Wednesday, October 23, 2002 :::
I knew I wasn't the only person left scratching my head after reading Maxwell Yim's column. Calstuff has an intercepted letter from the "Maxwell Yim Comprehension Task Force". Max... buddy... you don't have to be incomprehensible to sound smart. If you have something meaningful to say, you should say it clearly, form your thoughts coherently, and write to an audience that may not have your stunning and extensive vocabulary. It's alright. We won't think you're dumb if you tone it down a little. Promise. Besides, you sound like you're on shrooms.
::: posted by Andrewski at 7:31 PM
Picked up the latest Smartass? The magazine of the Berkeley Democrats (considered the moderates on this campus) this month is pitifully weak when compared to the glroious gloss and sophisticated layout of the Berkeley College Republicans publication, The Patriot. Page after page of nothing but block text and mugshots of politicians give the magazine a sort of sophisticated yet dull Wall Street Journal type approach to campus and local politics, but what the Smartass really needs is a face-lift. BCR snagged big bucks in contributions after making themselves nationally known through reactions to campus incidents, and they've been funneling that money into making a snazzy, attractive magazine that makes reading Republican rhetoric look cool.
Smartass suffers from an atrocious lack of wit- their humor section features an overdone joke about the U.S. Constitution being declared unconstitutional and their Top Ten list only has 9 listings. When you get to the perspective pages, the quality bumps up a slight notch, but someone really needs to find these guys a layout editor. Trudging through page after page of straight text is only for the most dedicated Democrats, and is not the best way to get ideas across quickly for non-Dems.
The only article in this month's Smartass that is focused is the one by Marc Shapiro, and I'm not just saying this because he's a good friend of mine. Marc's article about Senator John Edwards sheds some light on an emerging political figure who may play a significant role in the 2004 elections, and may be the key to dethroning the Bush Dynasty. You can check out Marc's blog here.
If the Berkeley Dems want to start taking their publication, their ideas, and their role on campus seriously, we need to see a better publication. Seriously. Smartass can't just sit back and let the Patriot get all the glory, but that's what's happening.
::: posted by Andrewski at 5:32 PM
Monday, October 21, 2002 :::
10:40 am, on CNN, they announced taking two individuals into custody regarding the sniper shootings. Only one bit of personal information about one of the suspects was released: "One of the suspects is a 24 year old man of Mexican origin". Is it really, truly necessary in the name of good reporting to declare that he is of Mexican origin? Does that mean the other suspect may or may not be of Mexican origin, too? What if the suspect was White? Would he be a 24 year old man of Caucasian origin? If he was Jewish?
Chris "Mano Negra" Cantor has been talking a lot about racism over at Progcal, as he says that equating Arab to Terrorist is a racist statement. Yet on the national news, there is no hesitation to announce that one of the Richmond, VA suspects is Mexican. Does this not contribute to a nation that is overly obsessed with race?
::: posted by Andrewski at 10:47 AM
Sunday, October 20, 2002 :::
I am just shocked... shocked and appalled. If we can't keep rock stars from keeping drugs in their tour busses, what hope do we have for the kids?
Won't SOMEBODY think of the children!?
::: posted by Andrewski at 11:26 PM
Rory over at the Angry Clam found a link to the Westboro Baptist Church, a fun-loving bunch of folks who run the website "God Hates Fags". There's a protest planned at the Berkeley vs. Arizona game November 16. Kevin speculates it's doubtful that they'll show up, but if they do, hoo-nelly it'll be interesting.
What caught my interest about their fiery, hateful propoganda is the challenge they issued:
"Every goofy idea has audience at UC Berkeley-- under the mantra of academic freedom... All sides! With one exception: God's side!... We dare you, UC Berkeley! Show FRED the Movie!"
Now this is a rather significant challenge, in my opinion. Although the people at Westboro Baptist Church are obviously extremely anti-gay, Fundamentalist Christians (they call Matthew Shepard, a 21-year old student who was murdered in December 1998 for being gay, "the poster boy for fag recruiting and propoganda". They're ruthless), at Berkeley we preach tolerance of ALL ideas. Including the ones we don't like. Of course, "God Hates Fags" is just about as despicable as the Ku Klux Klan, so I anticipate if they did come to Berkeley, it'd be ugly. How about their movie, though? It seems to be creepy, anti-sodomy stuff... but really, is it any different from a film that is heavily anti-Israel, anti-Palestine, anti-America, anti-Anything?
A question I'd pose to our two Berkeley mayoral candidates is this: "How would you deal with a vehemently anti-gay group if they were to come to Berkeley to protest? Would you support this group showing their movie in Berkeley in the name of academic freedom and free exchange of ideas?". Strange, indeed.
::: posted by Andrewski at 2:40 PM
