Letters to the Editor

EDITOR'S NOTE: We've recently discovered that the online website submission function of our College Publisher site didn't notify any of us that we had received any letters to the editor. We've corrected the problem and apologize to those who submitted letters online since September. It is the Inkwell's policy to print all letters to the editor as space permits in print, and to upload all of them online. We welcome all comments and suggestions in electronic format - either submit online at www.theinkwellonline.com or e-mail them to inkwell@armstrong.edu. Your name is required.

Georgia GOP taking steps to stimulate economy

While the craziness of Washington rages around us, remember that though influence ebbs and flows with those in D.C., local politics is where real influence and the opportunity to create change occur. Georgia GOP legislators are taking steps to help small business owners and to create a more conducive environment for those businesses; small businesses in GA account for 98% of employers statewide and according to the latest available records (2005) employ more than 1.5 million Georgians.

One key step being taken is eliminating the state tax on business inventory. This will prevent businesses from keeping ridiculously low stocks on goods since any goods they have sitting around currently cost them, though no money is being made these goods still count as assets. Another step being taken I am less enthusiastic about. The GOP leadership seeks to provide tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed workers. This was something that Obama championed during his campaign and now through his early Presidency. However, simply offering a tax credit to a small business for let's just say, $2,000, doesn't give an incentive to hire a worker whom you do not need that will cost you, after salary, taxes, and benefits, $50,000+. Small business owners need customers, work, and lower tax rates, without these hiring will not occur.

And real tax relief just may well be on the way. The legislation also seeks to phase out Georgia's corporate income tax, beginning in 2012. If this legislation passes then Georgia citizens have much to look forward to in the future. This legislation seeks to make Georgia one of the most business-friendly states in the country, her citizens will be rewarded nicely with an influx of business and capital like the state has never seen. These tax cuts along with our large ports in Savannah and Hartsfield-Jackson International will make Georgia a very inviting location to do business.

From the Feb. 18 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle:

One day after President Barack Obama signed a massive federal economic stimulus package, Georgia Republicans Wednesday introduced a state version aimed at helping businesses and unemployed workers.

But Rep. Tom Graves, the initiative's chief sponsor, was quick to differentiate the brand of economy recovery pushed through Congress by Democrat Obama from the Georgia GOP plan.

"We believe the hard-working people of Georgia -- not big government -- are the key to our economic prosperity," said Graves, R-Ranger. "If consumers and investors have confidence in the economic environment, then spending, investing and job creation will occur."

One of two bills introduced by Graves would provide tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed workers and temporarily waive the fee businesses file with the state to register their corporate names.

The legislation also would gradually phase out Georgia's corporate income tax, beginning in 2012.

Kyle Godfrey

Good Samaritan at AASU

This is NOT a 'complaint' letter. I wanted to request a THANK YOU letter to be posted in the INKWELL. Yesterday (Feb. 17) I was running from one class to hook up with an instructor to make up a test. In the process of dropping my book bag and trying to find the room number I didn't realize I had LOST MY CELL PHONE! It happened outside the Science Bldg. around 3:45 p.m. I discovered I had lost my communication to my world when I needed to call the instructor and informed the nearest phone I could use was the MCC bldg! Well, I had another class I had to get to so I ran to that one really upset. I commute approx. 45 miles one way to AASU twice a week -evening classes- and my cell phone allows me to call my family when I am on my way home.

Anyway, after a few hours of wondering what I was going to do without the phone and having to cancel it and get another one, I borrowed another student's cell phone to call home and let them know what had happened. This is what they told me.

A student had found my phone and looked through to see a number to call someone and let them know she had found my phone. My family member said they were not sure which building I was in at that time, but described my truck. This student drove around in the parking lot until she found it and put the cell phone where asked to for me to find it (knowing I would call home to let them know I was without my phone) THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to the student who took the extra time to be kind and find my car and return my world back to me!

THANK YOU!!!!!!

