Opinion

America is the greatest nation on earth.I've heard that sentence repeated over,and over, and over again since I've been paying attention to politics. Hell, even Chris Rock said it.But it's getting old.

In the New Republic article "Obama's old virtues," Karma Nabulsi suggests that Obama's ascendanceis a function of "classical republicanism" - a system prizing active civic engagement in a participatory democracy - a very old theme that has been absent from viewf or a very long time. Perhaps. But the explanation for Obama's political success might be even simpler:it is his promise of a uniting narrative in a disunited country.

Last May 1,the Davis College Republicans attempted to play a satirical game of "Illegal Immigration Capture the Flag" as a counter-protest against the general socialist/immigration protest occurring on the Quad.Given the reflex of far left groups to see the worst in those who disagree with them, the game quickly became known as"Capture the Illegal Immigrant," and has even been reported as such in The Aggie and The Sacramento Bee.

As I was growing up, I had a really irritating habit, one that I still have but am much more aware and in control of. No, I'm not talking about booger-eating (which I still don't see the problem with). Rather, it was the need to answer questions when they were asked.

It wasn't just the questions my elementary school teacher would ask, but any question asked that was remotely in my direction from anyone ranging from my little brother to complete strangers. I always just seemed to have an answer.

Heat,heat,clinging at the hairs on the back of my neck,sticking at the flesh padding my jointswhen I bend my elbows or knees.

I could tell you a story right now,but all I want to do is sit cross-legged on my bedroom floor with the window open so that the breeze clatters at the shades and stirs some life into the room.I want to eat my frozen grapes,listen to jangly tunes and pick at the purple and gold glass beads strewn across the carpet.They're so pretty.

Scientific researchconducted on animals hasalways been a contentious topic in terms of the transparency and ethics behind it.Unfortunately,animal rights activists sometimes take extreme and violent measures againstthosescientists conductingtheexperiments.In response,a new state bill has been authored that seeks to limit various tactics used by anti-animal research extremist groups.However,the bill does not promise significant change.

Assembly Bill2296allowsUniversity ofCalifornia officials to withhold the names of researchers from public documents in an effort to further guard them.In addition,the billstates that anyone who intimidates,harasses or commits acts of violence against animal research scientists can be subject to punishment ranging from a$25,000fine to a year in prison.

UC Davis is now beginning to see the first rounds of cuts, which will eventually result in a universitywide budget decrease of $1.4 million for campus units. The Cross Cultural Center (CCC), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC) and Women's Research and Resources Center (WRRC) will be the first to experience the 7 percent cuts. Budget reductions must come from somewhere, but it is important to recognize how vital these campus units are to students at UCD.

Back when budget cuts were being proposed, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef told the campus the student experience would not be compromised. However, protecting Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at the expense of valuable ASUCD units such as CCC, LGBTRC and WRRC is questionable. This year, CAPS will have a net loss of $0 while the CCC will experience a net loss of $2,211, the WRRC a net loss of $8,750 and the LGBTRC a net loss of $996.

During a barbeque I went to last weekend, a friend of mine was talking about how he had recently (and reluctantly) bonked a girl whom he wasn't too enthralled about. As usual, a few guys started chiming in and said the only reason why he was lamenting so much was because she was probably fug. He responded that in actuality, she was very pretty - she simply wasn't funny enough.

I asked him if being funny is as important as he made it seem. Likewise, his other friend explained how he preferred to sleep with pretty girls at the moment, while his youth and charm were at their peak. Personality, he mused, can be worried about later, when it really started to matter.

In the past weeks, I've been dishing out a fair amount of criticism regarding our elected and appointed educational administrators without providing a whole lot of possible solutions. This is because, for the most part, I have tried to focus mainly on pointing out the problems, rather than turning people off with a solution that caters to a specific political ideology.

For example, if I were to propose a solution of raising taxes across the state to make up for the $4.8 million deficit in educational funding, I would probably cause a couple of people to ignore me, and my views on the education system, completely.

However, this week I have decided to break away from my standard mode of operations and provide my readers with an opportunity to make a small, but valuable, difference in our current educational crisis.

UCDavis is regarded as among the superior institutions of public higher education nationally,if not globally.According to the2008U.S.News and World Report survey,UC Davis ranks as the11th best public university inAmerica in terms of learning excellence.However,the presence of some incompetent and ineffective faculty members is an imminent threat that undermines suchreputable standing.

Having finished six arduous quarters here at UC Davis,I have always heard students complaining acrimoniously about how their respective professors inefficiently taught their classes.I,myself,have experienced going through suchapredicament in several of my general education and upper division classes in which the professors were terribly lackingtheability to make the concepts of the courses comprehensible to students.Having no means of determining the degree of competence of their professors,studentssuffer the consequences oftaking classes with such instructors.

A better definition than the current one in circulation:

Smartness (noun) - an agility of mind; the ability to assess reality beyond what one has been taught; the capacity to think for oneself, to see for oneself, to draw conclusions for oneself; the creativity to reconfigure given knowledge into new shapes and ideas.

Notice the lack of concrete qualifications. No SAT scores here. No spelling-bee ribbons. And while you may agree, precious reader, that a person's smarts have nothing to do with their résumé, the sad truth of the matter is that most people aren't like you. Most people utter sentences like, "She's pretty smart; she got an A on the last test," or, "Yeah, my brother's kind of a genius; he goes to Harvard." For though there may be strong correlates within these statements, the truth of the matter is that these conclusions (good grades/good school equals good brain) don't follow.

The day you've been waiting for all year is almost here. That's right kids, tomorrow is Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry's! Rejoice!

I happen to think that Free Cone Day is one of those rare events of harmonious perfection that occasionally take place in the universe. Unlimited amounts of free ice cream: What more could anyone want?

There are, however, some lame, snarky people who find fault with Free Cone Day. These people complain that the line is too long. Oh no, life is so hard that you have to wait a few minutes to get some free ice cream.

I feel so utterly isolated sometimes.It's not because I live far from campus out in the fields; nor is it due to my apathy when it comes to engaging in conversations involving the words "bro" or "chill." My loneliness is not a side effect of anti-sociality - on the contrary,I am quite the shit-shooter,if I do say so myself.The reason for my isolation is due to my lack of a "machine" that has become the sole interest of seemingly every human being on earth - the television.

The sad thing is that I really used to like Ben Stein. I grew up watching him banter with Jimmy Kimmel while defending his cash from all comers, and I was invariably impressed with the breadth of his knowledge. Thus, when I heard about his new flickExpelled: No Intelligence Allowed, I felt a bit betrayed.

Since I'm going to go ahead and assume anyone sage enough to read my column has more sense than to toss $10 at this monumental waste of film, I'll explain the basic premise. In a lot of ways, Expelled is a lot like An Inconvenient Truth with some of the nouns changed Mad Libs style. The movie (Truth / Expelled) is a documentary about (global warming / Intelligent Design) narrated by (an incredibly dry and humorless man / essentially the same dude) and backed up with (a pretty sobering array of science / more or less

Davis residents have a desire to preserve the open-space and agricultural areas of their community; it was this thinking that led to the passage of Measure J in2000.Measure J requires voter approval for any proposed urban developmenton open-space or agricultural land and is currently on track to expire in2010.Whether the measure will be renewed or not will be determined by theDavisCity Council.

Because of this,the upcomingCity Councilelection is attracting a great deal of attention fromDavis locals who want candidates to make their positions on Measure J clear.The six CityCouncil hopefuls have thus far avoided doing so at City Council meetings.