National Insecurity: a writer's opinion
By MARTY SANTALUCIA
Staff Reporter
MFSSO7S@PSU.EDU
There will be plenty of time
for unprovoked ad hominid
attacks on unsuspecting victims
and aggressively un-backed
controversial opinions in the
upcoming months, and possibly
years, of my tenure with The
Capitol Times. In this first editorial,
however, 1 would like to look at
America’s national insecurity and
why it seems like no one cares
anymore.
When talking about modem
politics, many (who do not just put
down their paper and walked away,
thank you) describe their distaste
for the negativity in political
campaigns. The truth of the matter
is that politics have never been
“clean.” Attempting to sway the
opinion of an entire nation is going
to require bringing into question
the motives and character of your
opponent. Both of these aspects
are important to the public when
choosing a leader and one can not
count on a candidate to stand up
and list their faults in alphabetical
order. Negativity in politics has
been around since the beginning.
For example, the smear campaign
Iranian president visits University, stirs
By AMANDA NACE
Layout Editor
ACNI29@PSU.EDU
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stirs very
strong emotions in those familiar
with his doings and his visit to
Columbia University was no less
stirring.
Ahmadinejad was greeted by
protestors and supporters alike
According to the New York Times,
over 2,000 people showed up to
listen to the Iranian president.
There are some who were raging
mad that Ahmadinejad would
be allowed on American soil, let
alone be invited to speak to college
students at Columbia University
in New York City, but on the other
hand there were some who were
alright with it.
Then there is Lee Bollinger,
president of Columbia University,
ran by Grover Cleveland supporters
in 1884: “Blaine, Blaine, James G.
Blaine. Continental Liar from the
state of Maine”.
In the more recent (and 1 use the
term loosely) 1964 election, L.B.J.
launched his infamous “Daisy” ad.
The commercial featured a little girl
being nuked while counting flower
pedals in the middle of a field.
Concluding the ad was the L.B.J.
slogan “The stakes are too high for
you to stay home.” L.B.J.’s message
was clear: vote for his opponent and
your daughter will be vaporized.
That’s the kind of warm, fuzzy
feeling one can only get within
the blast radius of a Soviet IC’BM.
While the ad itself was only aired
once, the media attention alone
made it a hallmark of the election
Even with a negative image as
strong as a mushroom cloud in the
average American’s backyard, a
little over 69 percent of the voting
aged population turned out in 1964,
according to the US Census Bureau.
Compare this to the 58 percent
that turned out in 2004 or even
the 55 percent in 2000. Something
more than negative campaigning
is driving people away from the
polls. One of the largest differences
then and now is how Americans get
information.
who did the inviting, but don’t
get him wrong, he wasn’t happy
about it either. “Mr. President,
you exhibit all the signs of a petty
and cruel dictator,” said Bollinger
during his opening speech.
Much of Ahmadinejad’s speech
consisted of decrying material and
selfish interests and encouraging
things like purity and spiritual
knowledge.
This, coming from a man who
moments before was spoken of
as a “petty and cruel dictator,”
by Bollinger, didn’t seem that
outrageous. I was expecting
something a little more in left field.
Then it started. “If, given that the
holocaust is a present reality of our
time...why is there not sufficient
research that can approach the topic
from different perspectives,” said
Ahmadinejad.
The president of Iran is
The news can be very depressing
Too many Iraq War death counts
or the ongoing chaos in D.C. can
really start to affect a person.
To alleviate the strain, I will
occasionally turn on FOX news
for a laugh - more specifically,
Bill O’Reilly's “The O’Reilly
Factor.” In watching “The Factor”,
it occurred to me that people like
O’Reilly and shows like his are a
large contributor to maintaining the
current political polarization in our
country. While there were televised
news programs that reported on
political situations 40 years ago,
none existed for the sole purpose
of div iding their audience - the
American people.
I would like to note here that no
matter what Bill O’Reilly believes,
he cannot possibly be the only
reason the US is divided. There are
plenty of examples from the left
and the right. O’Reilly sticks out
to me simply because he says more
stupid things, louder.
The past week’s “Talking Points”
have focused on an ad placed in
The New York Times referring
to General David Petraeus as
“General Betray Us.” O’Reilly has
used the incident as a jumping off
point for claiming that Move On.
org (the far left organization that
questioning one of the most well
documented historical atrocities of
our time
Later, during the question and
answer session Ahmadinejad
was asked about the treatment
of women and homosexuals in
Iran which has sometimes lead to
executions
He neatly sidestepped the question
by defending capital punishment in
order to punish murderers and drug
dealers
I’m not one to side with murderers
or drug dealers either, but what
does this have to do with women
and homosexuals? President
Ahmadinejad had a simple answer
for that. “In Iran we don’t have
homosexuals like in your country,”
he said.
‘in Iran we don’t have this
phenomenon. I do not know who
has told you we have it,” said
actually bought the ad) owns
the Democratic Party and all of
the Democratic candidates for
President. His reasoning is that
Hillary Clinton voted against a
measure to symbolically condemn
MoveOn.org, and Barack Obama
did not vote on the issue. Both,
however, voted for a different
amendment condemning a broader
assortment of attacks on anyone
who has served. Every part of
that day’s circus was a politically
charged waste of time and money as
both amendments did not actually
do anything. Regardless, I have
diverged.
