Iraq Surge or Withdrawal?
In light of the recent anti-war protest, we have decided to take a look at the war in Iraq and what should be done.
Right World View
As you read this, multiple wars are being fought. The one most muddled in controversy can easily be said to be Iraq. At the time of its start, it seemed necessary. Regardless of the reality of the situation then, this perception led to hostilities. Right or wrong, we cannot go back in time and change what happened and we must make the best of the current situation. So, what is to be done now?
Some say we should drop everything and leave now. This is probably the worst thing we can do. It would show the world that Americans are unwilling to take casualties. As our enemies have said, give the Americans a bloody nose and they will withdraw. Proving them right will only invite further attacks. Don't get me wrong, every American casualty (or that of an innocent bystander) is a tragedy, but they are also virtually unavoidable. Don't think for one second that if we left today the violence would end tomorrow. Leaving before the country is stabilized will ensure continuing conflict with the strong possibility of frequent massacres.
Maintaining the status quo does not seem like a good solution either. Although in the scheme of things, losing a few soldiers a day doesn't jeopardize our national security, that does not mean that it is something that should just be accepted. Everything possible must be done to reduce our long term projection of casualties that, at the same time, won't plunge a vitally important region into massive chaos.
Some things are worth fighting for. The prospect of losses must not deter people from accomplishing what must be done. As mentioned before, casualties are bad, but are also sometime necessary. The "good fight" must be fought.
An increase in troop levels holds the potential to bring this conflict to a favorable resolution. Our overall strategy has to be one of empowering the Iraqis to defend themselves. Before we leave, Iraq must be able to defend itself from without (from Iran in particular) and from within (the insurgents). We should not let Iraq revert to its former state. Stability at the price of freedom is not worth paying. The chaos of freedom is preferable to the stability of mass graves.
As for the war protester, they have a right to protest. It is a right that virtually all Americans cherish even if they elect not to protest themselves. There is something to be said about decency, though. It was reported that some protesters were spitting on a wounded Iraqi war veteran who was counter protesting. That kind of behavior crosses the line. Despite the actions of (hopefully) only a few protesters who crossed that line, protesting itself is generally a healthy form of voicing your opinion. When the conflict does come to an end, protesting is a freedom that Iraqis will hopefully be able to enjoy without fearing a suicide bomber will disrupt their gathering.
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Letter From the Editor (Right World View Vol. I, No. 6)
Let me start this letter by sending my sincere condolences to Joseph Zahornacky's friends and family. Though I did not know him well, based on the many stories circulated after the tragedy, it is regrettable that I did not get to spend more time with him. If you read nothing else in this issue, I would encourage you to turn to pages 4 and 5 for a tribute to Joseph Zahornacky by some of his close friends here at Manhattanville.
It is notable the way the entire campus came together in the wake of the tragedy. Here at Manhattanville, there was a massive outpouring of sympathy and support from both the student body and the administration. Despite our relatively small population, enough people cancelled their previous plans to fill a significant portion of the O'Byrne Chapel during the memorial service.
The beginning of this semester has also seen the administration and student body getting along in other matters. Though it started out a bit rocky, on the two major issues thus far into the semester, notably 100 Nights and the finals week schedule, we have managed to come to amicable solutions before it was too late for both issues.
Changing topics, hearing people "trash talk" our country lately has led me to compare our country to others. Perhaps the most striking difference between our country and the so called "better country" (from the perspective of some), the USSR under Stalin, is that we are free to voice any of our dislikes of this country. People living under Stalin in the Soviet Union had no such luxury.
Here in America, people of differing view points will ban together to ensure the right to express their differing viewpoints. Free speech is something that nearly all Americans hold dear. Trying the same dissident speech permitted in our country in the USSR under Stalin would have resulted in vastly different outcomes.
