Oil, oil, oil . . .

As gas prices rocket and the complaints of the American citizenry become louder and louder, a new blow to the oil market is the last thing we need. Unfortunately, Hugo Chavez doesn't have the United States public's best interest at heart, and neither does his political following. So when he announced Friday that a ''yes'' vote on his referendum would push through constitutional changes with a broadside attack against adversaries—including a threat to cut off oil exports to the United States—the American public shared a collective groan.

I cannot deny that I respect Chavez. He's one world leader who is fearless in calling the U.S. out on its political faults—even if some of them can be seen as a little bit ''crazy.'' This move would, indeed, be crushing to his perceived enemy in American politics. Oil prices are still on the rise, and if 15% of the oil we had come to depend on was suddenly eliminated, the American public would be none-too-pleased.

But if the United States is Venezuela's biggest oil consumer, who would this referendum really hurt? Stopping shipments to the U.S. would appear to do some severe damage to Chavez's own country, I think. Even if the referendum does go through and does away with term limits, Chavez's reign wouldn't last long if their economy plummeted thanks to him.

Bound Stems

Like everything else in America that affects organisms made of 200 of the smallest metabolically functional units of life, the citizen fight over embryonic stem cells is a violent one. Why? Because the word “embryonic” implies that this type of stem cell research has something to do with babies. And in America, babies are a big deal.

Some researchers regard this as the greatest potential for the alleviation of human suffering since the advent of antibiotics, and that’s something to cheer for. All national polls report that the American public overwhelmingly supports the continuation of embryonic stem cell research and the institution of federally-funded embryonic stem cell research programs. Still, there is a loud 30 percent of the public—probably the same 30 percent that want the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling overturned—that say that compromising the development of a test-tube embryo is ending a potential life.

Yes, while many pro-lifers believe that the proper moral course of action is to save existing life through embryonic stem cell therapy, there are some staunch pro-lifers and pro-life organizations that regard the destruction of the blastocyst (a laboratory-fertilized human egg too small to be viewed by the naked eye) as murder.

It is both those for and against embryonic stem cell research who celebrate whenever some development that will supposedly “revolutionize the field” comes along. This seems to happen frequently, however, so when I read this article in the New York Times, I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy.

Yes, thankfully for our crazed, bipartisan nation, the scientific community has discovered a couple methods that can produce fully pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, without harming the human embryo. But like many famed “middle ground” suggestions of the past and present, this one isn’t exactly time- or cost-effective.

With every new “discovery” up until now, researchers have warned that it may take ten or more years to perfect the process (a decade in which millions upon millions of lives that could be saved, might be lost). When this article said “the reprogrammed cells, the scientists report, appear to behave very much like human embryonic stem cells”—emphasis on the word appear, my hopes were basically dashed.

I am confident that in my lifetime, if I am to live a long life, the United States can move stem cell science forward while addressing the moral and ethical concerns of the minority. Maybe this breakthrough really is a breakthrough—or more of a breakthrough than the breakthroughs of the past. In the meantime, my vote goes toward doing all we can to save existing lives and reduce existing pain, even if it means stopping the development of a microscopic, laboratory-made, blob-like blastocyst.

Romneyfodder.

Try as one might to follow presidential campaigning in its early stages, it is far too hard to get a handle on who's worth watching if all you hear about are catfights and skin-deep differences. Obama is black, Clinton is a woman (and they hate one another), and Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and he hates Reverand Al Sharpton just like the larger Christian base).

Admittedly, the third isn't exactly ''skin-deep.'' Personal faith is something that penetrates much deeper than pigments or chromosomes. Every news source and political pundit has taken issue with or interest in Mitt Romney's religious affiliation, and understandably. In a country steeped deep in tradition, anything deemed ''unusual''—in this case, not being a Protestant up for the presidency—is something newsworthy, just like policemen in Bangkok being forced to wear a Hello Kitty armband as punishment for rule-breaking or realistic, cardboard cut-outs of toddlers helping slow drivers down.

When I saw this story in The New York Times, I was pleasantly surprised. It focuses on the factors that shaped Romney's politics. Lucky for the writer, it was experiences in mission work for his church that did such. More opportunity to point out Romney-is-a-Mormon and claim, let's-all-read-into-that! It's tiring, really.

Should religion be such a big issue in decision-making offices of the United States, though? Many say ''aye!'', but I say ''nay!''

