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Thursday, November n, aoio | The Red * Black
DmM Baraatt | Editor in Chief editor@randb.oom
Cany O’Mai | Managing Editor me@randb.com
Cowtnty Hoftwofc I Opinions Editor opinions@randb.com
Reason deserves
place in politics
I preface this with the
fact that I am almost
completely uninformed
about the implications of
the midterm elections.
I also preface this with
the opinion that I think
the most vociferous of
those among us are equal
ly uninformed.
We just have different
blind spots. And it’s prob
ably important to look and
realize where these blind
spots lie.
Jared Peden, who
appears to be a stoic
defender of truth and
American virtue
(••Republicans, do not for
get your promises,” Nov.
8) says what the midterm
elections boil down to is a
“mandate from the
American people."
This wasn’t stated as
an opinion. What I say is
opinion. Because I stated
this. I had a preface, and I
don’t want you to be con
fused.
Peden didn't say it was
an opinion. His column
was printed in the opin
ions section, but some
where along the way my
simple brain decided to be
immersed in the wonderful
world of language compre
hension.
You see. when I read
words, I’m carried away by
them (sometimes on a
magic pony). Oftentimes, I
forget completely about
other thoughts.
Important thoughts.
Thoughts like, does this
mean anything? Are there
any facts to back this up?
Is there someone more
qualified than myself or
this guy to make these
judgments? Who made
this judgment in the first
place? Where are his
facts? Who am I kidding? I
don’t have time to answer
these questions. That’s
why I’m ignorant.
Opinion sections, at
least for me —and this is
my opinion are proba
bly nothing more than
delightful psychological
dramas with little truth
value. But we probably
take them pretty seriously.
You see, our animal
brain wants to tell us emo
tions and feelings corre
spond to causation and
reality.
It’s not “news,” you say.
But inciting passion is far
more effective than the
lumbering pace of reason.
Not that I’m being that
reasonable. I’m just car
ried away by a torrent of
emotional appeal.
I mean, seriously y’all,
wasn’t Peden’s description
of Rep. Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., dancing around
Congress after becoming
speaker totally silly? I
LOL’d.
But the newly-elected
soundlffe
9 To that guy in my breakout session shut up.
You don’t know more than our TA and no one wants
to hear you blabber on and on about nothing at 9:30
in the morning.
fShe works at Snelling, has friends who smoke
American Spirits and is involved in the "art scene” ...
no wonder her cartoons are so predictable...
? Don’t ask me to scoot over three seats to “make
room for your friends” when you arrived 10 minutes
after me.
? Wouldn’t it be nice if President Adams took a
one-third pay cut like some CAES professors?
?You sure look cool wearing a handkerchief and
wielding a SBO Nerf gun as you tackle girls to the
pavement.
?I am sick and tired of getting to campus 20 min
utes before my class starts only to sit in 30 minutes
worth of traffic trying to get into the Hull Street
Deck.
♦ The last thing I want to see between classes is a
bunch of purposely inflammatory posters of stillborn
fetuses passed off by the ignorant as the product of
safe, legal abortion.
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A Jeff
A Webber
speaker of the House, big
softy Rep. John Boehner,
R-Ohio, held a “subdued
conference,” and even
“shed a few tears."
I’m sold. I dig men who
cry. The reasons behind
this are pretty screwed up
though.
Look at what I just did.
I juxtaposed the descrip
tions of two politicians to
evince my belief that both
of these politicians are
equally incapable of
appearing sane in public.
And also to make Peden
seem blindly partisan,
thinly concealed with a
veil of American solemnity.
And then. I made a joke
about my perhaps horrific
childhood.
So, Pelosi made herself
look like a fool on TV. And
Boehner’s tears fill the
hollow simulacrum of our
Founding Fathers.
Both of these are just
empty public gestures,
devoid of any real value.
It’s all only so much noise.
And we’re inundated with
it.
What are the issues?
Big government! Taxes!
Oh no, not the taxes! I for
got about the taxes! I hate
taxes!
Maybe these things are
important. But real
change happens in far
more nuanced ways than
these oft overused talking
points.
But look, Peden, it’s not
the “American people”
who wanted a “change.”
How do I know this?
I don’t want change
that comes in a homoge
nized package. And by
golly. I’m an American
person.
What I want is clear
information. And I doubt I
will ever get that. And nei
ther will you.
The question is, do you
care? Information is falling
like candy gumdrops from
the sky. Reach out and get
you some!
Look, you could be spe
cialized in your knowledge.
Learn your trade. Get off
the Internet. Inform the
public. Inform our leaders.
You’re just gonna have to
shout real loud over all the
noise.
And even then, people
probably won’t care.
But virtue holds its own
rewards.
Someone told me that
once. They locked like the
type who got bullied a lot
in school.—
Jeff Webber is an
alumnus from Athens
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Opinions
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Bloomberg is a good pick for 2012
I love the speculation about
future campaigns that immedi
ately follows elections like last
Tuesday’s.
Now our newly elected represen
tatives must set about the serious
challenge of governing a nation
that remains mired in two wars and
a 9.6 percent unemployment rate.
Despite the soaring rhetoric of
Obama’s 2008 campaign, it increas
ingly appears that neither the pres
ident nor the new Republican
majority is up to the chaUenge of
addressing these issues.
