March 2011 - Binghamton Review

BinghamtonReview

INSIDE: SA ENDorSEmENtS, cArS gAlorE, ANgry lEttErS mIDDlE EASt DEmocrAcy, AND much morE

mArch 2011truth AND two StAplES

2 Binghamton Review MARCH 2011

Binghamton Review Founded 1987 • Volume XXIV number 4 • mArCH 2011

P.o. boX 6000bIngHAmTon, nY 13902-6000

[email protected]

Editor-in-ChiEfmichael m. lombardi

Editor EmeritusAdam Shamah

Managing Editornick Valiando

Associate Editorsr. John meyer

ethan day

Copy Editorswilliam obilisundar

brian Parente

Secretarymarissa beldock

treasurermarissa beldock

Contributorsethan day, nick Valiando,

Adam Shamah, Ashleigh Hruz, Taylor Arluck, Kate Flatley, will

griffin, Joseph Aguiar, nick Fondacaro, John ewing, nathan

Kinney

Godfather of the reviewlouis w. leonini

friends of the reviewdr. Aldo S. bernardoThe leonini Family

mr. bob Soltis wA2VCSThe Shamah Family

The grynheim FamilyThe menje FamilyThe leeds Family

The lombardi FamilyThe Packer Family

mr. michael o’Connell

binghamton review is printed by our Press in Chenango bridge, nY. we provide the truth; they

provide the staples.

we’re Still looking for writersMeetings every Thursday at

7:30 PM in UUWB05

Contents

4 Broken, not irreprable by Michael M. Lombardi Thoughts on the SA

6 A time for revolution by Joseph Aguiar democracy in the middle east

10 Geneva Auto Show Preview by Nathan Kinney we Found ourselves a real Car Columnist

12 What happened to the 10th Amendment? by Nick Fondacaro

Departments3 EDITORIAL13 LETTERs TO ThE EDITOR15 CAMPUs PREssWATCh

featureSA endorsements

8

3www.binghamtonreview.com

binghamton review is a non-partisan, student-run periodical of conservative thought at binghamton university. A true liberal arts education expands a student’s horizons and opens one’s mind to a vast array of divergent perspectives. In that spirit, we seek to promote the free exchange of ideas and offer an alternative viewpoint not normally found on our predominately liberal campus. It is our duty to expose the warped ideology of political correctness that dominates this university. we stand against tyranny in all its forms, both on campus and beyond. we believe in the principles set forth in this country’s declaration of Independence and seek to preserve the fundamental tenets of western civilization. Finally, we understand that a moral order is a necessary component of any civilized society. we strive to inform, engage, and perhaps even amuse our readers in carrying out this mission.

our mission

eDitoRiaL

dear readers,

As we get closer and closer to the election of 2012, the republican party needs to find its identity more than ever. recently I attended the CPAC convention in

washington d.C. with several members of the staff. CPAC stands for the Conservative Political Action Conference, and is a three day event where conservatives of every stripe descend on washington d.C. At first glance I thought the conference would be a giant victory party celebrating the electoral gains of 2010, while looking forward to taking back the Presidency in the upcoming election of 2012. However there was a controversy which caused a large black mark on the entire conference, and made me realize more than ever the republican party needs to come together and unify if it hopes to carry recent gains forward into the future.

The controversy stemmed from the inclusion of a group named goProud in the conference. goProud is a group of gay republicans, who wanted a presence at CPAC. Just like the hundreds of other groups attending, they wanted a booth to distribute their materials in the convention hall. Instead of welcoming and allowing goProud, two members of the party, rep. mike Pence and Senator Jim demint decided to publicly boycott CPAC. After learning of the controversy several other republicans including Speaker boehner also decided to boycott, on the grounds they did not want to attend a controversial event. my message to mr. Pence and mr. demint is shame on you! At such a vital time for the republican party they successfully

alienated voters who were guaranteed to go against barack obama and the democrats.

goProud was not trying to cause a scene or upstage anyone at the convention, they just wanted a booth like hundreds of other groups. Their sexual orientation should not matter. If the republican party wants to win back the Presidency they need to form a unified front to attack President obama and his flawed agenda. Alienating solid republican voters is not the way to go forward. I am severely disappointed in those who decided to create controversy out of nothing, and put a black mark over what was otherwise and extremely positive and successful conference. republicans need to find common ground and a common voice, not divisive infighting. If this does not occur, the party will have an exceptionally difficult time beating President obama in 2012.

