"Support our Troops." A noble phrase, and an admirable ideal to be sure. However, lately its meaning seems to have changed from supporting those who fight to defend our country, to silencing criticism of President George W.
Last week, college students across the country trekked home to spend a few short days with their families. It's a comforting time, getting a break from the hectic life on campus and retreating back to a familiar hometown.
The images are disturbing. Cars afire, buildings reduced to rubble, police and rioters on the streets — it's madness. I, for one, am shocked.
For some, it's just a long weekend and some days off from school. For others, it's a time to spend with family.
I read The State News online every day from my base in Iraq. My name is Matt Rawlins and I am a 1998 MSU graduate and a captain in the Army. I am weeks away from completing my second tour in Iraq, my first tour having been during the invasion in March of 2003.
Apparently, I've been outed. Karl Olson in "Republicans should practice preaching" (SN 11/7) has exposed me as a chicken hawk, a yellow elephant, a gutless College Republican who supports the war in Iraq but is not serving in it.
No religion in today's column, which will surely make my critics happy —
On Monday afternoon, a group of demonstrators gathered outside the offices of The State News in protest of my cartoon that ran on Veterans Day, which depicted a World War II veteran saying to a younger serviceman, "I liberated a torture camp back in '45." The younger serviceman, bloody baseball bat in hand, replies, "I work in one." The first e-mail arrived in my inbox at 8:57 a.m.
With gasoline prices soaring to all-time highs, serious influential writers might be apt to dissuade consumers from dependency on foreign oil.
The "D." Motown. Detroit City. A city with many names, Detroit is also a city with many faces.
On Nov. 8, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson visited MSU's campus to speak about his experiences in the Valerie Plame scandal that is shaking the White House.
"When I think about rape, I think someone's going to jump out of the bushes or put something in your drink," she said.
I made one of the biggest mistakes as a Detroit Pistons fan last week. I went to sleep on the Pistons.
It's war. MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon has sent the residents of East Lansing a letter, assuring them that the "alcohol-induced behaviors" of MSU students are not going to be tolerated.
I have to admit, I am a bit confused. Recently, I was having dinner with my fiancée and after getting the bill she asked me what we should leave for a tip.
Why do people feel the need to force their own beliefs on others? The fact that I disapprove of something doesn't mean others should automatically disapprove too.
Paranoia grips the American culture. It's not just the recent crop of scary movies, but Americans like to fear some of the strangest things. Some fear is justified — fear of death, losing a loved one or losing control. However, a lot of it isn't rational.
On the front page of Wednesday's Washington Post read the following large, bold words: "CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons." According to the article, suspects held in these prisons are subjected to interrogation techniques such as "waterboarding," whereby a victim is submerged into a vat of water until drowning is imminent, revived and nearly drowned again as necessary.
A professor runs 1.45 miles to class in 33.7 minutes. What is the professor's average speed in meters per second? Or how much force, in newtons, does it take to hold a 113 kilogram man completely underwater in the ocean?
A friend came to visit me recently and made the grave error of leaving her car parked on the street.