Opinion of the Day 

          by Jack R. Voltz (Pirate Pete)

          12 Sep 2001
                I am dubfounded by yesterday's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It doesn't surprise me that someone would hate America enough to do something this heinous, but I am shocked by the suddenness and violence of the attacks. Watching the event unfold yesterday, I was reminded of eschatological events foretold by the Book of Revelation and I asked myself--is this yet another sign that we are rapidly approaching the end of the world and the beginning of the Reign of God? I pray for the victims of this senseless tragedy and their families. I also pray for the perpetrators of this horrible crime, that they receive the light of Christ and turn their lives over to Him before they die.
          01 April 1999
                 A year ago, I asked if we were ready to go to war -- now it appears as if this question has been answered in the affirmative, only this time, the "bad guy" is Serbia, our "vital interests" are the Albanian refugees (if I hear the term "ethnic Albanians" again, I'll scream -- why not just use "Kosovars"?), and we're still pissing off Russia because we give them no respect.  What is it with politicians anyway?  Haven't they got any sense?  When communism collapsed in 1991, we had the perfect opportunity to really, truly, make friends with the Russians.  We could've helped them out of their monetary crisis.  That's what true friends do -- they help each other out.  But no, we've dogged the Russians, willing only to give them token support.  And now we've basically slapped them in the face, calling them "weak and impoverished."  We pound our chests mightily, proudly proclaiming how strong we are (and, consequently, how weak everyone else is).  Strong, mighty America stands up to the genocidal oppressors, the Serbs....
                 This is an America I fear, for we are setting ourselves up to take a rather long fall...and the rest of the world will watch and wait.
          08 February, 1998
           
                 Are we really ready to go to war again to protect our "vital interests" in the Gulf?  All this muscle-flexing is pissing off our former good buddy Russia.  Boris Yeltsin and his countrymen vehemently oppose any U.S. military strike.  Yeltsin has as much as told Clinton, "You strike Iraq again and I'm going to join the fray." I know we all feel like badasses from our victory in the Gulf 7 years ago, but do we really feel strong enough to kick Yeltsin's behind?  Russia still has the second most powerful armed forces in the world, and they still hold enough nuclear weapons to pound us into the Stone Age, should they be so inclined.  I say to hell with Saddam Hussein.  Let his neighbors deal with him.
          27 January, 1998
                 I hate to say "I told you so," America, but ... I told you so. Good ol' Slick Willy is a heartbeat away from impeachment.  Why? Because of his morals (or lack thereof). The day "Mr. Pro-Abort" steps down from his Crystal Palace, I'll be the first one to jump for joy.  Not that I think that the unborn will fare any better with his successor -- if anything, Gore will be just as vocal in his support of abortionn as Clinton was -- I just can't wait to be able to say those infamous four words.

          11 February 1997
                  I didn't know Officer Blankenship personally, so when someone told me "an OSU police officer was shot last night," my immediate reaction was subdued. But when I picked up a copy of the OSU Lantern I was immediately thrust into the horrible realities involved--the front page had a photo of the location where Officer Blankenship was shot inside the Wexner Center. There was a large pool of blood on the floor; there were several jackets and what looked like paper towels where someone had tried (unsuccesfully) to cover it all up before the news media arrived.

          Upon viewing all of the blood in the photo, my heart sank--in that spot, another human being--husband, father, valued co-worker, friend and mentor to countless students--lost his life. I wonder how his family will be able to cope with the loss? It must be awful--I've lost family members before, but never anything like this. I couldn't begin to imagine what Officer Blankenship's wife and children must be feeling at this moment. My heart goes out to them. I pray that God extends His loving arms to protect them in their greatest hour of need. I pray also that all of us take a few moments to reflect on how precious life is.

          12 January 1997
                  Commercials at the movies...what's up with this? Whose brainchild was it to run slick car and cola ads in the movie trailers?

                  This irks me to no end. I don't know about you, but I go to the movies to get away from commercials, not immerse myself in them. Moviegoers pay through the nose (some theaters charge 7 to 8 bucks a pop) for supposedly commercial-free entertainment and yet still wind up being forced to sit through the crap from the Madison Avenue whizkids.

                  Okay, the commercials are entertaining. But if the movies are making extra money by forcing the audience to watch ads promoting someone's product, I think they should pass some of those riches down to the general public by lowering their ticket prices (or by lowering the price of a bucket of popcorn)--after all, we're doing all the work, it's only right we should receive some of the benefits.

          [Beavis mode=ON] Commercials suck. [Beavis mode=OFF]

          11 November 1996
                  I can't believe it--Clinton has done it again. America has decided to get back in bed for another four years with good old "Slick Willy."

                  How did it happen? How did the most pro-abortion President ever to disgrace the White House with his presence get re-elected?