Voicing opposition to the government was not permitted. If you were caught speaking out against the country you were likely to disappear. Not only were you picked up in the dead of night never to be seen again (either killed or sent to rot in some prison for the rest of your life), but the Soviets (or "Reds" as they were sometimes referred to) might then set out to erase you from history. It would be as if you never existed. Quite frankly, I'm proud to be an American living in a country where I and everyone else has no need to fear free thought and expression; a place where behavior like that (making people disappear) certainly wouldn't fly.
Sincerely,
Andrew Berman
Editor-in-Chief
It is notable the way the entire campus came together in the wake of the tragedy. Here at Manhattanville, there was a massive outpouring of sympathy and support from both the student body and the administration. Despite our relatively small population, enough people cancelled their previous plans to fill a significant portion of the O'Byrne Chapel during the memorial service.
The beginning of this semester has also seen the administration and student body getting along in other matters. Though it started out a bit rocky, on the two major issues thus far into the semester, notably 100 Nights and the finals week schedule, we have managed to come to amicable solutions before it was too late for both issues.
Changing topics, hearing people "trash talk" our country lately has led me to compare our country to others. Perhaps the most striking difference between our country and the so called "better country" (from the perspective of some), the USSR under Stalin, is that we are free to voice any of our dislikes of this country. People living under Stalin in the Soviet Union had no such luxury.
Here in America, people of differing view points will ban together to ensure the right to express their differing viewpoints. Free speech is something that nearly all Americans hold dear. Trying the same dissident speech permitted in our country in the USSR under Stalin would have resulted in vastly different outcomes.
Voicing opposition to the government was not permitted. If you were caught speaking out against the country you were likely to disappear. Not only were you picked up in the dead of night never to be seen again (either killed or sent to rot in some prison for the rest of your life), but the Soviets (or "Reds" as they were sometimes referred to) might then set out to erase you from history. It would be as if you never existed. Quite frankly, I'm proud to be an American living in a country where I and everyone else has no need to fear free thought and expression; a place where behavior like that (making people disappear) certainly wouldn't fly.
Sincerely,
Andrew Berman
Editor-in-Chief
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
An Abortion Truce
An Abortion Truce
A compromise that may satisfy those on the Pro-Life and Pro Choice sides; use of artificial wombs
The topic of abortion is one filled with much controversy, as one should expect. After all, one side is fighting for what they believe is a human life, and the other is fighting to protect what they believe is a critical female right.
Few people can remain neutral on this topic and friends have been known to turn into enemies over it. For most, the argument boils down to when life begins. If it begins at conception, then abortion would be murder. If life begins at birth, then abortion could theoretically be legal up until the day the mother goes into labor. As it is set now, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that viability is the appropriate measure. In other words, after an unborn child/fetus is able to live outside the womb, it is illegal to perform abortion on a pregnant woman. Before that an abortion is at the discretion of the woman carrying entity.
Temporarily disregarding the moral issues, there is another interesting perspective to be considered, the rights of the child's father. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. By herself, a woman cannot create a child (let us momentarily disregard some interesting and controversial advances in technology that may make this statement technically false and look at more natural conceptions). A male is a required part of the equation to create the child. Why is it then that he has no say in what happens to what will be his child? The answer as it stands now is because he is not carrying it to term, though can this be considered equality under the law?
If a woman doesn't feel she is ready or willing to be a parent with all the responsibilities that entails, then she had the means to ensure she won't become a parent. If the same is true for a man, he has no such recourse and no such choice. The reverse is also true. If a woman wants to be a mother, then, baring any unforeseen complications she will become one. If a man wants to become a father, he has no such assurance and might not become a father as he would like.
So where is this truce? How can two sides that are so fundamentally opposed to each other ever come to an agreement on this issue? The answer is to give them both what they want. One side wants to protect life and the other wants to preserve the woman's right to choose. With a little imagination and innovation, both can be done at the same time.
Both sides sink huge amounts of money trying to convince the population their side is the correct one. Large sums of money are used for legal expenses working to either attain or preserve advances on their side of the legal sphere. By diverting some of this money into a new venture, the goals of both sides could be achieved simultaneously. This new venture is the creation of an effective artificial womb.
