OPINIONS & EDITORIALS
PAGE 3 | THURSDAY, SEPT. 8, 2011
opinions&editorials
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
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Bags,bros, and wings...fraternity recruitment is in full swing. Greek street is once again packed with new recruits.
Republicans have yet to say ‘Yes, we can do this’
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These are ideas of great merit, and President Obama’s efforts to implement them are commendable, and it is unfortunate that Congress in unlikely to act on any of these proposals.
Tonight President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress and the American people to present his plans to reverse our nation’s economic fortunes and solve the unemployment crisis facing our workers. By most accounts his plans are likely to include some old ideas that he has been trying to get through for some time, such as infrastructure investments and the passage of trade agreements, as well as some modest new proposals such as a tax credit to companies that hire new workers. These are ideas of great merit and Obama’s efforts to implement them are commendable, but it is unfortunate that Congress is unlikely to act on any of these proposals. Speaker John Boehner and his intractable majority in the House of Representatives makes it almost impossible for anything of real substance to be done about the jobs crisis, which is kind of a shame.
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Boehner can claim that job creation is his highest priority as much as he likes, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Surface Transportation bill is set to expire at the end of the month unless his caucus decides to act responsi-
bly. The expiration of this bill would immediately put 4,000 workers out of pay and would put one million jobs on the line over the following year. That’s a lot of jobs, Mr. Speaker. Not only is it a lot of jobs, it would severely undercut our already lackluster efforts to update and modernize our national infrastructure. At a time when our roads and bridges are crumbling we need to be investing more in transportation, not less. In an op-ed last week, Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa called for a major investment in infrastructure to help revitalize the construction industry left stagnant by the burst of the housing bubble. I couldn’t agree with Harkin more. It is time that America got serious about investing in the future. From repairing America’s aging bridges to building a new light rail to connect our cities, there is so much work to be done and for all the talk of American exceptionalism, I have yet to hear a Republican leader say, “Yes, we can do this.” There are far more people who are content to stand in the way of American progress, and they have proudly stood up and said “no” to programs and policies that would restore
the American workforce and would rebuild the backbone of our nation. It is my hope that this is what the Republicans in Congress consider tonight as they listen to Obama’s call to action. Do they truly wish to stand in front of the American people and say, “no, you can’t”? These times call for big solutions, both in policy and in temperament, and I think America is up to the task.
CASEY ERIXON | COLUMNIST Erixon is a junior rhetoric and politics major can be contacted at william.erixon@drake.edu
Top 8 things to do is DSM Eat! There was an old myth that stated there were more restaurants in Des Moines than people, and while that is not exactly true, there are more than enough places for a hungry college student to eat. There is Gateway Market for the “locavores,” Centro and Django for the sophisticated and the laid-back Drake Diner for the allAmerican eaters.
Visit the Des Moines Art Center. Today the Art Center is hosting The Art of Yoga and Pecha Kucha Night. Events continue this weekend with SmART Family Weekends and Grandparents Day! As always, the Art Center is free.
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Visit Gray’s Lake Park. This 167-acre park has a two-mile trail, a beautiful lake and many free events. This is a great place for a picnic with friends, a nice and relaxing date or a fun place to people-watch. Best of all, it is free!
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Go bowling. Get some friends together and have a great time seeing who rolls the most gutter balls. If you go on Wednesday nights after 7 p.m. at Merle Hay Lanes, every game is only $1 per person.
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Go to the zoo! Relive your childhood by visiting many animals - ranging
from red pandas to jellyfish – at the Des Moines Buccaneers for the Blank Park Zoo. Admission is hockey lovers. Because most of $10.95 for adults. these are minor league affiliates of larger teams, you can see a game Visit the Body Worlds for around $10 and still have a Vital exhibit at the good time. Science Center of Hang out at a local Iowa. This exhibit coffee shop. Whethlasts until Oct. 31 and er you want the fushows you how the body works turistic feel of Mars along with some information on Café, the small town how to make your body run at its best. Admission ranges from $8.75 diner feel of Smokey Row or the for general admission to $19.25 for accessibility of Starbucks, there is a place for every caffeine addict all exhibits. near Drake’s campus. Go to a sports game. There is the Iowa Cubs for baseball lovers, the Iowa Barnstormers for arena football lovers, the Des Moines Menace for soccer lovers, the Iowa ERYN SWAIN | COLUMNIST Energy for basketball lovers and Swain is a junior marketing and writing double major
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and can be reached at eryn.swain@drake.edu
STAFF EDITORIAL
Our Two Cents Street signs on campus? Good, that’s really necessary because our campus is so big that we need signs to tell us where to go.
Now we can’t even make our own salads or get just plain pasta. And if we want some of that good looking hypoallergenic food, we can’t even get that because we’re not ‘special students’. Thanks a lot Hubbell.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884 kristen.smith@drake.edu
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ELIZABETH ROBINSON, Feat/Op Editor
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EDUARDO ZAMARRIPA, Sports Editor
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BENNETT HANSEN, Digital Editor
The TD staff is very eco-friendly. 1\¼[ Y]Q\M KWUUWV \W ÅVL ][ [Q\\QVO and working on the paper in dark. Sarah Palin clearly has a way with words - “poles are meant for strippers and cross country skiers.” Well said Palin, well said.
JOEY GALE | photo editor
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
If Rayvonte Rice and Kurt Alexander are suspended this year, our basketball season is really going to ‘sock’. The season hasn’t even started and the team already has cold feet.
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