Columnist immature
To the editor,
Cory Spiller's "More Money for What?," while commenting on the need for more military spending, certainly exposes his uncanny ability to babble aimlessly. The question that he should be asking is "What do I know?"
First of all, Mr. Spiller, your article was researched extremely poorly.
Any intelligent reporter would have caught that Fort Huachuca is an Army base, not Air Force. Ironically, that reporter would have known that Fort Huachuca houses our military's school of intelligence gathering. So why do we need an army base in the middle of nowhere in Southern Arizona, you ask?
Well I suppose it would be rude to say that New York was taken, but would you propose we get rid of a highly valuable school such as a school for intelligence gathering? Do you even know what intelligence gathering means?
Well, look it up. Research: a highly valuable tool for a journalist.
Secondly, your pathetic attempt at comedy flaunts itself in your lame reference to G.I. Joe. How many professors and doctorate holders who read the Arizona Daily Wildcat do you think would know what in the world a Cobra Commander is? You forget, Mr. Spiller, that faculty read our well-esteemed newspaper too. Your reference to G.I. Joe gives away the fact that you are a boy who has not yet seen the world through a man's eyes. Thirdly, your use of the term "military uselessness" offends everyone who ever lost their life so that you may be able to type away in an air-conditioned room unaffected by events such as the threat of losing the oil that runs in your car or the deaths of hundreds of thousands in the name of religion. What would this nation be like without any type of police force in our cities? See the big picture, Mr. Spiller, and you will see that our military is a peace-keeping force in the world now. Finally, any intelligent speaker who points out the problems of the world must propose a valid solution. Mr. Spiller, I saw none in your commentary, leading me to believe you were just babbling and, thus, lost your credibility as both a journalist and a historian.
Rommuelle Gatongay
Mathematics senior
Mother shouldn't be judged
To the editor,
Daniel Scarpinato's response to Ty Young's article about straight A student and mother Misty Dillon displays two tendencies that stand in the way of intelligent thought processes: poor reading skills and a rush to judge others without the facts. The article was a well-deserved celebration of her as a high quality student who has managed to maintain her grades while ALSO raising her sons. Nowhere in the article was there any mention of when she got pregnant, married or how she treats her children - nor should there be. These are not the point of the article (a big hint was in the title: "Student, Mother").
But Scarpinato is more than happy to make ugly assumptions without any of the facts. For the record, those of us who have had the privilege of working with Misty over the years know her to fit none of the stereotypes that Scarpinato is so willing to assume. For the sake of comparison, his actions would be comparable to readers assuming that his real problem is insecurity with a story that shows a woman succeeding far beyond his capabilities and with more than double the load. But such an assumption would be reading things into his response and completely unfair without checking the facts. What is clear from his response is that he judges people without knowing them, and I doubt he would like others to do the same to him. I urge him and others who might have made similar judgments to check the basis of their claims before moving to judge. These skills are fundamental to intelligent analysis of any situation. No one should graduate from this institution without them.
Julia BalŽn
Women's Studies Associate Director
Munchie discrimination
To the editor,
In the past couple weeks I've observed two issues of forms of price discrimination against customers at campus-area fast food restaurants. All U of A Jack-in-the-Box fans, particularly J5 (sourdough jack) enthusiasts will be interested to know that anytime anybody, anywhere, buys a sourdough jack they are getting ripped off by over a dollar. Its possible to create an exact sourdough jack by ordering a jumbo jack minus the lettuce, ketchup, and pickle, but with bacon, Swiss cheese instead of regular cheese, and sourdough bread instead of a bun (free exchange). The replicated sourdough jack will cost $1.20 less to the smart population who are willing to take the extra 10 seconds to change the order.
The other issue concerns 49-cent-cheeseburger Wednesdays at McDonalds. Recently I tried to order hamburgers instead of cheeseburgers, and they wouldn't let me. So I asked for cheeseburgers without cheese and even though that usually works, this time it didn't. This situation exhibits price discrimination against people who don't like cheese or don't happen to want cheese at that time. Since the hamburger and the cheeseburger are identical otherwise, you are forced into a situation where you can pay about 20 cents less and try to take the cheese off the burger yourself. Is this effort worth 20 cents? Should you be put in such a crazy situation as a consumer?
What is secret sauce anyway?
When is In-N-Out going to come set-up at U of A?
Kevin O'Neil
MIS / operations management senior