Once science makes an effective artificial womb, then abortion would automatically become illegal. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that viability is the point at which abortion becomes illegal. If viability is congruent with detection, then there is no time at which an abortion would be legal. Put another way, if by the time you can tell you are pregnant the entity is viable outside the womb, then there is no gap as there is today between detection and viability (the time period in which it is legal to obtain an abortion), and based on the laws that are already on the books, abortion would be illegal. This would make pro-lifers happy. Pro-choicers would also content.
Instead of the choice of terminating the entity growing in their uterus, the choice would be to transplant it into an artificial uterus where it could grow into maturity. Thus, women are not being forced to go full term with a child, and their choice is preserved. The money from both sides which is now being spent on public opinion campaigns and legal battles in the courtroom could go towards the cost of the procedure ensuring the woman in question would not even have to pay for the procedure herself.
As for the rights of the unborn's father, he would now have some say as to what happens with his child. Both could decide if they are in a position to properly raise the child or if it is better off being adopted or placed in foster care. Depending on how the law is set up, both might be allowed to make the choice individually where one elects to raise the child and the other renounces all their rights and responsibilities to it.
No matter how it turns out, all sides would be made happy with an artificial womb. Pro-life groups will be pleased that abortion would become totally and completely illegal. Pro-choice groups would be thrilled with the preservation of a woman's choice (it is a different choice, granted, but they still have the choice to no longer be pregnant). Those advocating the rights of fathers everywhere would be content that the father now actually has some rights, and comparable to a woman at that. There simply is no major downside to the creation of an artificial womb. It is for all these reasons that I encourage all sides to come together in this compromise that all can be happy with.
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
A compromise that may satisfy those on the Pro-Life and Pro Choice sides; use of artificial wombs
The topic of abortion is one filled with much controversy, as one should expect. After all, one side is fighting for what they believe is a human life, and the other is fighting to protect what they believe is a critical female right.
Few people can remain neutral on this topic and friends have been known to turn into enemies over it. For most, the argument boils down to when life begins. If it begins at conception, then abortion would be murder. If life begins at birth, then abortion could theoretically be legal up until the day the mother goes into labor. As it is set now, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that viability is the appropriate measure. In other words, after an unborn child/fetus is able to live outside the womb, it is illegal to perform abortion on a pregnant woman. Before that an abortion is at the discretion of the woman carrying entity.
Temporarily disregarding the moral issues, there is another interesting perspective to be considered, the rights of the child's father. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. By herself, a woman cannot create a child (let us momentarily disregard some interesting and controversial advances in technology that may make this statement technically false and look at more natural conceptions). A male is a required part of the equation to create the child. Why is it then that he has no say in what happens to what will be his child? The answer as it stands now is because he is not carrying it to term, though can this be considered equality under the law?
If a woman doesn't feel she is ready or willing to be a parent with all the responsibilities that entails, then she had the means to ensure she won't become a parent. If the same is true for a man, he has no such recourse and no such choice. The reverse is also true. If a woman wants to be a mother, then, baring any unforeseen complications she will become one. If a man wants to become a father, he has no such assurance and might not become a father as he would like.
So where is this truce? How can two sides that are so fundamentally opposed to each other ever come to an agreement on this issue? The answer is to give them both what they want. One side wants to protect life and the other wants to preserve the woman's right to choose. With a little imagination and innovation, both can be done at the same time.
Both sides sink huge amounts of money trying to convince the population their side is the correct one. Large sums of money are used for legal expenses working to either attain or preserve advances on their side of the legal sphere. By diverting some of this money into a new venture, the goals of both sides could be achieved simultaneously. This new venture is the creation of an effective artificial womb.
Once science makes an effective artificial womb, then abortion would automatically become illegal. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that viability is the point at which abortion becomes illegal. If viability is congruent with detection, then there is no time at which an abortion would be legal. Put another way, if by the time you can tell you are pregnant the entity is viable outside the womb, then there is no gap as there is today between detection and viability (the time period in which it is legal to obtain an abortion), and based on the laws that are already on the books, abortion would be illegal. This would make pro-lifers happy. Pro-choicers would also content.
