Political accountability has always been an issue. The amount of misinformation that transpires in a 10 minute chunk of cable news alone is overwhelming, and in today's media environment most of these falsehoods remain unchallenged.
The death toll in Syria rose by another 400 people since last Thursday after a wave of killings promoted by President Bashar al-Assad. On Monday alone, over 25 people were reportedly killed in a government-led crackdown on protesters dissenting Assad's rule over the Syrian people. Monday also witnessed yet another statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the recent escalation in violence in the country and a promise of an international resolution on the issue from the United Nations Security Council.
Apple, over the past couple of weeks, has begun to unveil its strategy for getting into the textbook business. It hopes to electronically transform this industry, similar to the other sectors it has systematically revolutionized since the turn of the century. It is no secret that educators and academic institutions are looking for ways to invigorate the classroom experience and to capture the attention spans of today's students. Yet, despite the user-friendliness of the iPad, the competition of other products-Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Nobles' Nook and other Android devices-and the technologically reliant young people of the 21st century, a problem looms: Technology can be more of a burden than an asset unless properly integrated into a curriculum.
Mitt Romney’s spectacular fall from the front-runner position in the Republican candidacy following the South Carolina primary election can be attributed to a variety of causes. Arguably, his reluctance to reveal his taxes seems to have been the greatest. Voters seemed to be indignant at the fact Romney would be taxed at a meager 15.4 percent for the 2011 fiscal year despite reported income that would make him eligible for the 35 percent tax bracket.
The additional $25.5 million UW-Madison will have to cut over the next two years is already having a major impact on campus, and one of the most tangible ways in which students will feel the cuts is the elimination of 29 for-credit physical education classes after 2012. Everything from fencing to yoga to badminton will no longer be offered through the university. The very fact that so many classes are on the chopping block should be a red flag for students and faculty alike.
There is great suffering in our world. To pretend that you, or others aren't suffering at some points in time is to gloss over the realities of life. We all wish for a world without pain, but a world without suffering is a world without life. I accept this notion, but I reject the "suffering" projected by certain political and ideological interests.
The Republican Party is in disarray. For the first time ever, three different presidential candidates have won the first three primaries of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and the GOP establishment has become worried that Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-MA, whom they presume to be their most electable candidate, may not obtain the nomination. For the past year, primary voters have been resisting Romney by switching from one conservative alternative to another, including ridiculous fringe candidates like Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, and Herman Cain.
Last week, Democrats successfully turned in over one million signatures in the first step of the state's gubernatorial recall process. While it will take the state's Government Accountability Board weeks to verify the 540,208 signatures needed to begin a recall election against Gov. Scott Walker, unions throughout the state will be hard at work to find the perfect candidate who supports their ideas and ideologies. Chief among these concerns will be to restore collective bargaining rights as they see fit.
In the face of recall, Gov. Scott Walker is continuing to push for changes. His most recent plan calls for education reform, focusing mainly on teacher evaluations and improving reading levels. While these programs will improve Wisconsin’s public education system, Walker would do the state’s students even more good if he looked at reforms happening on America’s coasts.
When Newt Gingrich triumphantly challenged President Obama to seven, three-hour Lincoln-Douglas style debates in early December, the prospect appeared to coincide with his image as the intellectual Republican candidate. Yet since his impressive performances in GOP debates, the professorial Gingrich appeal has tapered significantly. His disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa Caucus-due, in part, to a horde of negative advertisements in the state-shattered any hopes of the utopian, debate-based primary Gingrich desired. A strong showing in Florida could give a jolt of energy to his candidacy, but with a limited war chest and reservations about his personal life, Gingrich would best avoid buying new milk.
What group constitutes the greatest percentage of the staff employed by UW-Madison? Is it Faculty? Graduate Assistants? Academic Staff? Classified Staff? In fact, it's none of these. All of these are dwarfed by the number of student hourlies on campus.
On Dec. 21 the mercury pollution saga finally came to an end. The long awaited Environmental Protection Agency regulations were finalized and put into effect. The new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) are the first ever national limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. These new regulations will ultimately improve people's health by requiring power plants that contribute to air pollution in Wisconsin to use widely available, proven pollution control technologies. These technologies will help protect families from pollutants such as mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases.
Voter ID law suppresses citizens' rights
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