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opinion:
se
what
While Bush gets
busy, the left gets inspired
By Se J. Reed
George W. Bush
has been president of these tranquil United States since Cal
State Long Beach began its spring semester. In that time,
most of us have begun our requisite readings, done a bit of
homework and perhaps even taken a quiz.
Bush has been much
busier. He has only been in office two weeks, and already
he has banned federal funds from aiding any foreign organization
that supports abortion or abortion counseling. That is certainly
a rather partisan stance from a man who promised to honor
the bi-partisan temperament of post-election America.
So much for moderation.
Additionally, all
of us here are now subject to rule by the new attorney general,
John Ashcroft, a man so far to the right that there is no
perceptible left. His promises to uphold the laws rather than
his personal beliefs on subjects such as abortion are so unbelievable
it is almost funny. Almost. Come on, George, take a lesson
from the last guy. Lying does not work out very well for the
leader of the capitalist world or his staff (pun fully intended).
In light of these
lovely developments and in honor of Presidents' Day, a pleasing
suggestion from Los Angeles Times columnist Patt Morrison
has been making the left-leaning e-mail rounds in recent days.
She proposed that those so inclined make a donation of any
amount to a family-planning organization such as Planned Parenthood,
and then send a card to our illustrious president, notifying
him that a donation has been made in his honor. A truly inspired
idea.
On a side note,
hard-line right-winger Ariel Sharon is now the prime minister
of Israel. Not that many Americans, let alone apathetic college
students, care that the 72-year-old former Israeli army general
who led documented massacres on Palestinians is now in charge
of a tiny but important country so far away. But one never
knows: knowledge and awareness might actually come in handy
some day.
SŽ J. Reed is
a journalism and international studies major at Cal State
Long Beach.
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