Sincerely,michael m. lombardi

P.S.SA e-board elections are about to get under way. I hope all who

read this take the time to learn the issues and take a couple minutes out of their day to vote. Its time students start caring about their government, and let their voices be heard. In the following pages you will see the review candidate endorsements and our rationale as to why we endorsed them. It’s time students get involved, learn the facts, and elect officials with educated, calculated decisions. B

Tell uS wHAT You THInK!direct letters to [email protected].


SA

Broken, Not Irreprable Thoughts on the Student Associationby Michael M. Lombardi

recently, numerous attacks on the SA have begun to appear around campus.

This all too familiar phenomenon seems to happen like clockwork by spring semester every year, with publications such as the Pipe dream declaring the system to be “broken.” I hate to say this but for this one statement I agree with Pipe dream. However simply declaring something to be “broken” and not giving any insight or advice into fixing it is journalistic uselessness. Those who criticize should offer their insights into fixing the problem, not simply complaining about it from year to year.

I feel it is imperative to dedicate this space to my views on the SA, as this issue will feature prominent commentary on the upcoming e-board elections as well as our candidate endorsements. The problem with the SA and why the system is perpetually “broken” is a long-standing culture of entitled insiders. This system seeks to benefit a tiny group while disenfranchising large parts of the student body. This needs to change! It is destroying any good potential held in our student government, replacing it with a campus-wide sense of disgust or apathy.

This sense of entitlement is everywhere and attempts to hide it are thinly veiled at best. last time I checked this is not the way to get a student body behind your organization. one

example where this issue rears its ugly head is in the student assembly. Year after year various factions of SA insiders conspire to get their cronies elected in hopes of stacking the assembly in their favor. This can also be seen in committee appointments and J-board nominees. All and all this is an organization with fundamental problems.

Since I have come to binghamton there have been three separate SA constitutions. each time a new constitution has been proposed it was heralded as being able to fix the “broken system.” ranting how the system was broken was a favorite statement consequently of the incredibly ineffective and corrupt SA president during my sophomore year. I find it hilarious that he has more in common with Pipe dream then he ever knew.

recently the SA has hopped on the constitutional change bandwagon again less than a year after writing the current constitution. while the current constitution actually had some positive changes and streamlined the bureaucracy a bit, the new one is badly flawed. If implemented this constitution could allow abuse of power to achieve dizzying new heights. It could give a future e-board the possibility of tremendous control, and make the SA even more disliked in the eyes of the common binghamton university student.

This new constitution

continues what is wrong with the SA. my main qualm about the new constitution is simply this; it decreases student representation and increases e-board power. by transforming what was the assembly into this new system of councils, capped by a council that decides policy, our current three-branch system is fundamentally altered.

In my opinion the dark secret lies in the fact the e-board has voting rights on this new head council. by allowing the e-board to be able to vote on resolutions their power is widened tremendously. All a corrupt future e-board would have to do is get cronies elected to the rep seats on this council, and they will have a rubber stamp of legitimacy on anything they wish to pass. now some may say this could never happen. I say it could, cronies have constantly been elected to the assembly in past years. what would stop a new e-board bent on control for convincing friends and supporters to run in community elections that fall? For these reasons this new system should be shot down and never allowed to come into force. The potential for abuse of power is too great.

The current student assembly based system while flawed could easily be mended. First and foremost the organizational culture needs to change. Secondly it is time for an assembly speaker who builds a powerful assembly and then uses it as a check on


the power of the e-board. The speaker should arrange classes and orientation meetings the first few weeks before any SA meeting and teach new reps the various terminologies and motions they need to learn. It is high time a typical assembly meeting stops being the same five people who love to hear themselves talk, with another twenty-something sitting dumbfounded on their laptops. The assembly needs to realize they hold the ultimate trump card over any e-board who refuses to comply with policy they put forth. They can impeach e-board members! The assembly should realize and use the power it holds. From an organizational perspective it is time insiders in all branches realize that the SA is not their personal plaything but a government of all students.

Finally, I feel it is high

time the SA begins a campaign of rehabilitating their tattered image. The organization needs to do things that overtly and visibly benefit Joe Q. Student. one such idea would be the creation of an SA scholarship where a few small monetary awards are given out each semester on a merit basis. Although the cost to the organization would be quite low, it would tremendously raise its profile with the general student body. The SA also should sponsor workshops that help students during important phases of their college careers. Possible events could be helping new students socialize and learn the swing of things all the while promoting the SA name and asking them to get involved. For upperclassmen test reviews for the gmAT and lSAT and grad school application clinics could

both be tremendous forces of good.

