Time for Action

On Friday March 15 2009, ABC news aired portions of an audio tape revealing intentions of Osama Bin Laden. The well known Al-Qaeda terrorist could be heard expressing his views on the conflict in Gaza and calling for the liberation of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, three countries in which the American military have been heavily involved in over the past six years. President Barack Obama has recently taken forceful measures to move Bin Laden from hiding which is more than we can say for the previous presidents’ efforts for capturing the man responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001. Although the former President Bush told America we have other reasons for invading the Middle East such as weapons of mass destruction and Sadaam Hussein’s regime for harboring terrorists, the main culprit of the 9/11 attacks was put on the back-burner of American military priority. For this lack of urgency towards those who cause my country pain and despair, I call conspiracy on behalf of the Bush administration for a few distinct reasons.

Osama Bin Laden has been on the run and in hiding from America for several years yet we are supposedly unable to locate him. We, an incredibly advance technological society who can monitor microscopic organisms on Mars are unable to keep tabs on one human being in flip flops with an AK-47. The preposterousness of this comparison opens the conspiracy which leads me to believe that Bin Laden has been allowed to survive for a reason.

As long as one can identify with a common enemy, there will always be a reason to fight. Perhaps Bin Laden has been left to run free so that American will have a common enemy, but this enemy demands that we occupy middle eastern countries in order to find him which means that America will have control over the middle east’s biggest economic resource for the world known as oil.

I also take issue with the immediate attention Bin Laden receives from American media. Every time this man records his voice, there is a possibility of death so I can understand why our news stations would want to keep ahead on issues like that; but it almost seems as if this man has complete control over our country’s operations.

I don’t have explanations for my observations, all I do know is that if there is a reason why this man was left alive purposely by the country which he attacked, I want to free passport to get me to Canada A.S.A.P!

David Lewis
Wilkes Universit 11'
17 March 2009

Show Some Courtesy Economy

With the economy falling at a rapid pace, many companies are forced to file bankruptcy. On July 29, 2008 I received a phone call telling me that I was no longer employed at Bennigan’s. Many citizens are being laid off, and I experienced this first hand. This is a very big issue in America, not just because I fell victim to it, but because many people can relate to this issue.

I was let go by Bennigan’s because the chain restaurant corporation filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and are slated to close. This came with no notice to the employees or to those local managers who run the different Bennigan’s around the U.S.
This isn’t right. Employees who counted on their income to provide for themselves and some to provide for a family should have reasonable notice before losing their jobs. I understand the economy is bad, and many corporations have to file for bankruptcy. All I am saying is inform those who work for these companies within a reasonable period of time before the closing.

Failure to give advanced notice of layoffs indicates employers don’t understand that they aren’t the only ones with bills and families to tend to. I applaud companies like Circuit City who gave their employees some type of heads-up so the employees could find jobs elsewhere. But to just snatch jobs from citizens unannounced is just wrong. Companies know when they are having financial problems and are in danger of filing bankruptcy. The least they can do is warn those who are employed for the company.

Although I was just saving money for books, many of my colleagues/fellow workers had bigger things to do with their money. For too many, Bennigan’s was their only income, and were divested when they heard that they were out of a job.
In conclusion, I just feel that cooperation’s should show some type of courtesy and let their employees know when they are on the verge of filing bankruptcy. The workers also have to survive through this tough time.

Darnell R. Corbin
Wilkes 11'
17 February 2009

OBAMA: PRO-ENDANGERED SPECIES

On Tuesday March 3rd President Obama celebrated the 160th anniversary of the Interior Department and overturned, to be completely blunt, yet another pointless and stupid ruling which was passed by the Bush Administration that undoubtedly weakened the Endangered Species Act which has been protecting wildlife, both endangered plants and animals, since 1973.
Under Bush's regulation, federal agencies would no longer have to clear any projects with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Services that could affect wildlife, but rather if those agencies deduced that their projects wouldn't harm any endangered species than it was okay for them to push forward rather than consulting with scientists.
Now President Bush hasn't exactly been an advocator for advancements in science which is obviously noted with his actions to halt stem cell research, but it almost seems like he hates natural sciences and the preservation of such fields when he does things like pass regulations that create potential unnecessary evils for the wildlife that is already dying off the way it is. It's not that George W. Bush is a bad guy per say, it's just that he prefers the concrete jungle to the real deal. Maybe he's intimidated by the Lion King who rules fiercely with no objection and is just trying to steal some of his thunder for his own Presidency. But wait, that doesn't seem to make any sense being that he passed this regulation only weeks before his way out the door back to his good ole' ranch where he is sure to have control over any and all wildlife that crosses his path. Maybe this was his last attempt to piss off anyone who still wasn't mad at the Bush administration for our involvements overseas or the economic crisis and George W. Bush's own denial of recession or what have u. So as so many Americans face struggle, why not the happy, furry little critters in the woodwork too? One doesn't need to be an environmentalist to see what is wrong with federal agency bureaucrats regulating themselves and grading their own projects as environmentally friendly or not rather than the scientists whose job it is to make that decision. How does it make any sense to skip consultations with the people who are educated and passionate about the protection of endangered species and give federal agencies freedom to structure projects as they please? Well it doesn't make any sense as President Obama has pointed out by overturning the regulation.
President Obama is well aware of the divide between those in favor of profiting off of natural resources and those wanting to conserve those resources for future generations. But he also thinks this divide is pointless by referring to it as a 'false choice', and believes that one does not need to be sacrificed for the other.

