Letters to the Editor 11/6

Americans should be proud, not bitter

This is in response to the letter that appeared in Friday’s Oracle by Anthony Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt is, to say the least, an anarchist.

His claim that President Bush and his Cabinet are war criminals and need to be tried as such is beyond belief.

His claim that we destroyed Afghanistan in our quest for bin Laden is another of his fantasies.

He claims the people of Afghanistan did not want us there. Is he living on the same planet as the rest of us?

He claims we are going to war with Iraq because we want their oil. If we had wanted their oil, why didn’t we take it in 1991 at the end of the Gulf War? We could have taken the whole country at that time. We did not then, nor will we now.

The possible war with Iraq is because Saddam Hussein is a “super” threat to the world. He is a madman who has allowed the rape and murder of the people of Kuwait, the gassing of his own people and the invasion of Iran.

He played games with the weapons inspectors from 1991 until 1998 when he kicked them out. He still will not allow the inspectors in with complete access to anything they want to see.

Mr. Schmidt seems to be very upset that he was born an American. In several letters he has written, he never has anything good to say about America.

In fact, he is always siding with the groups that are against us and want to kill and destroy us.

Mr. Schmidt, if you are so unhappy with America and the American way of life, why are you here? Why don’t you leave and go to one of these countries you say you have such feelings for?

I can tell you why you don’t. It is because, despite all the “bad-mouthing,” you know you are in the best country going, and you know that you would not have the freedom to spout your hatred in any other country as freely as you can here in America.

Thousands of brave, patriotic Americans have died to give and protect your right to spout your crap.

It turns my stomach that I spent 30 years in the service of this great nation protecting the likes of people like Mr. Schmidt.

It is one thing to speak out against the government, it is another to spout the terrible things Mr. Schmidt has to say.

Mr. Schmidt, you have your rights to speak, and I have mine. You speak with an evil tongue. I ask people to use their brains and let common sense take control.

America has its problems, as do all nations, but we are not what Mr. Schmidt would have you believe. It amazes me that he would have you believe him and people like Saddam and bin Laden over the president and the government of America.

Gary Stanley is a senior majoring in secondary education.


American leaders and bin Laden not same

Is there no shame?

I remember when the United States was considered a beautiful and prosperous country, a land where dreams could come true.

I am fed up with contradicting theorists and incessant babblers writing letters about the downfall of America and speculating that, in the future, people are going to move where they are more accepted. Cry me a river.

By all means, move, and if you find a country with the same rights, freedoms and opportunities, give us a call over here in the crummy ol’ U.S. of A., and we’ll all follow you over.

Also, to defend my statement about contradicting theorists, I would first like to clarify that I think it is perfectly acceptable that people would take different sides on an issue and defend that issue. One of the things that makes our country so great is that we have that option.

However, in regards to the article “Al-Arian leads anti-war protest,” I find it hard to believe that anyone can put the leader of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, in the same category as our president, George W. Bush, regardless of political preference. Please take a moment and consider how ludicrous this is.

How can a man who was caught leading compromising rallies for the Islamic Jihad movement and raising funds for two suicide bombers who, in the words of Al-Arian, gave their lives “for the sake of God” in hopes that “operations such as these can continue,” tell fellow Americans what it is to be patriotic?

No, Dr. Al-Arian, I do not believe that the United States is the land of the feared and the home of the war mongers as you have so nicely put it.

America is the “Land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Let us not be so feeble-minded that we forget this, because if we do, we are diminishing the importance of our past and the hope of our future.

Rebekah Greene is a sophomore majoring in psychology.


Find individuality; don’t follow the crowd

Why is it that everywhere I look I see clones of Vin Diesel and Eminem on campus? Is the science department doing some rare experiment or something?

Walk anywhere on campus and you’ll see and hear hundreds of lowered Honda Civics with clear tail lights. Are they cloning the cars, too?

I thought the bad boy “I’m too cool for you” attitude was for high school. Apparently not at USF, the wannabe capital of the world.

When I walk to class, I feel like I’m in a Mountain Dew commercial.

These Vin Diesel wannabes even drive like they’ve watched The Fast and The Furious one too many times.

Their loud mufflers and thundering music would make one think either a mosquito is dying or a thunderstorm is approaching.

But it’s neither. It’s The Attack of the Clones.

Maybe they didn’t get enough attention from their mommies or they were the boiler room students in high school. Remember them?

Or they’re just majoring in race car driving. Who knows?

All I can say is that these Eminem-talking, Vin Diesel-driving maniacs need to grow up.

I mean, come on, am I the only one who sees this, or am I really taking classes at the University of Daytona 500 without knowing it?

If all of this is not some cloning experiment, then I guess I better join the crowd and change my major to xXx.

I wonder if Vin Diesel will be teaching the class or whether they’ll be handing out Eminems to eat?

Matthew Cooke is a junior majoring in marketing.