You might be Shane Dale if ·

I have a confession for Shane Dale. You inspire me. Your conservative position on all the wonderful articles you've written in the Wildcat caught me off guard. You've shown me that I seriously need to reconsider my leftist, socialist points of view.

So I also went the delightfully tasteless Jeff Foxworthy route and started thinking about some signs that I may be converting without even realizing it. Here are some that I came up with that you fellow socialists out there should feel free to apply to your lives as well.

· If you are applying for graduate work at the School for the Americas, you just might be Shane Dale.

· If you believe giving Native Americans blankets infected with smallpox was a great policy idea, you just might be Shane Dale.

· If you think the president should have the power to sell weapons secretly to the Iranians and set up a secret Swiss bank account to fund a war in Latin America, there is a great possibility you might be Shane Dale.

· If you think Afghanistan is in much better shape since we've arrived, there is a definite chance you could be Shane Dale.

· If you think U.N. resolutions should be enforced only when Iraq breaks them and the United States says so, you are probably Shane Dale.

· If you believe the market should be deregulated to the point that problems of the poor and hungry simply die off, there is a wonderful chance you might be Shane Dale.

· If you find cars don't seem to follow the "pedestrians have the right of way" rule when crossing the street, you are probably Shane Dale.

· If you think sovereign nations' economic policy should be run by IMF representatives straight out of grad school, you have a good shot at being Shane Dale.

· Finally, if you write tasteless articles based on piss-poor rhetoric rather than facts, you too could be Shane Dale.

Andrew Walanski
political science senior

Arizona's proud cotton farmers victimized by false assumptions

Arizona's is known for the 5 Cs that are valuable to our state: cattle, copper, climate, cotton and citrus. Many Arizona families have grown cotton throughout generations with a sense of pride that they are helping to clothe other Americans and exporting a quality product to the rest of the world by using "Arizona's precious water resource." The U.S. cotton industry accounts for more than $25 billion in products and services annually, generating over 400,000 jobs in the industry sectors from the farm to the textile mill.

Monsanto has proven to be a "God-send" to the cotton industry. Monsanto produces Roundup herbicide-tolerant and insect-protected crops. Glycophosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is a non-selective herbicide that affects only those crops on which it is sprayed and is deactivated once it contacts soil, thus reducing risk of leaching or runoff into ground water. Roundup is a post-emergence herbicide with no soil residual. Glycophosate is also known for its low toxicity to human and animal populations. It is strictly used as a foliar spray and is systemic in nature. Systemic herbicides are absorbed and move throughout the plant. It is essential to note that Monsanto's Roundup has no carry over to rotational crops. Monsanto has made it possible to reduce insecticide use, lower production costs, improve yields, lower farming risks and finally increase opportunities to grow cotton in areas of severe pest infestation.

To properly address the issue of "subsidizing the rich," you need to know about the agriculture and cotton industries. Jessica Lee's Oct. 15 article ("Playing God with cotton and markets") mentioned cotton has a target price of "72.4 cents per pound," but last year the National Cotton Council of America reported that Arizona cotton farmers averaged 32.38 cents per pound on the 705,000 bales of cotton Arizona farmers produced. The 2002 Farm Bill is not designed to "subsidize the rich," but to strengthen America's agriculture industry long term.

I also want to point out that growing up on a family farm in a small rural community, Ann Veneman understands the issues important to America's farmers and ranchers. She provides the voice that American agriculture needs at the national level.

Next time Jessica Lee gives the agriculture industry so much attention in the Wildcat, I hope the information presented is factual and not just assumed.

Aimee Weber
Agriculture Technology Management
agriculture senior

Bull to say marijuana purchases support international terrorism

Well, I definitely feel that people have the right to state their opinion. In fact, I love it when people state their opinion. Even if I totally disagree with it, it's great. However, it's also the responsibility of those making an argument to back that up with facts.

Jason Winsky's commentary in the Wednesday Wildcat ("Now is the time to put down the pot and get a job") over Proposition 203 was doing a great job of this ÷ up until the last paragraph. It said, "And a message for the smokers out there: You might want to think about where the marijuana comes from that you smoke. If it comes from across the border, you might be supporting terrorists. Sleep well tonight!" Jason, isn't that cute? Did you see those commercials on TV trying to tell everyone that if they smoke pot they helped blow up the World Trade Center?

The reality is that in Afghanistan they grow poppies, which make opiates such as heroin. They are not involved in the trafficking of marijuana. The idea that marijuana supports terrorists is merely a sweeping statement made by some who wish to push their ultra-conservative ideas on people through terrifying rhetoric. We must not accept such ridiculous anti-drug propaganda as this as fact.

So Jason, please open your eyes and don't eat up all the bull that's dished out; examine it before you actually accept it as fact. Furthermore, I imagine that pot helps many people sleep quite well at night. Thanks for the suggestion, buddy!

Jimmy Matthews
psychology freshman

Grijalva the more experienced, better candidate for District 7

Jason Baran couldn't be farther off in his assessment of the District 7 Congressional race Monday ("District 7 needs to dethrone Grijalva, vote for Hieb"). Baran touts Hieb's vast (and greater than Grijalva's) experience, yet the only experience this Iowa farmer had in elected office was as a small town city councilman years ago. Grijalva, a native Tucsonan, has spent 25 years in public service, first on the TUSD School Board and later as a Pima County Supervisor (he resigned as Chairman of the Board to run for Congress).

The fact is that we cannot afford Ross Hieb's extreme right agenda. The anti-choice, anti-environment Hieb has pledged to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education, to revoke automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S., and to deny healthcare to immigrants in need.

Truly, it is a wonder that Hieb, running in a nearly 60 percent Democratic district, would want an NRA endorsement. However, Hieb has said that we should have no restrictions on the type of weapons we may own, practically begging the NRA to back him. But the voters of District 7 don't want an assault-rifle-toting congressman who will watch people die at our doorstep and in our hospitals simply because they aren't U.S. citizens.

Come out to the West Old Main Fountain next Tuesday at noon for an exciting Get Out the Vote Rally with music and Democratic candidates for Congress and governor, and show that this campus refuses to give in to big business lackeys like Ross Hieb.

Jacob A. Hall
biochemistry senior
president, Students of Democracy