O’Reilly’s comments are
especially damaging to the
American public because of the
way every issue is presented as
clean split between good and evil.
In the case of the Petraeus ad, one
is either with the Democrats, who
he has ideologically and financially
connected to MoveOn.org, or
you are against MoveOn.org and
therefore with the Republicans. The
danger in this lies in the fact that
Americans are being told to see
their fellow citizens as the enemy.
When Election Day comes, armies
of voters are sent out to counter
the votes of their “bad” neighbors
rather than elect a candidate
Ahmadinejad. His response evoked
laughter from the students.
He said it as if homosexuality is
a disease. Then he went on to note
that being a woman is not a crime.
No kidding!
So by now you have probably
guessed that 1 am not pro-
Ahmadinejad. I am probably the
farthest from it, but 1 thought it
was interesting that an American
university opened its doors to
freely allow Ahmadinejad to speak
to college students, faculty, and,
thanks to technology, anybody who
had a television, or youtube.com.
Ahmadinejad claimed our freedom
of speech wasn’t very free and he
wasn’t shown the respect of free
speech because he wasn’t given
enough time for his speech.
Some were angry that a president
of an esteemed University should
invite Ahmadinejad, a man in
THE CAPITAL TIMES
that reflects their own views.
Break out the aircraft carrier and
enhancing jumpsuit. Polarization
accomplished.
Unfortunately for those that do
not feel they fit perfectly into one
of the two major parlies, there has
been little gray middle-ground left
to occupy. This August. The Gallup
Poll reported that the number of
Americans who identify themselves
as independents has seen a “small
but significant increase in 2007.” As
a result, more and more moderates
find themselves faced with two
candidates who have been groomed
and polished by one side or the
other. Seeing that there is no longer
a candidate that represents their
varied positions they choose not to
The portrayals of political events
by Bill O’Reilly and those like him
are the reason Americans are less
interested in and more alienated by
their own government. 1 don’t want
to see Rudy Giuliani or Hillary
Clinton as President. Both of them
have far too much practice and their
parties are too involved with them.
What our system needs is new, “un
groomed” thinking. 1 want to see
the nut-case on the comer have a go
at it, just to mix things up.
Mike Gravel for President.
emotion
charge of an oppressive society, to
speak to his college students, but 1
say why not?
If a scholar is lead to feel he
cannot invite a controversial
speaker to his University, a place
meant to be free for ideas, then
he or she does not live in a free
society.
I do not think there is such a
thing as a free society, but there
are certain humanitarian freedoms
upheld in American society that
I think we sometimes take for
granted.
I am proud that I live in a country
that allows a University to have
someone such as Ahmadinejad
share his thoughts, whether or not
they were believable or agreeable.
As the famous French
philosopher, Voltaire, once said, “I
may not agree with what you say,
but 1 will defend to the death, your
right to say it
October 1, 2007
President's
By SAHAR SAFAEE
Student Government Vice President
SVSSO33@PSU.EDU
What’s up Penn State!
Let me tell you a little about
myself. My name is Sahar Safaee
1 am the Vice president of student
government and a junior majoring
in Environmental Engineering and
Pre-med. 1 play on the girl’s soccer
team and am a member of the
International Affairs Association,
Math Club (so c 001... remember
math 24), Society of Environmental
Engineering, the Spanish club and
Thon.
Now as we roll into the second
month of school, I hope that you’re
not going crazy with the tons of
work you have to do. I would like to
say that it will get better, but 1 can’t.
All 1 can say is good luck! Just wait
until finals.
To the freshman this year, enjoy
your classes. They will not get
easier than this - just kidding! For
the rest of you, I hope you enjoy
your classes because this is what ■
your future will be based on. Isn’t
that a morbid thought? Again, just
kidding.
But if you do feel you are having
some trouble in class, there is hope!
Talk to your professor about finding
a tutor or go to the Learning Center
and sign up to be tutored.
On a happier note, if you feel like
you’re going crazy, just attend one
of the many events on campus. I
promise you will feel a lot better
after you shut your brain off for an
hour or so.
I bet you’re wondering what
events are being hosted on campus
Well, just look on the bulletin
boards around campus or stop by the
student government office and ask
one of the members. Those of you
who don’t feel like walking around
to find out what events are going on
can just turn on your computer and
check your emails. There is always
something going on!
If you are an athletic type, stop by
the CUB and play some racquet ball
or go swimming in the awesome and
amazing indoor pool. (Sweet!)
Also, for all you DDR lovers,
go practice your footwork on the
second floor of the CUB.
If you want to get active within the
school, just join a club. Joining a
club is one of the best ways to meet
new and likeminded people. We
have something for everyone. But if
we don’t have what you’re looking
for, create a club!
Now let’s get back to the real
issues. If you have been w alking
around campus, you may have seen
the no smoking signs posted. Please
be considerate of others and smoke
in the designated areas. Thanks a
bunch!
As a student of Penn State
Harrisburg, 1 like to be well
rounded, so l try to read to the
news and be up to date with current
polities. As I was reading an article
on the NPR website, I found out that
Senator Chambers is suing God.
He tried to summon God by calling
out, “Come out, come out, wherever
you are.’’ Then God responded by
striking him down with lightning
-just kidding!
Let me end with two things, one
being an inspirational quote from
Captain Planet to get you through
your tough times: “...The power is
yours!”