In closing I repeat my mantra. Students need to stop allowing their government to be by the few. The SA allows students to have tremendous freedom, as it is an independent organization from the university. In fact one of the biggest fears from year to year is that the university will try to destroy the SA, consequently the organization maintains a huge legal defense fund if this scenario arose. I say the only reason this fear constantly abounds, is the organization does not live up to its potential. The SA needs to get on the side of all students, and become an overarching force of good. If this occurs, the fear of being destroyed by the administration or some other force will fade away into oblivion. B


rEVolutIoN

A Time for RevolutionDemocracy in the Middle Eastby Joseph Aguiar

I t was not long ago, during the lowest depths of operation Iraqi Freedom,

that there was a commonly held belief that democracy in the muslim world—particularly the Arab muslim world—was religiously, historically, and culturally impossible. democracy could not be imposed on a people, critics told the george w. bush administration. A truly democratic society can be created only from the ground up, by a people actively embracing it through their own free will. And the muslim worldview, as if it were a contiguous monolith, was antithetical to it. That argument was turned on its head early this year when popular uprisings in Tunisia, and then egypt, forced their longstanding authoritarian leaders to step down from power. The astonishing and rapid success of a massive peaceful and democratic uprising inspired subsequent movements in bahrain, libya, Yemen, Jordan, and probably more once this article goes to press. In short, democracy seems to be quite appealing, after all, to a people that not two months ago could only be held stable by authoritarian strongmen.

It is next to impossible to appreciate the historical significance of something in the moment, but what has happened in the past few weeks in the

Arab world seems to be nothing less than revolutionary. That a nonviolent mass movement of ordinary citizens could overthrow several of the Arab world’s longest standing autocrats, at all, is hard to fathom; that it occurred with such speed and lack of bloodshed is remarkable. Time will tell how deep a societal change there really is in the Arab world, whether democracy does truly prevail and people see significant improvement in their daily lives; but the seeds of liberalism seem to have been planted.

If this revolutionary moment endures, there are three important things that it does to the politics in the region as far as the united States is concerned.

First, the relationship between the united States and the Arab muslim world will

have been greatly transformed. The united States’ support for regimes like Hosni mubarak’s has long-fueled political anger in the Arab world both among Islamists and secularists. with such authoritarian leaders removed from power, that sense of indignation for perceived imperialism on the part of the united States will lose a lot of steam. Accordingly, the united States ought to embrace and acknowledge democratically-elected regimes in egypt, Tunisia, libya and elsewhere. The u.S. will never be embraced as “one of us” in the middle east, but it can still be on comfortable terms, and ought to strive to be so. worries over groups like the muslim brotherhood rising to power are likewise misplaced because these movements have been primarily


nationalistic and secular in orientation. The debate has not been between Sunni and Shi’a, but, rather, between democrat and authoritarian.

Second, the success of democratic uprisings in the Arab world flies in the face of the Al-Qaeda narrative, namely, that muslims’ political grievances against authoritarian rule cannot be settled by non-violence. Al-Qaeda and other violent Islamist groups have long advocated that

western-friendly regimes cannot be toppled via nonviolence. Since its inception over two decades ago, this line of thinking has sat comfortably on the margins of Islamist societies and the success of these recent democratic movements that are decidedly secular and peaceful go completely against what Al-Qaeda radicals have always preached. As a result, this democratic uprising only serves to undermine the most radical branches of Islamism.

Third, while this potentially revolutionary moment in the Arab community has drawn the attention of the world, it represents an interlude in middle east history, not a fundamental transformation. The primary issue in the region in the long-term will still be the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. That issue is still of great importance to the muslim world as a whole, particularly among Arabs, and democratically elected regimes will give a much higher priority to solving it than their authoritarian predecessors ever cared to. If democracy prevails in the middle east, the u.S. had better prepare for the Israel-Palestine dispute to skyrocket to the top of the list of foreign policy priorities among the Arab world. It can also expect that while organizations like the muslim brotherhood will be among many political parties vying for influence, they will succeed in bringing their highest priority—solving the Palestinian problem—to the forefront of the discussion.

It is still too early to tell what will be the final product of a movement that is still very much in the initial stages but if democracy does indeed prevail, expect major changes in the political orientation of the Arab world. The u.S. should not be afraid of democracy in this region, however. It is in radical Islamism that the u.S. finds one of its most serious national security threats and the success of a secular, non-violent movement that rejects the Al-Qaeda platform in every conceivable way ought to encourage u.S. policy makers. but it ought not make them complacent. B


Vice President for financeKarl Bernhardsen

Karl presents the most innovat ive p lat form of a l l the candidates in any race . He proposes creat ing a sys tem that would g ive s tudents with ideas to improve the campus, access to SA funds . He plans to cont inue thi s year ’ s t rend of making the VPF’s of f ice more access ib le and les s of a hass le for s tudent groups . Above a l l , he va lues e f f ic iency, so we t rust h im to run the SA’s f inancia l sys tem ef fect ive ly . He a l so promises to post publ ic ly how SA money i s be ing spent ,

VotINg

Student Association Election Endorsements BR’s Stamp of Approval

Presidentdavid frey

lAwlZ, like we would he lp e.m.o.

