Emma Goldman Commercials

It appears as though some reporters don't do all the research necessary when writing thier pieces for The Daily Iowan these days. Andrea Waterfield reported that new commercials for the Emma Gold Clinic have reseived both positive and negative feedback ("'Emma' ads draw praise, fire", Daily Iowan 10/17/06). However, it appears that she does not understand that after 10 PM, when the new commercials will air on cable channels, Cartoon Network follows programming they call "Adult Swim", which has programs specifically for an adult audience (widely popular among college students) and even carries a disclaimer before programming begins that it is for adults. If she were aware of this fact she might never have received the quotes from UI graduate student Anita Jayachandran and campus director for the Campus Crusade for Christ Chip Martenson. Both allege that it is inappropriate for these types of commercials to play on Cartoon Network. It is obvious that these two were unaware of the fact that Cartoon Network plays adult programming during the airtime for the commercials; thus, either Waterfield was unaware of that fact and did not inform them, or simply did not inform them. Regardless, all those who think that the commercials will be viewed by children simply because they air on Cartoon Network are completely misinformed.

Wisconsin well within its rights

I don't feel sorry for Waukee in the least that they will have to pay thousands of dollars to create a new logo and rid themselves of the one they more or less stole from Wisconsin ("Wisconsin yelps; Waukee agrees to remove its flying W", DM Register 10/17/06). It appears that people don't realize that this is a national trend in high schools. In stead of allowing students the chance to be creative and have a say in their school's logo, school officials often very slightly alter a collegiate logo and call it good. This is, of course, cheaper and takes less time than actually being original. Ames High School and Iowa City City High School couldn't be more blatant examples, simply adding little to the mascot of the local university. Davenport Assumption uses the Atlanta Braves "A" hat for baseball, Urbandale J-Hawks are awful close to the Kansas Jayhawks, Cedar Rapids Kennedy Cougars stole the Kansas State Cougars logo, and these are just off the top of my head. I am sure that before the letter came in school officials were simply looking at how to slightly alter the Michigan State Spartan logo to use for their new mascot (spartan warriors). This issue isn't about the universities being money hungry, its about high school officials and directors being uncreative and unoriginal. Had they been a little innovative when creating the W in the first place, they could have avoided this whole mess to start with.

Schools Are Safe

Why is it that when rare instances of tragedy arise, people what to make sweeping changes, that will likely not deter the events from happening again? The freak “storm” of school shootings throughout the country in the past several weeks is no doubt tragic, confusing, disheartening, and an eye opener; yet it seems as though the public reaction takes the events as though the are a common occurrence nationwide. Of course, there are isolated events each year, but on the whole, this is not something that happens all the time, and thus society does not need to drastically change scholastic security as though it does. This by no means indicates that I hope that school officials ignore the events of the past weeks, or that security is schools is not important, yet security is most schools is exactly where it needs to be. I agree with the DM Register Editorial Boards’ stance against the proposed legislation in Wisconsin (“Arm teachers? Think again”, DM Register 10/6/06). Allowing teachers to carry guns is simply asking for trouble. No one can argue that many junior high and high school students are easily of apt strength to wrestle a gun away from their teacher if they truly wanted to. Having guns in schools is like having them in courtrooms, why put them where they simply aren’t needed. Have trust in your school officials that they are doing everything in their power to keep children safe. After all, school officials have more important tasks to tend to: teaching.

Nation of Hypocrites

I can’t help but wonder if Maureen Ogle’s new book (“Iowan’s book taps barrel of beer facts”, DM Register 10/3/06) about beer will chronicle the hypocrisy with which the culture of the US treats alcohol. Parents are embarrassed, feel guilty, and/or are general angry when their children are caught in possession of alcohol as minors, yet most seem to think in the end that its ok, turn their backs, and let the behavior continue. Culture loves to put on a front that we are against drinking while underage, yet when it comes down to it, the behavior is still glorified in movies and on television, and most parents dismiss the behavior as a “phase” in life. This attitude society has developed has lead to one of the most dangerous generation of drinkers: a recent study found that 70% of the students at the University of Iowa could be classified as binge drinkers, and I am sure the number is quite high at Iowa’s other college’s and universities. Even if the behavior is merely a “phase” and changes in later years, binge drinking (and drinking at a young age in general) have well documented detrimental effects to the body for the rest of a person’s life. If we as a society truly want to stop underage drinking (and it could easily be done with a little effort), we need to do something about it. Otherwise, we need to quit faking like we care.

Look A Little Harder

I am perplexed as to exactly what Mr. Wickman wants to be improved in his letter ("Unsafe at any speed", DM Register 10/3/06). He wonders why there is “no improvement for the on-ramp to I-80 east from I-35 north.” First I am going to assume that he means I-235 northbound to I-80 eastbound, given that the I-35 southbound to I-80 eastbound clover leaf has plenty of visibility. However if he would pay more attention when he travels he would discover that the I-235 northbound on-ramp to I-80 eastbound does not need to merge, it expands traffic from 2 lanes to three, thus visibility does not have to be at its greatest. Pay more attention before you criticize the DOT for the already difficult tasks they have to perform.

Carbon Tax Can Be Reality

There is a better idea out there than maintaining gas prices at $3/gallon (“Boost price of gas back to $3 a gallon”, DM Register 10/3/06). The basis of the argument is that it appeared as though this was the apex at which people decided to find alternative means of transportation. The first fault is that you shouldn’t set gas at that level; it should be above that level. Our dependence upon oil is not the central issue here either; it’s the damage that CO₂ does to our environment. Luckily a solution exists that will help remediate both of those problems. Sweden has implemented what is called a Carbon tax, placing a $100 per ton tax on oil, coal, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, petrol, and aviation fuel used in domestic travel. This may not be the exact solution to the US’s dilemma; however it could easily be replicated. A tax should be instated that drastically increases the price of gas, like about $5, (Sweden’s was at $5.80 in March). The offset is to do away with income tax. This puts more money in people’s pocket, and hopefully forces them to make more environmentally friendly decisions about where they spend it. The billions generated can go back into funding the creation of energy/fuel efficient public transportation, and energy research. Society has been making a huge mistake for nearly 100 years, and its time to do something about it.