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
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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
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let us remember their families'
hearts are breaking along with
ours. Let us remember the kind
words of Eve's father, who said,
“The irony of Eve’s murder is
that she, along with these blessed
friends and fellow students, are
the ones who can solve the most
pressing problems of this time."
Let us remember that no
amount of hate or sadness will
bring our beloved Tar Heel back.
As her trial approaches, we’ll
see our wounds are still raw and
our hearts still saddened by this
crime. Please have the courage to
see we aren't the only ones in pain,
and we aren’t the only community
affected by her tragic death.
I know this is what Eve would
want.
Kathryn Marie Blackmar
Senior
Journalism
We need citizens to push
for regulation of markets
TO THE EDITOR:
The lack of regulatory con
trols on financial markets has
spiraled the United States and
international community into a
humanitarian crisis.
In the U.S. an effort is under
way to reach every household via
numerous communication path
ways that include direct mail,
churches, youth leadership pro
grams, schools and media.
Recently, OPEC has clearly
articulated that the future mar
kets have failed to function, and
the lack of international regula
tory controls has resulted in a
speculative bubble.
Speculative trading of infra
structure vital commodities and
corporations must be perma
nently eliminated, and contin
gencies implemented to stabi
lize the current global economic
crisis/emergency that is directly
attributed to this variable.
The supply and demand excuse
is a fabrication created by those
involved in a trading-based poker
game of lies, disinformation and
deception. The chips are human
lives and peoples life savings.
Citizens are urged to contact
their elected officials today.
Stephen M. Apatow
Humanitarian Resource
Institute
* CORRECTION:
The July 1 Oth editorial, “Rails
would link Triangle,’'incorrectly
states that the TTA has two bus
stops in Chapel Hill. They have
many stops in the town, which
can be viewed at http://www.
ridettu.org. The Daily Tar Heel
apologises for the error.
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