Tuesday, December 23, 2025

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Columns

COMMENTARY

As regimes fall, Israel takes stage

The military junta that’s replaced ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced that it intends to maintain Egypt’s peaceful relationship with Israel. Egypt is one of two Arab states that officially recognize Israel.

COMMENTARY

Change comes from people, not tech

In the wake of the Egyptian revolution, the role of social media is the topic on everyone’s tongues. Protesters used Facebook and Twitter to broadcast their message and garner support for their cause.

COMMENTARY

The many faces of Valentine’s Day

When we were little, we sat at our desks writing the names of each and every classmate in our fourth-grade class on a valentine. On Valentine’s Day, we would stuff each other’s bags and boxes full of cards, candies and treats and spend the day laughing and running, fueled by our sugar rushes.

COMMENTARY

Holt crash raises tough questions

Recently, Holt High School was devastated by the loss of three young people involved in an accident that took place during the early morning hours of Jan. 30. The car was heading south down Hagadorn Road when the driver lost control and struck two trees.

COMMENTARY

The dangers of unchecked dogma

The topic of scientific laws recently came up in one of my courses. Reflecting on our discussion about the importance of having immutable laws to fall back on, I was reminded of an argument that needs greater exposure and understanding in our social conscience.

COMMENTARY

Creating a new american mindset

When Amy Chua’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” a novel highlighting the ups and downs of Chinese-American motherhood, was excerpted in the Wall Street Journal last month, it created quite a stir across the country.

COMMENTARY

Rhyming about the Middle East

I want readers to know the stereotype of all Muslims as terrorists is not true. Every society has its “bad people,” which for Muslims is about 3 percent of the population. So, here is a general idea of how the other 97 percent feels about the problems going on.

COMMENTARY

Karma returns to bite MSU b-ball

When the mediocre Michigan Wolverines embarrassed our men’s basketball team at home, I thought karma was at work. Punished by the likes of Syracuse and Texas, struggling in the Big Ten, our gentleman Spartans had finally hit rock bottom.

COMMENTARY

U.S. must realign foreign policy

A people’s struggle is unfolding within Egypt and other Middle Eastern nations. Once again, the U.S. has ignored the suffering of the masses, backing the despotic few who gain wealth and power through the oppression of their people and the promotion of American economic and military interests.

COMMENTARY

New Tunisia must avoid regression

The Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia began with a fruit vendor who wasn’t operating with the proper paperwork. When he was stopped by the police, the police proceeded to humiliate the man.

COMMENTARY

Pushing against popular culture

In a fully developed industrialized society such as the U.S., can one live an existential life? When I use the word existential in this context I mean: Can one operate according to one’s free will?

COMMENTARY

On rage, rebellion and new tragedies

Following the attempted assassination on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., I began reading Mark Ames’ book “Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion: From Reagan’s Workplaces to Clinton’s Columbine and Beyond.”

COMMENTARY

Speech a time for olive branches

The State of the Union speech President Barack Obama gives tonight will allow him to reframe the next two years of his presidency. His upcoming legislative agenda, reputation and vision will all be on the line.

COMMENTARY

‘Bodily authority’ hurt by politicians

Last Saturday marked the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion in 1973 contingent on fetal viability. In the decades after, a debate between “pro-choice” and “pro-life” ensued, exploiting scientific and legal jargon to form a bipolar war over a complex issue.

COMMENTARY

In tragic times, we have stepped up

The tragic shooting in Tucson, Ariz., was both a shocking and sobering experience for me. In 15 seconds, an alleged madman managed to empty 31 bullets into a crowd — killing six and injuring 13 — before being wrestled down to the ground by several bystanders.

COMMENTARY

Welcome to the ‘post-racial’ US

Maine’s Tea Party Gov. Paul LePage has refused to attend the state’s annual National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP’s, Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. In an eminently diplomatic statement, he told the organization to “kiss my butt.”

COMMENTARY

City plans will affect students

With agonizing basketball games, heaps of homework and parties abound, the least of most MSU students’ worries include the phrases “overlay district,” “moratoria” and “ordinances.”