Whitney Roper
Wilkes University '11
Communications

Has Miley Cyrus Become Miley CyRACIST?

If you had a nickel for every time you made a funny face or a rude gesture in a picture, how rich would you be? What if you had to pay every person you offended with that face or gesture $4000? How much in debt would you be? Well, to answer this, all we have to do is look at some music celebrity news!

On Feb 11th, one of Disney Channels top teen stars, 16 year old Miley Cyrus, had a lawsuit filed against her for an offensive gesture made in a picture. While sitting on her boyfriends lap with several friends standing around her, including an Asian-American boy, Miley though it would be funny to stretch her eyelids like many people would do to make a stereotypical gesture about an Asian person. Unfortunately for Miley, having an Asian-American in the picture could not be used as a “get out of jail free” card in this situation.

Lucie J. Kim of Los Angeles, California, and part of the OCA, an organization dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the U.S., has filed a class action lawsuit against Miley on behalf of all Asian Pacific Islanders living in Los Angeles County. On the accusation of a civil rights violation, she is requested to pay $4000 in damages to each potential plaintiff, making the lawsuit have a net worth of a whopping $4 billion.

In response to the lawsuit Miley made two attempts at apologizing. The first apology didn’t seem too sincere and possibly could have put her in even hotter water. Her first apology said, "I've also been told there are some people upset about some pictures taken of me with friends making goofy faces! Well, I'm sorry if those people looked at those pics and took them wrong and out of context!" Her second attempt was much more mature, but a little late. This apology said, “I want to thank all of my fans for their support not only this week, but always! I really wanted to stress how sorry I am if the photo of me with my friends offended anyone. I have learned a valuable lesson from this and know that sometime my actions can be unintentionally hurtful. I know everything is a part of GODs ultimate plan, and mistakes happen so that eventually I will become the woman he aspires me to be. Peace and love, Miles."

This lawsuit just goes to show, how anyone in the spotlight is a target waiting to be hit. It is one thing to teach a kid a lesson about a racist gesture, but it’s another thing to squeeze a ridiculous $4 billion out of it. If we all played the game like that, then I could probably file a lawsuit against Miley for being born with, what I think is, an offensive face and collect $4000 for every picture of her with her face in it.

There are millions of other things to worry about in our world today, and much more important problems to solve. Unfortunately racism, is one of these problems, but I think we could work on fixing this problem in much more efficient and cost effective ways then filing lawsuits against children for being children!

Amanda Touch
Wilkes University '10
Communication Studies

Military Services

One of the many things that this country may forget about is the current war we are in. With the economy the way it is and how people are losing their jobs, everyone is making sure that their life is going to be secure and nothing bad will happen to them, which is understandable. Although, when our troops finally do come home how will they be treated? They should be able to receive the metical attention if need be. Emotional stages also take into account when they come home because we are unsure as to what they are thinking about and what might be bothering them. My dad is currently over in Afghanistan on his second tour in three years, now although he doesn’t tell me much about what went on over there, but he never really talked about any benefits he got when he came back to America. I hope they soon come up with a law that benefits all returning soldiers with the proper health care that they should receive for minimal or no cost at all. They are more than qualified to be able to get the benefits they need in order to come back to America. It wasn’t easy dealing with him being gone for two tours in the past three years, it was not only me that had to deal with him being gone, but our family and friends and especially my mom. Being gone for that long slows down the family emotionally and nothing can be done during that time while he or she is gone serving our country. I propose that some kind of treatment for the service men and women in the military for when they come back form Afghanistan and Iraq.

Chris Jordan
Wilkes University '10
Communications

What’s Going On?