Stephanie Miller

Inkwell should cover arrest made in purse-snatching

I just wanted to you that I'm surprised that I haven't seen an article about University Police when they had a purse snatching/burglary on campus. This took place in September and the victim was Professor Wendy Marshall in University Hall. Someone took her purse and the bad guy took off running. University Police officer responded immediately. They spotted the bad guy and the bad guy fled in a vehicle. The police got into a high speed chase on Abercorn. The police had to disengage the chase due to safety reasons. The University Police investigated the case and about a week later they had the bad guy arrested. I think this is something that everyone should know about. I think that this could be a good article if you would like to write it.

Thanks, Lindsey Clairmont

Freedom of speech applies to all sides

There is a specter haunting Europe- the specter of Islam… and political correctness. Reactionary clerics and PC Gestapo have teamed up in that freest of all nations, the Netherlands, to bring to trial a politician for no crime other than that of speech and thought.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom) was informed on January 21 that he will stand trial for making remarks that an Amsterdam judge called "one-sided, generalized phrasing characterized by a radical nature, [with] constant repetition and increasing ferocity." After ruling that Wilders had expressed himself too freely, the court maintained that the trial would not interfere with his freedom of expression. (Orwell would have been right to call this doublespeak.)

Just what did Wilders say? The court maintains that Wilders was wildly slandering Islam, taking passages of the Quran out of context, and thus inciting religious hatred. But Fitna, the short film directed by Wilders which caused the uproar, merely quoted Muslim clerics and their holy book while showing ghastly images of genital mutilation, mass homosexual executions, and mass-terror attacks. Wilders doesn't actually speak at all in the film- he is being threatened with incarceration by his government because he had the audacity to expose what many Islamic leaders are saying and what their followers are doing in response.

Wilders himself has been the target of many death threats from Muslim citizens of the Netherlands. In 2004, Dutch authorities apprehended two terrorists who were armed with rifles and grenades, with which they had intened to kill the outspoken politician. It should be remembered that a Muslim fanatic repeatedly shot and nearly decapitated Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in November of that year, and that Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former member of the Tweede Kamer (the Lower House of the Dutch parliament) has since had to seek asylum in America, as her own government is unable (or unwilling) to protect her from misogynistic, nihilistic murder-junkies.

What's really sick about the situation is that those who praise the murder of filmmakers, or who publicly advocate for the murder of elected officials, are in no danger of being locked up for hate speech. In the Netherlands, if you hold up a sign that says "I think all people who do not bow down to Islam should be beheaded", you're in the clear. If you hold up a sign that says "The Quran is misguided in calling for my death or conversion, and if Muslims want to live in this country then they have to give up that belief", you very well may go to prison. I'm sure we've all seen by now the photos of Muslim protestors in Europe and North America holding up signs (ironically, at mass rallies where they express their free speech rights to the maximum) that read "freedom of speech go to hell!", but it is time for us to finally stop laughing at the daffy inconsistency incumbent in making a sign to condemn your right to make it. We now need to realize that such people are serious, organized, and willing to use more than speech to destroy it. Don't the jelly-spined lefties in windmilland realize that if the Islamists get their way, the first to taste the scimitar will be the gays and the women and atheists? Instead of trying to minimize criticism of Islam, we should be encouraging it. All people on planet Earth should have the right to speak their mind about anything, not only because their basic human dignity demands it, but also for the practical reason that limiting speech only reduces dialogue and hence limits the ideas that we will use to build the future. When someone tries to shut you up with force you can be sure that you are on to something, because they would use reason and speech to defeat your arguments if they could.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with Geert Wilders, he has consistently stood up for the right of all people to say what they think. If you, like me, think that Geert Wilders should have the right to express his opinion freely, there are a few ways to help. Here are some links to videos and petitions that will help the Dutch courts hear your voice, regardless of whether they will hear the voice of one of their own. It would be a travesty for Amsterdam to turn into the city where you could smoke pot and solicit prostitutes, so long as you never said anything while high on said drug or while being intimate with said prostitute that the speech police might find offensive.

