accomplish these goals and will be digging ourselves further and further into debt to do so. That could possibly mean trillions of dollars of new debt that will continue to grow with interest.
However, the major problem I have with new space missions is the fact that over 12 percent of Americans live below the poverty level according to the 2000 census. I think that the government of the United States has a responsibility to solve problems within its own borders before venturing out into space and creating further problems in international territory.
Also, we need to take measures to help our own citizens before helping others. I understand that we need to protect ourselves, and I was okay with entering Iraq. We were told that such action was to protect our sovereign freedom. However, as a country, the people of the United States were lied to. As of now no weapons of mass destruction and very few links to terrorism have been found. This is not the droves of each that we were told existed in Iraq by the CIA and George W. Bush. We continue to help other countries around the world deal with their problems, but are it necessary? NO, we need to do more to solve our own problems such as national security, illegal immigration and the economy. Plus, on top of this, “aiding” other countries isn’t seen as aid at all by the rest of the world. The UN and other countries see it as furthering our interests in the country we help, which in my opinion is just what we are doing, especially in Iraq where they have billions of barrels of oil in reserve.
I strongly feel that our government is headed in the wrong direction. The economy is headed downward steadily; we are fighting meaningless wars; and we are driving ourselves deeper and deeper into piles of debt. When our generation is ready to take the help of the government in years to come, we will inherit all these problems and they will be multiplied ten times over. I feel that the current administration has a responsibility to aid future administrations and attempt to solve these problems rather than make blatant attempts to compound them. I believe that as citizens we have an obligation to call or government to serve us and help us as it was designed by the founding fathers to do. The government is not in my opinion doing its job and not try to be a police force around the world. That is the UN’s job and under the chart that we signed, we, as a country are obligated to obey there measures but in invading Iraq we have not done so. The government needs to solve our problems in this country not someone else’s problems in a foreign country on the other side of the world.
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| BCS: My Opinion |
| 01.07.04 (10:19 am) [edit] |
For the second time in six years we will end a college football season without a clear national champion. USC locked up the AP poll and part of a national championship. On the same ticket we have LSU winning the Sugar Bowl which clinched the BCS title and number one on the coach’s poll. However all of that was for part of a national championship.
And that is also the question, how do you come up with a number one football team when you have three in the running with one loss apiece? When this last happened in 1997, with Nebraska and U-M each taking a top spot in a poll, several “tweaks” were made to the BCS system to prevent a repeat of the situation. Clearly not enough of a change.
Evidently, the university presidents in charge of the BCS can’t see the logic in a playoff to get one national champion. It would be a simple change. Take, say the top four BCS teams and put them into playoff games a week or so before the bowl games. The number one team plays the number four team and the number two team would play the number three team. The winners would play in the national championship bowl, whatever it is in a given year. Under this system, nothing changes except the addition of a semifinal “play in” game for the right to go to the national championship.
This could be modified in several ways; mainly increasing the number of teams and possibly giving the top teams byes. However this would create a timing issue by increasing the number of games to be played.
Another idea is to have a national championship game after the bowl games have determined who the number one teams in the land are. This of course would only be necessary if, like this year, there were different teams polled at number one.
Obviously it cannot be that difficult to get one national champion, as every other NCAA division and sport can name one. Even NCAA Division 1-A football has a system to name one and only one champion. Although not based on computers and polls, for the most part, it is good enough to do its job and keep everyone happy.
In my opinion, the heads of the BCS are crazy to see this error and not want to change it. I can understand not doing something just before the bowl season, but for Mike Tranghese, the current BCS Chairperson, to flat out say that they have no plans to change anything is ridiculous. He went on to say that fans should appreciate the system in place. Is he joking? No fan can appreciate that system when his of her team has to share a national championship. There are no ties in football, you keep playing until you have a winner, a number one, in that game at least; that is the way it is in every game and that is how the BCS should operate one number one.
I feel strongly that a playoff system is the way to go, with the AP and Coaches polls determining who gets in. We could keep the rotation of the BCS bowls as the national title game and it would also ensure one champion, as it should be.
I sincerely hope that the heads of the BCS will listen to the calls of the people and fix the system. When this many people say there is a problem, there must be a problem. And problems should be FIXED.
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| College Hockey-Ferris State defeats the Unniversity of Alaska-Fairbanks 7-5 |
| 01.02.04 (11:44 pm) [edit] |
In a thrilling contest at Ewigleben Ice Arena in rainy Big Rapids Michigan; the Ferris State Unniversity Bulldogs beat the Unniversity of Alaska-Fairbanks 7-5. FSU was led by Nick Scheible and Mark Bomersback with 2 goals each. Brett Smith, Matt York, and Eric Vesely also added goals. Vesely also had two assists in the contest and fellow freshman Matt Rutkowski had three. Mean while UAF had goals from Ryan Campbell, Kelly Czuy, and Curtis Fraser. Jason Grinevitch aided the team with two assists.
UAF led by two at the end of the first period but in the second, FSU came back with 4 unanswered goals including two that were less than a minute apart to take the wind out of UAF's sails. However, UAF responded to the challenge well garnering two tallies early in the third period to tie the game up again. Another round of scoring would leave the game tied at five all with just under five minutes remaining, when FSU's Matt York lit the red light on a power play for the game winning goal. FSU would later tack on an empty net goal as UAF tried to tie up the game once more with an extra attacker.
The game was highlighted by FSU's two power play goals from a special teams unit that has been severely lacking as of late. Also playing well was young line of Nick Scheible, Matt Rutkowski, and Eric Vesely.
UAF once again came up short again in Big Rapids, having not won there since a 1996 overtime win. They clearly started well, leading 2-0 after the first period of play, but were lacking down the stretch.
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| Landmark Water-Rights Ruling Issued |
| 11.27.03 (12:02 am) [edit] |
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Recently, in Michigan, specifically. Mecosta County's 49th circuit court, Judge Lawence Root ruled in favor of the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation. He ordered Ice Mountain, a subsidiary of Nestle Waters North America, to stop pumping water from Santuary Springs in Morton Township. In his ruling he stated that he was certain that any amount of pumping would damage the ecosystem of the area under common law analysis. He also said that the pumping area, which came under attack recently by the ELF, violated a number of EPA standards. Nestle vowed to appeal Judge Root's ruling. However, this is a case that could come to national attention should they choose to carry it beyond local and state courts. It could aslo affect other industries such as breweries that also take water from the environment. This is certainly a landmark case that could greatly affect several large American companies.
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