Kathryn howard

As head o f the o rgan i z a t i on the P r e s iden t i s th e pub l i c f a c e o f the SA . The ma in goa l o f Ka t i e ’ s p l a t f o rm i s t o b r idge the o rgan i z a t i ona l g ap w i th the s tuden t body . Her p l a t f o rm con ta in s bo ld in i t i a t i v e s such a s g e t t ing e v e ry t e x tbook on r e s e r v e a t the l i b r a r y and more p r in t ing s t a t i on s a round c ampus , and improv ing un ive r s i t y c a r e e r f a i r . She a l so wan t s t o improve s tuden t -un ive r s i t y r e l a t i on s , enhance the o rgan i z a t i on ’ s web s i t e , and inc r e a s e c l a s s o f f e r ing s . A l l i n a l l , Ka t i e w i l l s t e e r the SA in the r i gh t

d i r e c t i on and i s ou r cho i c e f o r P r e s iden t .

Executive Vice PresidentAnn Kossachev

To star t , we commend Ann’s mantra to make the SA more access ib le and navigable for s tudents . In her words , i t i s t ime to end the di sconnect between the average bu student and thei r government . Ann wants to expand events for s tudent groups in the ve in of Communivers i ty Fest and Student group Showcase . These events wi l l a l low s tudent groups to publ ic ize and advert i se to the s tudent body. one of Ann’s main points i s to e l iminate the confus ing, d i f f icul t - to-use PAwS system and replace i t with something more intui t ive . She wants to make the eVP of f ice more access ib le by making the charter ing process le s s confus ing and c i rcui tous and creat ing a s tudent group handbook, making running a s tudent group s impler and les s s t res s fu l . F ina l ly , she wants to create SA sponsored events for both of f and on campus s tudents . For her devot ion to making the SA more access ib le to a l l o f the s tudent body, and her support for t ransparency and openness in the SA, we endorse Ann for eVP.


something that i s long overdue. Fina l ly , h i s he lpful personal i ty and cool demeanor convince us that he wi l l work wel l with s tudent group treasurers , so we choose to endorse Kar l for VPF.

Vice President for Academic AffairsKait lyn flat ley

Continuing the theme of our prev ious endorsements , Kate i s a l so a s t rong supporter of s tudent r ights . She wants to re form the academic honesty and judic ia l a f fa i r s processes by increas ing the burden of proof . In Kate ’ s words , no s tudent should be sanct ioned because of a presumption. She a l so p lans on opening a dia logue with the univers i ty Pol ice to make sure s tudents ’ r ights are respected and upheld dur ing encounters with uPd off icers . Kate a l so

wants to put a s tandardized bereavement pol icy in p lace throughout the univers i ty . This pol icy would s top professors f rom unfa i r ly penal iz ing gr iev ing s tudents . Two more points of great importance are br inging the blackboard App for iPhone and Android to binghamton, and f ina l ly mandat ing SooT surveys for a l l departments . For her ideas which cont inue down the path of her i l lus t r ious predecessor , making the univers i ty more s tudent f r iendly , we endorse Kate for VPAA.

Vice President for ProgrammingCatherine Cornel l

Cather ine p lans to cont inue the exce l lent job of her predecessor , whi le seeking

more s tudent input in the programming process . She plans on smoothly implement ing the e lectronic t icket ing process which began coming to f rui t ion under VPP Cohn. This process wi l l make i t eas ier and s impler for s tudents to purchase t ickets to SA events . F ina l ly she p lans to use e lectronic surveys to get s tudent input into which acts to br ing to binghamton and a l so p lans on putt ing on the larges t Frost Fest and Spr ing Fl ing yet . For her ideas and exper ience in p lanning events such as semi-formal , we endorse Cat for VPP.

Vice President for Mult icultural Affairs

we bel ieve thi s pos i t ion i s use les s , and should not ex i s t , so we choose not to endorse a candidate for i t . B


cArS

Geneva Auto Show Preview: What To Look ForWe Found Ourselves a Real Car Columnist

E ven though the geneva Auto Show doesn’ t begin unt i l the third, many of

the automakers exhibi t ing thi s year have shown their wares to the press severa l days in advance , with most of those pieces be ing the expected show-stoppers out of the i r respect ive companies . As usual the vehic les wi l l range f rom mundane product ion models to wi ld concept cars des igned to show of f technologies of tomorrow. Here are some of the expected highl ights of the show.

