I'm writing in response to the editorial "Rags to riches" (SN 2/3). It's incredibly misleading to say that people with a negative opinion of Detroit don't venture downtown or know very little about the city. In fact, the more familiar you are with it, the more negative your opinion tends to be.
In response to Katie Wilcox's letter "Cartoon makes light of unsafe abortion" (SN 2/01), I must first say that her argument sounds, well, sound.
Implementing the Lansing Regional SmartZone is a good opportunity for East Lansing to bring reliable business into the city's rapidly changing downtown environment. The availability for other options is running thin. Hoping to assist small information technology start-ups, entrepreneurs and develop advanced manufacturing techniques, the SmartZone covers a variety of primary objectives.
It's déja vu. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is part of the United Nations, has voted to report Iran to the Security Council over fears that the country is developing nuclear weapons. In response to the move, Iranian officials announced they were no longer going to cooperate with the agency and were going to push ahead with production of enriched uranium. Although Iran's reaction seems rash, just because they are producing enriched uranium doesn't mean they are guilty of anything.
While I was at home, I watched the State of the Union address, which I TiVoed last night. The one glaring thing that got my attention was the president's call for the power to use a line-item veto.
Libertarians, as I mentioned in a previous column, "Lazy analysis of scandal, government spending gives narrow view"(SN 1/24), see anti-government solutions to every problem.
What is happening to my alma mater? More restrictions on partying with the ridiculous extension of ordinances against outdoor drinking games? Incredible. My four years at MSU were filled with great times (the "Magic" years), great partying and a successful education.
Detroit has a bad reputation. There are people who claim it's a dangerous, ugly city — most of whom have never actually been there. Some of them don't live in Michigan, and some are talk show hosts. They won't venture downtown, but they offer plenty of opinion on what's wrong with it. But when people come to Detroit for Super Bowl XL on Sunday, they will get a chance to see Detroit for what it really is and not what stereotypes say it is. When it was first announced in November 2000 that Detroit would host the 2006 Super Bowl, questions and jokes were incessant. Who would want to go to the big game in a crime-infested city like Detroit? But city officials and residents have taken the challenge to show visitors how wrong their misconceptions are by presenting all the city has to offer.
I disagree with many of the assertions made by Ruzbeh Hosseini in his recent opinion column, "International cooperation, attention — not force — needed in Iran" (SN 1/30). One of the few points on which I agree with Hosseini is his assertion that violent intervention in Iran by the international community would be "disastrous." However, his column is full of vague references to the "Iranian people," as if it were a homogeneous entity.
I was appalled when I read what Steven Szasz wrote in "Column gives bad view of Christians" (SN 1/30). The majority of our country bases its religion on a book that, as Jon Stewart put it, begins with "two nudists taking dietary advice from a talking snake." This is to all of the people out there like Szasz who believe firmly in the Bible. My question, though, is that if you want to quote things out of the Bible, you have to believe everything that the Bible says, don't you?
My upper lip is burning and tingling while my nose is subjected to harsh bleach fumes. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. I am sitting here, waiting precisely eight minutes until I can wash my face and reveal lightened baby hairs that could have potentially been a subtle set of whiskers. Clearly, this is not allowed for women. While I personally subject myself to pain and severe tingling sensations, I am reminded of all the little (and big) things that women endure to conform to the stereotype that is our gender role. Makeup.
Tuesday's confirmation of Judge Samuel A. Alito as the United State's 110th Supreme Court justice signified a political triumph for the Bush administration.
Reading "Scholarly article connecting sex, hunting disgusting; uninformed opinions false" (SN 1/11) concerning the research findings relating hunting, women, animals and sex was particularly infuriating. Regrettably, even after years of struggle, women still remain constant victims of abuse.
David Garlock's arguments, "Historical man not worth vast attention", (SN 1/19), are without merit and look to me to be a product of personal bias rather than rational criticism. His argument is that the "forced" holiday commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On Sunday, the crossroads of pop culture, professional athletics and raucous tailgating will collide some 90 miles southeast of campus.
Beth Swanson's column, "Not all people fall on one side or another; person's beliefs can vary" (SN 1/26), on people's varying beliefs raises some extremely important points.
It's been a tough second term for President Bush. Republican finance scandals, Hurricane Katrina and continuing fighting in Iraq made 2005 stressful. Bush tried to push past the rough start and outline his goals for the next few years in his State of the Union address Tuesday. But it was what he didn't mention in his speech that's important. Somewhat surprising was how brief Bush's mention of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation in the Gulf Coast region was.
Only for the ignorant and most ardent race haters is there any problem with a holiday recognizing Martin Luther King Jr.
The level of police control regarding parties and noise violations has reached a level of absurdity and the new anti-drinking game initiative serves only to harm an already poor student/police relationship. The wording of the existing law leaves too much to police discretion. Last spring, I received a noise violation to the tune of $250 with just eight people in my Cedar Village apartment while watching music videos and playing beer pong at a moderate volume.
I see John Bice has moved from theology to humor in "Lazy analysis of scandal, government spending gives narrow view"(SN 1/24). Socialist Insecurity, Medicare, Medicaid, public education and public broadcasting are examples of "successful" government programs? I'd hate to see his version of "failed" government programs. Since the above-mentioned statist programs are so "successful," I guess we can ignore any and all future whining about any need for additional funding. Tim Olster 1989 graduate