In the wake of Michigan's budget crisis, Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed a plan for a 2 percent tax on services, yielding approximately $1.5 billion. According to the Detroit Free Press, the new tax plan involves 132 services.
Although Pete Nichols likes to discuss responsibility, "U.S.
With an ever-increasing field of potential candidates, the 2008 run for the White House is starting to heat up in earnest. Seemingly every day, a new candidate either formally has thrown his or her hat into the ring, formed an exploratory committee or has begun glad-handing around the country in order to drum up support in a bid for the presidency. The latest addition to the roster of presidential hopefuls is Mitt Romney, the Republican former governor of Massachusetts. Romney, however, didn't announce his candidacy in Massachusetts, where he lives.
Meredith Phillis' letter "Cartoon distorts current status of global warming" (SN 2/12), is blatantly incorrect.
The issues facing our world continue to grow larger. From dependence on Middle Eastern oil to the horrible state economy to environmental threats — these don't seem like issues most of us can personally address in a small Mid-Michigan city. Sure, we can do our part by dropping a pop can in the recycling bin, but impacting global issues seems far out of reach. When I opened The State News on Tuesday, however, a few dots began to connect.
I am writing in to criticize both ASMSU and The State News for their inaccuracies in evaluating Great Issues. First of all, I was at the ASMSU meeting, and the climate in the room was one that heavily favored Great Issues, while The State News decided to run a story that made it seem as though there were an equal amount of supporters on both sides in "ASMSU cuts Great Issues program" (SN 2/12). Secondly, the State News Opinion Page said, "If anything should have happened to Great Issues, it should have been reprimanded and restructured so the group could live up to its potential of sparking debate among the student population by giving a stage to unusual viewpoints." Uh, have any of you been to Great Issues events?
I would like to respond to Matt Cowan's bizarre and insulting letter "Christianity doesn't need column to incite reaction" (SN 2/7), in which he relates Christianity and atheism to two bars of metal. In Cowan's misguided argument, he claims the atheistic bar looks shiny on the outside, but only because it is a piece of lead covered in gold paint.
Alex Lishinski feels he made a "sound and relevant response" in "Belief in god wasteful, necessitates blind faith" (SN 2/1), to my earlier letter, "Responses do not counter submission" (SN 1/25), but I see it as the most absurd yet.
Throughout much of human history, stories of the miraculous have been a dime a dozen; very little was understood, and ignorant humans were perpetually running across inexplicable events that could only be the work of unseen forces. As science erases ignorance, "miraculous events" become increasingly rare, but those who want to see miracles always will find them. For example, last year CNN published a widely circulated story, "Woman finds 'God's water' gurgling from tree." A Texan named Lucille Pope reported her century-old oak tree had "gurgled water" for months.
America's gluttonous appetite for oil is not new. For the seventh time, President Bush mentioned the importance of energy independence in his State of the Union address last month. Bush also expressed the need for the United States to invest in the production of ethanol. Now, Michigan finds itself at an important crossroad.
With spirituality seeming to be a fad in these latter days, we rarely ever hear anything positive about the many sects and denominations of one of the oldest faiths on the planet: Christianity.
I had the pleasure of hearing Sen. Barack Obama speak last October in Detroit. Before then, I had not heard much of Sen.
We must ignore our bitter angst of Mother Nature as we press on to our classes in this subzero weather.
I would just like to say that Mike Ramsey's cartoons usually make me want to vomit. Most are distasteful and lack credibility.
I am writing to The State News because I think there is a real problem right now with the ice-covered sidewalks throughout campus and East Lansing.
Two major arguments have been presented in response to my letter. In "Both stem cell research, organ harvesting ethical" (SN 2/6), Mr. Brian Weeks' attempt to justify embryonic stem cell research by asserting that it does "no more harm to the stem cells than was already going to come to them" is harmful for two reasons.
Though not particularly surprised, I am nevertheless appalled by the attitude taken toward the homeless by certain members of our community in East Lansing and MSU. The East Lansing City Council has proposed an ordinance banning homeless people from the city's parking structures.
If there's one thing Americans absolutely hate to hear, it's that we're responsible for our own problems. As a nation, we prefer to think of ourselves as either: A) the enlightened country trying to bring logic and progress to a world that is so hopelessly backward and left in the dark that it needs us or B) the perpetual victim of forces who "hate freedom." After all, it's a much cleaner, nicer way to look at our foreign policy. Who wants to look at the ever-increasing levels of anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and think, "Well, maybe they don't like the United States because we have a long-standing legacy of exploiting the region for our own financial gain?" For example, in Iran in the 1950s and Iraq now, the United States has a history of overthrowing governments we disagree with only to attempt to install often-brutal pro-U.S.
Jessica Byrom's column on Christianity, "Christianity equals love, cannot be debunked in scientific terms" (SN 2/8), was heartwarming and moving, but only to people who are already Christians.
While reading the article "Pool patrons unhappy with renovation plans" (SN 1/31), I was smiling and shaking my head at the same time.