Sioux

Now I'm guessing anybody that knows me...and consequently reads this already has heard me come out in support of the Sioux name. As for the arguments against the Sioux name...they are few and usually involve "There was a Sioux Tribe (or person) that was offended. They need to change the name if even but one person is insulted or offended." They use this argument despite the fact that it is impossible to please everyone. Now don't get me wrong I am not supposing that we retain a completely offensive name, but I just believe that this name is not that offensive.

I have significant Scandanavian heritage, and I have never been offended by the use of the Vikings name in Minnesota, despite the fact they only concentrate on the murdering, raping, and pillaging of my ancestors. Where is the explorer Viking, who perhaps found America long before Columbus sailed the ocean blue?

Not only do I believe the Sioux monicker is not offensive, but the way in which the NCAA has enforced their rule upon the schools is preposterous. A school here...a school their...they get to keep their Native American names...everyone else's has to go. Yes I realize that the Seminole tribe ok'd the use of their name for Florida St. but I have heard rumors of a huge payout by Florida St. as well. The argument against the Sioux should be able to be enforced here as well. For I would be willing to bet that somewhere someone is offended by the Seminole name...and yet the NCAA says its fine.

The United States of America has been using tribal names and tribal words to name much of the west...if I were to expand upon the thought process of naysayers and the NCAA much of the natural landmarks in the west must be renamed. Which I ask would be a larger insult...leaving the names of teams, rivers, cities, hell states as they are and honoring Native American's past and culture...or have everything changed...and everyone forget.

The WBC

These people are amazing. I never would have guessed the things that they wrote were actually true...how wrong can I be (note the serious sarcasm). I have been sitting here considering so many of thier "ideas" and "opinions". And as a (prepare for the shock) Catholic Christian I am somewhat amazed at the conclusions they have drawn. Then I got to thinking..."God hates gays, the catholics, etc, etc." I have heard this all before...but where. Then it hits me...they sound exactly like Islamic fanatics. Are they sure they are on the correct side of the ocean here? Perhaps they should be fighting with America in the middle east attempting to become the "Sword of God" rather than cowering here while those soldiers' whose funerals they are disgracing with their very presence have died to give them the right to say this utter crap. Oh and don't get me wrong...I do not compare you to the majority of muslims who I can actually respect, honor and trust, but rather I compare you to Osama who hides in a hole in the ground and sends young men to do his battling. Sounds somewhat familiar. Preaching, bigotist, sexist, racist, crap...these people and Osama would most definately be fast friends.

So to the WBC, go join their jihad to rid the world of people like me...those who would accept and yes embrace differences, and finally we, the truly patriotic Americans, can be rid of you.

Damn Democrats

I'm particularly proud of this post...it was originally printed in the Dakota Student my freshmen year...or summer of 2004. I was sitting in a class taught by a communist from the sociology department. I started getting upset about her comments and preaching about how the American tax system was completely wrong. I almost walked out of class during the "lecture" or preaching session. I continued the day by picking up UND's newspaper and reading the opinion section...talk about gasoline on the fire. Some dork attempted to vail his obvious democratic tendency...a poor attempt. So now that I have set the stage of my mental state...be my guest to read my rant...oh and the republican history teacher is completely fictional...soas to not be hypocritical by telling the guy that he was bias and then being bias myself.

Is anybody else sick of getting political ideology forced upon them? I know I am. Whether you are a left-wing environmentalist wack-o or a right-wing war-mongering republican, I really don’t care. I feel that both faculty and other students force their beliefs upon many students that frankly do not want to hear any of it. The truth is that most students are more worried about finding a beer buyer or the next exam than they are about whether the economy would recover better with a new president.

Now, I don’t like to hear how to fix a struggling economy from a sociologist during class. I won’t listen as a history professor tells me how we should have gone to Baghdad in the first Gulf War. A sociologist has no reason to attempt to swing my political ideology to the left, nor does any other professor have a reason to convince me that the right is (pardon the pun) right.

And likewise, I don’t need to read an article of how to solve a states energy concerns from a leftist student that has no facts, just a bunch of rhetoric aimed to make one political side appear politically correct. If you want to write a politically minded article, write one and title it as such. Admit that you really are a “pie in the sky, tree hugging” Democrat, and you are trying to convince me and every other reader to join you. However, if you are writing a real environmental article, edit out your politically minded expressions, and I, along with many more students, may actually enjoy reading an article about cleaning up our environment.

In addition, to the faculty, I ask for economists to solve economic problems, sociologists to solve social problems, generals to handle the war, ecologists to solve any problems with the environment, and people to be able to make up their own damn minds which political party they wish to belong. So my elite professors, stop crossing the lines of your expertise and allow students to learn what you DO know, and let the other expert professors teach the students in their respective fields.