Pure beauty : The rea l e legance in geneva i s a l l -I ta l ian and s tar t s with the maserat i granCabrio Sport , a h igh per formance convert ib le vers ion of the i r super-aggress ive s ty led granTurismo. Ferrar i i s a l so at the show with the i r new FF, a curvac ious four seat Awd fastback based of f the i r 599 model . not to be outdone, lamborghini i s the Aventador . This sculpted work wi l l be replac ing the venerable murcie lago. F ina l ly there ’ s the uniquely heart - s topping Al fa romeo 4C, the leas t expens ive and arguably the most beaut i fu l of the group. outs ide of I ta ly , the Jaguar b99 Concept a l so deserves ment ion.

electr i fy ing: In case you didn’ t not ice , e lectr ic cars have been in the news a lot la te ly .

recent ly we’ve seen the re lease of the e lectr ic nissan leaf and hybr id Chevrolet Volt , to mixed rev iews, emotions , and success . The best new e lectr ic vehic les are cars that are engineered around thei r e lectr ic roots . The mini rocketman i s smal ler than the Cooper with what i s expected to be a hybr id diese l powertra in. This l ightweight beast would get about 80 mpg. The nissan esf low shows what an e lectr ic per formance vehic le can be , us ing i t s more-f lex ib le p lat form to create a much better dr iv ing dynamics . Volkswagen a l so explores the poss ib i l i t ie s of e lectr ic i ty with the bul l i , des igned to capture

the es sence of the or ig ina l microbus . by opt imiz ing the layout for the dr ivetra in Vw al lowed i t se l f the f lex ibi l i ty to des ign the most space-f r iendly cabin poss ib le . As i t s tands r ight now the bul l i and rocketman are concepts , but both are expected to be a l tered for product ion vers ions . The esf low has a lmost no chance of th i s , but cer ta in e lements wi l l probably be drawn from i t for use in product ion models .

Short Circui t : The f l ip s ide of th i s e lectr ic coin i s unfortunate ly much larger . whi le there i s a large number of hybr id and e lectr ic vehic les a t geneva most of them, such as

tom mascardo


the bmw Act ivee, land rover range_e, and rol l s royce 102eX, are a l l e lectr ic vers ions of current ly ex i s t ing products . There ’ s a l so the opel Ampera , a european vers ion of the Volt , who’s only di f ference i s for the opt ion to de lay bat tery use . The Inf ini t i etherea Concept looks great , but i t ’ s hybr id powertra in i s s t ra ight f rom the Inf ini t i m35h sedan. The good news i s that rend of reverse-engineer ing e lectr ic/hybr id sys tems into ex i s t ing models has matured much s ince the days of f i r s t -gen hybr ids . I t i sn ’ t pure s tagnat ion, jus t not progress e i ther .

moving Across the Pond: global izat ion i s an expected part of the automotive industry today, but there are s t i l l surpr i ses that happen now and then. one i s the Fiat Freemont. This new Ita l ian smal l SuV is

actua l ly the American dodge Journey, jus t redes igned for the european audience . Chrys ler and Fiat have been shar ing tech for a whi le now, but thi s i s the far thest the re la t ionship has gone yet and i t i s l ike ly more brand-shar ing wi l l occur in the future . Also on display i s the Ford b-max, which may or may not come to the united States even though i t was c lear ly des igned for a g lobal audience . F ina l ly i s the a forement ioned Al fa romeo 4C. Al fa romeo hasn’ t imported vehic les to the uS s ince 1995, but that i s expected to change. The company s tated intent ions to re-enter the market when the (gorgeous) 8C came out in 2008 and have now stated that they expect to be back by 2012, with the 4C leading the way. whi le they would need to f ind a dea lership network to work

with, Al fa romeo of fers much more var ie ty in the i r l ineup than usual ly found in the uS luxury market .

best of Pre-Show: with a l l that ’ s a l ready been revea led before the doors even open at geneva i t i s d i f f icul t to pick one vehic le to ca l l best In Show, but my money would be on the Saab Phoenix Concept . This i s one concept that has i t a l l . S leek futur i s t ic yet e legant s ty l ing? Check. F lex ib le mult i -vehic le product ion plat form? Check. metaphor for the rebir th of Saab under Spyker? Check. In other words , i t ’ s an outrageous concept but with rea l -wor ld appl icat ion that could end up keeping one more hi s tor ic brand f rom fading into hi s tory . That i s why the Phoenix could be the best car a t the geneva Auto Show. B

