Opinion

Opinion

Column: Russia, Wikileaks, and the hijacking of our election

Jon Lofquist | October 26

If you were one of the roughly 72 million people who tuned in to watch the third and final presidential debate last week, congratulations! You survived what felt like an apocalypse. With about two weeks to go before Election Day 2016, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are entering the final stretch of this election cycle by campaigning vigorously in many swing states. Although, I think by this point many people have already made up their mind regarding who they intend to vote for. Many disgusting, vile, false and disturbing things have been said since the campaign season started last year, particularly by the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump. But what bothers me most isn’t that there are roughly 3,500 lawsuits by and pending against him and his companies for various reasons. It’s not that he may not accept the outcome of the election if he loses, which is disturbing. It’s not even the audio recording where he brags about sexual assault and that he can get away with anything because he’s famous and rich. It’s not even the Trump University scandal. What bothers me most about this election is Russia.

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Opinion

Guest Column: Despite budget woes, UNM remains strong

Ryan Berryman | October 26

Happy Midterms, Lobos. We’re one week closer to Christmas break. A lot has transpired on campus over the first few months of the fall semester. As you are likely aware, the final verdict on the UNM budget was passed down from the legislature a few weeks ago. Higher education across the state received a five percent cut, which equates to a $9.8 million reduction to Main Campus. While this number seems severe, a great credit is due to a number of campus constituencies for voicing to legislators how important it was for UNM to only receive a five percent reduction, as cuts as high as eight percent were proposed in Santa Fe. What makes this reduction most challenging is that the UNM system has already progressed nearly one-third through the fiscal year and now must make adjustments to already allocated budgets.

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Opinion

Editorial: APD's use of photos discredits Daily Lobo

Daily Lobo Editorial Board | October 23

Last week Daily Lobo staff became aware of something the Editorial Board considers inexcusable and counterproductive to our mission as student journalists at the University of New Mexico. On Oct. 12 a Daily Lobo reporter and photographer went downtown to cover the initial protest following the announcement of a mistrial in the case involving former APD officers who shot and killed homeless man James Boyd in 2014. Afterward the photographer, who’s also the photo editor at the Daily Lobo, put some of his shots up on his personal social media accounts, two of which showed a protester — an Albuquerque Public Schools teacher — being involved in a confrontation with a driver that evening.

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Opinion

Letter: Voters must not allow corrupt Clinton into office

Daily Lobo Readers | October 23

LAUNCELOT: Nay, indeed, if you had your eyes, you might fail of the knowing me: it is a wise father that knows his own child. Well, old man, I will tell you news of your son: give me your blessing: truth will come to light; murder cannot be hid long; a man's son may, but at the length truth will out. --Shakespeare's “The Merchant of Venice,” 1596.

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Opinion

Guest Column: It's time for a third-party option

Beverly Burris | October 23

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the two worst candidates ever to run for the U.S. presidency. In a Gallup poll from Sept. 26, only 33 percent said that Clinton was “honest and trustworthy,” compared with 35 pecent for Trump. Polls from the summer showed that over half of the electorate believes that Clinton should have been indicted by the Department of Justice. Scandals continue to plague both candidates. Either candidate would be a terrible president, although for different reasons. Trump is inexperienced and incoherent, and he says dangerous and misguided things; Clinton is experienced but corrupt, and she has done dangerous and misguided things — especially her hawkish foreign policy initiatives.

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Opinion

Column: Negative fliers shouldn't keep voters away from polls

Nichole Harwood | October 21

This election season has been a pretty memorable one. There's no doubt about it when you view the two major party candidates from a historical perspective. Furthermore, social media almost guarantees you will see memes and videos shared amongst family and friends spreading opinions about the major party candidates in one way or another. Amongst the cloud of factual and false information being distributed through a variety of social media and news outlets, one message rings loudest: you must vote.

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Opinion

Letter: Electing Hillary isn't enough to stop Republicans

Daily Lobo Readers | October 20

I just read a fantastic article at the Los Angeles Times explaining why the election is going to be a slam dunk for Hillary. It also mentions that as far as the Congressional races go, things are not nearly as clear cut. While it's becoming more obvious by the day that Hillary is going to win the election, I must act as the bearer of potentially bad news by letting my fellow readers know: the Republicans are likely to maintain their strong presence in Congress. They're not going to make things easy for us.

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Opinion

Column: Memes to an end

Nichole Harwood | October 19

Here’s a challenge: try scrolling down your Facebook feed and see how many posts you scroll past before you see a meme. I got past two posts before a meme came up on my Facebook feed. When continuing to scroll and continuing to see meme after meme come up on this social network site, I began to see a trend.

