Opinion

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The papacy, more than just a funny hat

Jose Canseco tweeted 9:03 Monday morning “What all does a Pope do?” Canseco asks an important question, and I don’t think he’s the only one who ponders for what purpose the pontificate exists. With Pope Benedict XVI’s recent retirement announcement, I thought this would be a good time to educate readers on who the pope is, how the office came to be and what exactly papal infallibility is all about. You can use this information to wow friends when the topic of cut-throat Vatican politics comes up, or you can just tuck it away for future use in crossword puzzles.

24-hour news cycle damaging to American political opinions

Conventional wisdom requires an individual to finish his or her dinner before dessert. Even if one must sift through green vegetables, rubbery chicken and bland potatoes, it is still better to eat these things before taking in tasty but empty calories.

Technology threatens future of journalism

Journalism is struggling.  People just don’t read like they used to—at least not in the same way.  The rise and democratization of high-speed Internet access and new devices like iPads, smartphones and Kindles have revolutionized the way we consume information, communicate and, ultimately, the way we live our lives. I still have not-so-fond memories of waiting 30 minutes for my AOL Internet to dial up when I was a kid. While at work this summer, I almost had a heart attack when my phone struggled to load the live-stream HD video of Michael Phelps making his competitors look like fools at the Summer Olympics.

Time for Walker to uphold Obamacare in Wisconsin

Issue of homelessness long-ignored by Wisconsin politicians

The issue of homelessness has never received enough attention from public policy makers. No incident has made this more apparent than an event several months ago in Madison, in which a police officer ordered the belongings of the homeless on Capitol Square to be brought to the city dump before other police officers ultimately retrieved them.

Bipartisanship necessary for mining bill

Compromise is a word we don’t often hear in regard to the stubborn,  partisan Wisconsin legislature. And even when it occurs, it seems most  legislators are too proud to admit such maturity could ever breach the wall of juvenility that seems to surround our state Capitol. While the  controversial bill to streamline Wisconsin’s mining permit process  made large steps toward bipartisanship, division within the  legislature brought us back to the same old story of ego before  cooperation.

Der Rathskeller's Jukebox dies, and with it, a piece of us all

Middle East still far from lasting peace

It is all but impossible to conceive of a Middle East bereft of violence and bloodshed.  The Arab Spring, which has stormed through Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, has now claimed over 60,000 Syrian lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in an increasingly gory Syrian Civil War.  Supposedly, removing Bashar al-Assad, the ruthless Syrian dictator, from his authoritative post is the highest priority of the U.S. State Department, as quotidian remarks of the necessity of his departure by outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are ubiquitous in newspaper headlines.  However, as we approach the two-year anniversary of Syria’s struggle to emancipate itself from Assad, all predictions as to when the war may conclude are dubitable.

Obama's drone program dangerous for Americans

An impending investigation pertaining to the legality of drone strikes by Ben Emmerson, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, offers a vital opportunity to reflect upon the morality and efficacy of a technology that has become a hallmark of President Barack Obama's foreign policy. The expansion and entrenchment of this capability as a central component of U.S. military power under Obama's tenure has received far too little discussion, especially in light of disturbing findings regarding the extent of civilian casualties and psychological trauma resulting from this targeted killing program.

Mayor Soglin weighs in on homelessness

The Daily Cardinal’s Editorial Board met with Mayor Paul Soglin last week for over an hour. The Mayor opened with an informal statement of his priorities and how Madison has changed in the past 20 years. He continued to answer our questions about several of the topics you see below.  Here are some of our thoughts on the areas of the city that Soglin commented on regarding the issue of homelessness.

Legal status needs to be more accessible

The Senate and President Barack Obama recently released separate, but fairly similar, outlines for immigration reform. Since immigration policy has been a dismal failure for multiple decades, it is an exciting prospect to see the federal government “fix the system.” Unfortunately, neither the Senate’s Gang of Eight proposal nor President Obama’s proposal will do anyone much good in the long run.

Defining life and when it begins underlies abortion debate

Greetings, fellow Badgers. My name is Tom Jensen and I am a senior majoring in Religious Studies. As such, this column will focus on religious topics and hopefully shed some light on why certain religious groups do and think as they do. If you have a topic you would like me to cover, or if you feel I misrepresented a certain group, please feel free to contact me. Additionally, if you disagree with anything I say, let’s get a good old-fashioned newspaper debate going. Write a letter to the editor. Call me out. It will be way more exciting than watching “The Office” on Netflix, so I guarantee a response.

Super Bowl XLVII super disappointing

First, let’s get this straight. I’m a huge football fan. Super Bowl Sunday is one of my favorite days out of the year. Football. Wings. Drinking. The only thing that would make it better would be if my favorite team had actually made the big game. Sadly, though, they did not. And so, for the 18th time in my life, I sat through a game that has absolutely no bearing on my fandom. Only this time, I took notes. On everything but the game.

Gun control loophole poses potential threat to arm criminals

We’re a nation of 315 million constitutional law scholars.  Most Americans avoid the legalese of their credit card contracts like the plague.  But the Constitution and specifically the Second Amendment? No problem—we know exactly what it means.  But the fact is what you or I think about the Second Amendment is pretty meaningless, because it’s the Supreme Court’s interpretation that counts.

Modern times aching for liberal left

The thought of speaking out against the actions of a government that may have you killed or imprisoned without trial is petrifying. The war on terror that has defined our previous decade as a nation has wreaked havoc on our civil liberties, further destroyed our global reputation, and deceived a once respected political system.

Ethnic studies requirement constrictive

The Daily Cardinal recently reported that a roundtable dinner will be held by the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee to entertain the possibility of reforming the mandatory ethnic studies requirement.

Wisconsin’s proposed mining bill not a good deal for the state

Happy Friday, everyone. First off, thanks a bunch for not being too hungover to read the paper this morning. After all of the “hard work” and “thought” I put into these, it’s nice to have people read them. This one is about some new politics in the  controversial world here in Wisconsin. Months ago, a piece of legislation that would have brought changes to our mining laws was defeated in Wisconsin’s state legislature. The bill would have paved the way for a new iron mine in northern Wisconsin. Now, with a legislative majority, proponents of the bill are trying again. They say the mine would provide thousands of jobs in Wisconsin and serve as a great boost for the economy. Opponents say the bill guts governmental regulations and the mine would be devastating to the environment. I think these environmental concerns should be taken much more seriously by proponents of the bill.

David Clarke's aggressive endorsement

Every Friday, The Daily Cardinal’s Opinion Staff weighs in on a topic. This week, David Clarke, Milwaukee’s Sheriff, advised the citizenry of Milwaukee to arm themselves in order to protect themselves better in a publicly funded radio ad.

ASM may be too expansive to fully represent student body

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a special place for a million reasons: top notch academics, competitive and exciting athletics, inspiring professors et cetera et cetera. One of the most important, and perhaps the most unrecognized feature that makes UW-Madison so unique is the shared governance relationship between students and administrators. In fact, Wisconsin law dictates that students must be a part of the allocation of their segregated fees. The importance of student representation in important budget and educational decisions on campus cannot be undersold. Unfortunately, the structure of our student government has become bloated and inefficient and is in desperate need of a dramatic overhaul.

Political rhetoric overshadows the issues

Often times the rhetoric surrounding an issue becomes the issue itself. Emotional hang-ups and the ever-present argument of deeming something “unconstitutional” can overwhelm the issue at hand, and that can not only hinder solving that problem, it can also blow the problem out of proportion and then lead an effort to fix things that aren’t broken.