Opinion

Columnist has got it all wrong on U.S.-Israeli relationship

Mar 12, 2007

Deckhead:

Re: "A Special Relationship," Opinion, March 6

Body:

To the Editor:

Comrade Laura Taylor ’07 impresses all with another stellar column. She has proven herself a true iconoclast.

I mean, who but Taylor could have seen what all others were blind too: that the reason the Great Satan maintains its special relationship with the Zionist entity is because it wants access to the vast natural resources of the Middle East. Sure some will argue that Israel barely has any oil or natural gas production and that in order to gain greater access to the these precious resources it would be smarter to spurn Israel in order to curry favor with other countries in that oil rich and vehemently anti-Israel neighborhood. But Comrade Taylor sees through such analysis. She has little use for facts.

Children of the Corn

Jeff Purcell  —  Mar 12, 2007

Deckhead:

Brutal Honesty

Body:

Politicians are slow to accept reality. With mountains of evidence that humans are changing the climate, the men in power have begun flapping their gums. They’re eager to offset the problems, they’re hoping you’ll let them bet your world on quick fixes. Some hail nukes as magic, and others insist that nothing’s cleaner than coal. Biofuel fans say all our ills can be cured by burning our food. Pain-free, high-tech, and with consequences too distant for them to be held responsible, George Bush and Barack Obama are two huge ethanol cheerleaders.

Left Lunacy

Mitch Fagen  —  Mar 12, 2007

Deckhead:

The Never-Ending Battle

Body:

Before you read the following, I’d just like to note that I am absolutely not a conservative, and if you doubt this, I’d encourage you to look at my previous Sun columns. With that established …

When I was much younger, I started to read all sorts of political magazines, websites and history books that ideologically ranged from the far-left to the Republican right. At first, I had some sympathy for many of the far-left things I read. But as I read more and more, and learned more about history and economics, something just seemed off with the (far) leftist perspective.

Panty-Thieves, Boy-Toys, Dior and an Onion

Claire Readhead  —  Mar 12, 2007

Deckhead:

Silk Blue Stockings

Body:

You know that you have reached a new level of sophistication when your life philosophy and self-perception is based on a cartoon. Yes, I am relating to the animated character Shrek. I often feel like an obese, green ogre. Hmmm … maybe I should talk to my shrink about that. And like this fictional, obese, green ogre, I view myself as an onion.

Not all Libertarians are extremists

Mar 12, 2007

Deckhead:

Re: "Free to Choose," Opinion, March 8

Body:

To the Editor:

Ari Rabkin’s recent column “Free to Choose” at first promises to promote choice, until it becomes apparent that Rabkin is instead out to marginalize an entire political party’s ideology. Instead of doing his research, Rabkin takes the challenging route of characterizing all Libertarians as extremists: blind to anything but the mantra “freedom is good” and wanting harm to come to every American by privatizing services to efficient companies and granting dangerous personal freedoms.

Give it a Break

Ben Notterman  —  Mar 9, 2007

Deckhead:

The Scorpion King

Body:

As I peered out my ice-glazed window this morning, it occurred to me that Cornell must be one of the only college campuses in the entire world where spring break is colder than winter break. Together with the ominous burden of prelims, this week’s obscenely low temperatures have left Cornell students eagerly counting down the days until March 17th, which marks the beginning of our school’s annual spring recess.

Saturday Morning Super Heroes: Ninja Turtles or Power Rangers?

Rebecca Weiss  —  Mar 9, 2007

Deckhead:

Vs.

Body:

When I think back on my childhood, and especially the programming that my absentminded mom and dad plopped me in front of for, oh, only around seven hours a day, I heave a prolonged sigh of relief that my psychiatrist, therapist and my life coach all say how well-adjusted I am. (So what if everyone else describes me as “sketchy,” “inappropriate” and “unstable?”) I strongly believe that the shows I stared at day in and day out for my formative years have shaped who I have become, and I thank the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for making me the tolerant, intellectually curious woman that I am. However, I cannot and will not extend the same expression of gratitude to the subversive Japanese import that is The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

O.J. and C.U.

Mar 9, 2007

Body:

Heroes and Villains is not usually the type of undercover organization that gets giddy when it comes to sensationalism. A tough day of vigorously patrolling the news wires typically ends with a pint of dark brown ale, a couple of smokes on the veranda, a laugh or two with the bros, a warm fire and nice session in front of the telly watching Dancing with the Stars reruns before our moms tell us we have to go to bed.

Saturday Morning Super Heroes: Ninja Turtles or Power Rangers?

Jenna Bromberg  —  Mar 9, 2007

Deckhead:

Vs.

Body:

When I was teeny, I’d wake up on Saturday mornings to find my older brother already parked in front of the TV watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’d pour myself some cereal and sit down next to him, scowling as I chewed my Trix for the duration of the episode. I would have changed the channel if I hadn’t learned my lesson that time I unplugged his Super Nintendo and he tore the heads off of all my Barbies and threw them in the pool. I yearned to watch something with bright colors (ever notice how dark and dreary the colors in the TMNT series are?) and a female character that was slightly less lame than the mom-jean-clad, tragically-permed April. I figured I might just have to wait for the major networks to find out I was a superhero myself so they could make a show about me.

The Republic Which Stands for What?

Jeremy Siegman  —  Mar 9, 2007

Deckhead:

Cosmology on the Rocks

Body:

I sometimes walk by Barton Hall and get this sinking but proud feeling that ROTC is the most important thing on this campus. The rest of us are nice people. And we used to say the Pledge of Allegiance in grade school, but maybe something didn’t click. “And to the republic for which it stands,” sounded cute. But that line seems to have left a burning question unanswered. That question is climbing down from somewhere far away, somewhere purposeful. It’s screaming, in objective, journalistic tones from the front page every day, and in the rising casualties the articles report. It screams, “And what does that republic stand for?”

Hello