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Opinion

Letter: "Hacked" Clinton emails are a convenient distraction

Daily Lobo Readers | October 19

Beware the hacker who first reads your confidential stuff, then alters –- through even false “redacts” – certain choice docs subtly but with incendiary results, before releasing them through a leaking outfit. He could alter World History. The matter has come up because the Clinton campaign is not saying Clinton’s hacked stuff is authentic or not. Maybe they are; maybe they aren’t. Have they been tampered with? By definition, how would we ever know? Would they say, “Yes, this is the speech Hillary gave to Goldman Sachs, but Hillary did not use those exact words”?

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Opinion

Editorial: Don't stay home on Election Day

Daily Lobo Editorial Board | October 16

“Could we have been dealt a more unusual hand?” That has probably been the dominant thought of most first-time voters this election cycle. The notion that many college-aged students are participating for the first time in the selection of the next U.S. president when the campaign could not be more divisive is as intriguing as it is real. Over the past 18 months this election has caused division and discourse the caliber of which the country has never seen before, let alone first-time voters who have been exposed to it through virtually every facet and avenue made possible by social media.

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Opinion

Letter: Cannabis' Schedule 1 status is unacceptable

Daily Lobo Readers | October 16

On April 21, 1999, the United States Of America, as represented by the Department Of Health And Human Services filed for a patent, application number US 09/674,028. On Oct. 7, 2003 publication number US6630507 B1 was published. Entitled “Cannabinoids as Antioxidants and Neuroprotectants,” and U.S. Patent, Hampson et. al., 6,630,507 was granted to the U.S. Government for medicinal marijuana. Under Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Schedule I Controlled Substances are defined as: “Substances in this schedule have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse.

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Opinion

Letter: UNM Athletics hogs too much money

Daily Lobo Readers | October 16

On Monday the Albuquerque Journal had an article titled "UNM athletics looks for financial solutions." Two passages stood out in the article. The first that 24 employees in the Athletics Department have base salaries over $100K/yr, and the second being that the University may increase fees to offset a $1.54 million budget deficit. Coaches' salaries are high because they bring in money to the University. Obviously ours do not do that, and before any fee increase is considered there should be pay cuts at the TOP of the Athletics Department.

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Opinion

Column: Entertainment has no place in journalism

Matthew Reisen | October 10

“I AM NOT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS.” This is the most important line in legendary journalist Jim Lehrer’s personal code of ethics — and I am inclined to agree wholeheartedly. If I am to truly be a journalist, there is no place for the notion of entertainment. The definition of entertainment itself negates that. I think you should never be a journalist to entertain, and those who write sensationalist tabloids I would not call journalists. The main directive of entertainment, is just that, to be pleasing to the senses in one way or another. But news is often not entertaining and it shouldn’t serve as such.

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Opinion

Column: Review what you know

Skylar Griego | October 10

In the world of journalism, the most important thing every reporter strives for revolves around one word: ethics. No self-respecting journalist has made a career without having a code of ethics drilled into his or her brain (as it should be). But journalism, like any kind of writing, is varied and full of subgenres. Following strict rules can get trickier the more alternative the writing becomes.

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Opinion

Letter: Resources are wasted on low-performing professors

Daily Lobo Readers | October 5

Dear James Lewis, President, UNM Alumni Association: Your recent call to action would be a much easier cause to support if the administration was willing to take a look at low-performing professors and strip them of their tenure. UNM wastes a tremendous amount of its scarce resources by not holding its staff accountable.

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Opinion

Letter: Manipulating media empire losing crowd monopoly

Daily Lobo Readers | October 5

Not that it will alter the outcome, but it appears that after years of using the same tired old guidebook on manipulating the masses, the wheels are finally coming off the Media Industrial Military Intelligence Corporate (MIMIC) complex (it “mimics” licit government operating as a shadow government).

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Opinion

Column: Appropriate work attire is ever-changing

Nichole Harwood | October 5

As generations rise and generations fall, so does their impact on surrounding society. One such example that can be commonly seen is how we dress, or what we find acceptable for business attire and tasteful for body art and piercings. The classic look of the businessman — holding a briefcase in a suit with his hair combed back — is no longer the only norm in the business world.

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Opinion

Guest Column: Voters should scrutinize media claims about Trump

Brian Moore | October 2

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is considered a firebrand by most members of the media. He and his campaign have produced news headlines that have many people I meet scratching their heads. Firstly, I'd like to address Mr. Trump's debate performance from last Monday.

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Opinion

Letter: Olympics should be more transparent about steroid use exemptions

Arun Ahuja | October 2

Editor, How come it took Russian hackers to reveal to the generally ignorant public that there is such a thing as a medical exemption that allows Olympic athletes to take banned substances?

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Opinion

Letter: UNM budget cuts should come from well-paid 'Bobs'

Daily Lobo Readers | September 29

Governor Susan Martinez’s plan to reduce funding to UNM has resulted in another budget shortfall. The deficit has already resulted in faculty and staff hiring freezes with an additional upcoming round of staff cuts. As students you can see this with increased class sizes, less staff on campus and a 2.5 percent tuition hike.