It's simple, really . . . at least in my mind. Obviously spirituality can influence political positions and policy rooted in goodwill or, you know, justifying torture in a time of unjustifiable war. The ancient tomes you or I cling to can provide guidance in every issue of the heart, but it is the Constitution of the United States of America, the Supreme Court rulings regarding it, and all other laws and regulations that govern the land that elected officials need to recognize first and foremost.

There are both liberal and conservative Christians, for example, who claim their values and, from there, political positions are derived from their faith. Scripture can be as widely interpreted as abstract art, and the Bible can read like a set of rules to some and like a call for love and acceptance to others. Despite sharing a religion or sharing a lack of religion, politicians and citizens alike are all over the spectrum of beliefs and causes.

And still, I guess it's a really big deal that Mitt Romney is a Mormon. Apparently that's deemed ''unusual''—like he lives by some obscure set of values that do not fall under the Republican umbrella he holds. According to the Times article, in his time at BYU, men couldn't have long hair and women couldn't expose their shoulders. What's more Republican than that?

I vote for the realization that every sect of every religion is bizarre to someone on the outside. If that doesn't force you into questioning everything you've ever been told for at least 30 seconds, I hope it at least stimulates someone to stop caring that Mr. Romney is a Mormon and start considering his politics when interviewing him rather than what he does in chapel.

That's a divine vision that I could write a book about.

Sarcasm in commentary

Countless people flock to The Onion when they’re looking for a laugh. Whether they can get their hands on the printed publications in the cities where it’s available, are willing to pay a subscription to have it delivered to them, or utilize the online service for free, they know if it’s a dose of satire their diets are calling for, The Onion is the place to find it.

Unsurprisingly, the fact that The Onion isn’t a credible new source seems to escape a lot of people, some of whom are lucky (or unlucky) enough to have forms of mass communication at their fingertips.

According to Wikipedia, an article on Harry Potter inciting kids to practice witchcraft was believed by many to be real and was forwarded by many “concerned Christians.” Columnist, Ellen Makkai, and others who believe the Harry Potter books “recruit” children to Satanism have also been taken in by the article, using quotes from it as evidence for their claims.

In 1998, controversial minister Fred Phelps posted the Onion article “‘98 Homosexual-Recruitment Drive Nearing Goal” on his God Hates Fags website as “proof” that gay people were indeed actively trying to “recruit” others.

A blog entitled “Join the Monthly Call to Life” denounced the article “I’m Totally Psyched About This Abortion!” for the fictional author’s enthusiasm about getting an abortion. The post remains on the website. The blogger in a subsequent post indicated that she had been made aware of the satire by commenters, yet still accepted the fictional name in the byline as that of the actual author.

Mistakes like these (and yes, there are others) are laughable because they seem to give The Onion a valid reason to poke fun.

In my own opinion pieces, my preferred method of taking a position is using sarcasm to point out the flaws I perceive in the opposite argument. The Onion, with its serious reporting style in its comic “news” articles, seems to be utilizing the same tools to make a point. Sarcasm is the cleanest way to state an opinion. You can’t be accused of taking the matter too seriously (or seriously at all, in some cases), so you can’t be effectively mocked by opposers. It’s a ticket to success—just look at the reporting method of Stephen Colbert!

In The Onion’s 1999 article on abortion, the writer made her (or his, depending) opinion rather clear in passages like this one:

“As I pushed my way through the crowd, one of the picketers yelled, “How could you do this? How could you kill a child?” What? It’s more like, “How could I wait this long?” It wasn’t until now that I was lucky enough to be pregnant with a child I had no means to support. I tell you, for a long time, I thought it would never happen to me!”

Obviously the writer was portraying the supposed women who, without conscience (and perhaps even with pleasure), choose to have abortions. In the replying blog, the blogger calls The Onion “writer” and abortion fetishist a murderer, and tells her that “Every baby you see from that moment on is going to wake you up to the realization that you killed your child.”

“I’m Totally Psyched About This Abortion!” is, clearly, a commentary on the type of people who write blogs like “Join the Monthly Call to Life”—the blogger’s reaction to it was exactly the type of reaction the author was mocking (and trying to evoke) in the first place.

