I The Behrend Beacon
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Exectith e Board Editorial Staff
(1 111 ,100 cl i d i aria, rdi for in ('hid/ Lenny Smith, News Editor
' , I , L . ( i i
Mikc _Fa ..c \ , '
0 - .1(,i101 11l ('hie/ Matt Schawenhauer, asst. News Editor
l'iii.iii I l mi. I,llcHorne Alatioixr ('lris Brown. Opinion Editor
Kim Yiillll. lin 101 WI iscr Andrew McLachlan, Sports Editor
Matt Waronker. Sports Editor
Pella `mate Hic. Scott Muska , Student Life Editor
r Ihe helm end College Ryan P. Gallagher, Student Life Editor
Reed l Ilion Building Janet Niedenherger, Head Copy , Editor
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)1 I('‘lC 1)11 \C. I l'iC PA 16563 Mike Sharkey. Humor/Photography Editor
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Evan Koser, Entertainment Editor
Fut WED IN 1948 Connor Sattely, Entertainment Editor
Terrorists need not apply
By Chris Brown
opinion editor
4, 3 1+531 psu.cdu
Graham Spanier.
University. k heading up a 1101 initial! \
with the FBI to help protect uni \ ersi
ties in America from terrorists. He met with
the FBl's director Robert Mueller to
explain the need for vigilance at
American universities. because we
never know when the next terrorist
could strike or what their next tac
tic could he. Apparently. getting
into and completing a
advanced degree at Penn State
is near the top of the list IM
would-he terrorists.
Does the FBI and the
President of our university
have nothing better to do
than look for terrorists in
the classroom? The FBI
should he spending its
time investigating the
illegal acts of private mil
itary contractors in Iraq.
They should he working
on ways to protect
America from terrorists
without resorting to tac
tics like illegal wiretap
ping. If Osama bin
Laden has the 'ability to
put a student through
school, while the cost of
higher education becomes
increasingly out of reach
for the average American.
then the education system in
America is in more serious
disrepair than previously
thought. if bin Laden was
smart, he'd send his 'terrorists
in-training' to Canada where the
education is cheaper, the students
are smarter, and the healthcare is
free.
I already fear going on airplanes
and traveling to big cities. I N,\ orry
about opening an envelope. afraid that it
may contain Anthrax. Do I have to add feat
of going to school to that list also? Is there a
terrorist in my history class, secretly in caho
with Osama bin Laden.
the fall of the Roman Empire to bring terror on the l'nited
States? I highly doubt it. And to tell von the truth. rill not
scared of terrorists at all because I'm more lice to an
old age and die of heart disease than be blown up in an act of
terror.
I don't quite understand everyone's irrational lean of terror-
ists lurking around every corner. Ever) time someone points
out this irrational fear. someone invokes 9/11. Fs en. bumper
in America tells me / must not prget. Well let me tell sou
something. I won't forget. hut it won't be any thanks to a
bumper sticker. The answer to all these question is not 9/11.
Americans believe that everything changed on 9/11. that
somehow everything on 9/12 was completel\ different Irom
9/10. This is a misconception: there were terrorists and others
trying to kill Americans before that day. just as there \\ ill
always be forever. Nothing changed. we just became more
aware of the world that has always existed 11 guess ignorance
is bliss). The FBl's teaming up with universities is
. just the
most recent attempt by the government to exploit Americans'
fear of terrorism to intrude into areas where it shouldn't. It
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started with measures like the PATRIOT Act, continued with
torture. and goes on today with illegal wiretapping. Now uni
‘crsiiics are going to he scrutinizing their students, searching
Yes, the terrorist attacks of that day were a
tragedy, hut so are a lot of things. The fact that
the United States has one of the highest
infant mortality rates in the developed
world is a tragedy. Poverty in America
is a tragedy, and lives lost to cancer
are tragedies; a number of things fall
under the list of tragedies. I'd like
to see a politician campaign on
reducing heart disease or infant
mortality. Why must our
national psyche be so narrow
ly focused on terrorism when
rorists have gone too far.
Fiery, empty rhetoric has
replaced any substance of
thought in our govern
ment. We, the American
public, became so blinded
by fear that we signed off on
a war in Iraq that had noth
ing to do with terrorism.
Some may think I'm
exaggerating the threat of gov
ernment intrusion, but I dis
agree. Even if a small portion (or
none of it, according to the press
release from the university) of
Spanier's luncheon was dedicated to
the cooperation between universities
and the FBI to root out terrorists, the
average American will only remember
three words, terrorist, spy, and attack. How
else could one explain that a majority of
It Saddam Hussein was
behind the 9/11 attacks and harboring Al Qaeda even though
there was absolutely no proof to substantiate the claim?
Americans need a kick in the butt. If someone is crazy and
determined enough to kill another human being, they will suc
ceed no matter how many laws, how many surveillance cam
eras are in place. or any amount of regulations.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The ferment that's developing at the grass
roots level is causing members to pay heed
to this, and I would hope that it would send
a message to the administration."
Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential
candidate, on his bill in Congress to
impeach Vice President Dick Cheney
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The Movie "Snow Day"
- Slippery roads
- Predatory lending
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there are so many pressing
and relevant needs to
Americans? Why are politi
cians allowed to invoke
and exploit the deaths of
the victims on 9/11 at the
expense of other needs?
In general, I don't have
a problem with irrational
fears; I have a few of my
own. However, mine just
mean I run to my girl
friend every time I see a
spider, but the effects of
this irrational fear of ter-
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Guilt by association
By Scott Muska
student life editor
srmsoB2@psu.edu
It hasn't been very long since I open
ly declared my endorsement of Green
Bay Packers' quarterback Brett Favre
to become the next President of the
United States. I felt that if he ran, he'd
be able to establish a solid platform,
one that I outlined in my Oct. 12 edito
rial. It was fun and seemed plausible,
at least to me. But with the deadline
passing for filing intent to run papers
in many states, I finally had to face the
fact that Favre will not become the
next Commander in Chief.
This left me with a void, since I
couldn't find myself truly supporting
any of the more mainstream candidates
that are the front-runners in the
polling. Stephen Colbert filled this
void, only to be denied the opportunity
to run by Democrat leaders in the state
What is so attractive
about Paul is his concern
with America and its peo
ple.
of South Carolina.
I have since found a new candidate.
One that I honestly feel would make a
great leader of our country and put us
back onto the right track (because
somehow it feels as though we current
ly are not). His name is Ron Paul, a
Congressman from Texas, who is run
ning in 2008 as a Republican.
I know that the last portion of that
sentence may have angered you to the
point that you're not even reading this
one. The word "Republican" seems to
be doing that to people a lot these days
especially college stu
dents who consider
themselves radical
political activists, but I
implore you to stay
with me on this
Paul is attempting to
spread a message that
some consider unbe
lievable through his
campaign: not all
Republicans agree with
everything that the
Bush Administration
endorses.
He adamantly voices
his disagreement with CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Ron Paul a congressman from Texas is running for the
the U.S.'s participation
Republicn presidential nomination
in the Iraq War, a posi
tion that no other candidate for the
GOP holds
"We can continue to fund and fight
no-win police actions around the
globe, or we can refocus on securing
America and bring the troops home,"
says Paul. He also believes the decid
edly liberal thought that the war was
sold to us deliberately with false infor
mation.
Paul, whose website refers to him as,
"the leading advocate for freedom in
our nation's capital," also seeks to limit
the interaction of the government in
the lives of America's citizens. He is
downright pissed off about the PATRI
OT Act, which is something I am
immediately attracted to. As an aspir
ing journalist with very little verbal
self-control, there are few things more
important to me than my right to say
the things that I feel I should without
unnecessary censorship or a fear of the
government listening in.
What is so attractive about Paul is
his concern with America and its peo-
Subliiission Guidelines
Friday, November 9, 2007
ple. He wants to focus on Homeland
issues, like lowering taxes (by cutting
government spending and expenses
and stopping private banks and foreign
governments to dictate our budget) and
controlling our borders (by physically
maintaining them, enforcing visa rules,
and eliminating amnesty and welfare
for illegal immigrants). I for one
would enjoy some lower taxes and
enforced immigration laws that could
potentially reduce the amount of out
sourcing that is limiting jobs for citi-
Paul also has a decidedly rebellious
and at times comedic side to him,
which can be refreshing. In May. he
appeared on Real Time with Bill
Maher (a self-proclaimed liberal who
has become one of Paul's biggest sup
porters, saying on more than one occa
sion that Paul is his hero) and spoke
about how he had presented fellow
GOP hopeful and former Mayor of
New York, Rudy Giuliani, with a
"reading list." This list consisted of a
number of reports on 9/11, an event
that Giuliani is often ridiculed for
building his entire run at the
Presidency on. This was prompted
after Giuliani and Paul sparred with
one another on a matter of foreign pol
icy as related to terrorist motivation for
the attacks on Sept. 1 I. 2001.
At first, when researching Paul, I
had the notion that he was opposed to
gay marriage since he voted against the
Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004.
and it became the only real issue I dis
agreed with him on. I turned out to he
wrong, as Paul claims that he only
voted against it because the act would
take more power away from individual
states and give it to the federal govern
' Why qsked if hr
gay marriage, Paul said. "I am support
ive of all voluntary associations and
people can call it whatever they want."
In all likelihood, Paul will not win
the GOP, and for what I believe will be
shameful reasons. The division of our
country is so definite that many
Republicans will refuse to vote for
Paul because he goes against what
Conservatism seemingly stands for at
this time, and many Liberals will
refuse to give him their vote because
they are not Bill Maher, and have an
unwillingness to cross parties, regard
less of how rational it would seem if
they lent an unbiased ear.
A lot can change in the entire year
we have until the election, but in all
likelyhood I will alter my voter's regis
tration from Independent to
Republican in 2008 so that I can vote
for Paul in the primaries and give him
a shot to reinstate the freedoms that we
have lost as Americans.
Especially if he selects Favre as his
running mate. That would be a hot
and couutunitaties should
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