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.
It was truly heartening to read your editorial "Israeli use of cluster bombs unjust" (SN 1/29). Thank you for pointing out the "unjust" part.
I am writing in response to Ryan Dinkgrave's article "Definition of marriage should not be based on sexual orientation" (SN 2/7). Dinkgrave states that he cannot "understand and appreciate" the views of those opposed to same-sex marriage.
ASMSU passed a bill Friday removing Great Issues, a group from its programming board, after an argument about a speaker the group paid to visit MSU. The speaker, Joe Carr, reportedly made anti-Semitic and other hate speech comments last year, spurring the Jewish Students Union and the Arab Cultural Society to introduce a bill calling for the removal of Great Issues from the undergraduate student government. After a meeting that wore on until after 2 a.m., ASMSU's Student Assembly removed the group for bringing "events which actually promote mistrust, hatred and even violence toward minorities on campus," the bill stated. Great Issues was a 17-member facet of the programing board.
It's no secret that anti-abortion proponents are a spectacularly uncool group of people. Statistically speaking, outside of "American Idol" enthusiasts and motorists with "Love Wins" bumper stickers, pro-lifers rank among the most uncool segments of the American population. "Jay and Silent Bob" creator Kevin Smith can't write a movie script without satirizing a pro-life character.
Attending MSU sporting events during the past decade or so, I've had to stifle more than a few moans at the juvenile antics of the student section.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm delivered her State of the State address Tuesday and confirmed what most of us had already concluded: The state of the state?
I am writing in response to Pete Nichols' opinion piece, "Bomb scare points out country's susceptibility for overreaction" (SN 2/5), about the city of Boston's reaction to the ill-planned marketing efforts of Turner Broadcasting System Inc. I am an MSU alumnus now living in Boston.