Opinion Column – 8/29/2007

Here is this week’s column.

It has been really hot these past few weeks. Some believe it is hot because the climate fluctuates throughout the year – hotter during the summer, colder during the winter. However, many individuals believe the cause of this extreme heat we are experiencing can be summed up in two words: global warming.One problem with
the latter argument is global warming actually is not global at all. According to a study by Lubos Motl, a Harvard physicist, global warming is not affecting the whole world.The study showed the southern hemisphere has been warming 0.05
degrees Celsius a decade since 1970.

The physicist has stated the measuring station at the South Pole actually has shown a distinctive cooling trend in temperatures. Even with that fact presented, many people who believe in the man-made myth that is global warming still argue the temperatures we are experiencing are all-time highs. However, Christopher Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise and an acknowledged expert on Gore-bal warming legislation and regulation, does not believe the argument is quite accurate. “Evidence suggests it is currently colder than it was during the well-established Medieval Warm Period,” Horner said.Even without air conditioned buildings, homes and cars, the peasants and knights during the Medieval Warm Period somehow dealt with the heat. Instead of crying “armageddon” to the entire world, they went out and made the best of it. Horner said this time was considered a golden age for agriculture, innovation and lifespan.

The earth has hardly been warming over the past years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced that over the span of the 20th century, the global average surface temperature increased about 0.6 degrees Celsius.Sometimes a few facts are not enough to sway a global warming fanatic. People still will argue in support of the global-warming theory by saying the glaciers are melting. Here’s a question: what happens when you leave an ice cube out on your counter? It melts. Ice tends to melt when it is in an environment above freezing. To say an ice glacier is melting is not an eye opening, jaw-dropping discovery. Rather, it is merely a guess.

It is not a good guess, either. While some glaciers have been melting, scientists have proven other glaciers are growing (a process known as calving), Horner said.

So if the melting of a glacier is proof of global warming, then the calving of another must be proof of a global cooling. Always forgotten by the eco-freaks is back in the 1970s, environmentalists were running around telling everyone to prepare for global cooling. In the April 28, 1975, issue of Newsweek magazine, an article ran giving a scientific analysis of the then-impending disaster of global cooling, complete with weather patterns and a chart of the “average temperature change.” The article hypothesized this global catastrophe would create a shorter summer growing season which would then lead to worldwide starvation.

That obviously did not occur. Do not let the global warming fanatics try to convince you otherwise.

Chuck Armstrong is a senior in electronic media production. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.

Uhh, that was a little bit different than the one I turned in. Oh well.

The Right Track – 8/27

Here’s the first show of the semester. Enjoy!

MP3 File

8/27/2007 Radio Show: Synopsis

What a great show! We interviewed Matt Wagner and Lydia Peele (KSU Student Body Pres/VP). Topics discussed included the new parking garage that is being built in front of the Student Union, the NBAF program, the Good Neighbor system, and also how the pair are doing in regards to the promises they made when campaigning last spring.

Then after they left the studio, I dove right into the political commentary of the show. I dissected this past weekend’s Democrat Radio Address, given by Former Senator Max Cleland. I then harped on Miss Teen South Carolina…Well, you’ll just have to watch this video:

I also discussed the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, and had a faithful listener who agreed with what we were talking about in regards to illegal wire tapping. I may have criticized the Kansas State Collegian a little as well. Whoops.

To end the show, I brought in Adam Holste, my very own sports anchor, to dive into the wide, wide world of sports. We talked about K-State’s game against Auburn this weekend, NASCAR, and a little bit about Michael Vick.

The show will be posted right here on this blog within the next day or two in its entirety. So if you missed out, or just want to hear the show again, check back soon so that you can download the show. You may just want to subscribe to it on iTunes right now, and then it will download automatically as a Podcast.

It’ll be worth your time.

Radio Show Premiere!

Tomorrow evening marks the first show of The Right Track on The Wildcat 91.9 (If you want to listen live on the internet, click the link). The show will air every Monday evening at 5, and run until about 6:15-6:30.

This week’s show is going to be one packed with great commentary, and maybe even a little bit of fun. We’ll start it out by discussing the current issues that face Kansas State University with Student Body President Matt Wagner. Then Chuck will dive into such topics as this week’s Democratic Radio Address, the War in Iraq, his Collegian opinion columns, and maybe even Miss Teen USA! Then to end the show, Chuck invites Adam Holste into the studio to discuss the latest news in the wide, wide world of sports.