General Netherlands Government Website: www.govenment.nl Dutch Minister for Justice, Ernst Hirsch Ballin: vragen@postbus51.nl Youtube helpline for Geert Wilders: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFBO-_degqI Pat Condell: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJKRF2uB8xU&feature=channel_page

Matt Moyer

Vending drinks and pay options need more variety

On Nov. 15, 2008, I was working at my work study job and realized since I was working a lot of hours that day, I needed a snack to hold me over until I took my lunch break. So I went to my purse and grabbed $2 and headed to the vending machine. Having forgot that Coca-Cola bumped their prices to $1.25, I figured no big deal, that leaves me with 75 cents for my snack. The lowest price for snacks in the snack machine was 60 cents for items that no one hardly ever buys and doesn't even look like it's worth 60 cents. All the other items were $1. So I gave up on the snack and figure I'll just get some juice from the drink machine. This is the main problem here. Almost every other drink machine I went to only had soda! By the time I found a drink machine that had juice (Minute Maid lemonade) I realized that the dollar dispenser was gone and replaced with some card swiping device! I was angry. As a student, I feel that like high schoolers and middle schoolers, college students deserve to have juices to drink like other varieties of Minute Maid juice and the old time favorite Fruitopia (whatever happened to that one) besides soda, especially when no one has time to wait in line at the overpriced cafeteria or the bookstore. And the huge shock of the missing dollar dispenser, I understand that the school is doing the all electronic thing, but not everyone carries a card on them or has time to figure out when, where, and how to place money on their Pirate Card just so they can get a drink from the vending machine when they already have cash.

Ashlee Carter

Light the Night finds funds with AASU participation

Dear Editor,

A huge thank you to the AASU Light The Night Walk team that worked to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Well over 150 students, faculty and staff raised over $18,000 for the LLS this year. This makes the AASU team the largest in Savannah! Special thanks to the College of Health Professions, the College of Education and the Department of Housing for taking part. AASU's participation began in 2005 and has steadily grown. To date, the team has contributed nearly $40,000 to the mission of the LLS - to find a cure for blood cancers and improve the lives of patients and their families.

Thank you AASU for making a difference!

Jennie Brewster Campaign Manager, LLS

Financial Aid leaves student with the bill

I enjoyed your coverage on the Financial Aid Dept. recently. I am sorry to say that I read the story with tears in my eyes. You see, in order for me to go to school, I have to cut back on my hours at work. The only problem is that I have three children that my husband and I are trying to support (two of which are teenagers looking toward their own collegiate future). I was really counting on my financial aid in order to do this. After writing a massive check for my books, I told myself that it would be OK because I can pay myself back with my financial aid check because I was told that it would come in a couple of weeks after school began. Unfortunately, it never arrived, and I was forced to drop my classes because I cannot afford to drop my work hours. If my financial aid had gone through as it was supposed to, I would still be a student at Armstrong. Now, I have to wait until next Fall. I surely hope they have their act together before then! I wonder how many other students couldn't afford rent, food or had to drop out as well!

Lavonda Rowe

AASU parking policy needs review

Dear Editor,

We recently received an e-mail notifying all students about the newly enforced parking rules on campus. Though the decision might seem like a smart idea, it doesn't take into consideration the safety of its students who live on campus. I'm sure most students would agree with us that walking an extra 5 minutes to and from classes in the Science Center and Sports Center is not a big deal; however, it does pose a problem for students making the trip back home at night. Not all of us take classes in the daylight! Some of us are forced to take night classes, which isn't exactly our first choice to begin with. Has the school forgotten about the dangers of being a female on a college campus? Last semester it had to be heard through the grapevine that 2 violent crimes were committed on Compass Point property, both dealing with females at night. Now, we are all very appreciative of the information given, but unfortunately, it wasn't made publicly aware until weeks after the ordeals occurred.

What is more disturbing is the lack of permission for Compass Point residents to purchase a $50 parking pass. Given the option of a $50 fee, I'm sure many girls would gladly pay to prevent harassment, rape, and even murder. Sadly, we aren't even given the choice. So what are you asking of us, AASU? Should girls simply forgo their own insecurities? Should we abandon all common sense and walk blindly into the night? Or should we just take chances and convince ourselves that, "It can't happen to me. What are the odds"? I kindly submit this for the consideration of the AASU Police Department: please reevaluate how this affects the safety of females and all students alike.

