War with Iraq has various reasons

I’ve been reading the countless letters about topics like the possible war on Iraq, patriotism and “Us vs. Them” conspiracies. They have been very entertaining, and I wanted to respond.

First off, every letter I have read either says this war is about terrorism and we should go, or “it’s about the oil, stupid” and stay home.

Well, our president campaigned against a green candidate and took flak for wanting to drill off our own shores because he believed we needed to become less dependent on foreign oil.

It isn’t logical to think that our main concern with Iraq is to control foreign oil, but it may be a prod to get our troops over there. I firmly believe that our interest in Iraq is due to its connections with terrorists, but I will concede that there are secondary economic motives at work, as well.

Secondly, I hope everyone has a chance to read up on their history, especially on the fall of the Roman empire. We have a government that is structured somewhat like Rome’s, and all it took was a few individuals to test the boundaries of power for it to fall; people like Marius, Sulla and Julius Caesar.

When we allow people to undermine our checks and balances, we come closer and closer to losing our republic. If anyone feels like he or she is slighted by our government, then go out and vote. And if you can’t do that, then leave. It is a simple process.

I am mainly addressing this to what I call the college liberals, the ones who are so liberal they are almost anarchists or complete anti-establishment proponents. I tend to be conservative with some liberal leanings, and I realize that conservatives and liberals all want to make the United States a better place to live (although we disagree on what paths to take).

But these college liberals would rather we just scrap our great government. I know these people are a minority in this world, but they are a vocal majority here on campus.

I don’t know why they formed these strong opinions, but I would implore anyone who feels this strongly to take a closer look at what he or she is saying. Fringe elements only upset the balance.

James Gilbow is a senior majoring in journalism.

Immigrant status

Being an international student, I know that there are other international students who can vouch for the tough job I had in getting a student visa to come to the United States.

The countless interviews, documents, money and time invested in coming here were an absolute nightmare. It also seems as soon as you try to do something in a legal fashion, you have to go through so much red tape that it is no wonder people come in illegally.

The situation that Cubans, etc. are allowed to stay as soon as they reach U.S. soil has been the cause of many dying in their quest to get here.

The illegal Haitian migrants who ran ashore in Miami have caused major controversy. Knowing that they could possibly make it to the United States gives them a false sense of security when boarding their rickety vessels.

Many people are dying in their quest to reach the United States and should be returned to their countries regardless of making it to U.S. soil or not. This will hopefully deter migrants from taking the treacherous journey across the gulf.

If a refugee ship can make it across to U.S. soil without being stopped by the Coast Guard, how safe can the U.S. borders be from a terrorist attack?

Nicoleen Orton is a senior majoring in management.

One’s music trash is another’s treasure

I am writing in response to the music article in Thursday’s Oracle.

I would like to discuss a couple artists Nick seemed to think were “Rock’s Bottom.”

Aerosmith is one of the best rock bands ever. They have changed over the years, true, but I find it hard to believe that you can compare Aerosmith’s new album to the same stuff that Britney Spears would release.

I can see from the titles you discussed that you don’t know much about Aerosmith’s music. I may be wrong.

If you listen to their last couple of albums, there is plenty of innovation, and they stay true to rock. At their concerts, they play many of the old hits, and they plan on releasing a blues album, as well.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers column was the one that bothered me the most.

“Under the Bridge” was a great song, but go to the album after that, and you will not find anything similar to it. I extremely doubt that “Californication” was an attempt to mimic that one song.

In regard to their latest, though, it does consist of many ballads, it is not an attempt to reproduce “Under the Bridge.” In fact, they have non-ballad songs, as well. If you read articles and interviews about the Peppers, you will discover that the band attempts to create something new with each album. You will see that their past four albums were quite different.

What is the point in producing the same stuff over and over again? Don’t we get that enough from R&B? Most artists these days produce the same album over and over again, so I find it hard to believe that you can ridicule a band that attempts to create new music as they move through their career.

Dylan Bellisle is a freshman majoring in criminology.