Make sure to tune in tomorrow night at 5p. It’s going to be a lot of fun…To say the least.

Opinion Column – 8/22/2007

Here is the column that ran in today’s paper. From what I can tell at first glance, it’s the same as the one I turned in (that’s a first). I’ll have to read the print version to see if there’s a difference between it and the online version – believe it or not, the Collegian has been known to do that every once in awhile.

The following is an interview with Satan conducted during this past summer.

Chuck: It’s great to finally meet up with you. You’re a very hard man to track down.

Satan: Well, you need to look in the right place…or the wrong one, if you will.

C: Indeed. Before we get started, what would you like me to call you? Mr. Lucifer? Beelzebub? Prince of Darkness?

S: Oh, you can just call me Floyd. I’m a pretty normal guy; you’ve probably seen me around.

C: Sounds good, Floyd. Let’s get straight to the important stuff. How do you think the presidential race is going so far?

F: (Groan). To be honest, it’s not that exciting since I know the outcome. How about I tell you who will win the primaries? The Republican Party is going to support Rudy Giuliani. Nothing too surprising. You really think I’d let a Mormon win? People might rather have me running the country! As far as the Democratic Party goes, it was basically up to me to decide which soul was the most desirable. Clinton was my first pick, but after further review, I realized she is actually too evil for the presidency. So, I went with Edwards. His continued talk about the poor makes me so happy. What kind of guy could talk about helping the poor and then spend $1200 on a haircut? That’s like David Vitter talking about ethics and then hooking up with the DC Madame – which was one of my prouder moments. Oh, and I love how he has his wife fight his battles for him. It’s so cute watching her stick up for her husband. I get confused as to which one is the man in the relationship! Those two are like family to me.

C: Let’s talk about Clinton a little. Has she ever been involved with you before?

F: There have been times when I think she’s MY boss! Have you seen her in debates? She makes me blush. In 2002 she supported the war. In 2003 she wanted to stay involved in Iraq. In 2004 she admitted that Hussein was a problem. In 2005 she didn’t want to set a withdrawal date. And now she’s running on this campaign of ending this war, even to the extent of not funding your soldiers! You can’t learn that kind of evilness in the classroom. Oh, and her obsession with socialized healthcare is just phenomenal. Marx and I have talked about her over dinner numerous times, and to put it bluntly, he’s jealous of Bill!

C: Speaking of Bill, has he ever been in cahoots with you?

F: Let’s just say Bill and I go way back. You remember those Puerto Rican terrorists’ sentences that he commuted in 1999? A person with a conscience couldn’t do that; it was all me. And the whole Lewinsky scandal? You really think a guy like him could get action in the Oval Office without my assistance? And don’t even get me started on the Middle East. If Clinton wanted to, he could’ve captured bin Laden two or three times! But, he left that mess for the next president, which made me and my partners quite happy. While I like to take the credit, I must share some with him for the attacks on September 11^th.

C: So you’ve basically had your hand in every presidency?

F: Remember those dead people who voted in 1960? Well, they actually did vote! I set up special booths on the second and third levels of Hell just for that election. And the recount in 2000, I –

C: You mean Gore actually won?

F: (Laughter.) Well, I tried my hardest to help Gore, but even I couldn’t fix that election. He had no chance in Hell! And if he thinks it’s hot on Earth, wait until he dies. And with that, I need to get running. Well, if you ever need anything, anything at all, just let me know.

C: Where can I find you?

F: Oh, I’ll be around.

Return to Collegian; Radio Show

Last year I wrote a weekly column for the Opinion page of the K-State Collegian. Needless to say, my columns generated the most public feedback of all the columns that ran in the student paper (very rarely was it positive feedback). In January I decided to end my run as a trouble maker as I was getting tired of fighting with the Opinion Editor every single time I turned in my column – for some reason, certain individuals do not see eye to eye with me.

However, this Wednesday will mark the return of Chuck Armstrong’s opinion column. While the story doesn’t run for a couple of days, it has already caused some trouble in the bowels of the Collegian.

Oh well. You will be able to read the column in full on this site (we’ll have to wait to see how much gets cut from the original). You’ll be able to read what runs on the Collegian’s website.