Instead of the choice of terminating the entity growing in their uterus, the choice would be to transplant it into an artificial uterus where it could grow into maturity. Thus, women are not being forced to go full term with a child, and their choice is preserved. The money from both sides which is now being spent on public opinion campaigns and legal battles in the courtroom could go towards the cost of the procedure ensuring the woman in question would not even have to pay for the procedure herself.
As for the rights of the unborn's father, he would now have some say as to what happens with his child. Both could decide if they are in a position to properly raise the child or if it is better off being adopted or placed in foster care. Depending on how the law is set up, both might be allowed to make the choice individually where one elects to raise the child and the other renounces all their rights and responsibilities to it.
No matter how it turns out, all sides would be made happy with an artificial womb. Pro-life groups will be pleased that abortion would become totally and completely illegal. Pro-choice groups would be thrilled with the preservation of a woman's choice (it is a different choice, granted, but they still have the choice to no longer be pregnant). Those advocating the rights of fathers everywhere would be content that the father now actually has some rights, and comparable to a woman at that. There simply is no major downside to the creation of an artificial womb. It is for all these reasons that I encourage all sides to come together in this compromise that all can be happy with.
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
Letter From the Editor (Right World View Vol. I, No. 5)
Welcome back to another wonderful semester here at Manhattanville. While you are getting down to the business of doing what you came here for, learning, I encourage you to get involved with at least a few of the many clubs and activities the College has to offer. You will see this same message referenced in a few places throughout this issue in both the 'Call to Arms' and an article giving a brief summery of the clubs currently offered.
One thing I have been going back and forth on is whether or not to print some hate mail we received. I have opted not to print it, but if you the readers think we should, send us feedback with your opinions as to why, and the policy can easily be changed. The primary reason the mail isn't printed in this issue is because its content. One letter I received from a student stated that if this paper was the main campus newspaper they would transfer, and further added that they were not the only one with this thought. Upon further inquiry, based on the short back and forth we had, it appeared to me that the person who wrote the note might never have actually read the paper.
Another letter was from the leader of a club here at Manhattanville. The message offered no substance, it merely hurled baseless insults at the newspaper. It ended with a threat of prosecution against us if we exercise our constitutionally protected right to free speech and spoke to any one of their members in the future. I was further disturbed because the faculty advisor of the club was copied into the message and as of the writing of this piece, I have not heard anything from them.
Perhaps most disheartening of all are reports I get about Manhattanville faculty and staff who are unwilling to even be interviewed by our writers. Though we are technically a Conservative publication, we have writers and happily accept articles from all political view points. We have not been radical and instead tried to be (and I believe succeed at being) fairly centrist.
Moving on, I am proud to report that the Right World View was officially the largest campus publication by the end of last semester. Despite being the new kids on the block, only beginning last semester, we were the first campus publication to have an issue out, we printed more issues than any other publication, we printed more copies of each issue, and our issues had more square inches of content than any other campus publication.
In another bit of news, thanks to a new relationship, we now have access to a few different Wires. Perhaps more importantly, we can contribute to a Wire as well. This means that the potential readership of any given article written in this publication has expanded many times over. Keep that in mind if you are deciding whether or not to write for the Right World View.
Sincerely,
Andrew Berman
Editor-in-Chief
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
One thing I have been going back and forth on is whether or not to print some hate mail we received. I have opted not to print it, but if you the readers think we should, send us feedback with your opinions as to why, and the policy can easily be changed. The primary reason the mail isn't printed in this issue is because its content. One letter I received from a student stated that if this paper was the main campus newspaper they would transfer, and further added that they were not the only one with this thought. Upon further inquiry, based on the short back and forth we had, it appeared to me that the person who wrote the note might never have actually read the paper.
