The Obama Malady: Critique of Styrofoam

Contrary to popular belief, “change” – at least as U.S. President Barack Obama meant it – has not come, nor will it ever, nor should it, because the change we need is not the kind he is capable of providing.

Accordingly, I predict that the platform of so-called change on which he campaigned without so much as a trace of concreteness to his overall plan for the nation will go down as one of history’s emptiest and vaguest campaign promises.

Then again, if by “change,” one means the sickeningly quick progression from bad to even worse times, then he, his administration, and the Democratic-controlled Congress that is one step behind him at all times have certainly delivered.

And just as Ross Perot denounced Congress for its inaction by describing Washington thusly: “... a town filled with sound bites, shell games, handlers, media stuntmen who posture, create images, talk, shoot off Roman candles, but don’t ever accomplish anything,” the same can unfortunately likewise be said of the Obama administration and 111th United States Congress, with its – as of July 27 – 53 percent approval rating, thus far.

I say unfortunately – for the American people, that is – because it is difficult to even discern the current administration and Congress’s commitment to them in that their respective actions have proven that such a commitment is clearly all but a myth.

What we need, as Perot said, are deeds, not words in Washington, and for as long as – I believe it would be reasonable to assume – anyone can remember, we have had too much of the latter at the expense of the former.

Smoke and mirrors has no place anywhere in politics, and why do I disapprove of Obama so ardently, you ask? Well, call me petty, but it stems from the fact that this man does not speak on behalf of the people, including those who are oblivious and so fervently adore him.

Whereas public policy should be shaped by the people’s will, Obama quite simply, disregards them, instead basing his governing philosophy on what he thinks the American people need rather than what public opinion Web sites like http://www.rasmussenreports.com and http://www. gallup.com will inform one, to the contrary, what they actually desire.

Public polling, from Web sites such as those aforementioned and in other mediums, has indicated without fail that even during the Bush administration the American people disapproved of the policies of fiscal liberalism in addition to those that resulted in the expansion of the government’s size and influence in its citizen’s daily lives to an extent much greater than ever before, among others, so why continue?

After all, the power of a democracy, derived from the Greek demokratía, is the means by which a government by and for the people is possible.

Therefore, as the Founding Fathers, notably James Madison, founded this nation as a republic to possess a government by and for the people, in which, according to the Madison-written Federalist No. 10, the supreme power of the government is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation, and since we have spoken thusly, Obama would be wise to listen.

And I may be the only one, but I wonder what ever happened to Obama’s campaign promises of transparency and public consent anyway? I guess they were nothing more than yet another example of the insincerity Ross Perot often dealt with and criticized.

See Section A After Page 12.

Road Closed Near Dorms

Tonsmiere Road, which runs between the Delta Dorms and The Grove near the Chi Omega and Phi Mu houses, will be closed for the remainder of the academic year.

Chris Willis, director of Facilities Management, said it was closed because of the construction of the new dining hall. Heavy equipment would be needed for construction, so without the road closed it would be a danger to cars and would slow the construction, he said.

Willis did not think it would adversely affect traffic, since it could be rerouted near the intramural fields. They will be monitoring traffic conditions to see if any changes need to be made.

In other road construction news, South Drive will be reopened Aug. 11.

USA Receives $2.3 Million From Stimulus

USA faculty and staff have received nearly $2.3 million in the first round of stimulus dispersals.

“I’m very pleased with how responsive our faculty and staff has been,” Dr. Russell Lea, vice president of research, said.

This money was not applied for under the stimulus package, Lea said, but the government agencies decided to use that money to fund them. The University of South Alabama has submitted between 35 to 40 requests for stimulus money that has not even been decided upon yet.

Lea said most schools hoped they could have a 2 percent success rate with stimulus money, and USA has surpassed that before any of the stimulus money proposals have been awarded. USA applied for about $80 million.

For more details on what USA’s awards went toward, see next week’s issue of The Vanguard.

USA Funding Cut Again

Gov. Bob Riley prorated state appropriations for Alabama schools by another 2 percent July 24, resulting in a cut of about $2.4 million for USA.

The governor also emptied the rainy day fund, money the state reserved to lessen funding cuts for Alabama schools. This move could increase the chance of proration for next year, according to Wayne Davis, vice president for financial affairs.

“The state had to do what it had to do,” Davis said.

Since the cut was made so late in the fiscal year, Davis said it will have to be made up through departmental reserves. Alabama’s fiscal years run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Alabama’s appropriations to education are funded in large part through the sales tax and income tax, which fluctuate with the economy. Therefore, when the economy contracts, revenues decline and funding for education must be cut to make up for it.