Region

Missed opportunities

By Nathan Dixon · Wednesday, Sept. 17,2008 10:05 p.m.

The man crusaded against the Federal Reserve System, hinted about a plan for a North American Union and claimed that the Federal Income Tax was unconstitutional. When Ron Paul ran for the Republican presidential nomination last year, he inspired legions of followers and for a time was raising more money than John McCain. I can truly say that Ron Paul was the phenomenon of our campus last year. Ron Paul carried on his campaign after it was really over, securing plenty of votes in primaries long after McCain was the presumptive nominee, and holding a Rally for the Republic during the Republican National Convention that attracted almost as many people.

Innocence matters

By Indira Dammu · Wednesday, Sept. 17,2008 10:04 p.m.

When the notion of “cruel and unusual punishment” was conceived in the 17th century, it was probably hoped the phrase would be more broadly applied and understood in later years. While many European countries have taken the cue, promoting rehabilitation as an alternative to jail stints, the American view of crime is increasingly regressive. Our support of capital punishment, despite doubts over the prisoner’s guilt, is particularly troubling.

Treasuring the truth

By Nick Wallace · Wednesday, Sept. 17,2008 10:02 p.m.

Monday evening, I went to the IU College Republicans call-out meeting. Of course, I had no intention of joining the party. But I had heard that a special guest, ex-congressman Mike Sodrel, would be there to greet students. I thought it would be worth my time to become a little more familiar with the man who represented me on Capitol Hill for two years.