Columnist engages in punditry
What a boon it is for us to have Katie Strickland as a opinion columnist!
It’s not enough to have numerous cable networks bloviating 24/7 about our presidential candidates ““ twisting, stretching, and torturing reality into soft nuggets of “infotainment” for our consumption.
No, what we really need is an entirely new generation of pundits who will not hesitate to peddle conventional wisdom as insight and never forget to nurture their own egos, even at the expense of coherence and fairness.
In the past, Katie has treated us with observations on which gubernatorial candidate is the dorkiest (“Surprise: I’m voting for a Republican,” Oct. 12, 2006), and, therefore, the least eligible for office.
It appears that this foolproof standard of judging worth no longer appeals to Ms. Strickland, and instead, she is now basing her opinion on an odd hash of cherry-picked factoids and misrepresentations straight out of opposition campaign literature. Truly, the observation that a presidential candidate depends on “likability” is damning, because as we all know, nobody likes a winner.
Perhaps if Ms. Strickland were able to compose an article endorsing a particular candidate instead of vainly trying to be clever, we could be treated to an entirely new dimension of sophistry yet to be witnessed in the pages of this fine paper.
Justin Runia
UCSD alumnus
Blame does not lie with U.S. Navy
I could not agree with Combiz Richard Abdolrahimi more on the need to avoid a major confrontation with Iran (“Minor clashes with Iran should not lead to war,” Viewpoint, Jan. 10). But I believe that one needs to take a more holistic approach when debating a course of action on the matter.
The video released by the Navy shows that there is no doubt that a confrontation of some sort occurred. It is not entirely clear what happened, but what can clearly be seen is that the Navy was not an aggressor.
However, when a nation is headed by a leader that continually calls for the destruction of other countries, denies historical facts and parades captive British soldiers on TV in plain violation of Geneva Convention rules on hostages, it becomes much easier for “minor confrontations” to lead to a larger conflict.
The fact is that minor confrontations on their own never escalate to a major war unless there is more hostility behind those actions, and as is evident with Iranian President Ahmedinejad’s words and actions, there definitely is more hostility behind this “minor confrontation.”
Further, there is no evidence that this engagement was indeed a “mistake” as Abdolrahimi claims; it could be another hostile action by a regime that has provoked the West before.
Gal Sitty
UCLA Class of 2005
Voters can ignore early primaries
In Matias Ramos’ article titled “Early-bird primaries and caucuses get the worm but undermine democracy” (Viewpoint, Jan. 10), the columnist supports the finding of two researchers at Brown University.
Ramos’ affirmation of the study contains little credibility as he undermines the free will of the American electorate.
If you are a citizen and have registered to vote, you have a say. Bear in mind that the all-or-nothing electoral vote system might undermine the notion of “one person, one vote.”
However, to say that one study found people were thoroughly influenced by the votes in Iowa and New Hampshire is narrow-minded. The candidates seeking office are included in the ballots in every state. Each registered voter can make up their own mind as to whom they believe to be the best candidate. If you choose not to be influenced by the early primaries, turn off the television.
Ramos supports the idea that the early states are not the most diverse in terms of race.
So, shouldn’t this be the reason for the voters in the more diverse states like California and Texas to not be influenced by their fellow citizens in the East?
Sen. John McCain won the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2000, while George W. Bush captured both California and Texas by large margins. Did Californians “dance to the tune” set in New Hampshire then?
Do not insult people by giving credit to such mindless studies. During a very crucial stage of American history, you should be trying to encourage the electorate to make their own decisions and fighting to direct the future of this great nation.
Judith Perera
First-year, political science