Tuesday, October 11:
Today my eyes bypass the headlines on Syrian sanctions, and drug-tests for welfare and go straight to the story on 16-year-old stutterer Phillip Garber Jr. I’m not sure why I’m so shocked about the contents of the story. I of course, found the most fault with the teacher and wonder if the administration would have reacted somewhat more strongly if the professor had been teaching at any place other than a community college, but I feel that if a professor had done that at UNH, there would have been very severe consequences for the faculty member.
I thought the article on adding the requirement of drug testing for welfare was very interesting. The issue is very contentious, and it made me question exactly what my ideas about the nation’s poor are. On the one hand, I agree that requiring the drug test reinforces a negative stereotype of poor people as shiftless people who bum off the system, something I disagree with very much. I’m very much of the belief that America’s system shifts much burden and blame on the poor and gives them no assistance. On the other hand, I know that there are certain cases in which this could be true, and drug testing could be beneficial in some cases. I am interested in knowing the costs of doing the drug testing in states versus having ‘ineligible’ people bum off the welfare system. This debate, rather than a moral one, may be better in deciding the issue.
Wednesday, October 12:
In today’s paper, international news dominates the headlines. The story on the extremely tangled plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., involving an obscure Iranian-American used car salesman and the notorious Iranian-American used car salesman and notorious Mexican cartel the Zetas is so bizarre and so bungled, it’s almost comical. Comical, at least, if it didn’t have so many implications for foreign policy with one of the more unstable Middle Eastern nations, who’s relationship with the United States is tenuous at best. The whole story reads like an extremely mangled and mismanaged spy story.
The story on freed Israeli prisoner, former soldier Gilad Shalit, seems fairly incredible. It is basically mind-boggling to me that a country would negotiate the exchange of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners to receive one Israeli prisoner. It seems to be a completely practical solution for the Palestinians, to boost their legitimacy for the rest of the world, especially as they pursue a seat at the United Nations.
Friday, October 14:
Today’s article on Michele Bachmann’s Christian law training at Oral Roberts University is just another reminder to me of the danger that religion-influenced politics poses to our current government system and the continued separation of church and state. I personally have no problem with someone’s religious and moral beliefs informing their own opinions, but when they then try to impose those beliefs on the majority, and then it becomes a significant problem. I think that the subtle hints of Bachmann trying to tone down her Christian roots to appeal to larger audiences who may not have such a strong Christian background as she does. It gets added to the list of things in her past that Michele Bachmann tries to hide, like the fact that she used to work for the IRS. Perfect Tea Party material.
I thought that the article on India’s incredibly competitive schools of higher education (cut-off rates of 100%? How is that possible…) was good. I suppose it is because of the growing population and limited number of schools, they would fill up quickly. I can’t imagine declaring Dartmouth a ‘safety school.’ I wished that the article covered more about India’s final examination process, which sounded more than just a little intense and scary. I think if they had gone a little bit deeper exploring the process and impact of the final exam on the lives of students, it would have made for a more interesting article. I also wanted to know a little bit more about the demographic of the kids who actually do apply for these schools. Are they upper class, middle class, etc? What is the class status that determines one’s future in India?
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