Friday, April 4, 2025

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Abortion should be choice not denied to women

I have really enjoyed many of Jessica Byrom's columns because they tend to have such a fresh viewpoint, which is why I was particularly disappointed with the one that ran last Thursday which compared abortion with casualties of war in "Casualties of war mourned, not those killed by abortion" (SN 10/26). Planned Parenthood doesn't receive funding from taxpayers, as Byrom implied.

COMMENTARY

War on terror fought incorrectly

Whenever I turn on the news about the upcoming elections, I often hear — no matter if it's CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, whatever — that it's possible the Democrats will come out on top this year because of people's dissatisfaction with the Republicans' war performance.

COMMENTARY

Reduce effects of global warming now

A new British report by Sir Nicholas Stern printed Monday calls for immediate action to tackle global warming now — or wait and suffer the pricey consequences. The review was commissioned by the U.K.'s Chancellor of the Exchequer and explains that the world needs to spend £184 billion, or 1 percent of the global GDP (about $348.9 billion), to deal with global warming now.

COMMENTARY

Christianity, belief in God based on rational thinking, evidence

Some say God is a crutch. But I say it works both ways. Is atheism an emotional crutch? Something people conjure up to escape the frightening reality of God's existence? The question of purpose is a human query, one I was surprised to see John Bice deny in his column, "Religious beliefs don't justify outlawing stem cell research" (SN 10/24). The argument Bice presented asserted that Christianity holds a slew of moral ideals based on a faith conjured up by humans so they feel better about the afterlife. Bice wrote, "The foundational basis for religious faith isn't evidence or rational thinking; instead, it stems from fear of death, an emotional craving for an optimistic future and a desire for 'meaning.'" I read it and was puzzled.

COMMENTARY

Prop. 2 eliminates more than affirmative action

I am writing to clarify the inaccuracies written in Matt Schumann's letter, "Vote yes on proposal to end affirmative action" (SN 10/30). I agree with his arguments, and I believe that affirmative action should not be strictly restricted to skin color but also include an element of socioeconomic status.

COMMENTARY

Google's monopoly on Internet convenience making life easier

On special occasions, you can log onto www.google.com and find the Web site's banner with an array of festive decorations, depending on the holiday or commemorative date. Instead, Google's webmasters should rethink this scheme and portray their Web site in a more accurate light — the two Os should be eyes. Google has become the Big Brother of the world — and you don't hear me complaining.

COMMENTARY

Change in Bush's rhetoric means little

In another effort to save the sinking ship that is the GOP, President Bush spent Wednesday giving a speech and a press conference about the Iraq war — making a startling claim that what has happened in Iraq "rests with me." He's not exactly taking responsibility, but with only a week and a half left before midterm elections, that's probably all the "responsibility" the president is going to give us. The purpose of the press conference-slash-save-the-GOP gaggle was for the president to discuss Iraq, though almost everything he says about the conflict is contrary to what reports coming out of the country say.

COMMENTARY

City Center II will improve downtown

If all goes according to plan, the big, ugly, empty ex-bank building on the corner of Abbott Road and Grand River Avenue will soon be history. In its place, the City Center II project may be installed.