Vegetarianism promotes animal rights
I agreed with Lin Ching Shywan (“Choice of eating meat or not guided by taste, values, diet,” ODE, Feb. 25) when she stated that she feels that we should show mercy to those who are weaker. Eating vegetarian fare is a great way to follow this belief and oppose animal cruelty.
Chickens raised for meat are forced to grow so quickly that their heart, lungs and legs can’t keep up with their unnaturally rapid growth. Pigs have their tails cut off and ears sliced, while cows suffer branding and crude castration, all without painkillers. Even worse is the intensive confinement that egg-laying hens undergo in modern agriculture, never even able to flap their wings inside tiny wire cages.
More and more people are choosing the vegetarian option to protect their health and the animals. It seems timelier than ever to start today.

Josh Balk

Takoma Park, Md.

Outreach Coordinator

Compassion Over Killing

Rudin proves to be skilled puppet for the left
It’s comforting to know that even in today’s times of global uncertainty, this campus has a force that’s solid as a rock. That force is Aimee Rudin.
Standing strong against the evils of the right-wing media, we can always count on Rudin to spout off the Left’s War on Terror talking points. Reminiscent of cultural obstetrician Joe Bechard, who had his Ph.D. in Eugene liberal groupthink, Rudin remains unwavering in her quest not to let rational thought get in the way of her arguments.
Saddam Hussein had to be taken out of power for the sake of his own people, and for the sake of the rest of the world. He violated more than 17 United Nations mandates, invaded Kuwait, abused and tortured his own people, used weapons of mass destruction and harbored members of al Qaida. But according to Rudin, “It’s about oil.”
And in a paragraph that would make Michael Moore and Al Franken proud, Rudin manages to debunk the right-wing media, opine that the war in Iraq is about oil and oil alone, play the race card and engage in class warfare!
Somebody at http://MoveOn.org please hire this woman! I urge the Emerald to print commentary from original thinkers, not from those who are overcome with groupthink and rewrite the talking points.

Christopher Looney

junior

economic