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The Clackamas Print
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Editor-in-Chief/
Copy Editor
Shodra Beesley
News Editor/
Assistant Copy Editor
Tina Tate
Opinion Editor
Cyndee Mady
Feature Editor
Elisabeth Meyer
A&E Editor
Pete Ford
Sports Editor
Elena Boryska
Co-Photo Editor
Robb Egan
Co-Photo Editor
Cory Price .
Webmaster
Joel Gaynor
Advertising Manager
Mark Falling
ext. 2578
Staff Writers:
Marvin Baker * Isaiah Creel
Nic Delzell * Jared Eschweiler
Bekah Finch * Karen Hill
Noah Holland * Frank Jordan
Sadie McCarthy
Production Assistants:
Matt Baker * Heather Dolson
Katie Funk * David Kolibaba
Andy Price
Adviser:
Linda Vogt
Secretary:
JoAnne Gale
The Clackamas Print is distributed every
Wednesday except during finals week.
The Clackamas Print * Copyright 2003.
19600 S. Molalla Ave.
Oregon City, Oregon 97045
(503) 657-6958 X2309
cccprint@clackamas.edu
http ://www2 .clackamas. edu/thepri nt
April 30, 200
Stop sniveling, start saluting
I tnink I’m just tain that no weapons of mass destruction are left.
about sick of all On one hand, I can see why France would be a lit
the pseudo-intel- tle skittish In their foreign policy; to the best of
• lectual America my knowledge they are the only country that has
bashing of late.
come close to losing a war with Greenpeace. I
I’ve
heard guess it’s important for a nation to take a firm
everything from stance against any potential aggressor after having
students
here your ass handed to you by Keiko’s fan club.
talking revolu
On the other end of this vacillating duo, we
tion while—wait have Vladimir Putin and co., the same men who
ing in line to pick brought you the Kursk disaster. This is the
up their financial Leadership that lost a five hundred foot subma
aid checks, to “peace” protesters advocating vio rine in two hundred feet of water because he did
lence on the five o’clock news in order to force a n’t wish to appear weak in front of his country
halt to the war in Iraq.
men by asking the West for help. In the end, a
I remember watching war protestors on televi Norwegian salvage crew accomplished in 12
sion, and I was amazed at how Portland police hours what his own Navy couldn’t in several
coddled their little traffic-blocking behinds. It’s days. Don’t get me wrong, our very own “W.”
like they were running a catch and release pro has some shortcomings, but the most that stands
gram that week. You know what halted the war? out in my mind is when the guy tried waving at
300,000 buzz cut, Oakley sunglass wearing, Iowa Stevie Wonder.
com-fed California vegetarian east coast gang-
Following suit in the slamming of America,
ster-rappin’ attitude infected stereo bumpin’ hogs and more painfully so, would be our lovely neigh
rolling into Baghdad astride seventy ton tanks bors to the north, Canada, booing and jeering our
with nicknames like Anger Management.
hockey players and national anthem. Is that any
Now, France and Russia want to keep the UN way to treat your landlord?
sanctions against Iraq in place until they are cer-
To quote a famous comedian, “Canada is like
One million dollars wasted on babysitting
Enough
Portland citi
zens threat
ened to hold
anti-war ral
lies if our
country
invaded Iraq
that city offi
Cyndee Mady
cials
set
Opinion Editor
aside a budg
et of a half a
million dollars in anticipation of the tribulations
that assuredly lay ahead.
Little did they know, that figure would double.
On an April 15 broadcast of KATU news,
Mayor Vera Katz announced that the recent anti
war protests inundating Portland’s downtown
streets cost the city about a million in police over
time dollars. This dollar amount, according to
Katz, was for the duration of March 19 to April 9
t a mere 22 days!
Katu interviewed several Portland residents
who all seemed to be of the opinion that if speak
ing out for what they believe, and standing up for
their right to freedom of speech means that the
city’s budget takes a loss, then it was money well
spent.
These people represent a small percentage of
Oregon’s population. Since the opposing view
point was overlooked, allow me to take a stance in
honor of my fellow citizens who might also think
that the one million dollars wasted babysitting
overgrown children throwing tantrums because
they didn’t get their way is not a productive use of
our tax dollars.
Private club scores complaints
“I’m proud to be
in
a
country
where I’m free to
express myself,
but freedom is a
two-way street. If
I’m
free
to
express myself,
then the scouts
Robb Egan
have to be free to
Staff Writer
express
them
selves, too. No
matter how wrong we think they might be, it isn’t right
for us to force them to think our way. It’s up to us to
persuade and help them to see the light, not extort them
to.” — Big Gay Al, South Park.
Recently Augusta National, a private golf
club that runs the Masters tournament as part
of the PGA Tour, has come under heavy
fire from members of the LPGA and the
National
Council
of
Women’s
Organizations, who feel its admission
standard is sexist because it only
allows male members. This is, of
course, ridiculous and irrelevant.
They have brought legal and polit
ical pressure up on the club and its
sponsors to the extent that Augusta
has dropped all sponsors for the
Masters rather than face corporate
pressure.
