Opinions - The Eastern Echo

Oil spill reveals GOP hypocrisy

By Sammy DeMarco · Monday, May 3, 2010

“Drill baby, drill” became the Republicans’ 2008 presidential campaign motto. Now one has to wonder if it will be “drill baby drill ‘til it spills baby spills.” The drill advocates are as silent as a swamp cricket laced in raw crude.

Letter: Animals that reach PETA 'often beyond hope'

Sunday, April 18, 2010

I would like to clarify statements made in “Pet Stores, Puppy Mills Cause Bad Behavior” (7 April). The animals who come through PETA’s doors — not counting the thousands we sterilize at our low-cost clinics and return to their guardians — are only a tiny fraction of the estimated 6 to 8 million homeless dogs and cats who enter shelters every year.

Colleges less liberal than you'd think

By Tim Barker · Wednesday, April 14, 2010

ST. LOUIS – It’s tempting to think of college campuses as islands of enlightenment, places where students embrace new ideas, people and cultures without the specter of hate hanging overhead.

Big 3's decline could restore public transit

By Chris Hoitash · Wednesday, April 14, 2010

So the idea for a rail between Ann Arbor and Detroit is being delayed. It’s technically for Michigan as a whole, which has had a long history of not having decent public transportation.

Children have no 'return to sender'

By Hannah Schwab · Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Torry Ann Hansen made international headlines last week when she returned her adopted son, Justin, to Russia.

A little taste of everything

By Chris Hoitash · Sunday, April 11, 2010

Spring has arrived, in all it’s depressing, beautiful glory. With the semester coming to a close I find myself working to prepare for final exams, and yet at the same time so many obscure things are happening that I have an opinion on. So I have compiled several of them to get them out to the world efficiently while I prepare for finals.

Why does everybody in Washington fight?

By Hannah Schwab · Sunday, April 11, 2010

For the past few weeks, rumors have been circulating in Washington, D.C., that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens was making his way toward the door and into the land of retirement.

New nuclear plan changes nothing

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, April 11, 2010

A lot of speculation has been made about the president’s recent announcement regarding the American nuclear strategy

Letter: Polite's impact felt across EMU

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Eastern Michigan University’s Dean of the College of Education, Vernon Polite (1949-2010), will be remembered as a scholar, mentor and activist – particularly for his groundbreaking work on the education of African American males. While Polite had many accomplishments before and during his time at EMU, the ones that had the most powerful impact on me, and I believe on many others, were the summits he organized: the first was on “The State of the African-American Male in Michigan,” the second was on African-American women.

Letter: Teachers' skill needs probing

By Zachary Zeid · Wednesday, April 7, 2010

To Whom It May Concern, I have a question for you. Why are there never any articles about the quality of teachers at Eastern?

Congress should be pursuing civility

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The GOP should be ashamed of itself. You would think the Republican Party would get a clue, but unfortunately that is not the case. When the House passed healthcare reform just a few short weeks ago, members of the tax Tea Party were outside the chamber hurling racial slurs at members of Congress.

Marriages should add expiration date

By Hannah Schwab · Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Marriage is a nerve-racking idea for both men and women. Men are taught to run screaming from the idea, while women are fed fairy tales of knights on white horses who will scoop them up and make every wish come true. Neither idea leaves people with a very strong idea of what they’re really getting themselves into when they say, “I do.”

New health care taking steps to aid seniors more

By Bruce Chernof · Sunday, April 4, 2010

Health care reform has made seniors, by and large, uneasy. Older Americans heard the words “cuts” and “Medicare” in the same sentence and were more likely to believe health care reform would hurt – not help – them.

Bauer from '24' deserves to be American hero

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, April 4, 2010

When the final seconds tick off the clock May 24, our nation will bid adieu to its greatest hero. Jack Bauer will end his final day and a chapter in the American story will close.

America hasn't changed much

By Chris Hoitash · Sunday, April 4, 2010

What happened to America? I wonder this when I think about the past. Being a history major I tend to do that.

A squabbling House still does something

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The House of Representatives passed the health care bill by a vote of 221-210 March 21. President Obama signed the bill into law Tuesday. Talk of lawsuits to fight the bill based on it being unconstitutional is all ready underway.

GOP needs to 'replace,' not 'reform'

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, March 28, 2010

The passage of health care reform last week did not end the debate on the subject, it merely changed it.

Republicans turned off by size of Obama's package

By Tom Brandt · Sunday, March 28, 2010

Republicans are not sparing the rod when it comes to beating up on President Obama’s economic stimulus package, but it’s clear they are unable to raise their membership to withstand the newly found vigor of his congressional muscle.

Thoughts on health care: Health care will improve economy and help people

By Donald Stuckey II · Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Sunday will go down in history as the day when the final vote to pass health care reform took place. On that day, the House of Representatives voted 219-212 to pass the measure. President Barack Obama signed this measure, which is known as the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act of 2010, and signed it into law just a few days later on Tuesday.

Thoughts on health care: New bill is only beginning of progress

By Jeff Gerding · Wednesday, March 24, 2010

President Obama signed the health care reform bill into law Tuesday, after the House almost voted directly along party lines last Sunday to accept the version of the bill voted on in the Senate, and to add a series of addenda.