As exemplified by this article, the supreme brilliance of sarcasm in opinion-stating is that its original intent is to mock. When others try to reply without an equal or superior wit and knack for sarcasm, the mocking of the original writer will only continue. For that reason, I turn to The Onion for more than just the laughs . . . I turn to The Onion in pure admiration. If I had it my way, all commentary would take this form.

Climate Conference

Mayor Rybak was in Seattle today for the Mayors Climate Protection Summit – a part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement signed by the mayor in 2005. According to Wikipedia (a shaky source, perhaps), the "U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement," initiated by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, seeks the pledges of mayors from all the states to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2012, in line with the Kyoto Protocol. A whopping 514 mayors have hopped on board and signed the Agreement to date, so by no means is Minneapolis one of the few cities trying to put on a ''green'' face.

In his blog commentary on buzz.mn, editor James Lileks took a popular position on his city's attempt at cutting down bad-stuff-emissions. ''I'm going to make a wild prediction here: nothing Minneapolis does one way or the other will effect global warming. You could burn the entire city down to ashes, and the amount of carbon dioxide produced wouldn't equal the CO2 thrown off daily by ten Chinese Lead Factories.''

He did mention that he thought trying to conserve energy and promote ''density'' was a good idea, but nonetheless slighted the idea of Minneapolis working to meet the Kyoto Protocol.

I do understand, in the scope of things, that just one individual or one city can't do much to stop the beast that is global warming. I get it. But has it not been stressed enough that every little bit adds up to a lot of green thinkers and a positive effect on our sustainable environment? No one can look to the next guy or the bigger city and hope that, with better resources and funding, they can make up for where we lag behind. It isn't practical.

Climate protection needs to be a trend that catches on like Pay It Forward. Every little bit counts, and every lit bit is necessary. An entire city—even one that's just Minneapolis-sized—cutting down emissions by seven percent is more than a ''little bit''. No, it won't reseal a hole in the atmosphere. But by way of trends, if 514 American cities do their part, there will be a change, and that is undeniable.

Discussion topic: Radio choices

The radio is something I turn to mostly when I'm at school. At home I have cable for news and Internet mailing lists for finding new music (thus a downfall of living in the Far North where the only genres that are recognized by the majority are Top 40, country music, and Christian rock). In Minneapolis (and in the dorms) I have cable that is difficult to access and keep to myself and radio stations and peers to deliver the news of what tunes I should be listening to.

I've listened to radio news before. I do like Minnesota Public Radio. It makes me feel more connected to the city around me. The more able I am to strike up a conversation about some current event, the more comfortable I feel about my ability to interact on the level of an intelligent citizen. Something about not knowing what's going on around me makes me twitchy – like worrying I will be approached by someone taking a poll for sociology in which the results always are, ''Seventy-five percent of Americans cannot locate their big toe.''

That might actually make my reason for listening to Minnesota Public Radio a fear and necessity rather than a pastime. Either way, radio news offers the advantage of extreme mobility over other mediums. Sure, you can take a newspaper with you to work – but can you read it when you drive or walk? Not so much.

I'm not sure satellite radio is the answer. There are just as many free music services on the Internet – if you're looking for an ad-free program to find new music, it is just a click of the mouse away, so to say. Resorting to paying for a program that would be so easy to get for free seems ridiculous almost – not ''advanced'' or ''in-the-know'' . . . just wasteful. Also, radio services like those offered on the dial all over the Cities seem much more personable. Every once in a while, it feels nice to know that there is someone behind the mic and working the controls.

Outed!

I was in the process of writing a blog entry about Amy's most recent discussion idea post when I got a little sidetracked.

A friend of mine entered my room with an interesting bit of information that might be a relevant topic, seeing as it ties in to media, popular culture and, as far as I can see, censorship. Long story short, J.K. Rowling confirmed to a full house at Carnegie Hall that a beloved character in her Harry Potter series, Dumbledore, is gay.

Seriously.

The hilarity of this is boundless. Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon along with the rest of the world. I've read the books including the most recent and final entry even though my interest had waned.

I had always been fascinated by the repeated attempts to ban Harry Potter books from local and school libraries based on the fact that they promoted witchcraft and stimulated adolescent interest in the occult. I grew up in a small town where being anything but a Conservative Christian was unheard of and frightening. Despite this, I can only think of a few people who made the argument that Harry Potter was bad—one being my grandfather. On the other hand, I can think of many people from my hometown who thought it was equally ridiculous and hilarious—including my pastor.

