4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 1, 2005 OPINION Oro £kis.u Mg JASON Z. PESICK Editor in Chief SUHAEL MOMIN Si aSINGER Editorial Page Editors ALISON Go Managing Editor NOTABLE QUOTABLE ''4These results are not only disturbing; they're dangerous." EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com ALEXANDER HONKALA FEnP CH-uM CKET FRE 3oarmj,.com J JLQ - Hodding Carter III, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, referencing recent study results showing high school students' indifference toward the First Amendment, as reported yesterday by The Associated Press. Journalist for hire SOWMYA KRISHNAMURTHY AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM "Freedom of the press marriage. Ironically, he has often written AOL Time-Warner, Disney and Viacom, it is limited to those who favorably about that very same marriage seems the bottom line always wins. These own one." initiative in his weekly column, appearing companies are completely unhindered in -- Henry Mencken in some 50 newspapers, since being con- printing and broadcasting, only the opin- tracted. ions which they personally adhere to, and oney talks and Not surprisingly, President Bush has they have no qualms about excluding dis- in the last cou- washed his hands of any personal knowl- sent. ple of weeks edge of wrongdoing, resorting to the Is it no surprise then that the FOX News there have been at least always-popular scapegoat of ignorance. Channel touts anchor Bill O'Reilly as truth three cases of prominent He has though, publicly denounced using with nary a liberal antithesis? The problem journalists being bribed to support govern- bribery to further legislative programs trickles itself down to even lower rungs of ment agendas in print and on television. and assured the public that Margaret the media as well. All too often, we hear First there was ubiquitous conservative Spelling's new leadership in the education about college-endorsed newspapers or pundit Armstrong Williams, a columnist department will ameliorate the problem. student groups being extinguished or cen- and broadcaster, who admitted being paid Already, several federal committees are sored when content does not align with the $241,000 by the Department of Education probing into whether the payments to the school's personal agenda. in exchange for promoting the Republican journalists violated a U.S. ban on payola; Is there no asylum? Is selling out inevi- No Child Left Behind Act. In hopes of bol- radio, television stations and individuals table? Perhaps I should just jump on the stering support among black voters for the are required to disclose on-air if they have bandwagon now and join the ranks of education reform, the Bush administration received compensation to promote a prod- professional journalist: For a reasonable allegedly paid Williams to push the law uct or an issue. The punishment for future amount based upon a generous sliding and encourage other black journalists to do perpetrators, if any, is unclear. scale, from now on, I will endorse any per- the same by regularly commenting on the This notion of journalistic prostitution son, product or service. Ethics, scruples? legislation and interviewing Secretary of - selling oneself sold to the highest bid- I don't know the meaning of them! Bad Education Rod Paige on his nationally syn- der - is not reserved to conservatives press in the past? Forget about it! Need to dicated television show. Williams has since or the government in power. Earlier this sweep something under the rug or desire a apologized and lost his syndicated column, year, veteran CBS anchorman Dan Rather catchy pro-war ditty at a reasonable price? but conveniently kept the payoff. caught much heat after reporting about No matter how large, small or crooked, Part-time journalist and specialist on the validity of what were later discovered I will construct a custom-made article marriage and family Maggie Gallagher fraudulent memos about Bush's military inconspicuously weaving propaganda and was next. She has admitted to accepting history. Albeit Rather was not officially half-truths to generate instant hype. payment of $21,000 from the Department induced by Democrats to report the story, And sadly, if history is any indication, of Health and Human Services to specifi- but it is still shameful to see the truth apart from the remote possibility that the cally find data and write a Crisis maga- misconstrued in an effort to obtain the big Bush administration catches on or the zine article that would help plug the Bush scoop. American public makes a hue and cry administration's multimillion-dollar mar- Journalism is theoretically protected about such misappropriation, business is riage initiative. The most recent culprit is under a shield of free expression, but in sure to boom. Michael McManus, who was hired by the a society where independent publications Department of Health and Human Services and broadcast stations are steadily being Krishnamurthy can be reached for $10,000 to help train counselors about consumed by multi-media juggernauts like