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February 28, 2006
Bang Bang -- Should Cheney Step Down?
With Insight predicting Vice President Dick Cheney will step down after the 2006 Congressional elections, some are asking who would even want to be Vice President at this point. In the wake of the Dubai port scandal, President Bush's approval rating is at an all-time low for his presidency at 34 percent. Republicans may want to distance themselves from Bush as much as possible, especially any Republicans planning to run in the 2008 election. Wonkette points out that even if Cheney did step down, as many in the media (especially NY Times Columnist Bob Herbert (subscription) ) have called for, the resignation should occur before the election for political gain.
Posted by Mandy Smithberger at 09:36 AM | Comments (228)
Now Fido Can Start His Day at the Gym
Treadmills have been specially designed to help dogs lose their puppy weight. Kibble's role in the South Beach Diet is yet to be discovered.
Posted by Mandy Smithberger at 09:16 AM | Comments (17)
February 27, 2006
A New Salute?
Now that the Olympics are over, we can bring back our attention to professional athletes. Rome's Mayor, Walter Veltroni, focused his time on the captain of Lazio's soccer team, Paolo Di Canio and the captain's habit of making the fascist salute made infamous by Hitler and the Nazis. To correct the problem, the mayor called a meeting between the Lazio team and three Holocaust survivors. Although DI Canio's "fasces" tattoo is more intricate in design, the Roman Mayor hoped that Holocaust survivor Shlomo Venezia's "182727" tattoo will be more compelling and at least curb swastika flag waving at matches. Di Canio said he would not change his views, but the Lazio team promised that they will interrupt the game the next time fascist symbols appear.
Posted by Mandy Smithberger at 04:19 PM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2006
Rally Night Review
Tuesday night, for the second time in my two years of attendance at Smith, I headed down to watch the Rally Day skits. Having only last year to compare against, I'd say they did a great job. The ADA sketch was great as usual (though not quite as good as last year's musical) but the First Years' sketch was a very deserving winner. Marissa Maples did a good job with the hard task of keeping things moving and the audience interested, and the performances by Smith acapella groups were wonderful.
The awesome First Year sketch was a battle of wits between an activist Elm Street, a party-hardy Quad, and a brainy Green Street. Center Campus? What Center Campus? Not pictured: the fantastic 'game show' host, who unfortunately stood in a spot where I couldn't get a decent photo.
That said, I'd like to take up the highly hypocritical task of criticizing a show I didn't even try to help out with-- there's a lot more the Rally Day sketch night can do to raise money. The cause was worthy, but forcing people to shell out $2 at the door was flawed. First, Rally Day was barely advertised on campus, so a lot of people showed up unaware that they were going to be asked for $2. It was explained during the performance why people had been asked to pay and where the money was going, which is completely unfair to the performers and the host. The organizers are the ones who should make that clear, so that everyone shows up with their donation and a smile of "Sure I could use this on laundry day, but it's for disadvantaged kids so I don't mind". Rather than a "What? I didn't bring $2, who said I needed $2 to get in?"
Also, the tradition of Rally Day has perversely robbed it of it's ability to raise money. People feel entitled to see the production, because it's a tradition. People who participate don't feel like they have to work a lot to advertise it, because it's a tradition. The show is always a little amateurish, because it has to be put on but no one really has a lot of time to put in. Those who organize think of it as something everyone knows all about so they don't feel they really have to advertise and explain it themselves. And because it's a tradition, everyone who feels a little too busy or apathetic doesn't feel pressure to help out, because it's Rally Day and it's always going to happen and we don't have to work for it. The end result: a tiny audience that only paid $2 a head, and a lot of angry or disappointed people who were turned away for not bringing 2 bucks.
There are much better ways to raise money in the tradition of a privileged college supporting a worthy cause.
Posted by Elizabeth Tangora at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)
Clothesline Project Controversy Begins
"Due to the contentious debates in our forum and inappropriate posting, we are now asking posters to use their Jolt screename, OR sign the post with their FULL NAME on controversial issues. Such as posts on transgender issues on campus and AWARE's clothesline campaign.
If you use "guest name" or don't sign your name, your post will be DELETED.
If you feel that you need to be heard, and want to contribute to civil discourse then you should not have a problem standing behind your words. Please try to be respectful and do not abuse the Forum. Thank you."
The shirts haven't even been hung yet, but the debate is already raging over whether or not the shirts should return to their annual spot on Seelye lawn. It's already gotten to the point where the Smith DailyJolt, a bastion of annonymous, sometimes nasty postings, has had to demand users sign their posts or at least use Jolt IDs. AWARE has so far refused to budge on the location, despite arguments by some survivors of abuse that the display exposes them to unavoidable trauma, forcing them to walk by a giant reminder of all they went through everyday for a week.
For those not in the know: the clothesline project features shirts made by survivors of sexual abuse, to share the ordeal they went through. It is hung for a week on the lawn in front of Seelye Hall, the center of campus, during a week where Smith gets a large number of prospective students visiting. The big argument over the project is that the majority of Smith students can't pass a week without going by Seelye lawn at least once, so even if someone is emotionally incapable of handling the display they may be forced to walk by it anyway. AWARE says this is important, because if the display is avoidable then people can choose to ignore it and that defeats the whole purpose, others say that it isn't fair to force the display on those who are already suffering.
Posted by Elizabeth Tangora at 05:42 PM | Comments (6)
February 13, 2006
Gun Control?
While on a quail hunt, Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a 78-year-old attorney (a longtime friend of White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, no less). Bang bang.
Posted by Mandy Smithberger at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2006
The Pencil and the Sword
Just don't tell anyone you saw it here
The comic of Mohammed, drawn by a Danish cartoonist that has sparked a wave of Islamic anger towards cartoonists (and bizarre displays of support from our local right-wing). Actually, it's one of 12, that 12 comic artists were asked to draw by the editors of the Jyllands-Posten because they had found that no artist was willing to illustrate a book about Mohammed under his own name. There was a minor fight between Danish Muslims that was settled after the paper apologized. The embassy burning didn't start until European papers started picking the cartoons in a display of press freedom.
The rest of the cartoons are below; in some cases English has been added, but as a translation.
Posted by Elizabeth Tangora at 03:29 PM | Comments (6)