Bush's religious convictions are real\nIn the letter to the editor titled "Fooling enough of the people, enough of the time" (IDS, Oct. 26), Dan Selvaggi shows a poor understanding of both religion and politics. He starts by questioning Bush's qualifications for being "anointed" as president, calling it a stretch. Not only is it a little arrogant to second-guess the decision making skills of the All Knowing, but even if we assume Selvaggi's list of disqualifiers are legitimate, it is still not a stretch when considering the thousands of years of biblical history where God used "flawed" people to accomplish great things. \nNext Selvaggi attacks Bush's sanity for believing in Providence. While he stops short of showing his true intolerance by saying that all Christians are insane, that is indeed the implication. Not believing in Providence and having a purposeful existence means you are not really a Christian but, rather, a deist. \nSelvaggi then notes he fails to see any reflections of the teachings of Jesus Christ in Bush policies. It appears he chooses to ignore the president's stance on God being in the Pledge of Allegiance, support of a constitutional amendment concerning traditional marriage, his stance on stem cell research and partial birth abortion, and his faith-based initiatives. \nLastly, he accuses Bush of using religion for political ends -- an illogical strategy. In a tight election, you don't make yourself more appealing to the majority of mainstream, moderate votes by pushing yourself farther to the right -- toward a group who you already likely have in your camp and (sadly) have always under-performed in using their political clout. It is more likely Bush has professed his faith at the expense of his political life. \nThe only reasonable conclusion for such actions and policies is that Bush's convictions are sincere. Bush is not trying to "fool enough of the people, enough of the time." Rather, it is Selvaggi who is fooling himself. \nBrandon Sieg\nFaculty
Getting vitriolic\nI've seen bad reporting, but I rarely comment on it. However, I must say Rick Newkirk's coverage of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization's election forum merits a few words ("Voter panel devolves to 'vitriolic politics,'" Oct. 28). Mr. Newkirk reports that my comments about the Libertarian party were disparaging as I complained they were "eating up our time." Yes, I said that, and I also said the Democrats and Republicans were the only parties that mattered here.\nWhat Mr. Newkirk fails to report is that this was a forum covering all 14 state and local races. The Libertarian spokesman focused exclusively on the Libertarian candidate for governor, with the exception of one mention of a candidate for State Representative who was introduced during the last question at the end of the forum.\nThere is a simple explanation for this state focus: The Libertarians have no local candidates except for the candidate who was only mentioned once. So, yes, time that could have been constructively spent talking about local issues and candidates of both major parties was spent listening to the Libertarian misrepresent the adopted platform of a party that has no bearing on the local county election.\nMr. Newkirk asserts that the "scowls" from the audience were evidence of a general displeasure. Actually there were more smiles from people than anything else. The Libertarians in the audience and their Republican ally on the panel might have scowled, but that's part of the game. I didn't expect them to cheer. I went to the forum to discuss all races, not listen to a recruiting sermon during limited time for another party that has no county candidates. But from the tone of his coverage, I do believe Mr. Newkirk was recruited.\nDan Combs\nMonroe County Democratic Party
Living legally\nFelipe Maya's trite column concerning illegal immigration in the United States lacks any substantive basis for its audacity ("Living illegally," Oct. 25). Though he stereotypes American people as "too egotistical and arrogant" to do jobs that illegal aliens do and states that they would rather "beg for coins on sidewalks" than pick vegetables, he demands respect for Mexican immigrants who cross the border illegally and do these jobs. \nConsidering that the immigrant population in America actually decreased between the 1920s and 1965, after Congress ended the open shores policy, is he assuming that no American did agricultural labor during that period? Is there any proof that poor Americans would rather beg than make a living for themselves? \nThe author argues that anti-immigration advocates are "just the ancestors of European immigrants who took this land by force," and, therefore, have no right to protest immigration. But since Native American tribes are, in this view, the only legitimate owners of the land, they would then set immigration policy, not people immigrating from somewhere else. Moreover, why would anyone support a policy that had such dire consequences for the people who practiced it? \nHowever, the article only argues for the repeal of immigration laws applying Mexicans specifically (who are already the largest benefits of the legal immigration process) and Latin Americans generally. Immigration laws should reflect America's national interests, not the identity politics of MEChA and La Raza. Mexican politicians use this mass exodus as a safety-valve for their own corruption and a chance to gain political clout in the United States. While unapologetically and subversively working to secure benefits and legal status for Mexican nationals on this side of the border, the Fox administration systematically deports illegal immigrants from poorer countries in Central America seeking to enter Mexico. \nEveryone concerned by this issue deserves respect, including the American workers that Maya derides. However, respect is a two-way street, and millions of immigrants who break the law are showing a lack of respect for the people who follow it, as well as the Americans that elected the people who made it. These actions should not be rewarded.\nJames Baldwin\nSenior
