So fresh and so clean

I live off campus, but I am on campus every day and night studying, working or doing a bit of both. Since I am on university grounds so much, I can’t help but realize how beautiful and clean our campus is!

I would like to take the time to recognize UA’s custodial services because they do such a wonderful job at keeping our campus so clean. Twenty-four hours a day, I see the men and women of this department working hard to make sure the insides of our buildings and classrooms are clean for the next day. I see them outside picking up trash, trimming bushes and vacuuming up leaves with some sort of special device for doing so.

They always have a friendly smile and are not afraid to ask you how you are doing. As I was thinking about this about a week ago, I gave myself a little task of trying to count how many cigarette butts I could see while walking to my classes. For this entire week I have only counted four! Mind you, three of them were close by a cigarette pit outside a building (so it is quite possible that some wind had blown them away).

My point is, our campus is so clean and beautiful and it would not be this way if it were not for our hardworking custodial services people working around the clock so students, staff and faculty can enjoy a wonderful and clean desert campus. Thank you!

Patrick Boyan finance junior

Rep. Giffords failing her constituents

I would like to fully commend Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for doing a fantastic job of not representing her constituents. In her campaign, Giffords ran on a moderate platform, but since taking office she has been no such thing.

Arizona is a right-to-work state, but on March 1 Gabby cast a vote in favor of House Resolution 800, which strips workers of their right to secret ballots if there is a call to unionize. This is a bill that was endorsed by the U.S. Communist Party.

Then, just this past Friday, Gabby cast a vote in favor of House Resolution 1591, a purely partisan bill that undermines our president, our military commanders, our efforts for a successful Iraq and our troops. It dramatically reduces federal funds for Iraq in an attempt to force President Bush to begin a draw down of our forces.

Yet on Feb. 27, after returning from a Congressional delegation trip to Iraq led by Sen. Jon Kyl, Gabby publicly said that she wants to see success in Iraq, and if a bill ever came up in the House to cut off funding of the troops she would not vote for it. I see that Giffords is a woman of her word.

Gabby has just proven that she would rather be in good standing with Nancy Pelosi and the ultra-left, than be a real leader and represent her district and state. I hope the ride on Pelosi One was worth it.

Michael Sistak political science junior

Israeli incursion in Lebanon justified

This might look strange coming from a Muslim, but this past week I was shocked to read that the former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s administration made a mistake and the Israeli strikes in Lebanon were a mistake.

The last time I checked, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and was launching Soviet-style, Iranian-made Katyusha rockets, killing not only Jews but also Christian and Muslim citizens of Israel. Northern Israel has a city called Haifa. Haifa is a historical site with many Palestinian Israelis and Jews alike. It is home to the Hassan Bek mosque.

Whether Muslims readers like it or not, Israel had no choice but to defend its citizens. There were ceasefires to let refugees out of the critical areas. Calculated strikes were made in areas where Hezbollah was launching rockets.

It is true, the Israeli Defense forces aren’t perfect and many civilians were killed but ask yourself what you would do if someone attacked your nation. If anyone is to blame it is Hezbollah. They not only attacked Israel but sparked the catastrophe in Lebanon and also damaged the image of Islam. They are also responsible for siding with assassins (Syria) of the late Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri!

While Israel and Palestine must come back to the peace table, and we must support the independence of the Palestinian people and the reconstruction of Lebanon, Muslims and non-Muslims alike must always confront any act against humanity. Tragedies did happen, but Israel did not make a mistake in last year’s war. Furthermore, what happened in Lebanon is nothing compared to what is happening in Darfur.

Ahmad Saad Nasim UA alumnus

It’s all in the family for Republicans

Recently during a political discussion with a friend I brought up the point that the Republican Party has been most successful because they act more like a family than the Democratic Party. If you look at the Republicans, especially over the past eight years, you will notice that family secrets (or really party secrets) are kept within the family.

Obviously when family secrets get out they are attacked by the media – with good reason – but the response of Republicans isn’t one of immediate attack on their fellow family members, but more of noting the inconvenience and shame at the fact a family member acted inappropriately and everyone now knows. It took years and a variety of scandals before Republicans overwhelmingly began to admit flaws with Bush and the administration.

In my opinion, many people value this political approach as well because they can relate. The Republican Party, like most families, is far from infallible and it does its best to present a decent exterior – again like many others families. Republicans try to keep secrets within their close-knit union and solve them from within. The success of this approach is, of course, debatable, but in relation to the significance and similarity to family relations, it is undoubtedly respectable.

Democrats, on the other hand, come off as insecure and unstable because they approach inter-party politics more with mudslinging and exposure of party members’ flaws. This is not always the case, but I definitely believe the Democrats are less of a family unit than the Republicans (take election 2004 – it was clear than there was not overwhelming Democratic political support for John Kerry once he was declared the nominee, especially among former candidates and politicians).

Now I am not necessarily a Republican, a Democrat or Independent; rather, I think it’s fascinating the ways our major political parties interact among party lines and present themselves to the general public and media and that it is a fact worth noting and observing in the upcoming election season.

Ashley C. Emerole sophomore majoring in political science and regional development