I was under the impression that the debate reached a side-splitting high point when Fox News questioned J.K. Rowling's influence on children, pointing out a minor ''wardrobe malfunction'' she had on a book tour. This new revelation, however, takes the biscuit.

So now the books really DO actively promote tolerance—not of the occult, but of homosexuality. I don't know about you, but I'm very much looking forward to this news getting out to the individuals, churches, and communities who wanted to see the demise of Harry Potter in the first place. It's a pity that there are no more books coming out (no pun intended), as that would assuredly up the madness of it all.

So what next? Book burnings? Novels coming off the shelves of morally-strict countries faster than you can say ''Ahmadinijad''? Explosions all over the Internet as the Harry Potter fandom opens their Word documents and starts writing fanfiction about Dumbledore and Grindelwald's tragic, canon love?

All of the above, hopefully. It feels nostalgic, almost, to be interested in what's going on in the world of Harry Potter again.

Mean Media

I won't deny that the first thing that drew me to the New York Times' Capitol Feud article was the photograph of the little boy that accompanied it. He looks strikingly like my only sibling—another bespectacled, junior high student with shaggy, blond hair.

Oddly enough, the article content could also be laced with the short biography of my kid brother. Herszenhorn's piece is about 12-year-old Graeme Frost, who (along with a sister) relied on the State Children's Health Insurance Program for treatment of severe brain injuries received in a car crash. My little brother, Matt, lost the vision in his right eye in a hunting accident when he was 10. He still enjoys hunting today, and it is beyond my realm of comprehension why he would ever continue after having BBs lodged into his face. But that is beside the point.

Graeme's case is being noted by the NY Times because he has been ''enlisted'' by Democrats to give the response to President Bush and other Republican officials who think that the program is unnecessary. And like anything partisan cast into the realm of the American media, poor little Graeme (as well as the rest of the Frost family) has been figuratively torn to shreds.

I would be lying if I claimed to be well-informed about the workings of and debate about the S-chip. After watching what little money my family had saved up in the first place get dumped into medical bills (even after insurance settlements with the family of the kid who was messing around with the gun that caused Matt's injuries) however, I can't help but feel that the State Children's Health Insurance Program is a good idea.

It was the ''soft news'' in this article that grabbed my attention in the first place, and it was the ''soft news'' that held it throughout. I don't know if it's the liberal in me or the big sister in me (who gets a little squishy when she sees a photograph of a troubled, chapped-lip preteen) that did it, but I can't help but feel horrible for Graeme and his family. They might have signed up for their position as the poster family for this debate (or not, I don't know), but having their lives picked apart by every lowly blogger who takes time to touch on the news? That seems plain unfair.

The most noteworthy marvel is the ''fact checking'' that went on at every level. For conservative critics, the family is rich, their house is expensive, the father is ''choosing'' not to provide for his children, and Graeme goes to a spendy private school. For the liberal NY Times reporter, the house is of average price (with concrete countertops), the father's business is failing, Graeme is at school on scholarship, and the Frosts are victims to the –nth degree.

Like I said before, I identify with and pity the family—medical bills are hard enough, but being the centerpiece of a partisan debate in Washington has got to take the biscuit. There is no position to be had on the fact-checking however. In all reality, can there be a position there? Who do I believe? I know who I want to believe! Who is more believable (the Times can't be the only source-reliable medium reporting to us, can they?)?

With that, I must say that this entry has no infinite wisdom to share or position to argue for. It is merely meant to function as a note that I'm taking a seat here, with no popcorn, to marvel at the Media Beast and the Wikipedia-esque data it can churn out to make a point. A month-long show later, I have to ask: which sources are we supposed to believe?

Ironically, I think the Blog Beast is at the bottom of the list. Who next?

Moolah Mystery

Although Joe Soucheray and I are far from sharing a page when it comes to political ideology, I can't help but take interest in his most recent columns in the Pioneer Press. They are, after all, laid out in front of me whenever I take a seat at UDS.

As of late, Joe has been discussing the enigma of the 35W bridge rebuilding project and how and why our legislators have decided on accepting a more expensive bid from Flatiron Constructors (out of Colorado) over a less-expensive bid from local builders. He doesn't understand why, and neither do I.

In his September 22 column, he summed it thus: ''I don't get it. The companies that lost out in the bidding don't get it, either. The companies that lost out, McCrossan and Ames-Lunda, filed a protest, like they want to see the instant replay. I don't blame them.

''OK. Flatiron needs 437 days and $234 million. McCrossan, based in Maple Grove, as in Minnesota, bid $177 million and needs 367 days. Ames-Lunda, Ames in Burnsville and Lunda in Black River Falls, Wis., bid $178 million and needs 392 days. I don't know whether Walsh-American, $219 million and 437 days, filed a protest, or might.''

With the help of Jeremy Kalin, a DFL representative out of Chisago County, Soucheray has solved part of the Flatiron riddle. He revealed new facts and figures, all in the tens of millions of dollars, in his column this Tuesday (October 2). Still, there remains a sum neither he nor I can place. It is a mystery $17 million dedicated to ''other state and local government costs''.

What are these costs spoken of? No one knows. Hence, mystery moolah.

Although I think I'm a little more liberal with my tax dollars than Mr. Garage Logic, I can't help but be a bit repulsed by the amount of money—specifically, the amount of mystery money—being tossed to an out-of-state construction company. Perhaps it is my year-old Poor College Student title that causes this repulsion. Perhaps it is my inclination toward, I don't know, having a paycheck for my labor that causes it.

Either way, if no one's going to explain where that $17 million is going (or why it's going to a Colorado company, for that matter), I can't help but agree with Soucheray—we might as well gold-plate the bridge while we're at it. What's a few months late on utility costs, anyway?

"Guest of Dishonor"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Colombia University this week seemed to cause nothing short of a frenzy. According to this article, Lee Bollinger “bent over backward” to assure his students, faculty, and fellow Americans that he thinks Ahmadinejad is a crazed dictator and that he was invited to speak at Columbia based on the idea that one should know their enemies. Despite this, most articles I’ve come across are extremely critical of Bollinger inviting the tyrannical president to speak and wasting the college’s money on ensuring the man’s security.

Ahmadinejad touched on the usual brow-raising subjects—his lack of belief in the Holocaust, his feelings toward nuclear power, his thoughts about Israel and how it should be wiped off the map, and (and I think this is a new one) how there are no homosexuals in Iran. Not-a-one.

The reporting on his blindfolded points of view has become almost dull now. Western society can only be reminded so many times that the maniac thinks the Holocaust needs to be “researched in a new light” before the topic only gets us riled up for five or ten minutes. We’ll never “get over it,” so to say, but the original alarm is gone.

This is why, in many online articles, the reporting turned instead to Ahmadinejad’s invitation to Columbia and how apparently misguided Bollinger was in inviting the man in the first place. My position on the issue can be best summed up by a sign being toted by Todd Bookman, a student at the School of International and Public Affairs. Its existence was highlighted in The Daily Pennsylvanian, and it read, “Free speech for all, even douche bags.”

Poor, pressured Lee Bollinger tried to explain his standpoint on the issue in every way. I don’t think a single person feels that because Ahmadinejad was offered a platform for speech at the University that the a single student or administration member stand behind him and his campaigns to do whatever it is he’s trying to do. This would be different were it an American Republican candidate that was considered a little too Right Wing, or an American Democratic candidate that was considered a little too much like a socialist. Those representatives are within an American scope of understanding, so to say. Ahmadinejad is just a little too crazy, or a little too KKK, to be taken seriously.

To sum up my own thoughts on the matter, no I don’t agree with most things he says (though claims along the lines of “who are you, with your nuclear capabilities, to stop us from pursing the same right?” do resonate, even if he wants nukes to wipe out Israel). No, I don’t think anyone in his or her right mind agrees with him, either. And although there is a thick line between denying free speech and inviting someone to speak about their own personal crazies, no one would dare criticize Bollinger for inviting a member of the Bush Administration to speak.

Best put by Joe Kay at The Intelligence Daily, “The American government . . . has become associated in the minds of the world’s population with the bloody occupation of Iraq, the torture at Abu Ghraib, the prisons of Guantánamo Bay, a complete contempt for international law, and a relentless campaign of military aggression.” That can bring us to a larger question (and one that my typing-weakened fingers cannot explore tonight)—who are we to judge Ahmadinejad’s Right Wing madness when we’ve elected Right Wing Mad Hatters of our own design into office?