Sean p. Scott


What Happened to the Tenth Amendment?The Story of the Amendment Everyone’s Forgotten by Nicholas C. Fondacaro

N o seriously, what is the 10th amendment? I will let you think

about it for a few seconds. ok time’s up; the 10th Amendment says “The powers not delegated to the united States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” most people do not know that the bill of rights had a check and balance measure in it. The 10th Amendment basically says any action or duty not delegated to the Congress, the President, or Judiciary defacto goes to the States individually or to the people. It cemented the constitution in place and set up the boundaries that future Presidents and Congresses have completely ignored. It also set up the premise of States’ rights, a battle which is sti l l being fought today because of bad precedents set by misguided, self-interested, and corrupt politicians throughout American history.

To understand why the 10th Amendment says what it says you have to understand the political and social environment from which the bill of right sprang. In 1789, the bill of rights was added to the newly redesigned Constitution in order to convince the States to ratify it. After fighting the revolution to cast off the bonds we had to the King and Parliament, they wanted a reassurance that their new

government would not become the same thing they just got rid of. James madison at the time didn’t think the bill of rights was needed; he felt that the limits placed in the constitution were enough. He felt that when one starts saying what rights they do have a government will be quick to take over what wasn’t thought of at the time. So the Tenth Amendment was put in to cover their bases. what was seemingly set in stone was soon to start unraveling at the hands of a founding father.

Alexander Hamilton was the first to cast a blind eye to the constitution and the Tenth Amendment. In 1791, Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury and a major proponent for a bank of the united States. It is not within the constitutional powers of our government to create a private corporation like Hamilton envisioned. Thomas Jefferson opposed Hamilton at every turn. Jefferson argued that since it’s not specially enumerated in the constitution, the Tenth Amendment prohibited its creation; if a bank was truly needed it should be carried out by the states or by the people. Jefferson also said that if Congress was to create the bank, then they could obtain almost limitless power over what they could do; Hamilton’s reasoning for not staying within the limits of the constitution and overlooking the tenth

amendment, is that Congress has both enumerated powers and “implied” powers. Hamilton thought that both were equally valid ways to create laws. Hamilton’s flat out disregard for the constitution created avenues of action and lines of thinking that would lead to the constitution being thought of as a “living document”.

The Ten Amendment was able to survive Hamilton’s assault, but just barely as the bank was eventually created. As the country grew so did the economy, technology, accidents, law suits, and a “need” for Congress to act. what could Congress do? nothing, the Constitution doesn’t permit them to get deeply involved in the affairs of the States and of the people. but, Hamilton’s precedent was working behind the scenes. They were able to continue this with little opposition because they claimed their growing power to regulate so many parts of l ife was derived from the “commerce clause” of the Constitution. Coupled with the “necessary and proper clause” there is potentially no limit to Congress’ power.

Franklin d. roosevelt is responsible for one of the largest and most unconstitutional expansion of governmental power in the history of our country, arguably second to obamacare.

coNtINuED oN pAgE 14

coNStItutIoN


letters to the editor

To the editor,

while I’m sure you must be aware that your publication is widely recognized as trash and nonsense by a majority of the campus (conservatives and liberals), I now find it necessary to voice my opinion about the extent of the contradictory nature of your views and the lack of proper journalism etiquette.

In the very beginning of your meager tabloid, we find a letter directed towards readers with statements directed against the President. while I myself don’t particularly approve of the way barack obama has handled the oval office, I recognize that his so-called “failed and flawed agenda” has never been even partly implemented. If you can list for the readers maybe one or two of the instances where you see a law passed without republican distortions, your statement would become an objective one rather than a propagandist rambling. whereas he may have had an agenda in the beginning, without him strictly shepherding the nature of proposed bills, mr. obama has not pushed anything through Congress as much as he has relinquished the reins of executive authority to a crowd of people who can’t agree on anything.

