The world is round
I’d like to echo the sentiments of Jay Nargundkar in his Sept. 11 editorial about Thomas Friedman and his book The World is Flat. The column credits Friedman and his ubiquitous book as contributing to a “thorough education” for university students. Thinking about the column made me realize that I have also learned a lot over the years from Friedman.
In October 2003, Friedman taught me about morals when he dubbed Bush’s illegal foray into Iraq as “the most radical-liberal revolutionary war the U.S. has ever launched.”
Later, in July 2005, Friedman taught me the importance of understanding foreign animosity toward the U.S. Any argument referencing “imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq” obviously originates from an “excuse maker,” people who “are just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and also deserve to be exposed.” When Nargundkar calls professor Shibley Telhami’s book, The Stakes, which attempts to provide a factual record explaining much of the conflict in the Middle East, “mediocre,” it’s clear that he’s eagerly awaiting some more witty catch phrases from Friedman.
My personal favorite is Friedman’s often-repeated motto: “Give War a Chance!” Couple that with the self-congratulatory view of globalization in The World is Flat (which seems to ignore the poverty felt by a solid 40 percent of the world’s population), we have on our hands the pre-eminent educator of our time.
How to sum up Friedman’s impressive track record? Nargundkar does it eloquently in a single word: “Props.”
Liam O’Loughlin
Junior
English and philosophy
Steele’s record falsely attacked
In Lee Fang’s Sept. 6 column “Steele’s cut and run,” I had the esteemed privilege of viewing a gross distortion of the facts when it comes to Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and his accomplished record.
Fang starts with a tall tale about confronting Steele over campaign contributions from lobbyists, while noticeably leaving out the fact that the Democratic party’s presumed nominee, Ben Cardin, has received more than $800,000 in campaign contributions from special interests he represents in Congress.
Fang then goes on to mislead readers by distorting Steele’s record on education. If someone with the slightest bit of curiosity (or common sense) researched what the Ehrlich/Steele administration has done for Maryland’s education system, they would find the following facts:
1. Funding for K-12 schools has increased by 43 percent, or to $4.5 billion.
2. In the past three years, funds have been allocated for the construction of 45 new schools and the renovation of 52 others.
3. Salaries for starting teachers have risen 12
percent.
4. Maryland’s high school AP scores are second in the nation.
5. Need-based college scholarships in Maryland have doubled!
Then Fang derides Steele for making comments about the government’s failure in responding to Hurricane Katrina. But Louisiana’s governor, a Democrat, refused to federalize the state’s National Guard so they could help out with the relief effort in a more organized way, even though the governors of Mississippi and Alabama, both Republicans, had already done so. New Orleans’ mayor, also a Democrat, refused to evacuate its citizens with the hundreds of school buses that sat idly by while the city flooded. Then, instead of taking a strong leadership role in the recovery, the mayor and governor both decided to just blame the president. But hey, that’s easier, I guess.
Steele is running a strong campaign. Steele wants to be an independent voice for Maryland in a time where Washington has been drowned in partisan bickering. Democrats attacking Steele have bitten off more than they can chew.
Owen Stapleton
Montgomery County
