Letters
Higher One remedy needed
Once again Bernstine gives the student body lame excuses instead of real action [“State senate passes student privacy bill,” April 27].
The state legislature seems to realize just how ridiculous he’s being, if the bill’s passage and Senator Walker’s comments are any indication.
Rather than acknowledge the real problem of students’ privacy violations, he implies that it is to prevent student dishonesty that we are charged for non-HigherOne cards.
Disgusting.
Step up to the plate, Bernstine, and give us some integrity. For once.
Roger Wert
Student
Don’t trust Republicans
The Republicans lie about absolutely every issue they touch, without exception [“Blowing the government to hell,” April 26]. Calling the media liberal when it rather obviously is controlled by the wealthy right wing is one example. “Tax-and-spend liberals” is another.
The Republicans spend far more and borrow far more than Democrats ever have. They put us in a horrible economic ditch every time they get power. Look at the expense of the war in Iraq, not even considered part of the budget!
I can only hope that the brainwashed idiot masses in America have had enough of their lies and will realize that we are headed to a particularly nasty wake up call. Too bad there are so many “religious” people who feel the need to straighten the rest of us out about reality from their point of view. If you don’t like it, they will come and bomb you, just like Jesus said to do.
Wait, he didn’t say that!
John Ohannesian
Seattle
[Ed. note: The column referenced was written by an opinion columnist and does not reflect the opinions of the Vanguard editorial board.]
Conservative recipe for better world
The courts are packed with liberal judges who have no accountability [“Blowing the government to hell,” April 26]. If a particular judge is so bad that the Dems can’t get a few liberal Republicans (Snowe, Chafee, Jeffords – oh, never mind) to vote against them, then the judges are not that far right. We choose a president and he has the right to an up or down vote on his judicial nominees. If, God forbid, Dean or Kerry get elected next time, it’s part of the package.
Note that Republicans have and will keep the Congress, we need to get rid of these crazy left-wing judges (disbanding the entire 9th Circuit would be a good start). Then we’ll start on the socialist, anarchist schools and the crazy liberal professors (a la Churchill), and then the world and our country will be much better.
Your statement that the media is right wing shows how out of touch with reality your left wing rag is. Wait until you grow up and get a taste of the real world. Most of my liberal friends from back in the ’80s are now reasonable conservative Republicans. It’s OK – your wacko liberalism is just a phase most of you will outgrow.
Chris Swanson
Los Angeles
[Ed. note: The column referenced was written by an opinion columnist and does not reflect the opinions of the Vanguard editorial board.]
Vanguard commentary disappoints
Your false praise of Air America Radio does little to veil your obvious fear of their success [“A shallow victory for Air America, April 26]. You’re pretending to be a moderate who is “above hair-pulling” and then congratulating Karl Rove for his “amazing” theft of the Midwest shows exactly where you stand. Have you made your teachers proud? Is this the kind of journalism being taught in schools today? The kind that values marketability over integrity? I will be suspending my yearly alumnus contribution until I see some improvement in the quality of the education provided.
Mo Starlings
Portland
[Ed. note: The column referenced was written by an opinion columnist and does not reflect the opinions of the Vanguard editorial board.]
Air America counters conservative media bias
What I don’t understand is how you can label irrefutable facts as “conspiracy.” If you care to Google, you can find every instance of this administration’s trumped up case for the war in Iraq.
I thank God everyday for Air America Radio [“A shallow victory for Air America,” April 26]. I had become so frustrated with conservative talk radio stations going under the guise of “objective political sources.”
Just like Fox with their “fair and balanced” slogan that perfectly highlights their lies. Fair and balanced they are not. Neither are the conservative talk show hosts who misinform their listeners day after day after day with no retribution nor opposing source to counter their lies.
Al Franken’s “Lies and the lying liars who tell them” was a revolutionary book and an eye opener. It helped to identify the current political bias in our media and the void of any true liberal counter perspective.
Your opinion is yours alone and regretfully not based in factual evidence nor reality.
Alex Tavares
Bronx, N.Y.
[Ed. note: The column referenced was written by an opinion columnist and does not reflect the opinions of the Vanguard editorial board.]
Dylan spent quite a bit of time trying to make a point that Air America Radio’s hosts push forward conspiracy theories and is failing to meet the conservative talk radio hosts at their own game. Dylan wastes our time by wrapping his obvious disgust with liberal or progressive with faint praise.
Well, Dylan, you declared yourself as not a Poindexter Republican, but your use of words reflects some of the ways the conservatives twist the truth and manipulate language so as to sound better than the slop being spewed to moronic listeners
Dylan, give it up, liberal radio has found a niche. Despite a bad start, AAR is on the way as well as Jones/Democracy Now with Ed Shultz and Stephanie Miller.
I’m a huge Randi Rhodes fan, not because she spews conspiracy theories, but because she provides real facts backed by real research.
Most of these liberal hosts back up their words with in-context sound clips, unlike most Repubs and conservative talk show hosts, who simply make a declaration and then hope that their stupid listeners just believe it, there has been no alternative for several years.
It’s changing, liberal/progressive radio has been sparked again. With time it will catch afire!
Darren Major
Providence, R.I.
[Ed. note: The column referenced was written by an opinion columnist and does not reflect the opinions of the Vanguard editorial board.]
Chipotle not the problem
Chipotle may be fast food owned by McDonald’s, but of the thousands of students at Portland State I am sure that many of us are typical American consumers who do vote with our wallet. We vote for consistent, inexpensive food at places like McDonald’s or Chipotle [“Now serving: campus gentrification,” May 3].
I enjoy local shops as much as the next person, but we are hardly going to change the world by shopping a little less at Chipotle. The world is globalizing, and a few holdout consumers aren’t going to change that. Let’s focus on issues that make a real difference and enjoy an inexpensive burrito too.
Dave
Portland
[Ed. note: The column referenced was written by an opinion columnist and does not reflect the opinions of the Vanguard editorial board.]
Gay rights need voter turnout
Yes, measure 36 did get 57 percent of the vote [“Legislature split on gay couple benefits, April 28]. But let’s look at this another way. Giving a high estimate of 20 percent of Oregon’s population showing up in the election, that means we really only know for sure that just over 12 percent of Oregon’s population supported this ban. So now we are going to let, this small proportion of the population control what the legislature does until the next election.
Smart, I just hope that people will learn from this situation and get out and vote next time.
Samantha Fix
Student
Critique of liberal radio hypocritical
Dylan Tanner is following in the footsteps of bogus, biased, non-journalistic reporting [“A shallow victory for Air America,” April 26]. You have your right to an opinion, but just to let you know, your quote “I was hoping the left was above the name-calling and hair-pulling tactics of talk radio” is hypocrisy. It’s OK for those tactics for the Republican Party to behave that way in order to win elections? I think that you are so used to the conservative slant that a little truth on the airwaves scares you.
Sami Esfahanian
Austin, Texas
[Ed. note: The column referenced was written by an opinion columnist and does not reflect the opinions of the Vanguard editorial board.]