Women argue for sexual equal
ity, spouting the same feminist
doctrine they’ve been using since
the suffrage movement, and yet MICHAEL WEIR 2003
seldom (if ever) do you see them protesting or suing an
all-female organization. There are many schools, univer
sities, clubs, etc. that allow only women into their ranks.
Where is the equality there?
What about the LPGA, which only allows women
who were bom female to join, barring anyone who might
have made the swap at a later time? So, while a man who
makes the choice to become a woman will, in the eyes of
the law and popular society, henceforth be considered
female, she still can’t play golf with the other ladies. And
yet many of the women protesting for admission into the
Masters are members of this same organization, an organ
ization with a sexist and discriminatory admission policy.
Hypocrisy, anyone? And here I thought dou
ble standards supposedly worked in a man’s
favor,
The freedom to express yourself
without fear of persecution is the prevail
ing principle that our country was found
ed on, but what so few people realize,
or will admit to, is that even those
views which might not be fair, which
might hearken back to an era of prej
udice and oppression, are as protect
ed as those that might be more popu
lar or politically correct. We live in a
great age, where intolerance and big
otry is condemned by the masses, and
where peoples of all backgrounds are
theoretically equal in the eyes of the law.
Tolerance and equality should be
achieved through education and under
standing, not through the liberal
application of political and financial
Champion
pressure.
Do you have something to shout about?
Letters to the editor are always welcome. Drop letters by B-l 04 or send to
cccprint@clackamas.edu
.......
a loft apartment over a really great party.
They’re always yelling at us, “keep it down, eh!
and then dropping by out of the blue to borrow!
few tons of fish.
I understand world politics and the comin|
aftermath of this war are far more complicate!
than I could hope to detail in my own limited waj
What I am hoping to point out is this: it is ver]
easy to criticize when it’s not you on the line mak
ing the calls for what is hoped to be the greate
good. The men in power, of most any nation, di<
not gerthere through stupidity. And, in this coun
try, many people have issues with the man wh<
was given greatness as a graduation gift For al
Americans, the voice of protest and the spirit oi
debate are cornerstones of this nation (excep
maybe Ashcroft).
So, while you’re hashing out the best way to
infiltrate the capital with a couple of friends over
your recreational drug of choice, keep in mind
that in this country a man like myself can commit
a felony, pay the price and reenter society as a col
lege student - a privilege in many countries - and
receive monetary aid from the very same govern
ment that sanctioned me just four short years ago
That’s a small piece of what I feel makes this
country, and it’s leadership, worth supporting.
1 ■ —-
»
Ironically, this information was delivered on
April 15 when everyone was scurrying to meet
tax-day deadlines, emphasizing the impact of the
exorbitant blow to our city’s budget, and how it
might affect our future tax dollars.
Mayor Katz assured viewers that “they will cut
comers” in other areas to compensate for their
budget shortfall, but failed to mention where these
cutbacks might come from.
Exercising your freedom of speech does not
justify these expenditures, and it infuriates me
that so many people can take such a nonchalant
attitude when Oregon’s economy is still in jeop
ardy.
It is a sad day in our community when threats
coming from our own citizens cause emotional
and financial turmoil for the very people who are
trying to protect them.
Grow up and
start whining
Shadra Beesley
Editor-in-Chief/
Copy Editor
It is a little-known fact that if
your car breaks down on a Saturday
morning and you leave it on the side
of the road after calling your room
mate and dragging her out of bed to
give you a ride to work, by the fol
lowing Monday around 3 p.m when
you drive the truck you borrowed
from your cousin past the spot where
you left your car, it will be gone.
It is also a little-known fact that
all you have to do to retrieve your
vehicle is call your neighborhood
police department, and they will tell
you which money-grubbing towing
company was kind enough to take
possession of your vehicle for you.
When I first discovered that the
vehicle which had faithfully and reli
ably left me stranded every few
weeks (when I was on my way to
something very important) had been
taken into the custody of the great
county of Clackamas, I was relieved.
However, my celebration period
was cut short after I spoke to the
Owner of the towing company, which
I will protect the name of by refer
ring to it as “Seventh Circle of Hell
Towing,” and he told me that if I
wanted to give him my car I had to
pay $50 for the privilege and sign the
title of my car over; otherwise he’d
send a collections agency after me.
Oh, and could I please bring
down the face plate to my stereo so
he could take possession of that
along with my mortal soul?
“It’s part of the lien,” Mr. Hell said
when I informed him that I would
most definitely be taking my stereo
with me in the event that I made it to
the “Seventh Circle of Hell.”
After doing some extensive
“research” (a.k.a. crying to daddy), I
was absolutely positive that I still knew
nothing about the laws surrounding
“hens.” But I also knew that it was my
right as an American citizen to bitch
and whine until I got what I wanted.
The details of the negotiations
that took place in the days that fol
lowed are unimportant.
Suffice it to say that our conversa
tion ended with Mr. Hell telling me,
“You must have misunderstood me,”
and that he had said I could take my
stereo in the first place, which proves
two things: 1. The male ego never
quits, and 2. Grown-ups can get what
they want by whining, too.