10 THURSDAY, JULY 17. 2008 CLINT JOHNSON BECAUSE SLEEP IS THE COUSIN OF DEATH Clint Johnson is a senior political science major from Durham. E-MAIL: CIINTeUNC EDU American people are worth defending As a writer, I consider myself to be. above all. an observer of people not in the bin ocular-brandishing fashion of a stalker, or in the syringe-wielding manner of one who experiments on rats. No. I prefer to think of it artis tically and anthropologically, as it I'm a full time ethnographer. Maybf that’s wishful thinking. At any rate, amid the wealth of peculiarities and idiosyncrasies exhibited In this human race here in America, one stands out: peo )>le. by and large, dislike people. Even here beneath the poplars at the “University of the people" cue Charles kuralt inspira- tional mix), we don't think too highly of others OPINION EDITOR especially of other Americans. May be the thin air atop the ivory tower has gotten to us, or maybe we can blame it on the lead we had in our drinking water last y ear. Whatever the case, the symp toms are clear. People are stupid.” I hear. Ask someone to describe his or her 300 million American neighbors and listen to the disses drop faster than they do on a Jay -/, album. Greedy. Drunk. Selfish. Lazy. I'd list more of the insults, but (as they'd expect. I'm sure) I'm hungover, and. well. I just don't feel like it. The haters cite facts and statis tics compiled, 1 suppose, in some sort of anti-people handbook. “Americans know more “Simpsons" characters than protections in the First Amendment." they cry, as if “The Simpsons" doesn’t teach impor tant values and in an entertain ing fashion). Lisa might as well be Thomas Jefferson. 'As of 2005, almost half of the American public believed Saddam w as responsible for 9/11," they say. Hut people who point to that sta tistic are wrong, too. Like any legitimate Internet surfer. 1 know that “9/11 was an inside job” (and that we should all join the “Ron Paul Revolution"). Is that the best you can do, haters? It’s hard to pin down when exactly people-hating became fashionable. In the United States, the tradition runs deep. Inside government, it was James Madison —one of the Founding Fathers who declared that the ruling body should “be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opu lent against the majority." In the media, it was the intluential Walter Lippmann —a crucial figure in the history of journalism who said that the “public must be put in its place" so that we can "live free of the trampling and the roar of a bewildered herd." Fast forward to 2008. and you'll find Vice President Dick Cheney echoing the same sentiment, on behalf of the government. When told that two-thirds of Americans believed the Iraq war was not worth it, he replied: “So?” White House Press Secretary Dana Perino defended Cheney, telling the public that, “You had input. The American people have input every four years, and that’s the way our system is set up." Of course the “minority of the opulent" dislike people. Were a threat to their hold on power, which means were feared. Americans might not know facts, but we have good instincts. We want an end to the Iraq war. we want universal health care, we want all nuclear weap ons eliminated and we want the government to take action on the environment. We breathe the values of our democracy , even if many of us cannot recite them. And that puts us light years ahead of the ruling class. According to a poll, 81 percent of us think we should have input in government more than once every four years. Even if the haters disagree. EDITORIAL CARTOON By Con Wright, Palm Beach Post Ballot laws hurt democracy N.C. obstructions thwart third parties, independents Any analysis of the strength of our American democ racy must consider an oft-ignored element of our free speech: ballot access. There's a powerful and inspiring political ideal that rings out from phrases such as 'land of opportunity," and that's expiessed by children when they say they want to grow up to be president of the United States. It’s the simple notion that elected office (even the highest office) should be open to all, regardless of color, creed or, perhaps most important, cash flow and that the only barrier should be the public's opinion of you. But in North Carolina, our American’notion of fairness is preached and not practiced. Asa state, we have some of the most obstructive ballot access law's in the country. Any independent candidate seeking the presidency must A step back on pollution Court rules against Bush, EPA on clean air provision It's official: George W. Bush will never be remembered as an environmentalist president. While that statement might seem obvious, given Bush’s record, recent developments have doomed the administra tion's most significant effort to reduce pollution. I-ast week, a federal appeals court unanimously struck down the Clean Air Interstate Rule. Drawn up in 2005, it would have required utility industries in 28 states to cut hack on emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by 70 percent and 60 percent, respectively. The rule, which represents the cornerstone of Bush’s envi ronmental reform, came under fire in a lawsuit filed by several plaintiffs, chief among them the state of North Carolina and Duke Energy . But even these companies did not intend for the rule to be thrown out entirely. Rather, many utility compa nies sat in eager anticipation of the cap-and-trade provisions Floating around town Mice, humans depressed after quitting alcohol Summer here doesn’t exact ly make “Chapel Thrill” live up to its nickname. The buses are emptier, the quad is quieter and life happens as slowly as the summer breeze. Even the night life is low key. Entertainment is hard to come by between basketball and football seasons. What better way to stimulate bored college students than an interesting study coming out of UNC involving alcohol? Using apparently alcoholic mice, study senior author Clyde W. Hodge, Ph.D., and his coworkers discovered that ending even moderate drink ing could lead to depression like symptoms. The study, by the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Opinion collect 69,734 signatures of reg istered voters and turn them in to the State Board of Elections by June 12 to qualify . For a party to be guaranteed ballot access, it needs 104,601 signatures. By contrast, Massachusetts requires 10,000 signatures, while Louisiana requires SSOO for a candidate to be on the bal lot, and many states don’t ask that the petitions be submitted until the middle or end of July. As if this weren't bad enough, the application of these laws exacerbates the injustice. To ensure ballot access, third-party candidates rou tinely have to submit petitions well in excess of the required number as a precaution against legal challenges. Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader has had ample experience trying to overcome these election laws. Because of legal complaints, often filed by Democrats (the within the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which would have allowed companies exceeding emissions standards to buy emissions credits from com plying companies. Many in the utility industry, including Duke Energy, are disappointed at the loss of these provisions. Coupled with the Environmental Protection Agency's new decision not to regulate CO2 emissions, despite overwhelming support in favor of doing so under the Clean Air Act, it seems that the environment will be an issue for Mr. Bush's successor to “fix.” And lately, it seems as though the government is getting in its own way w-hen it comes to the environment. Congress is sluggish in push ing new laws through, and when it does manage to pass significant legislation regulat ing pollution, it is often struck down by a federal court. Some judges are quick to cite the 10th Amendment in these cases, arguing that the respon sibility of managing pollution tested mice that drank their hearts out voluntarily for 28 days (they are in college, so to speak) before being cut off by UNC scientists/bartenders. ‘ln mice that voluntarily drank alcohol for 28 days, depression-like behavior was evident 14 days after termi nation of alcohol drinking. This suggests that people who stop drinking may expe rience negative mood states days or weeks after the alco hol has cleared their systems," Hodges report read. If you were wondering how to identify a depressed rodent, it’s actually quite simple. It’s called the Porsolt Swim Test. Essentially, the party animals are placed in a water-filled beaker for about six minutes, party with whom he most heatedly competes for votes), his campaign needs to submit twice the required number of signatures, as many will be dis counted on allegations of being faked or otherwise ineligible. At a campaign rally July 12 in Raleigh Nader announced he will not be on the ballot in North Carolina. The estimated cost of collecting enough signa tures more than $250,000 was simply too hefty. And Nader’s campaign must submit 500 signatures to even have his write-in votes counted. State election laws should not obstruct candidates from gaining access to the ballot, nor should they deny voters the chance to vote for the third party candidate of their choice. Further, North Carolina should work with other states to standardize ballot access requirements. It’s only fair. lies with states, not the federal government. Stranger still, the EPA seems reluctant to truly exercise its power. Rather than protect the envi ronment, the EPA would rather not regulate carbon emissions because of the anticipated effect on the economy and because of the expansion of the agency's power. Appeals courts further limited the EPAs power in the July 11 decision. With the environment fast becoming a critical issue, we cannot afford an ever-weaken ing environmental policy. Yet where the federal gov ernment is weak, the states have picked up the ball. In an effort to cut back on the states infamous smog problem, California already has compre hensive pollution legislation in place or in the works. And Duke Energy itself already follows North Carolina's 2002 pollution legislation, which is widely regarded as more stringent than the stan dards proposed by the Clean Air Interstate Rule. where they swim around and enjoy themselves. But at some points during their swim, the mice just float idly in the water. The amount of time the mouse spends float ing is measured as the degree of despair. A floating mouse is a depressed mouse, and, after stopping their alcohol consumption, many a mouse could be seen floating sadly in its mini-swimming pool. Humans are very similar to mice; this much is obvious after hearing about this study. That means humans, too, could be susceptible to periods of depres sion after quitting drinking, even at moderate or racial levels. As if sweaty, bored college students needed another rea son not to stop. QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It was probably a big moment for you guys and a big moment for everybody else , but notfor us” DANNY GREEN, TO THE MEDIA, ON ANNOUNCING HIS RETURN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Due tn space constraints, letters are sometimes art. Read the fuiWength versions online at the letters blog, or post your own response to a letter. VISIT// apps.dailyt*:hed.cDfn/wpblogs/archives/category/letters Sidewalk closure necessary for dental school upgrade TO THE EDITOR: Asa college student and a UNC dental school hopeful, I have found the topic about the occupied sidewalk ridiculous and disturbing. First, I would like to point out that UNC School of Dentistry is a very highly regarded learning institution and research center. For the dental school to keep its reputation, it must renovate. They are trying to improve the health of people in under-served counties, while Chapel Hill occu pants arc complaining about a sidewalk. The detour adds three min utes to the pedestrian's walking time by adding two more cross walks into the equation. It is interesting how self focused individuals propose that removing this shortcut away from the public is a safety hazard when the fence itself is there as a means of safety. No, taking away (he sidewalk isn’t a safety haz ard; people’s decision to use bad judgment without greater under standing is the safety hazard. When a detour route is placed in front of a pedestrian and that person chooses to put his or her self in danger, that decision com promises his or her safety and possibly others. If the construc tion team believes walking on the sidewalk could be dangerous then... take the one parallel and leave three minutes earlier. Construction for the greater good often means changes for some. Let's stop complaining and strive for community improve ment in the spirit that this University was founded. Scott Davit Research Assistant Other communities hurt by Eve Carson's murder TO THE EDITOR: As the Carolina community mourns the loss of our inspira tional leader Eve Carson, I want to urge each of us to remember that there are more victims in this horrendous crime. An employee at Duke School of Medicine, I recently discovered that a close co-worker watched one of the accused grow up down the street from her for 10 years. From a distance, she watched him ride his bike, play four-square and basketball and trek up the street to the bus stop. She watched him love his family. When we think of Demario Atwater and Lawrence Lovette, SPEAK OUT WRITING GUIDELINES: ► Please type: Handwritten letters will not be accepted ► Sign and date: No more than two people should sign letters. ► Students: Indude your year, major and phone number. ► Faculty/staff: Include your department and phone number. ► Edit: The DTH edits for space, clarity, accuracy and vulgarity. Limit letters to 250 words. 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