Bias clear in news article
This letter is in response to Dan Cassino's article in Tuesday's Wildcat "Gender May Play a Role in ASUA Election." My intention is not to criticize the content of Cassino's article. Instead, I just want to point out that the only reason an article like this made it into the Wildcat is because it is women who are purportedly gaining an advantage from their gender in the elections.
Imagine for a moment that the situation was reversed, and women were not winning seats in the ASUA Senate. This is the actual case in the U.S. Senate, and indeed the U.S. presidency. You can feel Cassino's personal position in phrases such as "...didn't even consider that her gender might have given her an advantage...", "...Williams refuses to apologize for the advantage her gender might have given her..." Positions such as this are only acceptable when men are at a disadvantage. No reporter would be allowed to use such language, and thus take such a position, in an article reporting on the gender discrimination that women face.
Rachel Wilson
psychology graduate student
Column "sophomoric"
I consider myself an independent, and to paraphrase McDermott, I research issues before taking any sort of stand, as I suspect most politically minded people do, both left and right. Usually, I wouldn't find myself offended by an article like the one published in yesterday's Wildcat. However, the sophomoric attitude of McDermott's last line, "Because we're right," has ground at my sensibilities too much. When the political face of a country can change overnight, where does one ideology get off claiming that all along it was right?
Forgive me, but as long as McDermott fantasizes about the great wealth of conservative contributions to recent history or the dearth of liberal ones, he will always be sorely mistaken. Frankly, neither the liberal side of the spectrum or the conservative side of the spectrum alone has been able to run this country effectively. It's the diversity and constant push-pull struggle between political ideologies which gives the United States its political stability.
Our country will always be in a state of political equilibrium, walking a fine line between different political modes. To presume that a more conservative ideology is better simply because "it is," is probably the most outright act of political misguidedness I've ever seen. To preach about research and understanding of issues and then spit out a line like that last piece of dribble should be a crime.
Jim Swan
chemical engineering sophomore
Both sides use the facts
According to the Webster Handy College Dictionary, conservative is "opposed to change" and liberal is "favoring progress and reform in social institutions, and the fullest practicable liberty of social action." Tom McDermott in "Why would anyone want to be conservative?" would have us believe conservatives all use fact-based reasons for their stances, and the emotional arguments like "Think about the children" are only used by liberals.
The truth is this belief has nothing to do with what conservatism and liberalism are all about. The emotional "Think about the children" argument is used instead of facts by religious conservatives on a constant basis, and liberals in Europe thrive on emotionally-based arguments against genetically modified food industry.
Liberals use facts and evidence all the time when pushing for change in environmental policies, and I'm sure that somewhere conservatives use facts to their great benefit as well.
Those fighting for social change usually try to use emotional arguments if they don't have facts to support them. I think in this case McDermott is confusing liberals being emotional about a position, and using only emotion to support a position (though psychology and sociology do seem to agree with us more than conservatives, and I already made my environmental comment). In the end it's not the conservatives or liberals who will win, it's the specific beliefs and policies supported by the facts that will eventually win.
Joshua White
microbiology senior
Bush handled China situation well
I definitely have to agree with Tom McDermott that President Bush did an excellent job of bringing our troops home in the China crisis. Not only did President Bush get them home, but he did it without actually apologizing, and he did it faster than any other president who has faced a situation similar to this. Both Republicans and Democrats in Washington are praising Bush for his outstanding job of bringing our men and women home.
As for those who say that Bush didn't do it, like Jun Yang did in Friday's Wildcat, these people don't want to give Bush credit for anything. I truly believe if President Bush could eliminate world hunger, bring world peace and end poverty, the left would still not give him credit for it and they'd call him an idiot. Yes, it wasn't just Bush who handled the China crisis, but he was the main part of it and deserves all the credit in the world. For those people who won't give Bush credit, I'm sure if this hadn't turned out well, you would be placing all the blame on Bush. To the left, if the administration does something good, Cheney or the Cabinet did it, but if the administration does something bad, it's all Dubya's fault. Its time to face facts and admit George W. Bush is not the dummy the left though he was, and he did an excellent job in handling the China crisis.
Anthony W. Nelson
criminal justice sophomore
Who wants a fertile state?
This letter is in response to Jessica Lee's "Arizona Arrogance." Truer words have never been written. I am an out-of-state student, and I really appreciate all the water the state of Arizona has supplied me with. By no means did I deserve any of it, but thanks to the Santa Cruz River, I have the luxury of taking long showers, not to mention other creature comforts.
And Jessica is right on the ball when she writes "We do not wish our state to look like Illinois." Who would want to live in a fertile, lush state; I know I wouldn't. Thank you, Jessica. Every time I flush my toilet, I'll be thinking of you.
Nikolaus Turner
business sophomore
