Wednesday, September 25, 2024

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Creationists have flawed reasoning full of fallacies

Despite relentless efforts by creationists to obscure the facts, the religious underpinnings of intelligent design remain painfully obvious, particularity to anyone capable of discerning the difference between a firmly established scientific theory and mere opinion, personal philosophy or empty religious assertion. When creationists attempt to undermine evolutionary theory with various fictions, myths and deliberately obtuse misunderstandings, the transparently religious and fallacious mindset at the root of intelligent design is made especially clear. The recent error-ridden opinion column by Kerby Rials, "Intelligent design makes sense, complexity of life not accidental," (SN 6/20), offers a nice example. In my experience, hostility toward evolutionary theory invariably stems from ignorance of the scientific evidence or strong religious beliefs — usually both.

COMMENTARY

Mutations can be good too; columnist makes mistake

In the highly inaccurate column by Kerby Rials', "Intelligent design makes sense, complexity of life not accidental," (SN 6/20), one fundamental mistake the author makes is that genetic mutations are never fortunate, suggesting only things like cancer and birth defects are mutations.

COMMENTARY

East Lansing says slow down

The majority of vehicles on the market right now have speedometers going well past 100 mph. Other than the Autobahn, a freeway in Germany largely unmarked by speed limit signs, there are few places where vehicles are permitted to travel faster than 80 mph. In February 2005, the Michigan Department of Transportation, or MDOT, raised speed limits on portions of Grand River Avenue and Saginaw Highway.

COMMENTARY

Birmingham deals with drug overdose

Look closely at your best friends. Do you know whether or not they are doing drugs? Thanks to programs like Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, we are conditioned to associate drug addicts and users as having apparent physical features. For instance, someone who smokes marijuana is supposed to look like a hippie — long hair, ripped jeans and laid-back demeanor.

COMMENTARY

Columnist should look around; war is everywhere

In response to Vanessa Notman's column, "America doesn't look like a country at war; daily lives seem untouched," (SN 6/16), I would like to point out that the war doesn't touch people who aren't paying attention. I am currently studying in Egypt, and I know exactly how war affects my life.

COMMENTARY

Students should speak up to change unfair ways

I am writing to offer my support to Stephanie Giurlanda's letter "Unnecessary course packs waste students' money," (SN 6/16). I believe it to be outrageous that a professor made mandatory the buying of a coursepack that was composed of so much waste. That is not only an insult to the students of that class, but it also reflects poorly upon the faculty and the university when such obviously outrageous occurrences are allowed to pass. Here is my suggestion to all of you who are still paying for tuition and fees, and who are lugging your way to class each day to earn your degree — be proactive.

COMMENTARY

Granholm good governor, her record does speak for itself

In response to Fred Sharp's letter "Granholm blames Bush for Michigan's problems," (SN 6/16), stating that Governor Granholm's record "speaks for itself," I wholeheartedly agree. Granholm is succeeding, albeit under the radar, in her goals of creating jobs and jump-starting our economy.

COMMENTARY

Bush administration should follow Granholm's lead

In Fred Sharp's letter "Granholm blames Bush for Michigan's problems" (SN 6/16), he asks, "If (President) Bush is such a powerful force for job losses, why is Michigan the only one suffering from his economic policies?" The answer is actually quite simple: Michigan has lost a larger percentage of its workforce due to unfair trade practices than any other state, losing one-third of its manufacturing sector since Bush took office.

COMMENTARY

Strengthen the sanctity of marriage with U.S. troops

Since one of the Bush administration's main priorities continues to be strengthening the sanctity of marriage, I would like to offer up an excellent solution. First, it should be noted that the gay community has no intention to wage war on heterosexual marriage.

COMMENTARY

America doesn't look like a country at war; daily lives seem untouched

Sometimes real life can feel like reality television. Although I'm not living in some sick immaculate loft, with five intentionally good-looking roommates with All-American bodies chiseled in sharp angles and donning perfectly white teeth lined like impeccable soldiers, there's still a certain sense of falsity in life these days I can't ignore. This isn't MTV.