Between a near trillion dollar stimulus bill which was over one thousand pages long, billion dollar corporate bailouts, and executives taking taxpayer funded multimillion dollar bonuses, there seems to be something fishy amiss. With all of these financial scandals going on it’s no wonder news organizations are reporting economic doom. What happened to “the new era of responsibility”, nothing seems to have changed. We are spending more, corporate thievery is afoot, and the American tax payer is footing the bill. The dollar is losing its value and fast, and inflation is very real, bread used to be fifty-nine cents. In all of this craziness it looks like Rush Limbaugh is getting his wish. What I don’t understand is how the spending of billions to corporations, petty state projects, and who knows what other nonsense that the government has planned for our money, is going to help. When will it stop? When will the era of fiscal responsibility begin, and when will the era of irresponsibility end?

It looks like what had been promised to the American people has taken a sideline to the usual bureaucratic nonsense that we had under the old administration. If indeed it is the time for change, then for crying out loud, make change, radical, swift change. This is what is needed in our government. Without this change we are doomed to repeat the last eight years and it seems that those who now hold office are not making sufficient effort to make this happen. Where is it, President Obama? America voted for change, now where is it?

Joe Cooper
Wilkes University 10'
19 March 2009

Sorry is Just a Word

Unless you have been living under a rock the last few weeks, you have heard something about the scandal involving Luzerne County’s Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan. Although it is difficult for an average citizen to understand the legal ramifications behind the situation, from a moral and ethical standpoint, what the judges did was wrong. It is expected that the judges, like all public figures who do wrong, should apologize for their wrong doings. Here is the question? Are they sorry for what they did, or are they sorry because they got caught?

They obviously are smart men, well, at least educated men, achieving such high ranks in the judicial court. They obviously were well aware that what they were doing was wrong. Where was the guilt when they were taking kickbacks totaling around 2.4 million dollars? Although, undoubtedly the judges will offer the public some form of apology, whether or not the apology is heart felt is questionable. In my opinion, I don’t believe these judges are sorry for their wrong doings; they’re merely sorry they got caught.

If the judges are to apologize, it is important for them to directly acknowledge and apologize to the innocent teenagers and families that were affected by their greed. They must own up to the fact that they did these kids wrong and these kids will be affected by this for the rest of their lives. As long as the judges don’t use excuses, admit that they were wrong and serve the punishment they are sentenced, the citizens of Luzerne County may be more willing for forgive and forget.

Mareen Iskra
Wilkes University 10'
16 February 2009

Obama’s Use of PMDs

President Barack Obama broke several barriers upon becoming the forty-fourth leader of the United States of America. Obamas’ triumphs have a wide range of significance but none more important than the fact that he managed to break down the barrier between American voters and their personal sending and receiving devices.

Before the 2008 presidential race between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, personal computers, cell phones, and personal media devices (PMDs) were used to maintain connections with peers, friends, and employerst. When Barack Obama ran for president, all of these devices were suddenly transformed into platforms for receiving political updates on his campaign affairs through e-mail, text messaging, and live video feeds.

I appreciated Obama’s campaign tactics as a first-time voter who is constantly on the go and does not have much time to sit down and read a news paper or watch television. If it was not for his constant use of interactive media outlets such as e-mail, text messaging, and video posting, it is quite possible he would have failed to get the attention of first-time voters across the nation since we have become so-well acquainted with hyperlink information that we sometimes do not pay attention to other media outlets that we do not have time for.

The issue which Barack Obama must realize is that some barriers which people
put up towards others, political figures in particular, are meant to keep some sentiments of personal property for non-public access. By invading our PMDs Obama may have created a tension which was not previously present. Although his use of interactive media keeps the American people abreast of his political activities, I am not so sure that the American people want continuous political updates every day on their PMDs.

People of twenty-first century who use cell phones, personal computers, and other forms of personal media are better-equipped to receive breaking news than those who still use the morning newspaper and evening news coverage from their local television networks may. Obama has revolutionized the position of President of The United States with this tactic, but I am skeptical about whether or not the American people want political updates on their PMDs. The key word is in the title of a “Personal Media Device” is “Personal.” When something is “personal” to someone, that usually entails notions of individuality within the object. If another person invades the object which was at one point personal and unique to the individual’s needs, then odds are that the invader of the other’s personal device will be looked upon with harsh eyes. My suggestion for President Obama is to ease up on how much you are contacting people through their PMDs if you don’t want them to get too annoyed with you.

David Lewis

Wilkes University 11'

23 March 2009