Another letter was from the leader of a club here at Manhattanville. The message offered no substance, it merely hurled baseless insults at the newspaper. It ended with a threat of prosecution against us if we exercise our constitutionally protected right to free speech and spoke to any one of their members in the future. I was further disturbed because the faculty advisor of the club was copied into the message and as of the writing of this piece, I have not heard anything from them.
Perhaps most disheartening of all are reports I get about Manhattanville faculty and staff who are unwilling to even be interviewed by our writers. Though we are technically a Conservative publication, we have writers and happily accept articles from all political view points. We have not been radical and instead tried to be (and I believe succeed at being) fairly centrist.
Moving on, I am proud to report that the Right World View was officially the largest campus publication by the end of last semester. Despite being the new kids on the block, only beginning last semester, we were the first campus publication to have an issue out, we printed more issues than any other publication, we printed more copies of each issue, and our issues had more square inches of content than any other campus publication.
In another bit of news, thanks to a new relationship, we now have access to a few different Wires. Perhaps more importantly, we can contribute to a Wire as well. This means that the potential readership of any given article written in this publication has expanded many times over. Keep that in mind if you are deciding whether or not to write for the Right World View.
Sincerely,
Andrew Berman
Editor-in-Chief
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
Monday, December 4, 2006
Pizza Hut Fundraiser
Tuesday, November 28, the Right World View held its first off-campus fund- raiser. For it, we partnered with Pizza Hut in Greenwich, Connecticut. A deal was hashed out. For that particular day, from 11:00am- 8:00pm, Pizza Hut would give to the Right World View 20% of whatever revenue the newspaper bought to their restaurant.
To know what revenue was generated by the RWV, tickets were handed out by the staff that would be presented to the restaurant when the bill was being paid. They acknowledged that the patron wanted 20% of their bill to go to the Right World View.
Manhattanville students weren't the only ones who participated. Members from the community also did their part showing up and submitting tickets with their bills. These people were mostly family and friends of students that go to Manhattanville and some even seemed eager to participate.
Though the morning started out a bit on the slow side, things did pick up a little later in the day. The exact amount brought in to Pizza Hut by the Right World View won't be known for a little while. The amount that the newspaper will receive in funding will also not be known for a bit.
It can be said there was a strong turnout overall, with certain influxes at different points. We would like to thank all who participated and those that helped make this event possible. With your help, we can continue to put out more quality issues of the Right World View that we hope you enjoy reading.
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
To know what revenue was generated by the RWV, tickets were handed out by the staff that would be presented to the restaurant when the bill was being paid. They acknowledged that the patron wanted 20% of their bill to go to the Right World View.
Manhattanville students weren't the only ones who participated. Members from the community also did their part showing up and submitting tickets with their bills. These people were mostly family and friends of students that go to Manhattanville and some even seemed eager to participate.
Though the morning started out a bit on the slow side, things did pick up a little later in the day. The exact amount brought in to Pizza Hut by the Right World View won't be known for a little while. The amount that the newspaper will receive in funding will also not be known for a bit.
It can be said there was a strong turnout overall, with certain influxes at different points. We would like to thank all who participated and those that helped make this event possible. With your help, we can continue to put out more quality issues of the Right World View that we hope you enjoy reading.
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
Letter From the Editor (Right World View Vol. I, No. 4)
The country has spoken, and they have overwhelmingly said, "We want Democrats." Though in truth, it is not as simple as that. While the Democrats did sweep into power in both houses of Congress, it is not entirely clear whether it had more to do with what they were offering or more to do with the fact that they weren't Republicans.
Personally, I wanted the Republicans to lose the house to hopefully force them to return to their more Conservative base. I was also hoping they would keep the Senate in order to be able to put Conservative judges on the courts.
In many of the elections, if you didn't see the candidates’ political affiliation and just saw their platform, the Republicans and Democrats were almost indistinguishable. Conservative Democrats did exceptionally well.
Now we'll touch on some military matters. How many people have told you that the military dominance of the United States is quickly coming to a close? Let me alleviate some of your fears. First, lets talk conventionally.
