As Alice in Wonderland hits theaters, the Patriot would like everyone to reflect on our own Alice, and her adventures.

Trevor Drummond, ’10 wrote Alice in Blunderland in March of 2008. Many of the points raised still hold true today.

The health care summit between the president and Congress a few days ago was pretty much more of the same. The point of the summit is to make some ground on finalizing the health care bill, which is what Congress has been trying to do for months. Republicans want to start over, which gets annoying after awhile when that’s 80% of what they say. The Democrats keep saying the two parties are in agreement on certain things but don’t seem to understand the difference in how the two parties want to handle the problems. The media had a field day, which somehow involved puppets. And then there’s Jon Stewart.

Title IX does it again. In a misguided attempt to make college sports more accessible to female student athletes, legislatures in Congress passed this bill that made it mandatory for schools to spend equally on both men’s and women’s sports. Seton Hall University, which HAD a reputable track team just announced that both the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track teams would be dissolved in order to make way for women’s golf. This was done as a cost-saving measure, but really Seton Hall? You are leaving numerous students who once had track scholarships out to dry all for the sake of establishing a women’s golf program. Title IX’s irrationality can be seen on our own campus where the men’s crew team is literally given money by the women’s team because of unequal and misappropriated funding. Why go through this hassle? Why not simply provide the right teams with the right funds? I am all for women’s athletics. They are an indelible part of any university system. Why should they be at the expense of men’s sports, though?

Read the article here.

Recently, a group calling themselves “Students for Workers” has surfaced here at Lehigh. Under that name, they submitted a letter to the Brown and White which looked to galvanize support amongst Lehigh students for Sodexo employees to join the SEIU (Services Employees International Union).

Who are these students? Well, it’s tough to tell from the letter. One thing we do know though – these students obviously think that they are quite important. Despite having absolutely no role in the Sodexo-Employee-SEIU triangle, they felt it was appropriate for them to make demands of the other bodies. To quote:

“In order to improve the situation, we wish to hold a meeting in which students, faculty, staff, and workers can speak openly without Sodexo management present. We feel that their presence would only serve to intimidate workers. We request that you issue a written statement to all Sodexo workers at Lehigh, informing them that in the interest of upholding free speech on our campus, you endorse campus workers’ right to discuss their working conditions at our open meeting. Due to the severity of the problem, we implore you to take action quickly. We respectfully request a response to this letter within the coming week.”

There’s no doubt that these students feel righteous in their support for the abused and alienated workers that Sodexo employs. And that’s great for them. However, it creates several issues which need to be addressed.

First, the condescension of these students is insulting to Sodexo employees, and should be insulting to the rest of us, as fellow Lehigh students.

Once the letter was published, several Sodexo employees immediately commented online. One employee, identifying himself as Paul wrote:

“WE, the general employee staff at Lehigh, are sick and tired of Austin (that’s the little twerp bothering people everywhere on campus) and his pathetic gang constantly badgering us about union this, union that. Enough’s enough. When is it going to end?”

While this is just one example (there are others in the same comment section), it highlights an important and obvious fact: these students have little idea what they are talking about. Employees live their lives everyday, and many of them have been doing so since long before any of us arrived at Lehigh. They know how things work, and some like it, some don’t. You will find that at any job, but with all students having seen some of the same smiling faces this year that we saw as freshmen, it should be apparent that working at Sodexo isn’t that horrible.

Ultimately, it is up to the workers to decide that. From the responses so far, it is apparent that the “Students for Workers” organization wanted to see an inequity, found one, and started a crusade. In the meantime, they are completely disregarding the (quite valid) opinions of Sodexo employees such as Paul who don’t want the SEIU butting into the conversation, let alone a gang of ignorant students. It is quite evident from this is that these students feel that they are more competent not just to act for Sodexo employees, but to think for them as well.

Students at large should also be insulted by these “Students for Workers.” The unionization of Sodexo employees would likely drive up operating costs for Sodexo, and in the process drive up Lehigh’s already questionable dining prices. While these students may be willing to pay more to dine, they are campaigning for everyone else at Lehigh to do the same.

All of this is being done in the name of the typical liberal mantras of unionized workers creating a paradise for the working class and finally having a society with “social justice.” What they miss though, as usual, is reality. Unions are the same overbearing oppressive entities that liberals see corporations to be. Unions create agendas, bring politics into the workplace, and in general create more problems than solutions for everyone involved. They drive up unemployment by restricting the labor supply through their demands for higher wages.

Are unions worth it? That’s a case by case decision, and everyone has his or her own opinions. Specifically with Sodexo and the SEIU, neither you nor I knows if it is a good fit for a union. Ultimately though, it must be the employees choice to take action. By “intervening,” the “Students for Workers” organization has displayed both condescension and ignorance. Sodexo employees are more than capable of taking care of themselves, or asking students for help if needed. Unsolicited “help” which openly disregards some Sodexo employees’ wishes is extremely disrespectful to our dining staff, and a disgraceful display of arrogance by these supposedly intellectual students.

Our world today is much safer than any that has existed in the history of humanity. We have immunizations for a variety of viral infections, antibiotics, cars, clean food and water, a dearth of localized warfare and violence and even government-funded student loans. We have it good, especially when compared to the billions who existed before us. Most of history has comprised of a shortage of resources, perpetual hunger, brutality, violence and a life expectancy that rarely exceeded 50 years.
Industrialization brought us clean living conditions and protection from some serious diseases but it also brought us weapons of war. The World Wars were devastated occurrences that shaped our world today and took the lives of millions of people. Politically, however, we are much safer today than we have ever been. The mayor of the town over from us won’t raid and pillage our homes and Germany isn’t going to invade any time soon. Although we do have worries with respect to international relations, especially with the threat of nuclear war, we have the sense that widespread destruction is unlikely in our generation, or at least at this time. This lack of threat from a world war is probably in large part due to those very same weapons of mass destruction that cause so much fear. Terrorism is a threat that we must all live with and it is our generation’s great battle. Random acts of terror, however, pale in comparison to what generations previous have dealt with. We are not asked to charge the trenches or invade Europe. Nations that were once willing to lose 50,000 men in a single battle are now cringing at the thought of losing 100. This is a very positive development for humans but we don’t seem to be at ease with our new-found sense of well-being.
Even though our life expectancy is greater than it has ever been and we are not facing the constant threat of death, as most of humanity has, we still feel the need to craze ourselves with fear. We live comfortable, cushy lives but we also have the myopia of seeing our moment in time and our generation as THE generation that will have to battle THE issue of the century. Undoubtedly these moments have occurred. We often have a gross misunderstanding of history. Our lack of perspective leads us to pessimistically believe that our generation will suffer greatly at the hands of a foreign power, or economic devastation will result or an awful virulent disease. History tells us that we won’t be fighting a world war in the foreseeable future, that we are richer and more prosperous than we have ever been (considering that a hundred years ago the average person would be considering poor in today’s standards) and swine flu isn’t the black death which was actually something to be concerned about. (Swine flu has killed a paltry number compared to the bubonic plague’s reaping of a third of Europe).
The news is full of it. Scary stories about crime going up, the economy faltering and bin laden coming to get us. Let’s take a moment to question why. Why do you feel the need to scare ourselves when all the evidence shows that we are living at the best moment in human history? So next time you hear that big, bad story about the next big thing to be afraid of just remember: You are not going to get the plague, you’re not going to be sold as an impoverished slave anytime soon and you’re not going to be bombed by the Russians.

In the realm of legislation that fails to receive sensationalized media attention, Ron Paul’s HR 1207 has largely been ignored by the mainstream media.  However, the legislation has garnered the cosponsorship of over half of the representatives in the house, and a companion bill in the senate has enjoyed similar success.

So what is HR 1207?  HR1207 is a bill to audit the Federal Reserve; the quasi-governmental agency responsible for managing the money supply of the United States.  Despite the word “Federal” in the name, they are no more a part of the government than a Federal Bank.  The Federal Reserve’s website lists their goals as Influencing Monetary and Credit conditions, supervising and regulating banking institutions, maintaining the stability of the financial system, and providing financial services to depository institutions and the US Government.

Many people find fault with the Federal Reserve through the inflationary tactics it uses to accomplish its goals.  Inflation, the expansion of the monetary supply causes price increases and makes money worth less.   Since the Federal Reserve’s inception in 1913, the worth of an American dollar has fallen 97%; what one could buy for three cents in 1913, one now has to spend one hundred cents in 2009.

The rampant inflationary tactics have taken a new turn in the past decade, as the inflation creates boom and bust cycles within our economy, as evidenced most recently by the housing bubble that spawned our current recession.  Furthermore, the Federal Reserve has increased the monetary supply by buying assets of struggling companies, which results in a hidden tax on the average American consumer.

This issue becomes relevant to students as we progress through college and seek employment in the workforce.  A Federal Reserve that manipulates the financial markets has the ability to bring widespread panic and ruin to the population.

HR 1207: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1207

Hillary Clinton shared a laugh this week with Saudi Arabian college students over the prospect of Sarah Palin being elected president. If Palin was elected, Clinton declared she would not emigrate to Canada, but would, in fact, visit often.
NYT Article: Clinton Enjoys a Laugh Overseas About a Palin Presidency
While it may be entertaining to envision Palin as president, why are Americans not more unnerved at the proximity Palin achieved to the vice presidency in 2008?

The following link to a Huffington Post article highlights the reasons why men all over the world die earlier than women.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/myles-spar-md/why-do-men-die-younger-th_b_457660.html

However, this article calls into question our societies aggressive support for heteronormativity. Should men in our society rule? Should we continue to take excessive risks on wall street? Is our encouragement of sport teams best for Lehigh?

Sodexo, the company responsible for feeding the bulk of the student population recently conducted a survey by e-mail and claimed that the survey taker would be rewarded at the end of the survey. (What follows is the actual e-mail recieved)

Dear student, faculty and staff,

Today we are requesting your participation in an important online
survey about your recent dining experiences on campus. You will
be rewarded at the end of the survey in return for your participation.

We are collecting this information on behalf of Sodexo. At no
point will pass your information on to any marketing
company. No personally identifiable information will be collected in the survey; we will only use
your responses in conjunction with those of other survey respondents.

This survey should only take approximately 7 minutes to complete.

I have no issue with Sodexo doing a survey; gathering information is a vital part of 21st century business. What I do have an issue with is the reward at the end of the survey. (Screen shot of actual survey end)

Sodexo Decides to Spend My Tuition Dollars

For your participation, Lehigh University will donate $1 to The WORLD FOOD PROGRAM – earmarked to providing needed food supplies to the people that have just survived the tragic earthquake in Haiti on your behalf.

Why is LEHIGH UNIVERSITY donating money on my behalf? I pay them for an education, not to provide philanthropy. Furthermore, the choice of charity offends me. As I have previously discussed, I disagree with the disproportionate aid for Haiti.

Looking into the charity benefiting from my “donation,” the Better Business Bureau reveals they are an outreach of the United Nations. Why is my money going to such a cause, besides to give Sodexo a very nice tax write-off?

As a service to both conservatives and liberals, the Patriot is proud to provide accurate commentary on some individuals who position themselves as Conservative thinkers but are, in fact, anything but. One of those polarizing figures is Sarah Palin, or “Failin” if you prefer.

While Palin is idolized by an undue number of conservatives, the blunt truth is that this woman rarely has any idea what she is talking about. Despite that this has been demonstrated virtually any time she talks, some people still refuse to admit that she is a walking disaster.

So, while we will eventually get around to detailing some of her past displays of incompetency, we thought we should begin with a current one, to be labeled Case #001 by the Lehigh Patriot. This is Palin answering a question at the Tea Party Convention about how Congress should change.

In this clip, Palin says that elected U.S. leaders ought to become “god fearing” again, and “ask for divine inspiration” to help make the U.S. safe and prosperous again.

As effective as that may be, this is a woman positioning herself for a run at the White House, and her answer to our problems is to ask her American God to give us some miracles to solve health care, immigration, deficits, unemployment, excessive taxation and Middle East turmoil?

Better yet, pictures taken during the event show she was reading off of her hand while answering the question, and photos taken by the AP clearly show the notes on her hand. That brings us to a quick session of “Life Lessons with Sarah Palin.”

How to answer questions from the “Gotch-ya” Media by Sarah Palin

Step 1: Wink, Smile, and talk about God. Step 2: Know questions in advance.

Step 3: Write notes on the inside of my hand.

Step 4: "Discretely" read the notes off of my hand.

(Photos 1 and 2 AP)

(Photo 3 http://tweetphoto.com/10644777)

If Palin used notes to identify the three things this country should do to improve, we may finally have an answer to how she finally received her degree in communications. For those who don’t know, it took Palin almost six years at four different colleges to eventually obtain her degree in communications finally from the University of Idaho. Based on these revelations, it seems the University of Idaho should investigate whether or not Palin used this technique during some of her exams.