Opinion - The Daily Lobo

Opinion

Guest Column: Stem cell bill could save lives

February 8

by John Ryan Daily Lobo guest columnist The New Mexico Senate again passed legislation that I introduced that would permit embryonic stem cell research at the UNM Health Sciences Center. Using those embryos in research that otherwise would be discarded could help find a cure to Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and many other diseases and spinal cord injuries.

Opinion

Curbing population growth won't cure global warming

February 8

Editor, I am writing in response to the letter by Leslie Stoeckle published in the Daily Lobo on Wednesday. The letter was about global warming and how the population needs to be curbed to support efforts in decreasing the effects of global warming. I feel this would be a major mistake for several reasons.

Opinion

Once Clinton is elected, U.S. will be an oligarchy

February 8

Editor, Let me start by stating that whoever is elected in November will be better than President Bush. Then again, that isn't much, as it's virtually impossible to do any worse. While I am glad a lot of young people are participating in this year's sham election, I am saddened that this youthful enthusiasm will soon be crushed when Sen.

Opinion

Honesty is a virtue; spin is not

February 7

by Richard M. Berthold Daily Lobo columnist It is certainly not much of an intellectual challenge to understand why the Board of Regents hired David Schmidly as president. He came from a high-profile school - Texas Tech - and could bring with him an attractive basketball package of coach and assistant coach.

Opinion

Incentives for motorcyclists would ease parking misery

February 7

Editor, UNM Parking & Transportation Services seems to treat even the parking problem as a market to exploit. I see the parking department is collaborating with a private firm to rent cars on campus. This is not the direction to go. For instance, rather than charging $60 a semester to park a motorcycle on campus, the University should pay students to drive motorcycles to campus and not a car.

Opinion

Belief in God causes most perversions and atrocities

February 7

Editor, There's no point in trying to shield our children from sex. They're going to learn about it whether we like it or not. So, why not take charge and at least give them a little guidance? Children who are given negative messages and burdened with guilt about their sexual feelings are the ones most likely to turn into pedophiles or sexual cranks.

Opinion

Editorial: If party can't count votes, voters can't count on NM

February 7

Once again, New Mexico lags behind. As Arizona, Utah, California and other Western states declared winners just hours after their polls closed on Super Tuesday, New Mexico voters stood in lines that spiraled outside buildings and into parking lots. It's no wonder the results weren't in.

Opinion

There's finally a solution to everyone's problems

February 6

Editor, After 3 1/2 years of reading the Daily Lobo and Alibi opinion sections, it has occurred to me: a solution to everyone's ever-so-pressing and emotion-inducing problems. We should reintroduce large, man-eating carnivores into our environment. Let's see how people react to having to defend themselves from a real and immediate threat to their well-being.

Opinion

We can't fix climate without curbing population growth

February 6

Editor, I am writing in response to the article "Global warming: a heated issue" published in the Daily Lobo on Friday. While the staff report correctly pointed out the importance of global warming, it neglected to mention one of the most significant contributors to climate change: global population growth.

Opinion

UNM should set example in defending human rights

February 6

Editor, I found in the Daily Lobo on Friday a statement by UNM President David Schmidly on the University being obligated to lead by example on environmental issues. I would like to see UNM offer the same leadership for human rights issues as well. Currently, Israel is conducting a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, where people have been without fuel, food and electricity in this long winter and have suffered daily air and land attacks from Israel.

Opinion

Hamas holds Palestinians hostage; Israel not enemy

February 6

Editor, Alaa El Maoued and Jason Darensburg argue in Friday's Daily Lobo that I got it all wrong and Israel is to blame for the situation in Gaza. Let's review the situation. In early September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza asking nothing in return.

Opinion

Electing Obama would set U.S. on the right path

February 5

by Dustin Taylor Daily Lobo guest columnist Today is election day, and UNM students are making last-minute decisions about their presidential options. Much like the rest of America, we are concerned about the issues that dominate the national debate, including Iraq and health care.

Opinion

Clinton to end war, fix economy

February 5

by Hector Balderas Daily Lobo guest columnist Today, New Mexicans will help our nation pick our next president - and UNM students have the opportunity to play a key role in the outcome. There is one key question in this election: Who is ready to be the best president and make the real change we need starting on Day 1? Sen.

Opinion

Help end human trafficking by supporting Senate Bill 71

February 5

Editor, The Reproductive Justice Coalition of UNM would like to call attention to a global issue that is currently being discussed in the New Mexico Legislature. Senate Bill 71, dealing with human trafficking, has been introduced by Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia, a Doña Ana Democrat, to outlaw human trafficking, and was endorsed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Opinion

Legislation could make NM leader in stem cell research

February 4

Editor, Stem cell technologies are going to be in the forefront of medicine in the next three years. State Sen. John Ryan's bill requires that research be done with embryos that are going to be thrown away anyway. Further, there are ways of doing stem cell work without destroying embryos by a kind of genetic tweaking, which has been developed by Advanced Cell Technology of California and Massachusetts.

Opinion

Editorial: Stimulus package doesn't provide long-term solution

February 4

The much-touted stimulus package that plans to hand more than $500 to $600 to taxpaying Americans is akin to putting a Band-Aid on a severed jugular vein. The package seems to be designed to bail out corporate organizations by boosting their bottom line rather than help the average American.

Opinion

Bible should not be cited when discussing politics

February 4

Editor, While I agree that everyone has the right to believe in what they want to, I am becoming more and more agitated and annoyed by people who claim that something is right or wrong because "God told me so." This argument has no place in any political arena and should never be uttered when debating the legitimacy of a policy, such as the legal right to an abortion.

Opinion

Bush failed to see 9/11 as a chance to fix U.S. economy

February 4

Editor, It was good to hear one of America's best stump-speech politicians - Bill Clinton - on campus last week. He still takes credit for enormous job creation during his time as president, but he was mainly the benefactor of the tech boom while it lasted.

Opinion

It's unreasonable to deny Gaza access to supplies

February 1

Editor, If one student decides to drop a class, should the whole class be cancelled? If somebody runs a traffic light, should everybody in the intersection be ticketed? Finally, if one of your friends or family members commits a crime, should you be punished for being associated with them? According to the letter by Donald Gluck published in the Daily Lobo on Thursday, Palestinians' suffering for years from Israel's use of collective punishment is justifiable.

Opinion

Because life begins in the womb, abortion is murder

February 1

Editor, I've read two letters on the topic of abortion: one supporting abortion and the other opposing it. I've never written about the topic but want to do so today. I am an evangelical Christian, but I don't vote Republican. I would like to bring up several points.