Letters to the editor

Author: [no author name found]

To the Editor:

It occurred to me that Mr. Clayton ("The Cranky Socialist," Oct. 23) was confused on who he would want to support when it comes to the election this year. As such a strong socialist, I assumed he would know that his vote should be for Brian Moore and Stewart Alexander: the nominees for the Socialist Party in the United States. Alas, my assumptions that he would be a more informed socialist were in vain. Perhaps he became confused by all the ridiculous conservatives who label Barack Obama with the title of "socialist." These people can be very convincing with the labels they give him, many of them being the same misinformed people who believe Obama to be un-American or a Muslim (apparently it is bad, in the first place, to practice Islam).

Of course there is flack from both sides: I hold liberals who cast McCain as a "fascist" in the same esteem as the conservatives who call Obama a "socialist." He mentioned Proposition 8 which would take away the right to marry from same-sex couples in California. Knowing the history of the ballot, it is only superficially a conservative measure because of its wording. Actually, conservatives from California were angry about the wording of the measure because they were afraid the notion of "removing a right" from a group of people would appeal to the voter's conscience and cause it to fail. There was quite a GOP movement to change the wording to the more successful "define marriage as a union between one man and one woman."

Apparently, it was their goal to not include the conscience in voting on this ballot, and in my opinion, you might have to be void of one in order to vote "yes" on it. Denying same-sex couples the right to marry is a sore that plagues a country that calls itself the "free" world. To backtrack the progress that California is fostering would be inhumane. Therefore, please support love and support "no" on Proposition 8. And if you're truly a socialist... Brian Moore is your man, not Barack Obama.

Sincerely,
Ryan Tauriainen '08
Waialua, HI.

To the Editor:

Last weekend, the Middlebury varsity men and women's crew team competed at one of the world's most renowned regattas in the world, the Head of the Charles in Boston. Competing against clubs from all over the nation, both squads defeated rivals such as Tufts University. Imagine my surprise to open up The Campus and see nothing, not even a blurb, about our achievements. It is disappointing and insulting to see the lack of recognition that these successful Middlebury teams receive.

Sincerely,
Elise Cohen '11