It seems everyone — well, non-Republicans, at any rate — from the media on down are thrilled about the outcome of the 2006 midterm elections. I should be, too.
Now that MSU's administration has made the right move and has given John L. Smith his walking papers, hopefully it will think more carefully about the next person it hires.
Elections are over. Proposal results are in — and the result to at least one Michigan proposal is embarrassing. The most important ballot measure Michiganians voted on this election was, without a doubt, Proposal 2 — the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.
Voters handed a victory to the Democrats on Tuesday — and the MSU Board of Trustees followed this pattern, with Democrats George Perles and Faylene Owen taking seats away from GOP incumbents Dave Porteous and Dee Cook. Our favorite candidate, MSU social relations sophomore and Green Party member Lauren Spencer, came in a strong fifth with more than 100,000 votes, and even though she lost, she said she would still attend board meetings. But not everyone is as gracious as Spencer.
A funny thing happened Nov. 7 — the Democrats won. Sure, pundits from coast to coast were predicting a strong Democratic win in the congressional elections, but those predictions usually were peppered with guarded optimism over the outcome.
I'd like to address a statement made in the "Reduce effects of global warming now" editorial (SN 11/1). The statement in the third column of the editorial said, "Global warming is scientific fact and needs to be addressed immediately." This statement is false and almost blatantly so.
I am writing to contradict your claim that working in cheese production at the MSU Dairy Plant is a "dirty job" ("Dirty Jobs," SN 11/7). I begin by questioning the reasoning behind including a sterile food production plant alongside other work places that include "pooper-scoopers." The MSU Dairy Plant meticulously complies with all health department standards, making it a clean work environment. Secondly, I would like to correct erroneous claims made by your reporters.
It's election time and you know what that means. No, not a sterling representation of democracy in action by which we lead the world by example, but rather the same bumbling failure and incompetence that has plagued elections since 2000.
I am writing in response to Andrea Byl's column, "Christianity, belief in God based on rational thinking, evidence" (SN 10/31). While I may not necessarily agree with her view of the universe, I certainly respect her viewpoint and encourage her exploration for the truth.
It's the same routine every morning. I wake up to the melody playing on my cell phone, roll over, hit the snooze button and complain about getting up at the ungodly hour of 7:30 a.m.
I read your cover story for last weekend's edition ("People behind the podium" SN 11/3). I was under the impression there were more than two political parties in the United States. I could have sworn several more parties ran for office in Michigan other than the Republicans and Democrats.
I was delighted to read The State News' "Dirty Jobs" (SN 11/7) article which features many of our hard-working students who devote their lives to the care of animals.
While the MSU football players look for who is to blame for the dismissal of their beloved head coach, I hope they will admit to themselves that they are the reason head coach John L.
"Long live the people! Long live the nation! Down with the occupiers! Down with the spies!" This doesn't exactly scream, "I just got sentenced to death," but those are the exclamations Saddam Hussein shouted after he received his court punishment — death by hanging. After 24 years in power and almost three years after his capture, the Iraqi court has finally found Saddam guilty of crimes against humanity.
At what point does human life begin? The question is consistently debated around the world. The answer, however, is fluid and has changed throughout history.
This is in response to the grossly inaccurate editorial published in regard to the proposal being discussed by ASMSU in, "ASMSU bill won't halt cheating" (SN 10/25). First, nowhere has this appeared in bill form yet — not in the University Committee on Academic Policy, not in ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, and nowhere will it appear in bill form for at least another two weeks.
Go vote. This year's midterm elections are important. Not only is it possible for the Senate to tip Democratic, but also according to The Center for Information and Research on Civil Learning and Engagement, this year's midterm elections follow a presidential election in which the highest amount of students and young adults turned out to vote in more than a decade. It's the perfect time for students to prove everyone wrong and show up to voice their opinions during this heated midterm political season. In Michigan, the youth voter turnout — people ages 18 to 29 — ranked 12th overall across the country for the 2004 presidential election.
Tuesday has to be the most forgettable day of the week. At least Monday inspires dread, and Wednesday gets you over the hump.
I have had the remarkable privilege of serving on the Lansing State Journal editorial board this year.
This letter is in response to Amy Boersma's letter, "Reconsider voting against MCRI, will end racist policy" (SN 11/1). First off, I would like to address the statement that Asian Americans "lose points on the affirmative action scale." This is not true seeing as it is now illegal to use a point scale for affirmative action, and that argument is not valid when trying to argue in favor of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI.