One of the main arguments liberals used over the last four years was that the 2000 Electoral College victory of George W. Bush was all the more egregious because Al Gore won the popular vote by 500,000 votes. It has been said that because of this, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore was in contravention of the people’s will.

Before the ink was even dry on the printing presses across America on Nov. 3, 2004, ardent Bush-haters were claiming that the vote in Ohio was racked with fraud. Right from the mouth of the Democrats’ new spiritual Ayatollah Michael Moore, to the darkest reaches of the bluest of blue states, it was even being said that Sen. John Kerry really won the vote in Ohio, and he should be President-elect. Nowhere was there any talk about how a reverse of the Ohio vote would have been in contrast to the will of the electorate. Nowhere was there a respectful recognition by liberals that Bush won-legitimately won -the popular vote in 2004, and not by some statistically insignificant half a million votes either, but by nearly four million, a number nearly eight times larger than Al Gore’s popular vote margin.

Now, one doesn’t have to be a vegan atheist named Bill to understand we’re witnessing a display of the boundless hypocrisy ardent liberals have elevated to an art form. This peculiarity is even more evident when examining liberal blathering concerning how “divided” America is supposed to be. We saw this prominently when Democrat members of congress led by California Sen. Barbara Boxer decided to practice a more conciliatory tone by challenging the results of the 2004 election. Not even Kerry wanted to do that, and it was his defeat at the center of it. If the losing candidate doesn’t want to challenge an election, the motivations of those that do can hardly be a mystery.

Judging by the Democrats well-publicized desire to confront everything that President Bush is planning on doing over the next four years, you all need to drop this pretense that you give a rat’s ass about whether the country is unified or not. One thing that I’ve learned in my decade plus involvement in politics is that with very few exceptions, Democrats are just not to be trusted. So next time you feel the desire to whine about how divided the country is, know that the cause is no further than the next mirror. And while you’re at it, take some advice from John Kerry’s unstable concubine and “shove it.”

Scott Wacholtz can be contacted at s.wacholtz@umiami.edu.

In a recent issue of BusinessWeek, an article titled “The Future of the New York Times” states that the paper is having difficulty obtaining more readers of the hard-copy edition but is seeing a surge in its online subscriptions. This is a trend many other newspapers are starting to follow to obtain a younger readership.

A survey conducted by the Newspaper Association of America and presented at its conference in 2003 presented a dim outlook on the future of all home-delivered newspapers in multiple markets. What is interesting about the survey is that the age group with the highest readership loss is the college graduate and those between the age of 25 and 34, the group many of us will be entering soon. I feel that the negative trend will continue due to the proliferation of multiple free online news sources built by traditional hard-copy papers, online periodicals and web logs.

In a panel discussion conducted by the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 2003, Tony Ridder, of the Knight Ridder that owns The Miami Herald, stated that less and less people read the newspaper with each generation. I would agree with that statement, mainly because those born into the current generations X and Y, 1965-present, do not obtain their information from only one hard-copy news source and are the two generations that have grown accustomed to the PC and the internet playing a large role in their lives both in their homes and in education. The world is too vast, interests too varied, and the availability of unlimited information will prevent hard-copy dominance in their markets.

I currently subscribe to multiple foreign and domestic hard-copy newspapers but receive only the online editions. The only time I read a hard-copy newspaper is in the Wellness Center or if I find a section lying around somewhere on campus. The only hard-copy newspaper I read weekly is the Miami New Times because I hate looking through the website for restaurants to visit over the weekend and enjoy the cartoons. All of the paper’s content is available online except for the cartoons.

We have entered a new information age and the hard-copy newspaper will become extinct in our lifetime. The major problem that newspapers will face in the future is the debate over free or fee-based content for online readers. The New York Times is doing well with regards to earnings from the paper’s fee-based articles. Though the hard copy is lagging in sales the online edition is outpacing the rest of the paper’s competitors. The future looks bright for these companies. but not through traditional means.

Vontilla Steven can be contacted at v.steven@umiami.edu.

One morning during winter break, I sat watching one of those typical news shows (it could have been anyone one of them) where two anchors report the latest news events for about an hour and a half.

I had hoped to start my day by informing myself on the morning’s developments in our nation and our world. To my astonishment, I was not informed of any ongoing crises in this world. Had the Iraq War finally ended? Were the tsunami-ravaged regions finally rebuilt? Was California given a break from the snow and rain? Had no shots, explosions or other violent acts been committed within this nearly two hour period?

For this short period of time, our world was in a state of peace. With no urgent news at hand, the news anchors were finally able to focus on the real stories. I had grown tired of hearing about the reality of death and destruction. So, I listened intently.

Television viewers were informed on the secrets of the French physique, Prince Harry’s Nazi debacle, the weekend movies to see and not to see, and all the latest gossip over the upcoming Oscars. As I sat learning that French women savor their food in moderation, Elektra suffers from the curse of Ben Affleck and Prince Harry is the world’s biggest moron (despite a fine education), I realized that all of the stories of death and destruction were just “filler” for these pressing news stories.

How can anyone possibly worry about the newest death toll in Iraq when Jamie Foxx received three Golden Globe nominations? The report on how important fashion is at these award ceremonies enlightened me to the life of a show biz star. But wait, no more diets–French women are encouraging people to eat the foods that they enjoy.

Once this news program ended and the next one aired, the temporary world peace came to an end. The anchor reported on the court-marshalling of U.S. Army Spc. Charles Graner, Jr. for his role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the latest developments in the Iraq war and the rising waters in South California and the Midwest. As I watched and listened to the stories I originally tuned in for, depression began to set in. Finally, watching the news wasn’t entertainment or a joke anymore. Without haste, a beautiful news bunny and hunky reporter returned to report on the And 1 street basketball team; the peace had returned.

In the end, Spc. Charles Graner, Jr. became the scapegoat in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, as there was a failure by journalists to question the roles of top Pentagon officials. While the real news was swept under the rug, we at least know how French women stay thin.

Sam Rega can be contacted at s.rega@umiami.edu.

RE: “Luxurious parties vs. end to world hunger,” 1/25

I am writing in response to the editorial in the Tuesday, Jan. 25 issue of The Hurricane. The entire article is disgusting. What use is it to anyone to read about how Trump or the Bushes could have done something else with the money that was spent on their wedding/inauguration? You could have given us information on how to help world hunger, or even done something about it yourself, yet you chose to do nothing but tear down what other people built for themselves. Donald Trump didn’t ask you, or any of those millions of starving children, for advice on how to make one cent of his fortune. What in the world makes you think that your opinion on what he should do with it now is anything but an exercise in futility?

Selfishness and greed are what keep people from being stuck in the situation they are in and in the end make you write that editorial. Without any action behind that expression of perceived self-worth, everyone would be left on the side asking for a handout. Both Bush and Trump believed they deserved what they got and made sure they got it in the end. If you believe providing for oneself is less noble than providing for others, that is your own choice-and no doubt a common one. What it definitely will never be less noble than is what you only seem capable of, and that is destroying others out of envy.

Why don’t you do a charity drive, or donate, or give free advertisement space for tsunami aid relief or any of the many world hunger-combating agencies? Wouldn’t that be actually productive? What benefit to anyone, outside of fueling spite, does criticizing the way people choose to spend their own possessions? Obviously there are people everywhere that can be judged as depraved in all walks of life, but please stop wasting energy pointing fingers and do something about what you see wrong in the world

Michael Lorenzo

Student

Writer Robert Byrne once described winter as “nature’s way of saying, ‘up yours.'” Judging by the recent temperatures in Miami, as well as around the rest of the country, he was right.

Monday was the coldest day in South Florida so far this winter, with temperatures dipping into the low 40s in the morning and at night. Miamians took the opportunity to show off our wardrobes, whipping out knee-length coats – why we own them when we can use them basically once or twice a year remains a mystery – our Burberry scarves and Ugg boots (occasionally appearing outside of the traditional miniskirt/Uggs combo), and the ubiquitous, oversized UM sweatshirts.

Around campus, many out-of-towners were easily identified, wearing short-sleeved shirts, Bermudas and sandals, and not necessarily because they weren’t cold, but because Miami, with its beaches, palm trees and general greenery, is not the place to be wearing winter clothing, even at indisputably cold temperatures (in effect, most people don’t even bring a piece of their winter attire to occupy precious luggage and closet space in what’s supposed to be a tropical paradise). Walking around the seemingly empty campus, the biggest irony was the students that were visibly feeling the chill, sporting hats and huddling with their friends, but wearing flip flops – only in Miami.

Yet, while we were busy complaining of “freezing to death” in the 40-degree weather, Bostonians, along with many other northerners, were shoveling out after a dumping of more than two feet of the white stuff (no, not that white stuff). In fact, the only reassurance we may have had over the weekend, cruel as it may be for the folks up North, was watching the football playoffs, as snow was shoveled off the field and players were indistinguishable in a sea of whiteness. Simply turning on the TV set was enough to make us feel a little bit warmer. At least when we looked outside, we realized that our cold was under a clear, blue sky. And hey, it could be worse. On Jan. 19, 1977, it snowed in Miami.

On the upside, some argue that the cold unites people, since everyone suffers the same way in chilly weather. There’s always a topic of conversation (“It’s sooo cold!”) and an excuse to hug people, stand and sit closer to them, or smile at a fellow classmate shivering on the way to the UC. Students that had no class last Friday complained that their first three-day weekend was spent indoors, with nothing much to do outside, but this ended up being an unexpected bonding experience, as students were forced to mingle and get to know each other. On the other end of the spectrum, however, were the brave few that ventured to the beaches on Saturday, claiming that “This is near-summer weather in Wisconsin!” (in that case, boy, are we glad we’re not in Wisconsin).

Still, without going to blizzard-like extremes, Miamians need winter in order to appreciate the summer. The welcome change makes us value our lifestyle, and, at least for a few cold days during the year, we’re reminded of how lucky we are. We realize that we’re spoiled: We complain when it’s hot outside and freezing inside due to the air conditioning, but then we’re upset when it’s cold outdoors and the air conditioning is turned off indoors. It’s normally 80 degrees, so we grumble when it suddenly drops to 60-still-relatively-warm degrees. After all, 60 degrees isn’t really cold, especially when you look at your local weather from up North and see that the high for the day was 12 degrees.

The moral: suck it up and make the most of it. We just know we’ll be complaining once it’s sweltering in August.