This brings us to my second point. John boehner’s campaign promises have nothing to do with the “bipartisanship” you trumpeted about in your letter. First off, boehner’s “new” goP can’t keep

fiscal promises because of the recession that they began. This would be entirely understandable from the objective non-partisan viewpoint, until one tries to connect barack obama with the crumbling economy. The economic collapse wasn’t the doing of barack obama. This much is fact. we can see elements of collapse begin back in the 1980s for reasons that aren’t entirely clear today, from the Vietnam war, the expansion of credit, and the eventual repeal of the glass-Steagal banking Act. I will not make mention of the intervention of Former President bush. Secondly, John boehner’s new round of promises revolve almost strictly around denying any form of legislation which barack obama proposes, ignoring the needs of the country for the sole purpose of making the President look bad. This clashes violently with your so-called “sincerest hope for true bipartisanship”.

my third and last complaint is with your post script. while I’m sure most Americans are hopeful for the fate of egypt and its people, you mentioned that “violence is never a good thing”. This immediately made me roll my eyes. we agree that your publication is from a conservative viewpoint. we can also see that the conflict in Afghanistan and the illegal skirmishes in Iraq were started and championed strictly by conservatives. This line of factual evidence leaves your statement as thin as the paper on which it’s printed.

Anyway, I’ll end this letter on the note that I am a liberal, and though our views may not see eye-to-eye, I believe that conservative viewpoints are necessary to the balance of power in our country. I simply believe that the trash you publish does not give credit nor legitimacy to true intellectual conservatives (which FYI do not include Sarah Palin, glenn beck, rush limbaugh, nor even your vaunted ronald reagan), nor does it acknowledge and challenge liberal philosophy in any meaningful way. I see no facts, no data, no scholarly studies, and no numbers; all things integral to a meaningful argument. Perhaps you will heed my words and become respectable, or perhaps you will not and continue to be ineffectual. That is your choice. I hope you make the right one.

Sincerely,ethan Feilich ‘14

The Review Responds...

dear ethan,

I really do not know where to begin responding to this letter, but let’s see. I certainly do not hold your view that my publication is “trash,” or that I lack “proper journalism etiquette.” what even is proper journalism etiquette when a multitude of publications distort the truth and hide behind a facade of being non-biased? we at the review do not apologize for, nor hide, our views. If this is bad coNtINuED oN pAgE 14


lEttErS

etiquette, then there are hundreds of other media organizations who are in much poorer taste.First, I would like to address your sentiments on President obama and the implementation of his agenda. I don’t understand how you think it has not been “even partly implemented.” Since President obama has took office we have seen unprecedented nationalizations of companies, trillion dollar bailouts, the bloated unconstitutional health care bill and dizzying amounts of spending. obama has accumulated deficits dwarfing those run up by President bush. during his two year governing mandate, President obama rammed his agenda through and the American people were horrified. I do not think you could credit the republican victories in 2010 to anything but the failed and flawed agenda of the President.Secondly, I used the word bipartisanship when referring to the new Congress for a reason. The republican House will force the democrats to compromise if the government is to continue operating for the next two years. The results of this dialogue will be actual bipartisanship, something that was sorely lacking under the first two years of obama’s presidency. The Pelosi / reid Congress did not care about bipartisanship or even their own party when they forced unpopular legislation through. In my opinion that is a truly dysfunctional form of government. As to Speaker boehner’s promise of fighting legislation proposed by obama and the democrats, I overwhelmingly commend it. The democrats have set our nation on a path to

becoming a weak debtor nation. This is not something America stands for and not something its people should settle for.Finally, I will attempt to tackle your views on my post-script and your idea of who is a “true” conservative. I find it sickening you roll your eyes to a sincere statement on the abhorrence of violence. You then accuse me of being an ardent supporter of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, a view certainly not held by all Conservatives. This aside there are no parallels between these two events. my comments on the recent strife in egypt stemmed from my personal hope that a peaceful resolution would be found and that the violence against civilians would stop. I am very glad it did and the corrupt, terrible dictatorship of Hosni mubarak was brought to an end. I hold these same views for the people of libya currently suffering from horrible crimes being brought against them by their regime. You read far too deeply into my post-script and hold some very stereotypical and incorrect views of conservatives.while I am on the point I find it laughable that you claimed ronald reagan was not a conservative! what exactly was he then? last time I checked, President reagan ushered in the republican revolution of the 1980s and was beloved by both republicans and democrats. reagan is a shining example of conservatism and the successes it is able to achieve. In closing I appreciate the time you took to write to us, and hope you give my response the same respect.

