Taliban’s terror campaign violates our sense of human dignity
Over the course of the past few weeks there have been a series of articles featured in The New York Times calling attention to the fear engendered in the populace of southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan by the Taliban. In a Jan. 25 article, “”In Pakistan, Radio Amplifies Terror of Taliban”” the repression of women’s rights and dignity was brought to light once again. As a man, there is an inherent level of disgust from this sort of injustice. Respect for a women’s right to choose freely, own property, receive an education and vote should be observed regardless of tradition or cultural identity. This is an offense men created and mankind can reverse.
– Paul Cervantes is an accounting senior.
New video game will give everyone the chance to be a Beatle
MTV Networks announced last week that it will release a video game similar to “”Rock Band”” that will allow players to rock through the songs of the greatest band in history, The Beatles. The music on the fully-authorized game will even be overseen by the son of Sir George Martin, who produced the Fab Four’s timeless albums. On the one hand, one wonders what the departed Beatles -ÿsardonic genius John Lennon and spiritual-minded guitar hero George Harrison -ÿwould have had to say about their classic tunes being turned into digital fantasy fodder for Cheeto-chomping teenagers who can’t be bothered to learn how to play a real guitar. On the other hand, maybe they’d have been first in line to play. “”All of us are actually pretty hip,”” noted Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono.
-ÿJustyn Dillingham is a history senior and is the opinions editor of the Daily Wildcat.
Hollywood’s new personality disorder satire in bad taste
“”Little Miss Sunshine”” star Toni Colette is among the down-to-earth, respectable actresses in Hollywood, so I was disappointed to see her starring in a new TV comedy. “”The United States of Tara”” follows Colette’s character as she tries to live suburban life with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Colette’s character shifts from being a biker to a Stepford wife, and then from being an angst-ridden teenage girl to a regular mother. Esteemed director Steven Spielberg should have known better than to partake in a show that trivializes a serious psychological condition which often results from childhood abuse and severe mental stress. It may be healthy to make light of negative situations, but this new show is insensitive to the mentally ill who have no choice but to live with a distressing condition.
-ÿLaura Donovan is a creative writing junior.
Midwest legislators use imagination to trim government excess
Two Republican lawmakers from Minnesota have come up with a novel way of solving the state’s budget deficit. No, neither state Sen. Geoff Michel nor state Rep. Laura Brod is suggesting the traditional budget cuts approach; instead, the two have proposed a statewide yard sale of non-essential governmental assets. At the top of their list is the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, which they estimate could bring in as much as $5 billion for the state.
Now, I’ll stop short of endorsing their idea, for it has some major flaws, but I applaud these legislators for straying away from the typical let’s-just-trim-the-budget philosophy that so many Republicans employ. Budget cuts are often misguided and harmful, like with respect to health care and education, both of which I would argue are indispensable. Perhaps, Arizona should hold its own nonessential-assets-must-go sale in order to alleviate the stranglehold of the budget deficit. Or maybe, just maybe, Arizona’s legislators should think outside of their tiny, cramped box of useless ideas.
– Justin Huggins is a senior majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology.