The US Air Force has crafts in the sky (working models) that make just about anything any of the other countries have on the drawing board obsolete and not even worth building (or having). The US Navy is of such power that if you combined all other naval powers against it, it would still come out on top (decimated, but victorious nonetheless). Our army is strong enough to repel just about any force that it could come up against, if they could even get close enough to fight us.
In terms of non-conventional warfare, our silos are filled with enough missiles to destroy the world many times over. Finally, our stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons are sufficient to eradicate all life from the globe. But besides all that, I can see how are our dominance is being threatened.
Let me put this a different way: our military prowess and dominance is such that others have been forced to fundamentally change the concept of warfare and the way in which is its fought to even have a chance of competing with us. We may fall from our top position, just as all others that have achieved the pinnacle before us have, but it won't be anytime soon.
As always, if you would like to join the Right World View, our meetings are held every Monday in the second floor Founders classroom at 8:30pm.
Enjoy your upcoming break, and I hope to see you at one of our meetings either before you leave or after you return.
Sincerely,
Andrew Berman
Editor-in-Chief
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
Personally, I wanted the Republicans to lose the house to hopefully force them to return to their more Conservative base. I was also hoping they would keep the Senate in order to be able to put Conservative judges on the courts.
In many of the elections, if you didn't see the candidates’ political affiliation and just saw their platform, the Republicans and Democrats were almost indistinguishable. Conservative Democrats did exceptionally well.
Now we'll touch on some military matters. How many people have told you that the military dominance of the United States is quickly coming to a close? Let me alleviate some of your fears. First, lets talk conventionally.
The US Air Force has crafts in the sky (working models) that make just about anything any of the other countries have on the drawing board obsolete and not even worth building (or having). The US Navy is of such power that if you combined all other naval powers against it, it would still come out on top (decimated, but victorious nonetheless). Our army is strong enough to repel just about any force that it could come up against, if they could even get close enough to fight us.
In terms of non-conventional warfare, our silos are filled with enough missiles to destroy the world many times over. Finally, our stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons are sufficient to eradicate all life from the globe. But besides all that, I can see how are our dominance is being threatened.
Let me put this a different way: our military prowess and dominance is such that others have been forced to fundamentally change the concept of warfare and the way in which is its fought to even have a chance of competing with us. We may fall from our top position, just as all others that have achieved the pinnacle before us have, but it won't be anytime soon.
As always, if you would like to join the Right World View, our meetings are held every Monday in the second floor Founders classroom at 8:30pm.
Enjoy your upcoming break, and I hope to see you at one of our meetings either before you leave or after you return.
Sincerely,
Andrew Berman
Editor-in-Chief
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
Thanksgiving Comes Early to Mville
Being a President that prides him self on interacting with the students, President Berman could be found in the Café on the Monday before Thanksgiving. There, he was carving and serving a Turkey to all who wanted to partake in the early festivities.
The Thanksgiving spirit reached Mville's Web administrators as a happy Thanksgiving message complete with a picture of a turkey.
The holiday itself is one of the few, uniquely American holidays. Harvest festivals abound all over the globe, but Thanksgiving is unique in its scope and in the way in which it is celebrated.
Though in recent times, it has been occasionally marred by controversy and protests over its true meaning (as was the case in some parts of the country), here at Mville it was more or less a quiet event, passing without major incident.
Let me also extend a belated happy Thanksgiving from all here at the Right World View.
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
The Thanksgiving spirit reached Mville's Web administrators as a happy Thanksgiving message complete with a picture of a turkey.
The holiday itself is one of the few, uniquely American holidays. Harvest festivals abound all over the globe, but Thanksgiving is unique in its scope and in the way in which it is celebrated.
Though in recent times, it has been occasionally marred by controversy and protests over its true meaning (as was the case in some parts of the country), here at Mville it was more or less a quiet event, passing without major incident.
Let me also extend a belated happy Thanksgiving from all here at the Right World View.
Right World View Article Link:
http://www.rightworldview.com/mvilleissuearchive
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