Monday, September 23, 2024

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

Commentary

COMMENTARY

Campaigns play out like playoffs

Drew Winter
May 15, 2008

If the mainstream media wants to reduce the presidential election to a sporting competition, they should have their sports reporters covering it. Obsessing over the candidates’ political strategizing and voter reception of their talking points doesn’t expand anyone’s understanding of the issues at stake. Journalists are not living up to their responsibility to shape the discussion on their own terms, rather than the terms of the nominees. The news media’s failure allows politicians to turn this campaign into a competitive spectacle.

COMMENTARY

Juneau residents set example in saving energy

It’s official. Green is the new black. If ever there was a time to conserve energy, that time is now. The residents of Juneau, Alaska realized this, but only after an April avalanche depleted more than 80 percent of their electrical supply. After such a loss, the 31,000 residents of Juneau are going to extremes to conserve every little bit of energy they can. Thus far, the city has cut its electrical use by more than 30 percent.

COMMENTARY

Ban on smoking benefits state

Cookie-cutter political philosophy and party-line votes are the norm in Lansing. Doctrinaire legislators rule the day mostly because they lack the experience in statesmanship to see beyond simple ideological or partisan ideologies.

COMMENTARY

Peer-to-peer loans seem risky lending option

As the cost of getting an education goes up with each passing year, it seems as though it’s getting harder for students to get loans unless their credit is in near perfect condition. Some students are looking for new ways to pay for college other than borrowing from banks and government agencies.

COMMENTARY

Dual-majoring may not be worth extra work

Some college students think just having one major is a ton of work, but an increasing number of seniors are graduating with double and even triple majors. According to the Lansing State Journal, 424 students graduated from MSU with multiple majors in 2003.

COMMENTARY

America relies too much on use of technology

What would you do if technology ceased to exist? It seems like every day there’s a new cell phone or laptop being advertised during the commercial breaks of my favorite TV programs. Technology is growing faster than some of us can learn how to use it.

COMMENTARY

Lifting gas tax won't boost tourism, economy

Gas prices don’t seem to be lowering any time soon, but Michigan residents could be seeing a little relief at the pump this summer. After Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, and John McCain, R-Ariz, suggested a tax break on gas, local Republican lawmakers are pushing for their own version of a gas tax holiday by proposing to temporarily eliminate Michigan’s sales tax on gas for the summer driving season.

COMMENTARY

High food stamp usage indicates larger problem

Welfare has long been associated with the poor, the disabled and elderly, or those who are too lazy to find work, but with the country in a recession, the Bridge Card is becoming a common card in the purses and wallets of wealthier families. Swiped like a credit card at checkout, a Bridge Card is the debit card that replaced the paper food stamps in 2001.

COMMENTARY

Candidates share similar politics

News flash: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are not different. When this stupid primary started, I seem to recall that being the general consensus. Disturbingly, a few months of verbal excrement from the candidates has severely polarized many Democratic voters.

COMMENTARY

Plastic hard hats undermine group's environmental concerns

As a student concerned about the environment, I couldn’t help but notice that in the photo for the article Students rally for energy efficiency (SN 4/18) the supporters wore green hard hats. That seems like an oxymoron to me — they want better efficiency, but they supported the making of green plastic hats?

COMMENTARY

Race factor doesn't mean crime is racially motivated

This letter is in response to the racist and sexist incident that occurred on April 5 between two residents of Case Hall. While I do not doubt the validity of the claim by Megan Threats, I do not understand why the incident was regarded as racist. Yes, the two people involved were of two different races and genders, but were the causes behind Max Schurig slapping Threats racially rooted? Just because the victim happened to be of another race than the attacker, that does not make it a racist occurrence.

COMMENTARY

State's efforts to expand sex education smart

Sex is everywhere — it’s in magazines, movies, music videos, on the Internet and many other mediums. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. Democratic state lawmakers are introducing legislation that would require health insurance plans that cover prescriptions to also include coverage for contraception.

COMMENTARY

Goals vary for pope, Dalai Lama

For the past two weeks, the attention of American media has been largely focused on religion, spirituality and philosophy as the country hosted two of the world’s most revered spiritual leaders: the pope and the Dalai Lama. I think their experiences here illustrate how great of a distance exists between their worlds.