atsowmyak@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Columnists misinterprets Christian conservatism TO THE DAILY: I agreed whole-heartedly with Joel Hoard's column (The Evolution of Creation- ism, 01/27/2005) until he reached his final sentence. I am a conservative Christian, a Catholic to be precise. I am a conservative in the truest sense of the word. Conserva- tives conserve. I don't buy faddish clothes that I'll only wear once, I turn off all unused items that draw electricity, I use as little paper as possible and recycle what paper I do use. When I fish, I eat what I catch and am extremely careful not to damage the fish that are thrown back. As a conservative, I believe in parents playing a large role in their children's education. I expect an honest day's labor will be rewarded with an honest wage. I expect people to have different opinions and believe that our differing states were created so that like-minded people could live under one country, but live in differ- ent manners. I loathe some bureaucrat in Washington telling me how to raise my children and wasting my hard-earned money on frivolous waste. And I expect that when my children leave to go off to college, there will be someone willing to work so that all parents need not believe that children's lives are in danger. This is why we have a military to defend our children from threats such as the Soviet and Nazi. As a Christian, I believe in charity, for- giveness, duty, faith and love. We should provide safety nets for those who are unfor- tunate, but we shouldn't allow those safety nets to become permanent fixtures in an individual's life. As a conservative Christian, I realize people have different beliefs than mine on nearly every subject, but I hold to a strict code of behavior. People are responsible for their own actions. Yes, there are mitigat- ing circumstances for any action, but in the end, we must fess up our involvement when we do something wrong. I know my beliefs heritage, but I don't flaunt it. I don't know what you think a conservative Christian is, but if you look across America, you will find the conservative Christian is much more like the one I have described and not like the one you imagine. Conservative Christians across America are not stubborn, hard-headed religious zealots bent on forc- ing their beliefs on others. I believe the best examples of conservative Christian is the Amish, and you would be a fool to think they force their beliefs on anyone. If you meant to talk about zealots, then state zealots, don't'hide behind the catch phrase "conservative Christian." What you are doing is surmountable to the right-wing extremists who have bastardized the word liberal. Some people would claim that you are a liberal for what you wrote, nothing could be further from the truth. To be a liberal, you must be tolerant and open minded toward everyone, even the people who hold beliefs you loathe. A wise man once said, "I may not like what you have to say, but I'll fight for your right to say it." An even wiser man taught that when someone insults you, the best course of action is to politely accept the insult and carry on, all the while praying for that person's soul. As a conservative Christian, I would be flattered if someone in good faith called me a liberal. Matthew Buszek LSA junior North Quad initiative a commendable first step TO THE DAILY: During this past fall semester, the Uni- versity experienced its largest incom- ing freshman class. This increase will exacerbate the already strained housing problems at University of Michigan and within Ann Arbor. The University's resi- dence halls can currently accommodate about 40 percent of undergraduates, yet students increasingly want to live in cam- pus housing when the option is available. -t- .9 e~o ;a. ro ...t as well as introduce a mixed academic and residential space that will ensure the vital- ity of the student body. / Most importantly, this initiative will increase the supply of University-owned housing in the heart of the city. This idea is in line with the desires of the Down- town Residential.Task Force, which aims to increase density in downtown Ann Arbor. Moreover, with an increase in stu- dents and members of the academic com- munity in the area around State Street, businesses will enjoy an increase in patron- age. This initiative is a great opportunity for the University to take a first step toward ensuring the availability and quality of student housing in Ann Arbor. It should not, however, be seen as the ultimate solu- tion to housing problems at the University and in Ann Arbor. While we applaud the University for its decision, much more still needs to be accomplished to ensure that the University of Michigan continues its commitment to excellence-both aca- demically and as a member of the Ann Arbor community. Chris Flack LSA junior Media Coordinator, Students for PIRGIM Joe Cialdella LSA freshman Member of Students for PIRGIM Brittany Fox LSA senior Chair, MSA External Relations Committee Sharon Graham LSA senior Chair, MSA Environmental Issues Commission EXmsS YOUR OPINIONS. JOIN EDIT.BOARD! "