4 I The Behrend Beacon
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of refOon, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution
olton t
Politics claimed its latest casualty last week when the United States' representa
tive to the United Nations (UN), John Bolton, announced his resignation after it
became clear that a filibuster in the Senate would block his confirmation. He was
President Bush's recess appointment to the position in 2005. Bolton is one of the
best representatives the U.S. has had in years and his absence will be felt greatly in
American diplomacy.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) is one of the most outspoken critics of
Bolton. Dodd and other critics constantly referred to Bolton as a "bully" whose tac
tics were ineffective in the UN. That's not completely accurate. Bolton's bullying
did get some things accomplished. This includes drafting a proposal in the Security
Council that approved sanctions against North Korea, unanimous nonetheless, and
that many pundits gave little chance of passage. Bolton also brokered the Security
Council resolution ending Israel's war against Hezbollah last summer, a unanimous
vote, as well. He also forced the UN, an organization dedicated to peace and human
rights, to hold deliberations on Burma's human rights abuses and the genocide in
Darfur against Christians.
Bolton was not very well liked in the UN, a testament that he must have been
doing something right in an organization that appears to be doing so much wrong.
The UN is rampant with corruption and Bolton embodied all of its deficiencies:
straight-forwardness, honesty, and principles. This is the organization whose
Human Rights Council was headed by Libya and Sudan, two countries whose his
tory shows a complete lack of respect for humanity. This is just the surface of the
problem. When reports of UN forces organizing rape squads for sub-teenage girls
in Congo surfaced, the UN tried to look away, but Bolton was not going to have any
of it. No one can blame him for not mincing words and playing the diplomacy
game when those allegations appear. And what happened when it was revealed that
Kofi Annan's son and other nations took bribes from Sadamm Hussein? Nothing
happened. Bolton gave the UN credibility and a sense of oversight; without him
one can only speculate what else it will get away with.
Bolton was given perhaps the toughest job of any U.S. official. He was given
a broken system and told to get as much out of it as he can. He looked out for
America's interests in an organization that time and again turns its head away from
its largest benefactor, the United States. He led the way for reforms of the UN,
despite heated objections from countries already benefiting to the current arrange
ment. In one of his last public appearances, Bolton displayed some of that diplo
matic charm that he was so often accused of lacking by taking the high road and
refusing to air his dirty laundry in an exit interview.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor
This is concerning the article on the sec
ond page of the Beacon concerning Jon
Demerecz. I find it offensive that this
person, charged with having CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY. is painted in a posi
tive light. The guy is a sexual offender,
and I thank God he was caught now
before his offenses escalated. To sing
this person's praises and talk about how
dearly he will be missed by all the clubs
he was active in is an insult to me, this
paper, and this campus. I have a baby
brother, and the thought of this guy mas-
The Behrend Beacon
published„cckl\ h\ the \tudenK of Penn Stith: lichrend
Tlllll 11111R1 \
beacon
News Editor
Christopher LaFuria
Assistant News Editor
Ashley Bressler
Assistant Sports Editor
Daniel Mitchell
Penn State Erie,
The Behrend College
First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union Building
Station Road, Erie, PA 16563
Contact the Beacon at:
Telephone: (814) 898-6488
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publication.
By Chris Brown
copy editor
turbating to naked pictures of children
makes me sick. What was Christopher
LaFuria thinking? I understand the right
of the freedom of the press, but this was
just a garbage article. I feel as though 5
minutes of my life were stolen in reading
this trash. This guy's a freak, and I hope
he gets a nice long prison sentence where
he'll be victimized worse than those poor
kids that were forced to make that
garbage he gets off to.
Joshua Donolo, Biology 'O9
Jennifer Haight, Editor in Chief
Patrick Webster, Managing Editor
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Michelle Vera Suroviec, Public Relations Manager
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Jerry Pohl
OP [l\lloff
Red flags raised on minimum wage
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will raise its minimum
wage requirement from the current federal level of $5.15 an
hour to $7.15 an hour by July 2007. The purpose of this poli
cy is to allow unskilled entry-level workers to earn a living
wage. Proponents of raising the minimum wage argue that it
will help this group of workers, which includes many college
students, increase their overall annual income, thus making
them better off. But will it?
The simple answer to this question is no. There are three
factors that will contribute to the failure of this policy. The
first is the effect higher wages have on the price level. The
second is the level of the federal minimum wage and the level
of minimum wages in surrounding states. The third is what
effect a higher minimum wage has on the labor market.