Pushing my buttons\nWhile it may seem like a plausible idea, your umbrella doesn't want to kill you because of some evil powers it may possess ("Death by umbrella" by Matt Peyton, Oct. 21). I would like to offer an alternative ... your umbrella does not like you. You might be thinking "Whoa, that's harsh!" But did you ever stop and put yourself in your umbrella's shoes? \nThink of it like this:\n-- If someone "pushed my buttons" all day because he thought it was fun, I wouldn't cooperate for him and do him the favor of keeping him dry.\n-- If someone kept talking about "fixing" me, I wouldn't want to be his friend.\n-- If a man ever demanded of me what you demand of your umbrella (i.e. to open up), I wouldn't respond well. \nI might remind you, Matt, that you are the person who is talking about your umbrella behind its back. How does that make your umbrella feel? I am sure your umbrella had a rough day. You said it was your first time using your umbrella. You were excited, while your poor umbrella was scared! I know I am usually scared on the first day of school, at least a little bit nervous. It wasn't a light sprinkle on Monday; it was a downpour, a non-stop rainfest, and your umbrella had to jump right in. It is the equivalent to going to finite math and having a lesson with homework on the first day. What happened to the transition? What happened to syllabus day? That is another story though. All I mean is, it must have been a very trying day for your umbrella and you yelling at it and trying to make it do things it has never done before did not help. Next time you have a crappy day, don't blame it entirely on the umbrella, it is probably your fault. Did you ever think that maybe you accidentally hit the button that causes it to collapse?\nDanielle Mendelson\nSophomore
Kelley will be missed\nAs an IU and Indiana Daily Student alumnus and current member of the Athletics Department staff, I wanted to express the sadness I felt when I heard of the unfortunate passing of former IU player and coach Joe Kelley. Kelley was really the personification of a person who just didn't give up and could inspire you, as anybody can see from his bio. He was a tenacious player and never let a debilitating injury derail his soccer dreams.\nAs a coach, he could always make you feel very welcome in his company. My first beat with the IDS was back in 2001 when I was assigned women's soccer. I didn't quite know what to expect covering the team. All I really knew about was the men's team here. However, Kelley made me feel like a welcomed presence at practice and after a game, no matter the outcome.\nWin or lose, Kelley was always spirited, insightful and friendly when dealing with me and really helped inspire me to continue being a sports writer. I was disappointed when I heard Kelley was fired on that fateful Monday during finals week a few years ago, yet I continued to cover women's soccer with the new staff (who I also became quite fond of right away) because of my enjoyment of covering the team day-to-day during Kelley's last season with IU. He was always very trusting and accommodating to the media, not a trait that is too common nowadays.\nHe was one of the most important contributors to IU having a women's soccer team and was one of the classiest people I have encountered. Joe Kelley was one of the finest people that I encountered during my now 5 years at IU, and I wish his family my best regards. Thanks for helping me find my passion in the sports media realm, Mr. Kelley!\nIra Klapper\nIU athletics
Is this what the IU Police Department does?\nMy husband and I, along with friends, went to Homecoming on Oct. 30. We parked and tailgated in the grassy area across the street from the stadium where most of the students have their tailgate parties. We were in an area where there were woods and some of the students, primarily male, who couldn't wait in the long lines at the portable toilets, relieved themselves behind trees in the woods. Although we were at first startled, the kids did go to great lengths to try to hide themselves behind trees. One student even told us to please not look at him and apologized.\nWhat was most appalling was the way the campus police zoomed in on bicycles or in golf carts, practically tackled some of them, then arrested/ticketed these kids for indecent exposure. They also Breathalyzed them. Some of the kids were handcuffed and taken away (probably those under 21); others were just ticketed. It is really too bad that campus life has come to this.\nAs my daughter and our sons came to join us tailgating, we alerted them to what was happening, and they watched in disbelief as the campus police continued this practice. All of these kids we witnessed being attacked by the police were not deliberately exposing themselves, and they actually tried to hide what they were doing; to ticket them for indecent exposure is truly a cheap shot by campus police.\nAs a graduate of IU, it really bothers me to see this behavior by campus police. It was clear that there were not enough portable toilets in the area, as evidenced by the long lines of people waiting to use them. And it was also clear that these kids meant no harm to anyone. Is this really the best use of campus police? Having more portable toilets may simply be the answer to this problem. \nLisa Baldwini\nIU alumna
Reporter made mistakes\nIn support of Dr. Alfred Kinsey's work "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female," Herman B Wells once said, "I agree in saying that we have large faith in the value of knowledge, little faith in ignorance." Robert Schmitt's article titled "Midwest studies growing" (Oct. 28) displayed little faith in the value of knowledge and the utmost of ignorance. Beside the obvious mistake in the title, the article was riddled by errors of which I will only point out a few. \nAs a graduate student in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, where instruction in a wide range of languages, including Uzbek, Kazakh and Persian, is given, I was appalled to read that these three languages are spoken "in and around Iraq." First of all, Iraq need not be the only frame of reference for the entire region. There are many other countries and territories that are culturally and strategically significant. Furthermore, the information that he gave is simply incorrect. Generally speaking, Uzbek is spoken in Uzbekistan, and Kazakh in Kazakhstan. There are some Farsi or Persian speakers in Iraq, but the most dominant languages are officially Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian and Armenian. Uzbek, Kazakh and Persian are considered Central Asian languages and thus taught in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies. The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures provides instruction in Islamic studies and Arabic. \nNot only did the author display a complete lack of regional and cultural knowledge, but he could not even report accurately on IU's growing graduate department. He incorrectly reported that the department chair is Toivo Raun, but Professor Elliot Sperling is the current chair of CEUS. He didn't mention any other languages taught in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, including Mongolian, Hungarian, Estonian, Finnish, Tibetan and Turkish among others.\nNicole Willock\nGraduate student