                  From the pro-life point of view, Dole was the better candidate (Clinton is pro-abortion, of course. Many people are unaware that Perot ran a pro-choice platform--he once said, "When the dust settles it is up to the woman what she does with her body." Sound familiar? It's the essence of the pro-choice position). Yet strangely enough, many pro-lifers (including quite a few Catholics) voted for Clinton.

                  Why didn't Dole win? I've been wracking my brains ever since Tuesday trying to figure it all out.

                  First of all, look at the choices the voters had: there was Bill Clinton (Mr. "Partial-Birth Abortion," Mr. Whitewater, Mr. Adultery, take your pick--I have plenty of epithets to sling), Bob Dole (a man with good values but all the personality of a rock), or Ross Perot (an eccentric billionaire with a few unorthodox ideas on how big government should be run). I believe this election was simply a case of "better the devil you know than the devil you don't"--thus, some voters overlooked Clinton's foibles because they felt they had no other choice.

                  Second, look at the issues--Dole focused on all the wrong ones. Either no one believed the man would truly be able to pull off his proposed 15 percent tax cut, or--as was the case with those who voted their conscience--it simply didn't matter. In the average voter's mind, the economy wasn't enough of an issue upon which to base an entire campaign. Dole should have hammered Clinton for his stance on abortion, particularly for his veto of the partial-birth abortion.

                 Third, look at Dole's choice of a running mate. Jack Kemp is a great person, and I'm sure he helped bring Dole some votes. But in my opinion--and according to exit polls, the opinion of many Republicans--Kemp should have been the front-runner, not Dole. Kemp had the personality and knew where to focus his energies (he also seemed much more willing to adopt a serious stance against abortion).

                  So where does this leave us? More specifically, where does it leave the pro-life movement? In a world of hurt, I'm afraid. Mr. Pro-abort will be ushering in the third millenium--God help us all.

          19 September 1996
          Dear Mr. Gee (pres. of OSU):

          How would you react if I told you there was a racist organization on campus? Once you were convinced that such an allegation was indeed true, would you be up in arms about the matter and demand that the offending organization be exorcised from the campus?

          Ok, now I've got your attention. You're anxiously awaiting the punchline--who is this dastardly association?

          I'm talking about Planned Parenthood. (Now I really have your attention). "What's that?" you cry. "Planned Parenthood racist? Preposterous! Everyone knows they're a philanthropic organization . . . " No, everyone doesn't know, and that's my point.

          Planned Parenthood has been in operation since the early 30's. It was founded on "eugenic" principles by a racist named Margaret Sanger. To get an understanding of what this woman really believed--and what her brainchild, Planned Parenthood, still believes--one need only examine a few of her publications, "The Birth Control Review," in particular. In it, she refers to blacks, Jews, and other minorities as "a deadweight of human waste" (for example, see the April 1933 issue); one of her primary "eugenic" goals was to "create a race of thoroughbreds" (the magazine's masthead slogan) by deceiving minorities into controlling their own populations by using contraceptives and abortion.

          Some people will be outraged by my allegation. "How dare you call Planned Parenthood racist? They do many good deeds, particularly for inner city minorities. Why, just a few years ago, they even had a black president!" Nonetheless, Planned Parenthood is racist, and their social policies bear out this fact. I'm not the only one to recognize this, either. In an interview with Ebony magazine, comedian Dick Gregory saw early on the true implications of Planned Parenthood's "philanthropism": "Government family planning programs designed for poor Blacks which emphasize birth control and abortion with the intent of limiting the Black population is genocide. The deliberate killing of Black babies by abortion is genocide--perhaps the most overt form of all." (Ebony magazine, October 1971)

          The facts are indisputable: Planned Parenthood is a racist organization. The question is, what should we do about it? I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of racism--I vote we toss the rascals out.

          09 September 1996
          I'm sorry, OSU, but I gotta say it--the phone system sucks. Yeah, I know, there are over 55,000 people vying for the same departments, but not simultaneously! I've come to hate that &%*$&! message:
            "The Ohio State University department you called is busy...your call will be answered in the order it was received. Until then, you will hear music..."
          I understand the line is going to be busy frequently, especially as we move closer to the beginning of the school year. But sitting in a queue is no picnic, especially if you're calling long distance! You can alleviate the problem tremendously by making all of your departments available through Gopher. I tried to connect with the Accounts Receivable Collection Service (Office of the Treasurer), and I couldn't find an e-mail address for them either on your gopher site or on your home page search engine. Get it together, guys!
          07 September 1996
          I hate Sun TV & Appliance Center! You buy something from them and a year later they discontinue the product. What's with this?

          In 1992, I purchased an Epson Action Printer 3000 from Sun--it's a great little printer for the price I paid for it ($187). But now I find out that Sun no longer stocks it. Nor do they carry printer ribbons or related supplies.

          This is no way to do business. Sun TV, if you're listening, get your act together! Support your damn products!

          Back to my home page 
          Click here to send me e-mail.