Page 6 The Lion’s Eye November 12, 2009 _ Eve. on Editorials THE BELLIGERENT SPECTATOR: Where the Phuck Did All These Phillies Phans Come Phrom? By Caitlin Olszewski Lions Eye Generation Editor c005024@psu.edu It is so good to see that even though Septa is on strike, the bandwagon is still up and running strong. First it was the Eagles and now it is the Phil- lies. What’s next? Maybe if the United States Curling team starts doing extremely well at the Olympic games trend- following Americans will start carrying around brooms and de- vote daily Facebook statuses to how much they “like totally luv curling!!!'1111one.” I haven’t seen this much red since Mia Wallace’s nose bleed in Pulp Fiction. Times like these, I just want to see a bull released in the streets of Philadelphia. It’s not fanaticism or even local pa- triotism; it is merely just a nov- elty and a trendy herd of Phil- lies paraphernalia-clad fashion zombies looking for acceptance. I’m not saying that all Phillies fans are phakers, but come on! Where were all these baseball hat and jersey wearing fans pre-World Series stardom? Seeing girls in pink Phillies shirts screaming about Chase Utley’s butt makes me hate my gender. The other night I was watching some news pro- gram on television. They were showing a clip of a reporter interviewing several obvious phans in a local bar. One of the women was rambling some rant somewhere along the lines of, “Oh my God!!! The Phil- lies are going to win The World Series! Woooo!” When she was asked who her favorite player and baseball position was, she seemed to stumble over her words. It was not because she was completely inebriated, but because she clearly didn’t know anything about the sport she =o EE Image Courtsey of nydailynews.com was so obnoxiously advertising. So why do people do this? Is it ‘merely a ploy to feel accepted amongst the washed up main- stream generation? Is it due to unoriginality and belonging? The real question here is: where were all of you newbie fans three years ago when the Phil- lies were the suckfest of base- ball? Finally, what’s up with all this “ph-" crap? Since the bandwagon’s next stop is il- literacy and dumb phonetic alliterations, I guess everyone has to jump on. Chase Utley made masked profanities a lot more prominent in the main- stream. Young kids, the children of America, a nation striving towards “excellence, moral- ity, and a higher education” - are parading the streets wear- ing t-shirts saying: “Phuck The Yankees.” As if these kids were not desensitized enough to once taboo topics. Personally, I think this generation is influencing the future one way too harshly. I feel like the mainstream wor- ships the generic and portrays individuality or differences as “weird.” So thanks, Chase. Instead of using your popular status and your ability to influ- ence the youth for good, you are contributing to the problem. Good news Phillies phans! Now that your beloved hobby team completely bombed it to the Yankees, you can get all of your trendy garb essentials at huge retail discounts. Or wait, does this loss mean that it is now “uncool” to like the Phil- lies? Will you phans be trading in your red for navy blue along with your dignity? yy €. Lar 2A EDITORIAL: By Evan Kroboth Lions Eye Editorial Editor | ~~ esk5070@psu.edu ~ The Legacy of Glass- Steagall Ten years ago, Phil Gramm, a Texas Senator championed the passage of the Gramm-Leach- Bilely Act and the modernization of our financial system. An act overwhelmingly supported by both parties and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, effectively repealing the Glass-Steagall Act passed in the depths of the Great Depression. This has led to banks offering in addition to the standard savings and checking accounts, loans and mortgages, the sale of se- curities, stock s, and insurance.The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act is without a doubt one of the principle causes of the financial crisis that has befallen the United States and a prominent example of the high cost and obvious dangers of deregula- tion. The new banking system that arose coupled with the rise of massive multinational investment banks marks the final stage in the transition of the U.S. and world economy, to a market centered around the actions of financial markets, rather than based on pro- duction and trade, bringing ram- pant speculation, and with it huge amounts of debt to both individual investors and the public. The repeal of the primary provi- sions of the Glass-Steagall Act, coupled with the rampant deregula- tion of the financial markets under the guise of “freedom” or “the free market” versus government interference, essentially caused the subprime mortgage, banking, stock market crises, and the massive inflation in the price of oil. Deregu- lation, purported as the triumph of the “free” market, not only dam- aged consumers, but caused chaos in the very industries that it was intended to help, ushering in irre- sponsible lending practices, ram- pant speculation, and ill-conceived mergers in the banking, securities, stock, and notably insurance indus- tries. Today, with the global financial system as it stands, with multina- tional investment banks, deriva- tives, unregulated commodities futures markets, hedge funds, collateralized debt, and other economic wizardry has moved far beyond the provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act with its separa- tion of commercial and investment banking. However, as past events and the fiscal practices of Gold- man Sachs have shown, it should be abundantly clear that the federal government must dispel the myth of the absolute merits of the free enterprise system in lieu of govern- ment control and must increase its ability to regulate banks, securities firms, and in turn the U.S. economy as a whole. | Banking regulations must be rein- stated to address the current crisis, and prevent future crises. The bail- outs of the financial industry ac- complished one thing; it established that Goldman Sachs is “too big to fail” removing any pretense of a level playing field. Here’s to the triumph of free (in reality private) enterprise. The -|Lion’s Eye ~ We are the newspaper of the Penn State Brandywine campus, serving the students, adminis- tration, faculty, staff, and visi- tors of our campus. We vow to inform all of our audiences, and we will strive to make each issue better, so that we remain a vital | | part of the Penn State Brandy- { | wine experience. We also pledge to be professional, and to follow the highest standards of quality MISSION STATEMENT Adrienne Showalter, O’Connor journalism. . Lion’s Eye Adviser- Karrie Bowen Editor-in-Chief- Christina Felizzi Local/World News Editor(s)- Jenn Knowlton and Nancy Perone ~ Op/Ed Editor(s) - Christina Felizzi, dan- iel j. taylor, Evan Kroboth Entertainment Editor(s) - Chris Dilenno, and Kionna Lipscomb Generation Editor - Caitlin Olszewkski Sports Editor(s) - Justin Park and Sean Contributing Staff Writers: Martina Delgado, Andrew Shaner, Ashley Guest articles can be up to 500 words. Carpenter, Colin Coates, Kenny Kellar, Danielle Lites, Angela Potter, Chris Mc- Sweeney, Karlo Radolovic; Steve Scoleri purposes and content. 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