Sincerely,michael m. lombardieditor-in-Chief B

In the decades before Fdr, Congress got into the habit of giving more and more of their power to the executive branch of government. All under the guise of letting the government act quickly in a “crisis.” This relinquishment of power allowed Fdr to create the alphabet soup of federal agencies that could apply regulations and penalties without the approval of Congress. For the 60+ years since Fdr’s death, the federal government’s power over our lives has grown in leaps and bounds. Some of the largest reaches for power have occurred in the past two years.

with the pas s ing o f obamacare , one- s ix th o f our economy now be longs to the execut ive branch . The a rgument fo r th i s i s tha t i t ’ s covered under the commerce c l ause . obamacare mandate s tha t eve ryone must buy hea l th in surance ; th i s s e t s a d i s turb ing precedent tha t the government can make you buy someth ing . A Harvard law pro fe s sor t e s t i f i ed to the Senate Jud ic i a ry Commit tee and made a s t a t ement to th i s e f f ec t “congre s s can regu la te tha t you buy vege tab le s , but can ’ t r egu la te tha t you ea t them.” Former Speaker o f the House nancy Pe lo s i doesn ’ t th ink tha t Congre s s ha s l imi t s to i t s power . There i s r ea son to worry in the wor ld we l i ve in , th i s i s a new precedent in a long l ine o f precedent s to expand the power o f , and lev ia than tha t i s , government . B

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Campus presswatCh

A “Labyrinth Dweller’s” Response to Pipe Dream’s take on NYPIRGby John R. Ewing

I should begin with two simple declarations: (1) I am a ‘true blue’, leftist democrat, and (2) I have often

applauded the positions nYPIrg has taken. This has been an endless source of fun for my friends here at binghamton review. Aside from our ideological differences, they have graciously allowed me to be a guest contributor, and so my voice can be heard.

recently, a newspaper on campus about which I have never had a complaint, was able to grab my undivided attention. I am normally a relatively quiet and easy-going Student Assembly representative, but I simply cannot let Pipe dream and its opinion editor receive impunity.

The author of this article took a quote from an assemblyman and intentionally applied his belief to all assembly representatives. As an assembly representative, I was incensed by the license the author took. Contrary to your belief, the members of the Assembly are quite active and well-informed, giving way to divisions and lively, reasoned debates. unfortunately, the Vice Speaker, a colleague and friend, is mistaken. not only was “de-chartered” mentioned in the report, it was made quite clear in debate by Speaker meyer and VPAA rabinowitz, as well as the Vice Speaker himself. This leaves four possibilities for Pipe dream; (1) they chose to ignore this, (2) they weren’t there, (3) they were there, but they weren’t paying attention, or (4) their recording device is broken. Quite simply, I discard Pipe dream’s unsubstantiated notion of Assembly representatives as that of the worst kind of writer; an ignorant one.

According to the logic Pipe dream proposes; a friend with whom you share a common opinion must be a “close ally.” mr. Shamah may hold some strong opinions about nYPIrg, as we are allowed to, but to raise a question about office space and whether it is deserved is a legitimate question. Furthermore, Pipe dream did not shy away from mentioning the period of time that nYPIrg has been on campus, but I must ask: when did the length of time a student group has been on campus been a relevant factor in addressing the impact they have on student life?

If you’re confused, don’t worry, I’ll explain. mark Twain once said; “one mustn’t criticize other people on grounds where he can’t stand perpendicular himself”. Pipe dream has absolutely no idea what the student government does. It has never given thought to contributing to the purpose of the Student government. what is that you ask? Its purpose is to try and make college life a little easier and more entertaining, and to assist the student body. Admittedly, it does get rocky at times, but we walk out of that room knowing we did something worth being reported, instead of a perceived scandal.

I am certain every member of our student government would love to see the student body approach us actively with their issues, concerns, and ideas. we would welcome that with eager minds and open arms, however, one of the most powerful voices on this campus, Pipe dream, chooses to create the false perception of our Student government as an unapproachable, impenetrable, and

uncaring monster. we, the students, of binghamton university enjoy a rare structure of student government; one that is completely separated from university administration.

our entire executive board members, along with the Assembly members have nothing but the best intentions in mind for students at all times; if they didn’t, we’d impeach them! Adam Shamah did not seek to remove nYPIrg’s office because his personal political philosophy does not align with theirs; he did it because auditing office space is an efficient and fair practice. An organization which has no budget and debatable contributions to binghamton university students (which by the way; is how we test whether or not a student group is worthwhile especially for office space and money: by the benefit it has or may have for binghamton university students), regardless of their “age” is legitimate grounds for an audit, not to mention the right thing to do.

It is my sincere hope that Pipe dream resists the seemingly knee-jerk urge to spew unproven “facts” and useless vilification of people and a system you have never taken the time to know. Perhaps I am off base, maybe I am ‘misinterpreting,” or perhaps I am taking it too personally. oh well, maybe I’ll just travel the ‘convoluted labyrinth’ of SA government, until I can crawl back into the hovel where the thoughtless, nasty, cold-hearted trolls of student government come from.B

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March in Binghamton =

Spring? More of the Same

March 2011 - Binghamton Review

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