Monday, November 16, 1998
Letters
Death penalty does not discriminate
I am sorry to disappoint Michelle Oberman (Viewpoint Nov. 10,
"Sever penchant for racist death penalty"), but the death penalty
was not created just to "oppress" anyone. The death penalty can
apply to anyone of any race. If there is any apparent
discrimination, it is against men in favor of women. (Hmmm, I
wonder if the National Organization for Women will fight that
disparity.)
The death penalty has been around for a long time. It is given
to those that a jury believes has ripped their own humanity from
themselves. It is not a "tool of oppression", but rather the
state’s way of dealing with criminals (of any race) who have
committed severe crimes.
The death penalty, which punishes persons who commit hideous
crimes, can not be aimed at all people of a certain race because
most people (of all races) are not criminals. Does Oberman suggest
otherwise?
Daniel B. Rego
Third-year pre-political science
Secretary of Bruin Republicans
Dorm telephone rates seem like
highway robbery
For all you students living in the dorms who thought making long
distance phone calls would be a breeze, check your mailbox. I
recently have become a tragic victim, currently seeking counseling,
after receiving my obnoxious phone bill. Granted I make a bunch of
love calls to my girlfriend in Santa Barbara, but there is a fine
line between phone service and highway robbery.
I felt like someone in a black ski mask grabbed me from behind,
placed a pocket knife across my neck and told me to cough over
$52.30 or I would be disconnected.
Somebody is getting screwed and it isn’t the phone company.
Call your friend for one minute to ask them to pick you up
somewhere and it costs you … drum role please … 14 copper
Lincolns! (Don’t laugh, because they add up to half my
paycheck.)
Besides the outrageous price, just dialing up the number is
wasted energy. My fingers cramp every time I dial the customary 25
numbers to make a long distance phone call. And who is the annoying
guy who always echoes in your ear when you miss a number, "We’re
sorry. Your call can’t be completed as dialed. Please check the
number again and dial again or dial zero for assistance."
He needs a beating.
Let’s not forget about the sneaky $14 per month service rate or
the insulting $10 activation fee. Why not charge me for having a
phone in my room? Somebody please wake up Alexander Graham Bell and
update him on the result of his invention.
The worst part is, we can’t take advantage of the numerous
telephone campaign ads currently flooding the airwaves. I am
persuaded to dial the 10-10-220 that those suited dogs bark about
or the 10-10-321 preached by John Lithgow. Not that we need another
seven numbers to dial, but "saving 50 percent on calls over 20
minutes" sure would help.
Didn’t Murphy Brown mention a dime a minute?
My father, in his old age, likes to remind me about the "good
old days," how 14 cents used to buy him a Snickers bar or a few
packs of Wrigley gum. Now fathers (and mothers) across the country
can understand why their college students never call. Just blame it
on the phone company.
Mitchell Getz
Second-year student
Undeclared
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]