Opinion

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Denial of climate change reveals ignorance

Editor's Note: The original story was posted Wednesday night, this version has since been changed.

Don't lump student loans with health care

Like Stephen Colbert's coverage of obscure stories, I enjoy bringing under-discussed issues to light. In that respect, as students we should be particularly intrigued by the potential addition of student loan amendments to the fast-tracked health care bill.

Power up professors' paltry paychecks

UW System employee salaries were released last week with few surprises and the same aggravating discrepancies. Ten system employees earned over $300,000. Chancellor Biddy Martin made more than UW System President Kevin Reilly by almost $23,000, and nobody outshone Athletic Director Barry Alvarez at half a million.

Democrats playing same old political games with health-care bill

Was this the change we were hoping for? Backroom deals, Cornhusker kickbacks, bribes, rides in Air Force One, and a plethora of other questionable Washington procedures have left many Americans asking this question. A recent NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll put support for this health-care bill at just 36 percent. Yet Speaker Pelosi and President Obama continue to try to force this legislation on a populace that clearly does not want it to pass. What's more astounding is that not only is Washington trying to pass this health-care bill against the will of the people, but they are doing it in a manner which is unconstitutional at best and completely unethical at worst.

Rules of the road still apply to bicyclists

As we enter into warmer weather, melting snow and relentless rain, it is becoming clear that spring is on the way. With clear streets and temperatures above the freezing mark, it is just about time to bring out the bicycles again. In fact, many students are already enjoying the opportunity and pedaling their ways across campus; and as a fellow cyclist, I am eager to join just as soon as I can get my bike back to Madison.

Reasons for statewide salvia ban hazy at best

Two weeks ago, the powerful hand of the law laid a smack down on one of the few remaining legal drugs being used throughout Wisconsin. Salvia divinorum, commonly confused with saliva, was effectively banned from being manufactured and distributed among the many citizens of Wisconsin.

Better, faster, stronger: In search of a more natural way to run

The road ahead of you is aglow with thousands of tiny sparkling snowflakes, like diamonds in the distance. The air on your face is brisk and refreshing, but it harmonizes with the warm sun. There is bliss in these moments of winter, experienced in the solitude of a long run, where your only purpose is to continue to put one foot in front of the other.

Video didn't kill the radio star, but Uncle Sam might

The most recent chapter in the saga of radio royalties played out earlier his month when more than 400 broadcasters visited Washington D.C. and lobbied Capitol Hill in opposition to the Performance Rights Act. The PRA has passed both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees but has not yet been scheduled for a vote in either body.

Textbook committee superfluous

Last week ASM's Academic Affairs Committee proposed the creation of a standing committee to address textbook issues as a more permanent way of addressing the financial burden of textbooks on campus. The proposed committee would be comprised of three students, three faculty members and three academic staff and, according to ASM Academic Affairs Chairman Jonah Zinn, would focus on ""things like electronic textbooks, open-source textbooks, getting departments to focus on certain textbooks, library reserve programs and the possibility of creating a textbook rental program.""

Clean up emergency response protocol

In a rare instance of the City of Madison and Dane County not seeing eye to eye, a lawsuit resulted over their disagreements on how to handle 911 calls.

Right to drink raw milk an individual choice

Pasteurization is not just a nightmare for cheese gourmets. It is a nuisance for anyone who sees selling and consuming raw milk as their natural right.

Time to get on board with high-speed rail, take the train to Yahara Station

As someone who spent his childhood never more than 20 minutes away from the City of Milwaukee, who has made the trip between Milwaukee and Madison hundreds of times in his life and who now holds residence in the city of Madison for the majority of the year, the idea of a possible high-speed rail line between the two cities initially caused stunned excitement.

BPA ban a safe choice for health, environment

BPA-free water bottles have popped up everywhere. They come in a rainbow of colors. You can acquire them basically everywhere, from the corner Walgreens to the merchandise stand at your favorite band's concert. They keep you hydrated. They last. They are good for the environment, and evidently, for you as well.

Walker trying to put state under his small gov't spell

Eloquence in print isn't too hard. It's a medium that, through the magic and archaic technology of Gutenberg, allows me to spend hours debating between using ""brutish"" or ""bestial"" before anyone ever reads my words. After being quoted in our university's other newspaper, I was reminded that I'm not quite as eloquent live. I must admit I sounded like Sarah Palin.

Abortion debate wrongly focused

The ever-raging abortion debate has made numerous headlines recently because of the near-constant protests by pro-life groups outside the Madison Surgery Center. As an avid proponent of a woman's right to choose, I always react to these demonstrations with anger and disgust. Nothing is more insulting and disrespectful to the women who have made this difficult and emotional choice than crowds spitting misnomers like ""murder"" and holding poster boards displaying pictures of aborted fetuses. Just thinking about it infuriates me.

No way to win this race to the top

Last week, the state of Wisconsin received the ""Billy Madison"" treatment in the Department of Education's Race to the Top. At no point in Wisconsin's rambling, incoherent proposal were they even close to anything resembling a rational thought. Everyone in the federal government is now dumber for having read it. They awarded us no points, and may God have mercy on our souls. Or at least the souls of Wisconsin students.

Editorial Cartoon: March 11, 2010

No need to ban guns, regulate them instead

The Supreme Court has had slurry of important cases during Obama's presidency, most notably overturning portions of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. However, the recent case of McDonald v. Chicago, which challenges the Chicago handgun ban, is going to be its most important yet.

Best response to natural disasters comes with a healthy dose of rebel spirit

Rebels have always been a favorite of mine. They cannot be ignored, whether it's the teenager deliberately staying out past curfew or the revolutionary hero. We've got Martin Luther King Jr., Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, James Dean, Gandhi, Emiliano Zapata, oldies like George Washington and Lewis and Clark, and contemporaries like Lady Gaga. The rebel mindset incorporates defiance, stubbornness and a dose of crazy, but most importantly, a vision. And to reference the popular Apple ad that raises a glass to the ""round pegs in square holes,"" the rebels are the ones who push the envelope and end up changing the world, just because they think they can.

Open classrooms to discussion

Our private lives and personal beliefs follow us everywhere we go. This includes the classroom. Students and teachers do not check their biases, preferences or opinions at the door; but too often such aspects of character are absent from our classrooms and our education.