Maybe it’s time for the nation to
look outside the two-party system
toward an independent candidate
for president. And maybe that can
didate is New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
A CNN article following the elec
tions last week reported “it may be
too early to count Barack Obama
out” of the 2012 election, to which I
can only respond: duh.
Since World War H, incumbent
presidents have won seven out of
11 elections, and until state-by
state polling after the nominees are
set shows otherwise, Obama
remains the favorite to secure
reelection. Who will be his oppo
nent, though, is still an open ques
tion.
But none of that is exciting.
What’s Sarah Palin twittering
about?
Indeed, Palin’s potential presi
dential prospects played part and
parcel of an article in New York
magazine by John Heilemann,
“How Sarah Barracuda Becomes
President." Heilemann didn’t even
wait until after the midterms to
start speculating about the 2012
election.
No one has yet announced their
official candidacy for the presiden
cy, but several politicians are seen
as potential candidates to be the
Republican nominee. But for a vari
ety of reasons, none of these candi-
Cartoonist does her job
well, despite politics
In response to David Henry’s
Letter to the Editor (“Cartoons
present biased opinion," Nov. 9)
that Sarah Quinn’s political car
toons are “lame,” “excessively
biased” and “uncreative,” I must
respectfully disagree.
While I hold quite different polit
ical opinions than Quinn, her car
toons are not only expertly drawn
but also clearly put a well-educated
opinion onto the paper’s Opinions
page.
While Quinn did spend much of
August drawing at Palin’s expense
and much of the past few weeks
have been devoted to criticizing
Nathan Deal, Quinn is a political
cartoonist.
It is in her job description to be
political.
To call her a “lame” cartoonist
because you disagree with her ide
ology is not kind and does not help
to contribute to a loving campus.
If you can do better than Quinn,
Our Staff
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dates would quite galvanize the
mutated, Tea Party-driven
Republican party like Palin would.
Whether Palin runs or not
remains uncertain, but regardless,
moderates and independents face a
choice between two undesirable
outcomes in 2012.
Few Democrats and liberals I
know are fully satisfied with
Obama's administration, but even
fewer of them would respond by
voting for any Republican for presi
dent.
Most Republicans and conserva
tives I know have opposed
Obama’s policies and actions, but
would oppose a Palin candidacy
almost as strongly, and would
struggle to get excited about Mitt
Romney or Newt Gingrich.
But Bloomberg’s a candidate
whose bumper sticker I would be
proud to sport on my car.
Thomas Friedman wrote early
last month in the New York Times,
"barring a transformation of the
Democratic and Republican
Parties, there is going to be a seri
ous third party candidate in 2012,
with a serious political movement
behind him or her.” Heilemann
cites Friedman’s article when mak
ing the argument that Bloomberg
will run.
And Bloomberg should run: his
economic credentials are impecca
ble after he founded the epony
mous financial services company,
Bloomberg LP and a president
with a deep understanding of eco
nomic issues is exactly what
America needs right now.
Bloomberg has progressive val
ues on social issues such as gay
marriage, and was one of the first
Mailbox
F.-mail and letters from our readers
I’m sure that the opinions editor
would love to talk to you about
drawing the cartoons next semes
ter.
Perhaps you could And anew
horse to beat everyday.
But Quinn puts out a cartoon
every day on top of schoolwork and
graduating soon and deserves
acclaim.
Thanks, Sarah, for your hard
work.
CHARLES HICKS
Sophowwb, Savannah
Sociology and anthropology
Anti-abortion display an
offensive spectacle
I was surprised and disgusted
when I visited Tate n on
Wednesday to eat lunch.
I had to walk past a large dis
play with numerous genocide pic
tures and pictures of aborted fetus
es, all very graphic.
Avery large area was reserved
and fenced-off for just this group,
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Phone (706) 433-3002 | Fhx (709) 433-3083
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540 Baxter Street, Athens, Ga. 30605
and loudest supporters of the so
called Ground Zero mosque. He
would place social issues in their
proper place, helping to keep
national politics from devolving
into culture wars.
Not to mention Bloomberg
would be our first Jewish president,
which by itself would give Jon
Stewart enough material to last
through a Bloomberg campaign
and presidency.
But most importantly,
Bloomberg has the executive expe
rience no Republican candidate
can provide In the coming election.
He built his company from a
startup into one of the most valu
able and important financial servic
es companies in the world.
His service as mayor of New
York City has been a success
according to most observers.
And he was personally popular
enough to change the city code and
successfully run for a third term as
mayor.
Can Bloomberg or any third
party candidate actually win the
White House?
Yes, the most likely outcome is
Bloomberg managing only to split
the vote and secure the election for
either Obama or the Republican
candidate.
But Bloomberg would run a dis
ciplined, effective and well-financed
campaign. His strengths might
appeal to enough people across the
nation to gain victory. I’m not
ready to say that Obama, Palin or
any other candidate will certainly
win or lose the election in 2012.
But if the nation's political and.
economic conditions remain similar
to what they are today, Bloomberg
can at least chalk up my vote.
Robbie Ottley is a sophomore
from Marietta majoring in history
and political science and is a
page designer and sportswriter
for The Red & Black
with police standing by.
I do not think I should have to
endure such a nuisance in order to
enjoy the University campus.
I hope the anti-pornography and
anti-gay-sex groups are not allowed
to put up extremely graphic mate
rials in the middle of campus to
further their political position.
DOUGLAS PATTON
Grad student, Athens
Agricultural and
H nnlleri ecnnendcs
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