Opinion

Just last week the national debt grew to a point that it would not fit on the Times Square Debt Clock. The old clock was built to accommodate $9,999,999,999,999, or $ 9.99 trillion. Last week, however, the national debt soared past $10.2 trillion. This milestone set a 50-year record for the size of debt as a percentage of GDP.

The last presidential debate saw moderator Tom Brokaw ask the candidates whether they thought healthcare was a right or a responsibility. Predictably, the answers split along party lines, with Obama stating his belief that healthcare is a right and McCain declaring it a responsibility.

Let’s face it: The United States stumbled out of the starting blocks into this century. This administration has supremely screwed things up, that’s a fact. I can’t help but feel a bit despondent when thinking that I spent the prime years of my life growing up in a Bush-run America.

From that first public urination ticket while stumbling through bubble gum alley to the 100th drunken attempt at picking up someone you had no chance with, downtown provides memories that run the gamut of human emotion.

The one constant thing that fuels the creation of those memories is money.

Florida recount, Katherine Harris, “Bin Laden determined to attack within the U.S.,” “Bush Doctrine,” no WMD, the “last throes of the insurgency,” “Mission accomplished,” no post-invasion planning, George Tennet’s “slam dunk,” Rumsfeld’s five month war, their Medals of Freedom, corruption, Tom DeLay, fake journalist Jack Gannon, Jack Abramoff, Randy “Duke” Cunningham, Ted Stevens, scandal, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, secretive government, Rove, Cheney, rendition, secret prisons, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Halliburton, Blackwater, KBR, signing statements, recess appointments, John Bolton, stove-piping information, “Kenny Boy” Lay, Enron, John Yoo and the “quaint” Geneva Accords,” legalizing torture, Harriet Myers’ and Rove’s refusal to testify, “executive privilege,” belief in a “unitary executive,” the “disappearance” of administration e-mails, Terri Schiavo, unsigned Kyoto accord, obstacles to stem-cell research, denial of global warming, systemic incompetence, Hurricane Katrina, “heckuva job” Brownie, telecom surveillance of citizens and immunity for spying, suspension of habeas corpus, political firing of U.

Your meal points are almost completely used up and it’s not even halfway through the quarter. The food on campus was great the first week but now it tastes insipid. The weather’s changing from summer to fall and last year’s winter clothing is, well, last year.

Activism, civic engagement, grassroots efforts, democracy. What do these words mean to you? With Nov. 4 just around the corner, there is no better time than today to open that voter guide and research the issues. I assure you that there is no greater feeling than that of being politically informed! Regardless of your extreme political interests (or lack thereof), voting is a vital part of the democratic process.

This past year, Slim to None missed the deadline to sign up to lead a discussion group for the incoming freshman novel “Montana 1948.” I was also deemed not “hip” enough and not a grad student. So, I’d like to take some time to discuss the book with you.

During my freshman year the required reading was “The Kite Runner,” so STN is fully prepared to discuss a book that has nothing to do with either Montana or 1948.

Pro-Palin article laughable

I honestly thought this column was joke. I mean just reading the title, I fell over laughing from the double entendre just before yelling, “that’s what she said!” Then I read the article, and I realized that this person was serious.

This past week has been historic for all the right and wrong reasons. A $700 billion economic bailout has been passed but appears to be a band-aid on a gushing carotid artery, the markets set records for how far they could plunge in a day, the vice presidential nominees went toe to toe and Arnold asked the Feds for a loan to cover state expenses.

When my history professor told us our first assigned book was titled “Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth About the American Voter,” I was slightly insulted. I mean, come on, I’m college-educated (well, at least partly) and I consider myself fairly well-informed.