Opinions - The Eastern Echo

Socialists miss point on Haiti

By Jason Hendricks · Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010

I am writing this in response to the Students for Social Equality protesting the U.S. aid to Haiti, something I find disgusting.

The time has come for more than words

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010

Two years ago, during the Democratic primary, then-candidate Barack Obama borrowed some words from his friend, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, in defense of his theatrical tendencies.

Smoking ban could lead to tyranny

By Adam Nannini · Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010

As of May 2010, no restaurant in Michigan will be able to sell cheeseburgers. Cheeseburgers are full of saturated fat and hormones from corporate farms, are unhealthy to the general public and therefore drive up the cost of health care.

Congress needs to get down to business

Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010

Congress’ debate over healthcare continues and though you may be sick of it at least you’ll have a chance of being insured if they pass it.

College admissions cut men slack

By Los Angeles Times · Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010

Who’s smarter, men or women? It’s a topic of common — and often comic — musings, but it has also become a serious policy issue for colleges and students. After 17 years of concentrated effort to raise the academic achievement of girls, the nation can brag female students have progressed tremendously. Women had often received less attention in the classroom and been steered away from college-prep courses in previous decades. Though still under-represented in calculus and other advanced-level science and math courses in high school, women now outnumber men applying to and graduating from college — so many that it appears some colleges are giving male applicants an admissions boost.

Presidency: a frustrating career choice

By Hannah Schwab · Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010

WANTED: Male or female, preferably male, minimum 35 years old, who wants to help others. Position consists of long hours, travel, relocation, time away from the family and absolutely no privacy. Your past, present and future will become everyone’s business, so those with skeletons in the closet need not apply. Everyone around you will critique and judge everything about you, from your ethics to your razor burn. Everyone will be overanalyzing every word and hand gesture for hidden meanings. Trust no one, they are all waiting to stab you in the back while they shake your hand. You will start off wanting to leave a legacy and make changes, but none of it will come true. Everyone will know your name and your face. You will be talked about in every history and civics class from here to eternity, no matter if you succeed or fail. Interested parties should apply within.

Comic books do contain literary value

Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010

I said last article that the discussion on whether comic books constituted proper literature was a topic for another article. Three guesses for what this article will be about. The problem is the art – the words alone do not a piece of literature make, as the argument goes. But literature is art, so therefore comic books are literature. Somewhere a professor of logic is yelling at the paper. So sue me, politics are slow right now. Sure, I could write about the Senate position in Massachusetts, but I’ve done Democratic incompetence to death for now, so I’m moving on.

Democrats get a wake-up call

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010

It’s Ted Kennedy’s seat no longer. Scott Brown walked into the Lion’s Den and defeated Martha Coakley, spoiling the Democrats’ chance at a filibuster-proof Senate on Tuesday. The Democratic Party would like you to believe that this was an isolated event, but it wasn’t. This election was a referendum on the president and the party he leads.

GOP can't expect to win in 2010 without overhaul

By Donald Stuckey II · Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010

For the last few weeks, I have been sitting around listening to the right-wing, truth-distorting machine talk about how the American people are upset with the president and how people are tired of tax increases in government-run healthcare.

U.S. imperialism hurting Pakistan

Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010

Earlier this month, the Pakistani English-language daily “Dawn” reported U.S. drone-missile attacks have claimed the lives of more than 700 people in Pakistan in 2009. The report was based on statistics compiled by Pakistani authorities and has been virtually ignored by the U.S. media.

Stop texting and driving, make roads safer

By Marcus Teklemariam · Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010

You’re driving down the road, on your way to class, when your cell phone goes off. You take a quick glance to find it’s a text message. It’s just a friend letting you know where you’ll be meeting at the movies tonight. Knowing you’re going to be in class for most of the day, you reach over and try to text him back before you pull up to the student parking lot. Suddenly, you hear a loud car horn. Then you notice your car is traveling in the wrong lane and you quickly move to miss the other car by only a few feet. Feeling relieved and a little embarrassed, you begin to wish you had parked your car before you picked up the phone.

Archive binges lead to lost time

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010

Wikis have an irritating habit of being addictive. You read an article, see some links you like and suddenly you’re reading four or more articles at once. One site I like to do this with is tvtropes.com. Now while reading articles on this site I came across an often-quoted web comic called The Order of the Stick. I decided to read this web comic from the start

Palin suited for talk shows, not politics

By Neil Weinberg · Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010

She’s charismatic. She’s attractive. She plays by her own set of rules and has a massive following. Will she cash that in on a serious run for the White House? Of course not.

GOP turn focus on Yemen and its link to terrorism

Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

Apparently, Yemen is the new front in the War on Terror. It was a rather obscure country to most Americans before recent events – much like any country that doesn’t have terrorists, or plans to nuke us to the Stone Age.

This is hard to learn: Why do good deeds always turn out bad?

By Hannah Schwab · Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

Starting from day one, parents constantly teach their kids lessons about life, big and small. They teach us how to tie our sneakers, how to apologize and how to look both ways before crossing the street.

Nation's veterans need help

By Ingrid Mitchell · Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

One tends to assume, once a military member has returned from a combat zone alive, whether harmed or uninjured, all should be well once the member is removed from the hostile sector.

Obama's change stalled during '09

By Neil Weinberg · Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010

Electoral success doesn’t always translate to executive greatness and our president is learning that first hand.

Media influence our perception of 'beauty'

By Hiba Baghdadi · Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010

According to Leonard Eron, senior research scientist at the University of Michigan, “Television alone is responsible for 10 percent of youth violence.” This is only 10 percent, and not including the effect it has on body image, sexuality and eating disorders.

Tax big bankers

By David Gomez · Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010

While 2009 is still fresh in our minds, it is important that we start 2010 right. Just like in 2009, the huge banks are propped up with taxpayer dollars.

Bachelor's degree weak in educated workforce

Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010

Hello again. Welcome back from break, hope you enjoyed it and that you were happy with your grades. With the holidays over I can proceed to bring you back to reality with all the grace and civility of an elephant high on Acid. With more and more people going to college, those undergraduate degrees that many students end up in debt for are becoming less valued in the work environment, mainly because there are so many of them now.