The Dartmouth Beacon

Capitalism: Actually, it's Not Materialistic

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:56:44 -0500

Socialists often decry their capitalistic counterparts as materialistic. Nothing could make less sense. Communism, the big brother in the socialism family, is the fundamentally materialistic philosophy.

Why the Bunnies? Command Economies and Paradise

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:34:35 -0500

North Korea’s leadership recently offered up its solution to that country’s hunger woes. Their remedy hinges on six bunny rabbits, newly imported from Germany, that are of the particularly giant variety. On account of the rabbits’ gargantuan size, the North Koreans claim that the creatures constitute a panacea, if bred in sufficiently large quantities. But do these giant bunny rabbits, in fact, make up the wave of the future?

Drafting a Solution

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 09:27:07 -0500

Throughout its history, militaries have always been confronted with difficult decisions, some strategic, some political. Currently, our military is struggling with a problem that encompasses both the strategic and political, as it tries to balance the need for a sufficient quantity of soldiers, preferably ones that are representative of America, with the need for motivated and dedicated ones. This trade-off of equality and quantity versus quality, is one that the United States military has been struggling with for decades. However, the issue of whether our all-volunteer military is adequate has once again come to the forefront, with President Bush having requested a troop surge in Iraq, while others, including Colin Powell, have said that our troops are already stretched much too thin. Also, U.S. Representative Charles Rangel has periodically been introducing legislation into the House of Representatives to reinstate the draft, citing the need for more upper-class representation in our armed services.

Making the Most of a Liberal Campus

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:10 -0500

Freshmen arriving on campus this Fall with the mistaken impression that Dartmouth is a conservative institution: be warned. Those expecting a balanced political environment where conservative ideas are received with as much respect as liberal ones: be warned. You will encounter roughly one Republican for every twelve faculty members you meet. In fact, a given student’s chances of admission to Dartmouth, slim as they are, are 2.4 times better than the odds that his first professor will be a Republican. With the exception of the economics department (home to a trio of right-leaning thinkers) students of liberal arts and public policy are taught by a faculty nearly devoid of conservative representatives, in a nation famously composed of two near-commensurate sides.

Close, but no Cigar: Dealing with Castro

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:09 -0500

It is apparent that the “Red Scare” fomented by Senator McCarthy is long over, and thankfully so. The regimes that once had us cowering in our makeshift bomb shelters are now threats of the past; the Soviet Union has collapsed, we now trade with China, and it would appear that the rapid spread of Communism has halted almost entirely. The new ideological phantasm is Islamic fundamentalism and its terrorist tactics, and although Communist countries such as North Korea and China continue to be viable threats to Democratic nations, recent administrations have been content (if not enthusiastic, in Nixon’s case) to suffer amicable—or at least diplomatic—relations with them. So why are dealings with Cuba, our tiny island neighbor, so drastically different?

Che Guevara: The Man Behind the Head

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:08 -0500

For Cubans living in America, Che Guevara represents every reason they fled their Communist native land. That’s why Cuban-American groups shoulder the load of countless protests whenever his ratty mug threatens to adorn modernist art galleries and otherwise-pure white t-shirts. At UCLA, for example, Professor emeritus Sara Lequerica de la Vega confronted her administration when the Fowler Museum of Cultural History decided to mount an exhibition called "Che Guevara: Icon, Myth and Message". She wrote emphatically that, “The revulsion of Cubans to this event is as valid and honest as would be that of the Jewish community if confronted with the idealization of Adolf Hitler.”

Back in the USSR

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:06 -0500

Commies aren’t cool. This summer I learned that first hand by living in St. Petersburg, Russia, a city and country still devastated from years of oppressive communist regimen. On my homecoming, a friend asked me to summarize Communism. I think John Lennon does a relatively good job outlining it in his song “Imagine,” so I borrowed a line.

Editorial

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:05 -0500

As fall term begins and I watch freshman grow acclimated to Dartmouth, I can not help but recall my first year at college with a nostalgia bordering on longing. When I arrived on campus for orientation, I was overwhelmed by the opportunities before me; opportunities I had never dreamed of back in my home town. There were hundreds of fascinating courses, foreign study programs, clubs for every imaginable interest and hobby, and students from all over the country and the world. I had never been in a place with such racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic diversity. (With the regrettable exception, of course, of ideological diversity.) I was raised by a New York City police officer, so the newfound freedom afforded by dorm life was entirely new to me. The sky seemed the limit.

Back Page: Letter To Katrina

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:02 -0500

Dear Katrina,

We must eschew eloquence for accuracy: you were a miserable, predictable cur. For all of the prescience that our meager meteorological efforts bore, Norman Mailer bested us back in ‘59. Here was his forecast: “America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants who live in the center, in the serene eye of the big wind.”

Opiate Of The Masses: China's War On Religion

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:10 -0500

On December 4, 1982, the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People’s Congress in Beijing amended the constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In a revised section entitled “Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens,” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proclaimed religious freedom for all Chinese citizens: “No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion.” Yet, as is so often the case in “revolutionary” societies, reality did not square with professed ideals. To this day, religious freedom in China remains yet another socialist fantasy; the CCP continues to incarcerate individuals and persecute entire religious groups.

Sex Sells: The Trafficking of Slaves

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:09 -0500

We hear so much nowadays about how politically divided we are as a nation. The gap between Red America and Blue America has never been wider. The media has emphasized polarizing issues such as gay marriage as evidence of the ever-growing divide between the left and the right. It is encouraging, therefore, when both Republicans and Democrats can step back from partisan politics and unite behind an issue of grave importance. And while this has been happening with less frequency lately, for some time one such issue was international sex trafficking.

The UN: Corruption and Babel on the East Side

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:08 -0500

In the movies, as in reality, horror comes when evil rocks the otherwise peaceful citadels of our lives. And sadly, horror abounds on this Earth of ours; it encircled all during the Second World War. The unthinkable cruelty of those years–bombs, gas, guns, and pens–was, in one man’s words, “an investment in peace.” To the Marshall tune of 341 billion dollars, the United States of America purchased futures at a time when ‘bullish’ was forgotten and ‘optimism’ was outmoded.

Jews and the GOP

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:07 -0500

American Jews have long been known as one of the Democratic Party’s most dependable constituencies. Drawn almost exclusively to the Democrats by Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930’s, Jews have remained faithful that party ever since. In fact, no Republican candidate for president since Warren G. Harding (1920) has received over 40% of the Jewish vote.

An Interview With Professor Meir Kohn

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:06 -0500

[Eds. Note – Professor Meir Kohn is a member of the Upper Valley Jewish Community and a Dartmouth professor of economics. He recently served as a panelist at a Hillel-sponsored discussion, "Roles, Responsibilities, and Relationships of American Jews with Israel," where he contributed a speech entitled "Ending the Jewish love affair with the left."]

A Taste of Democracy

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:05 -0500

[Eds. note – The following are excerpts from the writings of David Grizzle, who works for the State Department in Afghanistan and recently was an observer to the Afghani elections. While the story is moving, this is not official State Department literature.]