Saturday, December 21, 2024

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Calorie information benefits consumers

In the future, consumers soon will be more aware of the health effects of late-night hamburgers and fries. As part of federal health care reform, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to create federal regulations requiring any chain restaurant with 20 or more locations to post a calorie count for their menu items.

COMMENTARY

New art museum looks to MSU’s future

When living in Snyder Hall for the summer semester, one can’t help but notice the gargantuan piece of modern art called Funambulist rising out of the grass on the quadrangle. It’s visible from the windows in the Gallery at Snyder and Phillips halls and from both Bogue Street and Physics Road and invokes — in this writer’s humble opinion — influences both avian and Asian.

COMMENTARY

Freedom from foreign oil

The partisan brawl over cutting the deficit soon will come to a temporary end. By Aug. 2, Congress must strike a deal to cut government spending to ensure our government does not default on its debt. Although it will be a rare and important policy achievement, there is much more work to be done to get people back to work.

COMMENTARY

Weakening ban makes little sense

The Michigan Dr. Ron Davis Smoke-Free Air Law is in danger of choking to death. The Smoke-Free Air Law, which went into effect over a year ago, prohibited smoking in most public areas in Michigan, including local businesses.

COMMENTARY

Breaking first impressions

Do we see the world objectively? Or do our perceptions transform a black-and-white world into a subjective fantasy differently viewed by every eye on the planet? The human mind is the most complex computer on Earth.

COMMENTARY

Punishment fits crime, doesn’t end debate

The crime of providing alcohol to minors is an important issue to address, especially in a college community such as East Lansing. No one is quite sure how to stop teens from drinking while underage. But a recent case provides an example of the costs of providing alcohol to minors.

COMMENTARY

The war on drugs is worth fighting

Last Friday’s nationwide protests — one of which occurred in Lansing — of the “war on drugs” on its unofficial 40th anniversary were a bit misguided. When there’s talk about ending the war on drugs, it’s mainly focused on the legalization of recreational marijuana and the high cost of fighting a war against a noun.

COMMENTARY

Consequences of the ‘now’

Have you wondered recently about your future? Have you really wondered about your future and the future of the state, the country or the planet? Last year, we were treated to the fairly innocuous movie “2012” — dramatically presented and poorly acted — in which the prediction for the future was pretty bleak.

COMMENTARY

Jon Huntsman for president

The worst thing you can do in presidential politics is look like a wuss. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty never received that memo and might have dealt himself an irreversible blow in last week’s GOP debate on CNN. Although it is early in the primary and he will have much time to recover, his timing could not have been any worse.

COMMENTARY

Curb abuse with program education, new workers

The state of Michigan recently received 3.3 million more reasons to continue modifying the Bridge Card program. Last Thursday, it was announced the state was awarded $3.3 million by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for cleaning up abuses of the Bridge Card program.

COMMENTARY

Key to moving forward lies in our similarities

Whatever happened to the middle ground? Everything today is grouped into “for” or “against,” from traditionally polarized areas, such as politics and business, to things that usually aren’t as polarized, such as music and sports.

COMMENTARY

East Lansing City Manager: ‘A little personal initiative would help’

I am writing in response to Opinion Editor David Barker’s column A little diversity would help (SN 6/6). His column essentially states there is nothing to do in East Lansing but go to the bars and drink, when, in fact, there are thousands of things to do here for all ages — from students to young professionals to families to seniors and everyone in between. It all depends on an individual’s interests and, most importantly, his or her personal initiative.

COMMENTARY

Why advisers play it safe

The summer Academic Orientation Program, or AOP, kicked off this week, and one of my good friends is working as a full-time staff member. In addition to his duties as presenter and tour guide — for which, apparently, the training truly is Spartan — he’ll be helping new freshmen navigate the online schedule builder to sign up for their classes.

COMMENTARY

'Digital first impressions'

What is reality? Can we hold it in the palm of our hands? Do we see the world objectively, or do our perceptions transform this black and white world into a subjective fantasy that is viewed differently by every eye on the planet?

COMMENTARY

A new NCAA business model

There’s a multi-million dollar business not paying its workers what they’re worth. This business has a television channel dedicated to perpetuating sales, a sweet deal with advertisers and it pays its administrators well, yet it pays its workers next to nothing. You’re outraged and with good reason; that’s unfair to the workers.