Evangelists’ attacks not justified
Ethan Guagliardo, while I was grazing with my fellow sheep friends, I read your article. I found your document to be rambunctiously off point in its attempt to guide the student body in the ways of bestowing honor toward the preaching visitors whom stand upon bricks in an alley in our center of learning that is designated for those whom wish to speak their minds freely. (Sarcasm!)
I think the three hours I spent filing my taxes was easier than the twenty minutes and three dictionaries it took to make sense of your article. If I liked run-on sentences and streams of thought babble that insult my perspective on life, I’d read a Hunter S. Thompson novel.
The reason I am writing is because I disagree that I should respect the preachers. These people are the same people who keep our country from uniting. Their attacks on normal students are immature as you pointed out, but what about the other people they condemn? As “religious bigots,” one of their favorite targets is the gay community, who has committed no crime of which I’m aware. Do you not realize the deep-seated hatred that their stance against various groups promotes? But, according to you, it’s okay because they “believe in something.” Timothy McVeigh believed in something, Ethan. So did David Koresh before he caused the Waco massacre. Didn’t the people who flew planes into the Twin Towers live for a cause beyond them? Shall I go on?
You mock the hippies because they believe in tolerance, but you are practicing tolerance yourself. “While I may not agree with everything they say, at least they believe in something, and for this, they deserve our respect.” Aren’t you asking our student body to be tolerant of people we disagree with? If so, why don’t you take your self-imposed morality and restrain yourself from writing articles that are not well constructed. As much as I’d like to go on, I must go and be sheered. We sheep hate it when our coats get nasty and dreadlocked. Sorry for judging you, Ethan.
Adam Stephens
Junior
Theatre
Blanco not fulfilling promises
Governor Blanco has broken her first campaign promise. She has defaulted on a promise made during the election season three months ago to eliminate certain business taxes to stimulate economic growth thus creating more jobs — a centerpiece of her pledge to “bring Louisiana’s children back to Louisiana.”
Governor Blanco talks widely about improving economic conditions for our state, but the truth is the longer these two taxes are on the books the harder it will be to stimulate the Louisiana economy. In the past five years, the state has lost about 30,000 jobs.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Louisiana is the only Southern state that charges a full sales tax on purchases of machinery. Alabama and Mississippi do not, which is why they have landed manufacturing plants that passed Louisiana by.
This commitment to eliminate these taxes means more business, which means more jobs which will offset any lost revenue in the cost cutting budget.
Governor Blanco admits “It may be a big political mistake.” But Governor, the only mistake you have made is selling Louisianians and LSU graduates short.
Devin Reid
Sophomore
Latin and political science
Track coach deserves more recognition
This past year everyone has been singing the praises of Nick Saban and the LSU football team, and rightly so. Nick has done a great job and deserves all the accolades he has received. Sue Gunter will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best coaches in NCAA women’s basketball history. Skip Bertman: what else do you need to say? He is a living legend. But there is another coaching legend living on campus. His name is Pat Henry. He has single-handedly made LSU one of the best track programs ever. He has 25 team national titles to his credit, and the talented athletes he helped train and coach have won many more individual SEC, national, and world titles. Also, many of the top-notch recruits for the football team were enticed to LSU because we also have an excellent track program (i.e. Benny Brazell).
What I’d like to see is for the LSU community and the Baton Rouge community to honor this great man and great coach, although, Pat would probably rather let the kids take the credit. The Athletic Department has already taken steps to recognize him, having rallies at the PMAC and presentations before football games. Now, it’s the student body’s turn. All the track events are free for LSU students. So when the outdoor track season begins, let’s give our Tigers some support — the same support we give to the football team.
Jared Mixson
Business Administration Pre-law Sophomore
Civil unions should be phased in
In the Feb. 27 issue of The Reveille, two ladies wrote a letter against Bush’s advocacy of changing the constitution to name marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The first thing I would like to address is that, contrary to popular belief, the United States are not a democracy, they are a republic. This country is too big for direct democracy. That we are a democracy is a misconception.
Secondly, the reason that marriage can be defined as a union between a man and a woman is because, for millennia, that has been the social definition. Most of society accepts that this is simply how it is, and to suddenly change that definition is to cause a wrinkle in society. It’s too big of a change to take place immediately. Personally, I’m in favor of weaning society to the idea of using civil unions. Treat it like a marriage, the only difference being that it happens to be between two people of the same sex. Give them the same rights. Then the only difference is that one is between a man and a woman and the other is between two women or two men.
Once people have grown accustomed to this idea, then implement the change in the definition of marriage. Yes, it’s wrong to discriminate, but there is a smart way to implement change and a reckless way. By using the term civil union, even with the (unlikely to be enacted) constitutional amendment, the same rights can still be had.
Meaghen Couvillon
Sophomore
Anthropology
Bush can’t handle the presidency
In response to Jennifer Vitter’s and Jennifer Fleming’s very well-written letter in Friday’s Reveille, I offer my perspective. True, the Constitution should not be used to discriminate against individuals, as the individual’s rights are what lie at the fundamental base of democracy. In fact, the Constitution was designed to protect the rights of the individual. People like Vitter, Fleming, and myself realize this. But we have a president in office now who cannot grasp that concept because of his intellectual shortcomings. For lack of more efficient terminology, George W. Bush is without doubt the dumbest president to ever (dis)grace the Oval Office.
It is our duty as Americans to not lose sight of our right to speak our mind and express our distresses. But, when you have a man in office who is incapable of understanding you because he is so blatantly stupid, it dampens the spirit. Even more disheartening is about half of this country actually supports someone as cognitively deficient as Bush to the point of
keeping him in office. If this isn’t enough, looking back over Georgey’s first term, it becomes more than apparent that he actually only cares about a rather small and very particular class of people. He’s addicted to money and can see nothing beyond it. He’s like a crack fiend who whores out his daughters to get himself another fix.
George doesn’t care about the individual, he doesn’t care about the LGBT community, he doesn’t care about African Americans, he doesn’t care about the children who will inherit the mess he’s making with the world, he doesn’t care about free practicing spiritualists, he doesn’t care about our soldiers who are as disposable to him as action figures, and he certainly doesn’t care about anyone who is not an immediate family member to a corporate chairperson.
Giving George Bush the presidency of the most powerful country on the planet is like giving a paraplegic child keys to an extra-large conversion van and then expecting him to be able to drive without hurting anyone. And, to the people that turn their face to Bush’s stupidity, shortsightedness,
and eerily fascist rhetoric, look at yourselves — you’re becoming as stupid as he is.
Alan Mayeux
Senior
Writing & Culture / Criminology