Sincerely, Cevon Rambo & Brittany Naylor

Matt Moyer's Challenge Accepted Response to "The Iraq war, five years later" I have a lot to say about the Iraq War, nearly all of it in opposition to what Matt Moyer wrote in "The Iraq war, five years later." Because of space constraints, I will only give a few key points, which I hope provoke thought and discussion. Moyer said that Saddam Hussein violated international statutes, but George W. Bush has violated laws, treaties, and other mandates as well. First, Article 6 of the United States Constitution says that all laws and treaties that the United States is party to are the "supreme law of the land." Because Bush has violated international treaties, he has violated the US Constitution. Secondly, consider Chapter 1 Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, which says that all member nations should settle international disputes peacefully and that they should not use force that threatens the sovereignty of other nations. George W. Bush has also violated both the Geneva Convention and the Nuremberg Principles, among other mandates. As Moyer said, Saddam tortured people and denied them certain freedoms. However, consider the following: Guantanamo Bay, where "enemy combatants" are routinely tortured and denied habeas corpus; The Patriot Act, which infringes on civil liberties; and the National Security Administration spying program, which allowed warrantless wiretapping and email interception. (And I thought America was supposed to hold the moral high-ground…)

Finally, Moyer said that "Iraq, as well as the rest of the world, is better off without Saddam Hussein." I will rephrase that and say that the United States, as well as the rest of the world, would be better off without George W. Bush. He is a threat to the free world. On a final note, though, I would like to say that I do agree (save for a slight variation) with Moyer on one thing: we cannot pull our troops out of Iraq now - at least not all of them. We f***** Iraq and now we have a responsibility to stick around and help raise the baby, regardless of how arduous and expensive the task may be. Megan Leggett Posted on The Inkwell website on 3/31/08

SGA Senator disappointed in size of election ad in the Feb. 29 edition

Dear Editor, I am truly disappointed with your February 29, 2008 paper. After some many people worked so hard to tell students about the SGA Elections and what the SGA do, the Inkwell prints only a small ad in the paper. The Inkwell must step it game up. Mykell Fann SGA Senator Posted on The Inkwell website on 3/22/08

Starting an Armstrong Secular Humanist Alliance

I was encouraged to read of a fellow atheist at Armstrong. I'm considering starting a free thought society here at Armstrong and would like to know if any of you at the Inkwell are interested. Thanks Matt Moyer Posted on The Inkwell website on 2/14/08

Where has the love for celebs gone?

In the February 1 issue of Inkwell readers were subjected to a rather driveling and high-minded article condemning us, the public, for our callous reaction to the death of Heath Ledger. We can imagine how good the anonymous author of said article must have felt, puffed up with the hot air of moral superiority as he/she pecked away indignantly at his/her keyboard to inform us that we need to pay our respects, too. Well no thank you. I have plenty to worry about in my own life without stopping, even for one second, to reflect on the death of a spoiled Hollywood brat. Ledger was 28 years old, wealthy, adored by millions of fans, and intimate with several beautiful women. Not seeing that as enough, he developed a drug problem, eventually collapsing dead in his New York apartment (which was probably not of the rent controlled variety) from allegedly snorting illegal substances up his nasal passage and into his brain in larger quantities than his body could handle. And we are to feel pity for this person? We are the selfish ones for not making conscious efforts to work ourselves into fits of depression? Please. Do you really think that Ledger was thinking of his fans when he was fooling around with drugs? The truth is that most celebrities do not care about the public at large, and their solipsistic nature is revealed by their childish and self-centered behavior. You can jeer all you like about the "malicious" treatment of celebrities, but I doubt any stars will be attending your funeral when you die. With the innumerable problems facing planet Earth in 2008, we can at least spare ourselves the torment of worrying about people who earn enough money in one week's time to pay for an average college education 50 times over. Some celebrities could pay for all tuition fees at Armstrong by sacrificing a single piece of luxurious jewelry. But they probably don't care enough to help us out. And you know the feeling is mutual. Matt Moyer Posted on The Inkwell website on 2/14/08

Restaurant lacked location details

In the last issue, the Rancho Alegre was reviewed. Sounded like a nice place. Where is it located? Archie Martin Posted on The Inkwell website on 9/18/07

NOTE: The restaurant is located on 44 Posey Street in Savannah. Their telephone number is 912-691-0110.