I’ve also figured out a tentative day for “The Right Track” to air on The Wildcat 91.9. The show will begin broadcasting next Monday starting at 5p, and will continue to air each and every Monday at the same time. You can listen live on KSDB’s website, and you will be able to download the shows in full on this site (they are available for one or two weeks after the original air-date). Make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes…that way, you don’t have to worry about downloading it each time or it becoming unavailable.

With that said, make sure to check back on Wednesday (maybe even Tuesday night!) for this week’s already infamous opinion column.

The I-Man Cometh

Today started out extremely promising. Don Imus and CBS settled on a deal! The settlement was $20 million. More exciting than that is that this settlement essentially opens the door for Imus’ return to the airwaves.

I was not able to relish in this fortunate news for Imus for too long. I soon stumbled onto this article and realized that Imus’ troubles were far from over. Kia Vaughn, the center for the Rutgers Women’s basketball team, is suing Imus for the comments he made about the team in April.

I don’t even know where to begin with this story. The whole idea of this lawsuit is that Imus should have never called the women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos,” as if the shock jock is the sole source for extreme comments towards women.

“This is a lawsuit in order to restore the good name and reputation of my client, Kia Vaughn,” said her attorney, Richard Ancowitz, in an exclusive interview with the ABC News Law & Justice Unit.

This quote would lead you to believe that Vaughn is in no way worried about the reputation of her team; in fact, that’s exactly what Ancowitz is saying.

“There’s no way these bigoted remarks should have seen the light of day,” Ancowitz told ABC News. “Don Imus referred to my client as an unchaste woman. That was and is a lie.”

The definition of chaste includes “decent and modest.” A junior in college who sues a shock jock for calling her basketball team a mean name is hardly modest or decent in my opinion. She is unchaste, to be exact. So maybe Imus wasn’t far off from what he said in April.

Every living and breathing decent woman in the United States of America should file a lawsuit against any and every rapper or comedian who has ever used the word “ho.”

Wait a second, that sounds absolutely ridiculous, doesn’t it? Well that is exactly what Vaughn is doing. However, what Vaughn doesn’t realize is that she is going up against the I-Man. CBS couldn’t even beat him; they fired him thinking they were fixing their problem, and now just settled on a $20 million deal. Good job, CBS. What does Vaughn think she has that is going to shut Imus down? Even if she wins, Imus isn’t going anywhere.

Nothing. This lawsuit is worthless and ludicrous to say the least. She has no case. This is the worst thing that individuals can do in order to promote civil liberties. Instead of dragging this case out, the world needs to move on. Or, instead of focusing on one radical comment that an old guy said on the radio, perhaps these insane civil liberty psychopaths should focus on Dr. Dre or Chris Rock.

Oh well. The hissy fits that these nutcases throw won’t affect Imus’ return to radio. I look forward to the day that Imus and Bernie are back on the air, tearing others down to build themselves up. You know why? Because it is entertaining, and that my friends, is their job.

Something interesting: The term “ho” isn’t governed by FCC regulations. You can say ho, ho, ho on the air and not be breaking any FCC rules. Well, only if you’re saying it in regards to an unchaste woman.

A chaste woman can sue you for saying it!

Separated at Birth? – Part II

Mr. Magoo and Ron Paul…Too easy.

Separated at Birth? – Part I

What’s worse, that Tom Petty looks like Cindy Sheehan, or Cindy Sheehan looks like a demon?

Articles of Interest

Enjoy these articles:

• Inside Iraq – Bill KRISTOL, Time
• Get it Done – Peggy NOONAN, OpinionJournal.com
• Sicko Stalls – Louis WITTIG, Weekly Standard
• Congressional Collapse – Sen. Tom COBURN, Human Events
• The Boy Who Lived – Christopher HITCHENS, New York Times
• Maybe Bloomberg Should Get Mad – Harry SIEGEL, New York Observer
• NYPD on Alert for Qaeda Bomb – Perry CHIARAMONTE, New York Post
• Backing off 9/11 Boasts – Celeste KATZ, New York Daily News
• Hillary: The Right’s Choice? – Bruce BARTLETT, Los Angeles Times
• Marijuana in Kansas? – Scott ROTHSCHILD, Lawrence Journal-World