With a sweep of both houses of Congress in the November
election, Democrats are focusing on raising the federal mini
mum wage to $7.25 an hour. Such a policy would make the
Pennsylvania wage increase unnecessary and ineffective.
Furthermore, the argument that neighboring states are raising
their minimum wages is little more than the playground
"everybody else is doing it" excuse to enact policy. Although
some workers may move to a neighboring state to take advan
tage of higher wages, the real effect is that businesses having
a majority of their positions at the minimum wage will move
into states with lower minimum wages, such as Ohio.
Aside from moving operations, suppliers tend to price their
goods at a certain markup over cost. As wages increase, costs
to businesses increase, leading to a necessary increase in
Winter makes driving dangerous
As we enter the treacherous winter months in the city of
Erie, I'd like to address a topic that everyone likes to com
plain about from time to time: driving and driver safety.
It's something we've all seen countless times: that guy
that suddenly brakes and turns without using his turn signal,
the guy that can't parallel park, and the little old lady that
makes her dog wear hats, swerving her way down the inter
state at a blistering 27 miles per hour. Hardly a day goes by
that I don't see someone blatantly breaking traffic laws and
creating dangerous situations.
In addition, data collected by the U.S : Department of
Transportation shows that, aide from to drivers, adults
are more and more likely to be involved ilikiraffic accidents
as they get older. This could happen for at least two reasons:
being less able to drive physically or having a sense of apa
thy or ignorance towards traffic laws.
Something that I'd like to see enacted is an expiration date
on driver's licenses. Not in the manner that they expire now,
where you go to get a new picture and update your current
license, but where you have to completely re-take your driv
ing test. I'd recommend licenses expiring after period of ten
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- Gap scarves
- Turning 21
- Jay-Z coming out of retirement
- Vintage vinyl records
- Burt's Beeswax
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oy Have a Thumbs Up or
Thumbs Down?
'Submit it to the "Thumbs up-Thumbs Down" box at the RUB desk.
By Jordan Gilmore
sports editor
By Patrick Webster
managing editor
Beacon Thumbs Up Beacon Thumbs Down
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The increase in unemployment can be seen through the
labor market as well. Minimum wage is a price floor that
doesn't allow the market to reach its efficient level. The effi
cient level is where everyone looking for a job at the current
wage level can find one, and every employer looking to hire at
the current wage level can fill his or her openings. The high
er wage causes employers to cut back on the number of low
skill workers they are willing to hire. This exacerbates the
problems faced by workers earning the minimum wage.
Instead of increasing their earnings, the policy will cause
many to lose their jobs or work fewer hours as employers look
to cut costs and not be able to find a new job.
Federal standards and economic forces will cause a policy to
increase minimum wage fail to meet its goal of helping low
skilled workers. Although those lucky enough to keep their
jobs and hours will undoubtedly have larger paychecks, they
will not have increased buying power from those dollars. In
other words, they will be right back where they started from.
Those looking for new jobs will find less openings to fill. And
those who lose their jobs will find out that the minimum they
can earn is actually zero.
years, and/or after an accumulation major of minor traffic
violations. This would force people to stay mindful of safe
driving practices. People play like they practice, and regular
ly unsafe drivers would be hard pressed to re-pass their driv
er tests on a lark. Forcing people to retake tests for multiple
traffic violations could also reduce their occurrence, as well.
I realize that an issue that could be claimed by opponents
is that doing so would threaten the ability of some to sustain
their lifestyles. This is irrelevant. People who can't pass the
test shouldn't be on road in the first place. This includes
older drivers. If they can no longer pass their own unaltered
and un-handicapped license test, they should not be on the
road either. This would not affect average Americans. The
average responsible American should have no problem pass
ing si driver's test once every ten years. If you can complain
about having to do something every ten years, you can com
plain about anything.
On a side note, drivers of trucks and large SUVs have to
realize that they are not invincible when driving in inclement
weather. I don't care if you're driving a Hummer and you
can adjust the tire pressure from your dashboard, the road
deserves respect when there is two inches of slush on it.
Ultimately, safety isn't merely a concept that should be put
aside because many see it as an inconvenience.
ilk
..pd•
(check a box )
Friday, December 8, 2006
prices. Even though the minimum wage may have increased,
prices of goods will rise at the same time. This leads to a stag
nation of real wages, or wages adjusted for inflation. In effect,
there is no gain from the increased wage rate. In fact, wage
setting and price setting functions show that the results of an
increase in minimum wage will be higher prices and unem
ployment.
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- Cold toilet seats
- Bad covers of original songs
- People wearing shorts
- People spreading colds
- Chapped lips
-1 ; 1
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