Page 6
FORUM
Nov. 10, 2006
www.guilfordian.com
Greensboro. N.C.
Minutemen skirmish at
Columbia University
By Steven Tutterow | staff writer
Imagine this: redneck shotgun toting
nationalists going toe to toe with trust
fund poster carrying Ivy League stu
dents.
Well, it happened.
On Oct. 4, Jim Gilchrist of the Min
utemen Project spoke at Columbia Uni
versity. Columbia's College Republicans
invited Gilchrist to the school. Tensions
began to mount when Gilchrist per
formed a mock phone call to his wife
while he was on stage.
"I'm amongst the largest eclectic col
lection of social maladroits that I've ever
seen in my life, you won't believe it,"
Gilchrist said on the phone over whistles
and boos from the crowd.
Shortly after this "call" and during
his speech, student protestors flooded
the stage and started yelling indignantly,
or I mean, started protesting. They held
a sign that said, "No one is illegal."
The minutemen then took the next
logical step—physically attacking the
protestors. Brilliant.
The end result was a decent scuffle
mixed in with some poster tug of war,
until security went onstage and cleared
things up. In the end, the students oust
ed the minutemen, who are unable to se
cure their own stage against Ivy League
students, much less the border against
illegal immigrants.
Gilchrist then left shortly after the
incident, and after advice from his legal
consultant. In the aftermath, Kevin Ha-
hulski, a supporter of the minutemen,
has now been identified as kicking a pro
testor walking below him on the floor of
the auditorium.
Moreover, the Minutemen Project
plans to file a lawsuit for "discrimination
and defamation of character," according
to the Columbia Spectator. Protestors
have also had letters sent to them by the
university discussing possible charges
against them.
What an incident. You would think
that Ivy League students would have
more sense than this, but apparently not.
The elite scholars in the nation apparently
don't have enough maturity to conduct
themselves in an orderly fashion.
If you oppose someone else's view
points, it is standard procedure to let
them talk, and then answer with your
own rebuttal.
It's called being civilized.
The protestors at Columbia acted like
children covering their ears and yelling at
the top of their lungs.
Then, of course, a physical retaliation
came from the minutemen as they tried to
force the protestors off the stage so they
could continue speaking. Let's just be
grateful that they didn't have their shot
guns with them.
According to minutemanproject.com,
"The Minutemen Project plans to bring
to national attention the threat to our na
tional sovereignty that this massive inva
sion of illegal immigrants represents."
These people are moronic in their ac
tions, as well as in their beliefs. They don't
understand that the system of American
capitalism that they hold so close in their
ideologies relies on the exploitation of la
bor of illegal immigrants.
All in all, this incident was incredibly
immature, from the mock phone call to
the babyish retaliation by the protestors,
to the violent reaction by the minutemen
and their supporters. However, it is quite
hysterical.
Look at how these Ivy League kids
and our nation's future leaders conduct
themselves. Look at how "grown men"
were conducting themselves. Then, look
at the way you're acting, and try not to be
as idiotic as these two groups with your
actions, regardless of what your view
points are.
s Pool Tournament 2006
Funds raised at this event wili
benefit the healing arts
programs of the following
organizations:
Joie de Vivre
www.thegoddesseffect.com
Project Linus of Guilford County
www.projectiinus.org
2006 election trickery ended November 7
Higher gas prices set a harsh reality for incoming legislators
By Ben Dedman | staff writer
The past few months have
erupted with good news.
Gas prices dropped nearly 80
cents, President George W. Bush
made some promises for Iraq's
future, and Tuesday brought the
end of a particularly nasty elec
tion.
But no matter how earnest you
believe the new mission in Iraq is
or how low the gas prices fall, the
good news will fade as quickly as
it came.
As the mid-term elections
neared, and as the Republican
Party sank deeper and deeper
into scandal, the prospect of an
American regime change filled
the air.
The Democrats had the chance
to take the House of Representa
tives from Republican control for
the first time since 1994. But false
promises and low gas prices di
verted the American public away
from the real issues of the elec
tion.
The Bush administration has
recently admitted faults in their
Iraq policy for the first time, and
made promises to change.
Though the President acknowl
edged that the battle for Baghdad
is failing, and that a change in
course will be necessary, it was
only one of many unsubstanti
ated claims from the Bush admin
istration.
The violence is escalating and
Iraq is on the brink of civil war,
yet the situation is not likely to
change within the next two years.
Bush has repeatedly denied the
possibility of withdrawing from
Iraq and continues to do so.
Speaking from the Oval Office on
Sept. 11, 2006, Bush said, "Amer
ica will stay in the fight. Iraq will
be a free nation, and a strong ally
in the war on terror."
He intends to continue the
war while, according to a poll by
World Public Opinion, seven out
of ten Iraqis favor U.S. withdraw
al within the next year.
Meanwhile, the gas prices fell
to their lowest level in ten months,
which is good news to all.
Gasoline prices are often seen
as a symbol of the strength our
economy, and they can easily
swing public opinion away from
the people in power. To voters,
low gas prices mean healthy na
tions, and they can also do a lot to
help win an election.
According to the Associated
Press, since August the prices at
the pump have dropped nearly
80 cents to their lowest level
since January, and are down 40
cents from this time last year. In
Greensboro on election morning,
they were down to just $2.06 a
gallon.
But if the 2004 elections are
any precedent these wonderful
prices will not last.
According to the Energy In
formation Administration, dur
ing the election season of 2004,
between October and December,
the price of gas dropped about 25
cents to below $1.80 a gallon.
In December 2004, the prices
started steadily rising. By April
they had soared almost 50 cents
to nearly $2.30 a gallon.
They were the highest re
tail prices of gasoline ever up to
that point.
Maybe the oil tycoons that hold
the White House in their pockets
aren't really like the countless
other corporations in history that
served their private interests po
litically, and perhaps Bush will
contradict every statement and
action he's made since 2003 and
change his views on Iraq.
But I doubt it. The gas prices
will start escalating again soon,
the war in Iraq will stay on
course, and the same scandalous
news from the last six years will
continue to flow.
When dealing with Wash
ington, promises should not be
taken at face value. And always
be skeptical of good news in No
vember. So fill up your tanks now
and turn off the TV, because the
excitement is over for this year.