Take time to talk to Likins; he will listen and respond

In his letter to the editor on Monday, Mark Rivera's loquacious response to Janet Bingham (Sept. 20, "ÎElite' oversimplifies efforts to reinvent UA by consensus") seemed to prove the point for increasing standards in university admissions. Had he worked a little more on reading comprehension when reading the article on Sept. 18, ("Likins details plans for UA's Îelite' future") he would have observed the final paragraph in which Dr. Likins asked for suggestions and the Wildcat published his e-mail address. I personally e-mailed Dr. Likins with some opinions on the issue and received a response from him that evening carbon copied to Provost George Davis.

Before going on a tirade about how the university does not want to listen to him, maybe Mr. Rivera should listen to the university.

John Ryan
non-degree seeking
psychology graduate student

U.S. policies no longer have any Îsensible objectives'

This is in support of those of us who want peace, justice and a healthy planet for ourselves and for our posterity. Gone, at least for now, is the opportunity to build global partnerships to focus on our collective future.

These days, our federal government's foreign and domestic policies are far from promoting any sensible objectives. Afghan nation-building is off the radar screen and so are the resources promised for that task.

The administration has veered off into an almost fanatical quest to bomb its way into an oil-rich Iraq under a variety of pretexts, none of which are original.

The intent, of course, is a regime change by any means. The ends justify the means. The destruction, the backlash and other consequences are part of the package. The package is not unlike the bomb-laden one placed on the busy street corner of Tel Aviv.

Unfortunately, loss of real people is viewed as "collateral damage." Yes, now we do have more "precise weaponry" that result in less collateral damage.

But what about the policies? Is possession of such weapons an automatic green light for our government to force its unprincipled will in any part of the world?

Our government's short sighted, zigzag foreign policy is nothing new. While heavy on rhetoric promoting Jeffersonian democracy, it has a history of placating "friendly" brutal dictatorships. When the Iraqi government was actually using mustard and sarin gases against its own Kurdish population, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was busy shaking hands in Iraq. No fears of weapons of mass destruction at that time!

As we all know, some years later during the Gulf War, this same Kurdish population, under the direct instructions and encouragement of the elder President George Bush, initiated a rebellion against the Iraqi regime and were then totally abandoned and slaughtered. The list goes on.

Now more than ever, we the citizens of this most powerful nation on the planet need to take the lead in defining and supporting global values that make it a happier, more livable place for all and to keep our government accountable to these principles.

We must not forget that we only have one planet to live on.

Omid Mahdavi
BME graduate student

GOP's election tactics are incomparable to Napolitano

Charles Peterson's historical oversight of the 1998 elections ("Liberals' Îblame everything on Republicans' attitute misguided") is comical and blatantly shows his true ignorance of Arizona politics.

While Arizona was holding its statewide elections four years ago, Charles was in Albuquerque, N.M., too busy worrying about acne, SATs and plans for the weekend.

This is proven by his analysis: "As far as Arizona is concerned, Janet Napolitano was part of the elected team working under Gov. Jane Hull."

The Republican attorney general primary pitted two campaigns that happened to run the dirtiest, nastiest campaign against each other and alienated many individuals, while a bright U.S. Attorney possessed credentials that would make "Law and Order" look like "Night Court."

Despite what Charles hears at his local GOP meetings, in no way were Republican and Napolitano campaigns collaborating.

And one thing that Peterson fails to mention is that individuals have been busy placing "Vote Gay" signs next to "Janet for Governor" signs.

Of course, he leaves that out of his tactic, most likely performed by homophobic members of his own party.

Hopefully before the next time Charles pulls out his trusty instrument to pen a piece filled with inaccuracies and blatant foolishness that would make Ann Coulter proud, he should do some homework on the issue.

Joe Ellison
Class of 2000