Hank Hill's 'The View From Arlen' Blog.  

Saturday, April 30, 2005


ITHACA COLLEGE PAPERS STOLEN AS "RACIST"


ITHACA, NY—Another college newspaper was stolen and thrown out to protest its “racist” coverage earlier this month.

According to published reports, “hundreds” of copies of the April 21 edition of the Ithacan, the official student newspaper of Ithaca College, were stolen and thrown out that evening.

One of the thieves was later identified, reports indicate. “She said she had been upset with the paper for …what she saw as the lack of coverage of the Erase the Hate rally,” the Ithacan editors reported.


The “Erase the Hate” rally was a billed as a response to a series of “racial slurs” that were written in various places all around Ithaca College earlier in April. “These incidents were preceded by bias-related incidents against Asians, African-Americans and women in February and March,” the Cornell Daily Sun reported.

The student was not the only person on campus who attacked the paper for not giving the rally “sufficient” coverage, the Ithacan noted:

One politics professor was described as “ranting and raving,” alleging the paper was “racist” because The Ithacan did not cover the rally in the print edition and instead covered it online. The paper covered the rally online with more than 30 photos so that students could read about the event that day, rather than waiting a full week.


Ironically, prior to the newspaper theft, organizers of the “Erase the Hate” rally had reportedly billed the event as a way to “look for solutions to deal with intolerance” on the Ithaca campus.


“Newspaper theft is a crime in New York state. The loss of hundreds of copies means lost printing costs, labor costs and revenue from ads readers never saw. It also robs other students of the opportunity to be informed,” the Ithacan reported.

The same month that hundreds of newspapers were stolen on campus, a single “gay pride” flag was also stolen from a flagpole at Ithaca College.

Unlike the theft of the newspapers, the theft of the gay pride flag has generated intense local coverage, both on and off campus, with calls for the perpetrators to be prosecuted.


Wednesday, April 27, 2005


THIS "STRIKE" COULD LAST FOR MONTHS...


From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Diana Ponce talks on a phone in the yard of her San Pablo home Wednesday, the fifth day of a hunger strike to protest the gathering of armed volunteers, the Minuteman Project, at the Arizona-Mexico border to keep illegal immigrants from entering the United States. Chronicle photo by John O'Hara


Sunday, April 24, 2005


THE FLAT TAXMAN COMETH?


Okay, fair tax and flat tax advocates, now is our chance to speak up. From today's LA Times, comes the invitation to "Add Your 2 Cents to Ideas for a Tax Code Makeover"

Hate the U.S. tax code? Now's the time to speak up.

The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, four months into examining what's wrong with the U.S. income tax system, is soliciting ideas from the public.

It is possibly the first time in history — and certainly the first time in generations — that the general public has been asked to help revamp tax law.

Reform plans should incorporate the president's goal of simplifying the code without shedding its progressive nature — richer Americans paying a higher percentage of income than those with less income pay. The code should continue to "recognize the importance of home ownership and charity in society," according to the mandate the president gave the panel. And, reform plans must be "revenue neutral" — neither increasing nor decreasing what the government rakes in.

[The panel]suggests that reform proposals be as specific as possible, including such details as what exemptions, credits and deductions would remain in the revamped system and how the proposal would distribute tax burdens by income groups.

Americans who want to weigh in on taxation can contact the panel by e-mail at comments@taxreformpanel.gov.

The article also notes that "Taxpayers have until Friday to submit proposals on how to fix or replace the income tax system," so don't delay.


Friday, April 08, 2005


WOULDN'T IT HAVE BETTER TO HOLD A TRIAL?

"Man acquitted of murder in gunfight"--

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle